From his home in Martha’s Vineyard in the US, The Lemonheads' Evan Dando voices his concern over the Australian weather.
Evan’s love for our country is no secret, so his concern comes as no surprise. “I played a benefit in Tasmania in 2013 for the really bad ones [bushfires] that happened there.
"Myself and Spencer P. Jones played, it was a really fun night – David Byrne [& St. Vincent] played, it was really fun.”
Evan has quite the love affair with Australia. “Oh yeah, I love playing there, I always have fun,” he says. “It’s a home away from home.”
It’s not even about the people Evan knows here. Throughout The Lemonheads’ three-decade tenure they’ve spent an inordinate amount of time in Australia, playing, writing and living. “I guess we were five years into it before we came to Australia,” Evan recalls.
“'86, '87 we started… we came there in 1991 in June. It was a big deal going there. Meeting friends there was a big deal.”
Evan’s time spent here has been instrumental to his musical output. That’s not to say Australia is the only place where the creativity flows.
But even throughout The Lemonheads eight-year hiatus from the late '90s, Australia has provided inspiration unlike any other for Evan, and he simply cannot say enough about his time here. “I’ve got lots of friend in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth – there’s a lot of stuff happening there, a lot of good music coming out.
“There’s a bunch of good psychedelic bands coming out of there right now, a wave of psychedelia the kids are into.
“I get really turned on by the new bands coming up,” Evan says of the ever-changing music scene.
“A band I’ve heard on the radio, they’ve been my friends for about five years – QTY – I think we’re going to do a split single with them. A lot of the kids, they inspire me, we spend time bouncing ideas off each other.”
It’s not too often you hear a musician of Evan’s ilk say that one of the reasons they are able to produce so much music is because of the younger generation. “Kids are inspiring,” he says.
“We were the same, looking up to the bands that meant something to us. Any musician with a brain will say what inspires them.”
The Lemonheads in their time, have accomplished a lot with a number of different line-ups. “We did our last show in ’97,” Evan remembers.
As the only consistent member of the band, Evan says performing with a new line-up on the upcoming Australian tour doesn’t change the genetic make-up of the band. “We were a high school band, some guys went to Harvard, they had real lives and from '89, I had to find new people. It’s been me forever, it’s just my vehicle.”
When The Lemonheads perform in March it will be a stark contrast to Evan’s solo tour last year. “It’ll be two guitars, bass and drums,” he says simply. “We’ve got a really great band to play with.”
As The Lemonheads, Evan has been putting together a covers album that he says will be followed by what he calls a “real record” shortly after. “I’m just getting my feet back in the studio now,” he says. “That’ll lead to some recording right after the tour to do a real album.”
Evan has graced our shores so many times; it's like going home to your parent’s place for a home-cooked meal – he has his little things he always looks forward to. “I like Masters Milk in Perth,” he says with an audible smile.
“I like to run around the beach and stuff, go around the old places we used to hang around in, go see what’s changed and what hasn’t. Not much changes from year to year, but, you tell me.”
The Lemonheads Tour Dates
Thu 1 Mar - Taronga Zoo (Sydney)Fri 2 Mar - Rad Bar (Wollongong)
Wed 7 Mar - Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Thu 8 Mar - The Gov (Adelaide)
