Evan Dando has never been one to follow a script.
The long-haired, sun-kissed frontman of The Lemonheads has long carved his own path through the golden years of alternative rock, through detours and disappearances, cult status and comeback tours. Now, he’s back in motion and heading south. I had the pleasure of chatting with Dando from his picturesque home in São Paulo and not even the laggy internet connection could hide his excitement at visiting Australia next month.
This May, The Lemonheads return to Australia to play their most beloved albums, It’s A Shame About Ray (1992) and Come On Feel The Lemonheads (1993) in full. These records are undoubtedly a huge part of The Lemonheads’ legacy and Dando looks back on them fondly. When asked why he thinks they still resonate with people today, he shares, “I don’t know. I mean, there are some really good songs on there. I think people just like them.”
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Maybe he’s being humble, but this is a huge understatement, to say the least. It’s A Shame About Ray is one of the most influential records in early ’90s alternative rock and is certified Gold in Australia, the UK and the USA, charting at #23 on our very own ARIA charts.
Dando holds Australia very close to his heart, and playing these records in their entirety here is a significant and meaningful event for him. “They’re Australian records, you know. They were recorded in LA, but with Tom Morgan from Smudge, and Nic Dalton played on the second one. So yeah, they had a lot to do with Australia, both of them,” He shares. Dando recalls the moment he fell in love with the country was when he heard the phrase ‘fuck me dead’. “I was like, ‘that was cool. I love Australia.’”
Dando spent a significant amount of time in Australia writing the records and looks back on it fondly. “It was just great to discover all of these people who loved The Velvet Underground as much as I did, like Nic and Tom. It was a really good time, that time in the early ’90s when we were doing that stuff. It’s really nice that people still enjoy it.”
The Lemonheads have had extensive lineup changes, with more than two dozen past members and Dando being the only current member, accompanied by his touring band. Despite this, he’s always had a clear vision for The Lemonheads and hasn’t let changes deter him.
On how he approaches playing past works live with new members, he says, “I’m really lucky, I always get good people to play with me. I got Bill Stevenson to play with me, and Carl from The Descendants, and I got Murph from Dinosaur Junior. Right now, we have John Kent from Radish and Farley Glavin, who played with Willie Mason and in the Family of the Year. He’s been in the band for 20 years now… or no, 10, maybe 12 years.
“It’s a really great lineup and they can do it perfectly. They’re just like machines. The drummer never makes a mistake. He’s amazing.”
Their Aussie tour will see them play three shows at Melbourne’s Croxton Bandroom, two of which have fully sold out, followed by Brisbane’s Princess Theatre, Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, Adelaide’s The Gov, Perth’s Freo Social and a newly added show at Perth’s Metropolis Fremantle.
Just in time for their visit, the band are set to release a single from their upcoming record Love Chant. Without giving too much away, Dando reveals, “We’ll do some new songs in Australia, for sure. I really like the new record because it’s really free and it’s really soulful and it’s really plain and good. I just really like it. You’ll hear the single soon, it’s a great single! The B-side is this really cool song on the album; it’s a Townes Van Zandt song I always wanted to cover called Sad Cinderella. It’ll be really fun.”
Dando also confirmed that his long-awaited memoir has finally been completed, despite the tedious process. “It was a major pain in the ass,” he admits. “It was during COVID. I was like, ‘hmm, what am I going to do? I have no way to make money, I can’t go tour, there’s nothing I can do right now. I’ll write a book.’ And sure enough, I got a deal with Simon and Schuster and then it seemed great and like everything was going to plan. But then, with COVID, we had to talk on the phone every night. Sometimes the machine wouldn’t work… it was a nightmare. But we finally got it done. It’s okay, it’s not so bad. It’s just not easy!”
For longtime fans and those just discovering the bittersweet charm of The Lemonheads, this upcoming run of shows serves as more than a trip down memory lane. It’s a reminder that Dando still has stories to tell, melodies to make and reasons to show up.
The Lemonheads are playing The Croxton on 14, 16 and 17 May. Grab tickets here.
