As the charismatic frontman of the beloved alt-rock band The Lemonheads, Evan Dando found himself at the forefront of the grunge and indie rock explosion of the early 1990s. The band’s 1992 album “It’s a Shame About Ray” became an overnight mainstream hit, showcasing Dando’s emotive, world-weary vocals and the group’s infectious blend of gritty, guitar-driven intensity and irresistible punk-pop sensibilities. This potent combination struck a chord with listeners, propelling The Lemonheads to headline major festivals and grace the covers of influential music magazines.
However, the demands of sudden success took a heavy toll, and Dando found himself struggling with substance abuse issues that threatened to derail his career. After a period of creative hibernation and personal turmoil, the singer-songwriter has reemerged in recent years, most recently embarking on a hugely popular solo acoustic tour across the UK and Europe that showcases his introspective songwriting in a stripped-down, intimate setting.
After an intimate show in the vibrant city of Bilbao, CinemaChords’ Howard Gorman spoke candidly with Dando about his current mindset as he navigates a new chapter in his storied music career and the evolving nature of his live performances. Dando, known for his raw, emotionally-charged songwriting and laid back stage presence, expressed a palpable sense of rejuvenation in tackling this solo acoustic tour, noting that the experience requires him to “really put out a lot of energy” – an endeavor he finds immensely rewarding. Compared to his work with the full Lemonheads lineup, Dando acknowledged the distinct challenges of solo touring, from the need to warm up his voice to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the live music industry. Yet, he embraces these hurdles with a refreshing nonchalance, suggesting that the spontaneity and unpolished quality of his solo shows are precisely what endears him to his devoted fanbase: “I don’t prepare. Did you see how my voice got towards the middle of the set just then? I guess I should have warmed up a little bit. But that’s what people love about this, I guess.”
In terms of the state of live music, he believes that, “The whole live thing is still a little bit fucked up from the Covid and stuff. Especially in England still. But I seem to do okay somehow usually. You know, a lot of people do. But, there are people who come and see me still. So it’s okay. I don’t know. It seems like it’s a little harder right now.”
This pragmatic outlook is tempered by Dando’s preference for a more low-key, less visible lifestyle, a preference he has long maintained. Even at the height of his fame, Dando has consistently expressed a desire to step away from the pressures and scrutiny that often accompany success in the music industry, musing about dreams of becoming a fisherman and simply reading books: “I do like to read books a lot but I kind of like the struggle too. I think all the pressure’s gone. People get to be assholes every time they get really good. Except for Stevie Wonder. But you know, he’s a special case. But I just love life. I really do. My friend told me that the other day. And it’s true. He’s like, “You know? You really love life.” And I really do. I really enjoy what I do. So, I’m just really lucky. I’ve got a good girlfriend. We live in Brazil. We love it. But I have my singing so it’s a bit much right now. Everyone’s so paranoid in America. It’s boring there. It’s not so bad to go and play there, but I like working in America. But to live there? No! It’s too weird. Everyone’s pigeonholed as a family with 2.3 children, or you’re a junky or you’re homeless. You have to be something and that just sucks.”
Throughout the whole interview though, Dando conveys a deep appreciation for the art of performing and a genuine love for life, qualities that have likely sustained him through the ups and downs of his long career. His candid reflections offer a glimpse into the complex relationship between the demands of fame and the human need for balance, simplicity, and personal fulfillment.
Dando’s face lit up with a palpable sense of excitement when he revealed the imminent release of a brand new Lemonheads album called “Love Chant” set to drop next year. After a lengthy hiatus since their last single, “Fear of Living”, this new record represents a project that Dando has clearly poured his heart and soul into. “’Fear of Living’ will be on the album too. We re-did that song. We have 12 songs on that but we also have another in the can. It’s like a misused situation. I made demos for about a year and a half and played all the drums and everything so that the band wouldn’t play it too raw or anything. I brought my band down to Brazil and we recorded at this guy’s studio called Roy Cicala. He did the John Lennon records, so we have, like, the condenser from Imagine. And we have all this great gear, and it sounds awesome.”
