All photos in the article are courtesy of Dando himself (sent during correspondence).
Sometimes the life of a rock star, even one not in the bright lights of celebrity these days, can make it difficult to pin one down for a talk. Evan Griffith Dando does have some notoriety when it comes to being an interview subject, but a journalist should never have a limited pre-conceived notion of the individual they are going to chat with. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see what you get.
As Dando said to an interviewer in Manila recently, “Drugs are good. Drugs are important. Drugs made my life what it is today. I don’t condone them for anyone, everyone else, or anyone else, but if I had never taken drugs, I would be a complete failure in life”. Taking that into consideration, I can see understand his point and the journey we took together was slightly altered but not too far out for either of us.
The first attempt to chat with Dando was scrubbed when advised he was flying high when our call was scheduled. Word had it his aircraft had been delayed. We tried a few weeks later to tête-à-tête but the studio got in the way and Dando was incommunicado.
Thanksgiving holidays were looming and The Lemonheads were soon to jettison off to Honk Kong, Viet Nam and Manila for shows prior to coming down under. Time was getting tight, but an invitation to talk to Dando on Turkey Day in America was lined up so I figured there would be no stuffing this up.
Thanksgiving is a celebratory time and as the moment to call approached I was thinking we were going to miss each other again. Dando did answer when the phone rang but between the hub-bub in the airport bar, the short tale he spun of having to gather up odds and sods from his hotel, ingest some and then arrive at the airport to a touchy security screening, I could sense the stress of travel and/or the joy of celebration in his tone. Over the course of a couple of hours and calls and texts that ran from amusing to senseless, the option of talking when he arrived in Hong Kong seemed smoother for all involved.
Expectations were not high, some other things seemed to be, but the next morning vision from the taxi from the Hong Kong airport arrived on my phone. Dando proceeded to tell me, “I don’t do drugs, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and the new album is all about Christianity”.
His sense of humour intact after a long flight, the texting and videos and photos would carry on over a number of days. By the way, he later said, “I hate Christianity”. Maybe that was a further hint about the topicality of the record or maybe it will be about girls and doughnuts. We shall have to wait for the release to find out for sure.
Dando’s attraction to Australia goes back to last century, 1991, when he toured here and met up with Aussie rock band Smudge members Tom Morgan and Alison Galliway. Their impact along with Australian bass man, Nic Dalton, made It’s A Shame About Ray an album all about Sydney. From mentions of King Street and drug deals to the title coming from a headline in a Sydney newspaper, the connections were made and the seeds for the future songs of that album had been planted to be sown later in studios far away.
It has been a long time since The Lemonheads have put out a record of new music. Varshons, released in 2009, had Dando joined by Kate Moss and Liv Tyler, amongst others, performing a collection of enjoyable covers. Dando’s warm and lovely solo album from 2003, Baby, I’m Bored, was a pleasant collection, but otherwise the delivery of new tunes has been insignificant.
There has been talk of a country record, some recordings or production with Ryan Adams and Dando did mention he is working on new songs for a record. Dando shot me a video, from a room in Viet Nam, of one of the new songs but it is not for public consumption due to the production quality and need to keep the creativity under wraps at such an early stage of writing. Dando still has the ability and that is easy to hear.
Dando’s short tour of Asia was filled with standard rock and roll hijinks and it appeared from the photos he shared that his fan base still enjoy the music and being in his presence . The frivolity and joy captured made it clear that this first short tour in Asia was something Dando was geared up for in many ways.
Hi last appearance in Australia was with his long-time collaborator/friend Juliana Hatfield in 2012. Those gigs were warm, lengthy and enjoyable song swapping moments that were very well received. This time we have The Lemonheads back with Farley Glavin on bass, Todd Phillips on drums and Chris Brokaw on guitars.
Dando said his present line-up is his greatest inspiration these days along with another Massachusetts bard, Willy Mason. He mentions that Mason and his friend Marciana Jones are creating some fine music in Martha’s Vineyard and if you check out Dando on Twitter you can see them hanging out together. These two songwriters could make some fascinating New England music sometime soon when Dando finds his way back to his homeland.
The barrage of texts asking me questions about the AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd and his recent issue with money and drugs, advising me he drinks coke, Gatorade and coffee in the morning (hopefully not mixed, although I know he could handle that concoction) and thanking me for staying with him during his tour of Asia and this long interview process have now stopped.
It was all rather cute and fun and sweet, and you know, that is what you expect from Evan Dando. The addition of some stellar pop songs, a spice of some covers and the band bringing it all to life, and Dando holding it together up front should make for some intriguing sets of music.
Check out The Lemonheads before they check out of our country. You will be disappointed and Dando will be sad if you don’t drop in for a visit.
Lemonheads Tour Dates
TUE 9 DEC 2014 | CORNER HOTEL | MELBOURNE
WED 10 DEC 2014 | CORNER HOTEL | MELBOURNE
THU 11 DEC 2014 | METRO THEATRE | SYDNEY
FRI 12 DEC 2014 | THE ZOO | BRISBANE
Fore tickets and info visit www.handsometours.com
