Blind Melon guitarist now a local lawyer
Roger Stevens, a first-year associate in the labor and employment group of Philadelphia’s Ballard Spahr LLP, has a pretty great side gig: He’s the guitarist for Blind Melon.
Roger Stevens, a first-year associate in the labor and employment group of Philadelphia's Ballard Spahr LLP, has a pretty great side gig: He's the guitarist for Blind Melon.
Well, technically the alt-rock guitarist, who came to fame with Blind Melon's hit "No Rain" in the early '90s, had his music career first, but now has turned to the 9-to-5 lifestyle, playing occasional shows on weekends with the band, who regrouped in 2006.
According to the Legal Intelligencer, the 44-year-old acquired his associate's degree at Delaware County Community College before securing his bachelor's from Temple after Blind Melon canceled a sold-out tour in 2008.
The musician then kept the ball rolling at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and began his law career as an associate at Ballard Spahr in 2013.
Though the evolution from '90s rock star to first-year attorney had taken a few decades, the fact that his background includes some glimmers of success bodes well for his bosses.
"People are, in general, interested in success," he told the Legal Intelligencer. "If somebody's done something and did well at it, maybe that's an indicator they can do well going forward."
Also according to the Intelligencer, Ballard Spahr is a firm that has previously employed lawyers entering their second career, coming from various backgrounds.
So, during the day Stevens heads to the office in a suit and tie, and by night — some nights, occasionally when he has time (his brother steps up as fill-in in the interim) — he straps on the guitar for Blind Melon shows.