Despite being on tour alone, a time that might typically allow for ample personal reflection and potentially the inspiration for new creative material, Dando reveals this is not the case for him during his current tour. As he explains: “It’s hard to write on tour because there’s not really much time, but I’m trying to write these last lyrics to this last song. I gotta do it. But that’s one more thing I have to do and then that’s the album done. Yeah, it’s really cool. It’s like a dance song, I feel like the drums are the actual version of the record. I got really into playing the drums, of course.”
Even as he prepares to head to the next tour stop in Valencia, which has been devastatingly impacted by recent severe weather, Dando maintains a positive and resilient outlook. “We’re going. It’s not been cancelled. Lightning shouldn’t strike twice in the same place,” he asserts confidently, before fondly reminiscing about his past experiences in the Spanish city, noting “I love Valencia.. I always thought it was kind of hot and dry there, but… It rains, pours.” Drawing a contrast, Dando then shifts the conversation to his home country of Brazil, describing it as a virtual “garden of Eden.” “It’s just so gorgeous. There are people who might try and steal from you, but it’s not really dangerous there. I feel much safer there than in America.”
We were also curious as to how he got into painting, a vice he seems to be constantly doing throughout the tour, painting at any chance he gets. It all began with his exploration of digital art on computers, where he discovered a unique approach to visual expression: “I got into it from computers. I did this thing where I figured out how to create things with a touch screen and what starts out as a normal picture eventually turns into something that looks ghastly and scary. It could start off as just a rug with a Walkman on it and I can turn it into something scary. And then sometimes I went the other way. It’s like reverse. Like when people get into Suboxone first and then get to be heroin addicts. It’s kind of like that. but I went in that direction using computers.”
This creative outlet has become an integral part of his musical career, with the band selling these unconventional paintings at their live shows to help cover various expenses: “We sell these paintings on the tour because we have a couple of expenses and bills you know? Because I have a couple of dogs and two cats and one more family member on the way. We have three kids. We have a big house and it’s really good. But of course, we need to keep working.”
We went on to ask Dando about the kind of tour he foresees embarking on with The Lemonheads to promote the forthcoming album, in reply to which he acknowledged how sometimes artists have to resort to less-than-ideal touring arrangements: “We’re trying to get on a good, big tour, like Nick Cave or something like that. I don’t know. We might, I mean it sucks, but that’s the kind of thing you have to do sometimes to get back into the game. Neil Young asked us to go on tour with him before too but we were already on tour then. So we’ll see. I mean, we got rid of our managers because they just take all the money so we’ll see what happens.” Dando’s comments suggest a band both pragmatic and ambitious, willing to make strategic compromises in service of their long-term goals of reclaiming their place in the music industry.
Dando’s early experiences with money were indeed quite unique, revealing a great deal about his personality and mindset. As a young musician, Dando found himself in the unexpected position of earning substantial sums from his music, far more than he had ever imagined possible. However, rather than responsibly saving or investing this newfound wealth, Dando described a compulsive need to simply spend the money, not because he had any specific purchases or luxuries in mind, but because he felt an innate drive to create the necessity of having to get back to work and make more music – he genuinely enjoyed the process of creating music and earning a living from it, and didn’t want to lose that sense of purpose and drive: “That was especially true when I started making money on music. Because that’s so crazy, making money off that shit. But, when I was a waiter, you know what? I made too much money and I didn’t get into drugs from being in a band. I got into drugs from being a waiter. In Boston, it was fucking heavy. Everyone was into like heroin and cocaine and shit, you know? At the end of the night, you have like $700 or $1000 in cash and you spent so much on drugs, you know? But anyway, that was then. And then, when you start getting together big sums of money, I was gonna spend it all. Not to spend it on anything in particular but just so I’ll have to work again. I really like working. My dad hated me for that. He was like, “You’re hemorrhaging money, Evan!” But he always saved my ass too. He invested in stuff. He would say, “Give me 30 grand every time you get 100 grand. I said, ”Okay, you got it.” And so I always had my Dad to save my ass.”
Be sure to keep up with The Lemonheads’ next moves on their official website, and you can also purchase Dand’s paintings and drawings online here.
