God bless Evan Dando.
11
I invited 3 mates to join me at Evan’s Sydney concert a couple of years ago. Sorted their tickets. They all lived in Sydney. I drove 800km round trip to get there and back by myself. Sleeping in the car on the way home.
The fact I was the only one left from our group by the end of the show might not surprise some.
To me walking out on Evan would be like walking out of church before the final hymn. Poor form.
Enjoy the tour whoever can make it.
Mad if you don’t.
8
Brilliantly photographed. The pictures are so illustrative of his character. They would make a great album booklet. Great interview too!
4
Beto/Dando 2020!
11
Interesting , this article is in style, not music.
5
Are we supposed to be impressed? Amused? Yeah, he's right, talk about bougie. American hedonism at its finest. Why don't we stick Evan and Johnny Depp and Bret Easton Ellis on an island and leave them there?
38
So many judgmental comments - art and artists can be complicated and messy but what an awful world it would be without them. Take good care Evan - you write great songs that are much appreciated by many - no matter how you live your life.
23
You are really scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Aging drug addict cosplaying the bohemian life while living on his wealthy father's farm in Martha's Vineyard. He may believe that his stories about his drug-fueled antics are fascinating, but they really aren't.
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@CA
DEEP and fascinating. :P
5
The constant name dropping of Mr. Richards only comes when Dando talks about his self abuse. Sad sad dude.
10
OK, he's got a new album of more covers to sell. Gotcha.
But seriously he was a pimple in the music biz. Just another moneyed kid with connections. Likely the reason he's being written about here.
And nobody's buying the idea that he was the 'Voice of Gen X.' No self-respecting kid born in to that tribe would agree to such nonsense. But if anyone deserves the title it would be Paul Westerberg and the Replacements.
59
@Roberto yep. I vaguely recalled the rich kid aspect of his story. But did not realize it was at this level. Good for him, but don't sell me on him being some sort of self-sufficient bohemian.
6
@Roberto "But if anyone deserves the title it would be Paul Westerberg and the Replacements." I could not agree more, my friend :)
14
@Roberto
God, I loved The Replacements. Saw them so many times in MNPLS and practically wore out both Hootenanny and Let It Be albums. Is there a better teen angst anthem than "Unsatisfied"?
12
Not sure what part of this story was worth telling, or even why I skimmed through it? Maybe looking for Vineyard’s scenery?
16
Evan Dando is an amazing songwriter. The people in the comments saying otherwise clearly haven't been paying attention. Beyond his drug use, erratic behavior, and fading good looks lies an insightful man who can create beautiful pop/punk/folk songs with amazing hooks and great lines. I've seen him play upwards of ten times in New York and San Diego. They've spanned the range from average to amazing. One time he snuck back into the bar area of his own show so that he could use his bandmate's drink tickets, and not have to do an encore. Another time he played the entire set with his eyes closed. One other time I talked to him outback while he enthusiastically told me about his future children's book entitled P.E.S.T.O, in which every drawing would be accompanied by sentences using the aforementioned acronym. (Pirates Everywhere Stow The Octopus) . His last album of originals recorded in 2006 was flat out great. In fact, every original effort dating back to "It's a Shame About Ray" in 1992 is Pop/Punk/Folk writing at its best. Show me a better band in this genre. There isn't one. Jeff Tweedy will be remembered as the best writer of this inferior time. Stephen Malkmus will be up there as well. But in the top 10, Evan Dando should also be included. He is as wacky as they come, innocent, naive, and unreliable. But this world is lucky to have him. And by the way, his second covers album is great.
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@Jeremy C
If you say so. I've never understood the worship of songwriters popping in fortune cookie, common summaries of things they only know Jeopardy deep as party conversation. He's so smart! Calvinism!
Simple words with actual deep meaning tend to be more relatable and popular. As they should be. But you do you, bro.
1
@Jeremy. "Innocent, naive, and unreliable." I think that's such a brilliant summary of what this article presents of Mr. Dando.
I think you also answered the question I was asking myself: "why am I wasting my time reading this article?"
Part of the fascination with Dando -- and also a lot of the contempt for him -- is that he could be such a mess and still make it through. He's the fantasy-image of the slacker-dreamer who got away with being weird. And in the 90s there was still a cushion or safety net to catch people when they, say, freaked out on acid or were too idealistic to become careerist. Eccentricities we're still tolerated a little bit.
Of course I think this is why outright contempt is one response a lot of people have to the article. Seen from today's vantage, Dando looks like a poster child of class and white privilege, which he obviously is. Only privileged kids can get away with being "innocent, naive, and unreliable" in the mercenary, neoliberal present. So of course we resent it now.
But there's part of me that wants to think what kind of a (better) world might make more room for a lot more people to be innocent, naive, and unreliable more often, without having their lives fall apart.
22
Here's a band leader who had a couple of (good) hit songs and a couple of gold records associated with them over a quarter of a century ago and somehow he's still a celebrity.
