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The rumors of Evan Dando's demise are 'way off the mark'
The title of Evan Dando’s new memoir, "Rumors of My Demise," is a nod to that famous quote from the 19th century that has ricocheted through pop culture over the decades: "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
“It was just sort of a riff on the Mark Twain line. He’s my favorite and it's sort of appropriate in this case,” Dando explained on the phone from Nashville.
“It's funny, because obviously there's truth in the title. Because, as you well know, there have been those rumors throughout the years, some of them more accurate than others, and others way off the mark.”
Dando formed the Boston-based Lemonheads in 1986 with Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. In his 20s, Dando experienced unexpected success in the Nirvana-fueled alt-rock world, with The Lemonheads moving from the small local label Taang! to a big deal with Atlantic Records. And because of his good looks, Dando got tagged as an “alterna-hunk.” (He hated that description. Then again, he was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1993.)
When asked, Dando was public about his lifestyle: It was (the most common of cliches) sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. In his case, drugs meant all kinds, including marijuana, cocaine, meth and heroin, plus alcohol. His frank talk about his usage often took center stage when people wrote about him. He doesn’t shy away from any of that in his memoir either.
“I was just always taught to tell the truth and, yeah, it isn't always the best idea, but I think that it's better that way,” Dando said. “I remember reading a My Bloody Valentine interview, and they're talking about how they use drugs sometimes in the studio to do certain things. And I thought it was cool that they just said it how it is. Too many people just lie.”
He just didn’t consider the impact at the time, noting his most prodigious drug use and resultant media coverage came at a different point in our culture. “People were starting to make a quite proper judgment that drugs are bad,” Dando said. “Before, it was a more innocent time where people almost thought it was OK, part of the job. And so, things change.”
Dando, 58, lives in São Paulo, Brazil with his second wife Antônia Teixeira and his two step-children. He said he’s been clean — at least in terms of hard drugs — for four years. He reckons that if you’re doing a lot of those hard drugs these days, “there's something wrong with you.”
In “Rumors of My Demise,” Dando recounts many tales — some exhilarating and hilarious, others humbling and humiliating — with friends like Johnny Depp, Keith and Marlon Richards, Courtney Love, the Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes, Kate Moss, and longtime collaborator Juliana Hatfield. There’s also his lifelong obsession with Charles Manson — his persona and his music.
Dando worked on the book during the COVID-19 shutdown, in part because he needed money. Looking back at the book — which he didn’t fully read until after publication — he said, “You know, if you get in a couple licks of things you like, you're doing pretty well. ”
The Lemonheads' breakthrough came in 1992 with “It’s a Shame About Ray” and the follow-up “Come On Feel the Lemonheads” — a play on Slade’s song “Cum On Feel the Noize.” Both albums went gold.
“It's a long shot and you got to recognize it when you get lucky like that,” Dando said of the success. “When you have a certain amount of talent and a certain amount of luck and it actually all pans out pretty well — I feel really lucky and grateful and it's not hard for me to hold on to that feeling.”
After doing eight albums from 1987 to 2006, the Lemonheads released two albums of covers, “Varshons” and “Varshons 2” in 2009 and 2019. “Love Chant,” the band’s first album of original material in 19 years, dropped Oct. 24. Dando described it as “a little more relaxed, and almost like jazzy or something, but not in a bad way.”
“I'm excited about the new record coming out,” he said. “I feel so good about it.”
It’s a strong record. In a four-star review, MOJO’s Andrew Male wrote that it “captures the many untamed aspects of Evan Dando … A defiant escape from the traps of a dark past,” and Louder’s Everett True opined the album “seamlessly blends Dando’s disheveled charm with spaced out, ambitious overtones.”
There is truth in what Dando sings on “Cell Phone Blues.” “I haven’t written a song in one night for quite some time/ All my life I've been worried I would die.”
Dando’s history includes numerous triumphant moments, but also stories of botched gigs and blown-off interviews.
Self-deprecation comes naturally to Dando. “When I f--- up, I go all the way,” he writes in the book. “My biggest regret in life is not being more considerate to people. It’s not that hard and it’s a better way to be. There were many times when I was a dick for no good reason at all. Friends, family, total strangers. … I hate that about myself.”
At the onset of the book’s epilogue, Dando asserts, “This is not a redemption story.”
But by the time we spoke, Dando viewed it differently. “I don't really agree with that part,” he said. “That was the ghostwriter’s little hook. That's not me, you know. I've gotten a lot better, and I'm happier I got off the drugs and stuff.”
A North American tour begins Nov. 11 in Alabama and hits The Drake in Amherst Nov. 25 and Boston’s Wilbur Theatre Nov. 26. The band currently includes bassist Farley Glavin and drummer John Kent, though Dando said the Lemonheads are essentially him and whoever he chooses and/or will put up with him.
“We’re trying to get it together again. Now I'm making an effort to give people something for their money or something close to it. We're gonna give it our best shot,” he said. “For me, it's been like a long trudge, you know. It’s really a lot of hard work, and I've gotten to a place where I like this if I'm doing it a lot better than I used to.”
