The Lemonheads originally formed as a hardcore punk band with high school buddies Evan Dando and Ben Deily in mid-80s Massachusetts. By the time they signed their major label contract in 1990 the revolving line-up was simply a vehicle for Dando’s songs.
Their cover version of Simon and Garfunkel‘s Mrs Robinson (1992) was recorded in three hours in Berlin, after a request from a company who were re-releasing The Graduate (1967) and wanted to make it accessible to the new generation of slacker kids.
With heavy MTV rotation and radio play, it became inescapable, and interest in the album It’s A Shame About Ray (1992), released a couple of months previously, was reignited. The track was hastily added to the LP.
Following the poorly received album Car Button Cloth (1996), Dando retired the band and re-emerged as a solo artist for Live At The Brattle Theater (2001) and Baby, I’m Bored (2003).
Inspired by The Lemonheads’ continued popularity in South America, he performed a handful of band shows in 2005, including a set in London playing 1992’s classic LP It’s A Shame About Ray in its entirety.
In 2006 – 20 years after the band first formed – he completed work on a new (self-titled) Lemonheads LP. Varshons – A collection of eleven covers (including tracks by Gram Parsons, Wire and Christina Aguilera) followed in June 2009.
Evan Dando
Vocals, guitar
Ben Deily
Guitar
Jesse Peretz
Bass
Doug Trachton
Drums
John Strohm
Drums
Corey Loog Brennan
Guitar
Mark ‘Budola’
Drums
David Ryan
Drums
Ben Daughty
Drums
Juliana Hatfield
Vocals, bass
Nic Dalton
Bass
Patrick Murphy
Drums
Bill Gibson
Bass, guitar
Dina Waxman
Bass
Kenny Lyon
Guitar
Rich Gilbert
Pedal steel
Bryce Goggin
Vocals, keyboards