I'm not buying the line that royalty checks fall from nowhere on a regular basis. Methinks there is a large trust fund that plays a large role in his life.
33
It's a shame about Evan.
I'm hard-pressed to find anything interesting or redeeming about 2019 Evan Dando. He looks as if he was tied to the bow pulpit of a fishing trawler for the last 25 years—the physical embodiment of a "say no to drugs" poster.
19
Nah, the guy has talent, charisma, and a fascinating history. And is responsible for some really charming and endearing songs. Let's completely ignore this fact, and focus on the drugs and present obscurity. Thanks NYT, for the left field spotlighting.
13
It's a shame the author wasn't aware of (or didn't mention) the disastrous Bowery Ballroom show in October of 2011, when he was supposed to play "It's a Shame About Ray" in its entirety. I was at that show, and it was a trainwreck you couldn't look away from - Dando coming out an hour late, arguing with his bandmates, playing off-key, and switching songs in the middle of another without his bandmates even being aware he was going to. Great recap of that show here:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/its-a-shame-abo-1/
That being said, he's still an icon for my generation, and I'll be seeing him again in a few weeks in Philadelphia. Great interview!
10
@Phil Esempio
Rather like the Replacements in their heyday. They would stagger on stage and either absolutely blow you away with original material and stunning covers of songs you'd never expect to be covered, or be so falling down drunk they couldn't play anything.
It's kind of fitting Dando's second LP of covers includes a Paul Westerberg solo track.
After reading this article, though, it confirms most of the negative buzz about Dando -- sort-of-talented egomanic.
12
@Phil Esempio I was there, too! Didn't see this comment before writing mine above. I can't tell you what my best concert experience is because I've seen so many good shows, but this was hands-down the worst.
1
@Mobocracy
I remember seeing the Replacements and Pogues on back-to-back nights in Providence RI. First night, Replacements completely drunk got booed off the stage. Second night, Pogues, completely drunk and were great.
9
I always liked The Lemonheads CD "Come On Feel," and thought the band deserved a little more industry respect than it received. But the thing about rock music is that the best bands make it look a lot easier than it is -- the effort may not be detectable in final product, but it's there. Mike Mills of R.E,M. once said that being in a successful band may be the best job in the world... but it's still a job.
Evan Dando claims he's not a careerist, but maybe he should take being a musician/songwriter more seriously if this is to be his job. I won't buy his second release of covers, but I'd easily be tempted to buy a new collection of originals -- if the self-admitted slacker would take on the work of writing them.
15
Living a cliche.
33
nice , good for him !
hope the record is not " the last thing " he does .
keep the flame ( and whatever ) burnin'
p.s. all you not familiar with Lemonheads check " Smile " and " Big Gay Heart "
like , better than Ryan Adams , man
7
Saw them years ago at Kent State during the height of the "Mrs. Robinson" cover mania. The opening act was great, not memorable, but they played for 90 minutes like they wanted to be there. When they finished a bunch of people started leaving because they thought the first band was the Lemonheads. Like half the crowd left. About 30 minutes later, Dando and the rest show up to a pretty ambivalent crowd. They played three songs, then promised the audience they's play Mrs. Robinson. Dando belched through the mike. The drummer lauched into 10 seconds of a longer solo, then they stopped to talk to a girl in the crowd. An hour went by. Dando did something with his guitar to make a pile of static that turned into ear-splitting feedback, eventually just tossing his guitar on the stage. They walked off casually, like they were going to grab a water bottle and be back. But they never came back. The lights came up. Everyone left. They never played Mrs. Robinson. And that's why I tell everyone who asks "what was the worst concert you ever saw?" that it was the Lemonheads. I mean, I saw Quiet Riot, The Reverend Horton Heat, the Ocean Blue--some lazy and crazy acts--but the Lemonheads were just... boring. After reading this article, I feel Evan and I can both move on. Glad he's doing what he wants.
39
@Johnson My husband and I saw the Lemonheads in a reunion show at the Bowery Ballroom in 2011. Evan refused to come onstage for more than an hour and then kept trying to leave the stage as his bandmates attempted to coax him to perform. It was bizarre -- I have no idea what was going on in his head, but it will forever be my worst concert experience, hands down.
7
Always liked their music, but Dando seems like permanent bad news and about as eloquent as a stack of yesterday's dirty dishes in the sink.
Pretty? Pretty underwhelming!
31
Nobody still smoking cigarettes at 52 is "lucky."
28
Some people never grow up,he’s lucky he always had wealth,or he would be just another face at the soup kitchen.
62
It's a shame about Evan Dando. Time was I thought he was cool - good looking, great songwriter, fun all around musician. Now that I'm older, he's just another immature, useless slacker, taking up space and oxygen and not contributing anything positive to the world at all.
36
@Leroy Windscreen
But the half dozen or so great songs he wrote and knockout recordings he and his cohorts made of them continue to delight. How many of us can say that we’ve done as much to increase the world’s supply of happiness?
29