The Lemonheads
Encyclopedia
The Lemonheads are an American
alternative rock
band
first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando
, Ben Deily
and Jesse Peretz
. Dando has remained the band's only constant member.
Since its formation, recording and touring lineups of the band have included co-founders Deily and Peretz, John Strohm (Blake Babies
), Doug Trachten, Corey Loog Brennan
, Byron Hoag, Ben Daughtry, Juliana Hatfield
(Blake Babies
), Nic Dalton
(Godstar, Sneeze
, The Plunderers), Dave Ryan, Patrick "Murph" Murphy (Dinosaur Jr
), Bill Gibson (Eastern Dark), Mark 'Budola' Newman, Kenny Lyon, Vess Ruhtenberg, Devon Ashley, Karl Alvarez
and Bill Stevenson (Descendents
), P. David Hazel and various others.
After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an independent/"college rock
" band in the late '80s, the Lemonheads' popularity with a mass audience grew in 1992 with the major label album It's a Shame about Ray
, which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb
, Dee, and Joe). This was followed by a cover
of Simon and Garfunkel
's "Mrs. Robinson
", which eventually became one of the band's most successful singles
. The Lemonheads were active until 1997 before going on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads
the following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons
, in June 2009.
, Ben Deily
and Jesse Peretz
formed the Lemonheads as teenagers at the Commonwealth School
in Boston
. The band was originally called the Whelps, until inspiration came from a brand of candy
, which Dando noted was "sweet on the inside and sour on the outside." The band recorded and self-released the 7" EP Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners. The band's first show was played on August 19, 1986.
After high school, Dando enrolled at Skidmore College
but could not maintain his grades and dropped out to pursue a musical career. Having signed to local label Taang! Records
, the Lemonheads released the albums Hate Your Friends
(1987), Creator
(1988), and Lick
(1989) with Deily and Dando sharing lead vocals and songwriting duties. The band enjoyed a good deal of college radio airplay and were popular in the burgeoning indie rock
scene, up until Deily left the band in 1989. Dando then recruited David Ryan on drums, signed to major label Atlantic Records
, and produced the album Lovey
in August 1990. Straddling punk rock, country music
and heavy metal
, Lovey album was released a year before the commercial explosion of grunge
.
and Tom Morgan. These songs formed the basis for It's a Shame about Ray
, the Lemonheads' breakthrough album. A cover of "Mrs. Robinson
" (recorded to promote the video release of The Graduate
) was released as a single and got them the most exposure they had had so far. This cover was also used in the film Wayne's World 2
. When the Ray album was reissued, the track was tagged on to the end. The band enjoyed some success on college radio, and mainstream exposure. During 1992-1993, Dando's face graced many magazine covers, and he was included in People
s 50 Most Beautiful People list.
The band officially renamed themselves from "Lemonheads" to "The Lemonheads" prior to the release of the Come on Feel the Lemonheads
LP. A breakthrough single still eluded the band as they released Come on Feel the Lemonheads
in October 1993. The band continued to tour featuring various lineups including bassist Mike County and guitarist Bill Peterson. This was a successful album with tracks such as "Style" and "The Jello Fund." The band enjoyed modest mainstream success, this time with the single "Into Your Arms
" (their highest charting UK hit to date). Writer Robyn St. Clare made the first recording of this song in 1990 as part of Love Positions with Nic Dalton.
Dando befriended Oasis
and appeared at the band's live shows. The cracks were beginning to show, and after one particularly disjointed interview with Dando almost unable to speak, having lost his voice after smoking crack cocaine
, he admitted to having a drug problem,
In 1996, Dando re-formed The Lemonheads, featuring John Strohm and Murph (ex-Dinosaur Jr
), as well as bassist Bill Gibson of the Australian band The Eastern Dark, a long-time associate of previous bassist Nic Dalton. This band produced another Lemonheads album, Car Button Cloth
. While featuring jangly guitar songs such as "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You," this set also showed off the darker side of Dando's writing.
The band contributed to a 1996 tribute album for Schoolhouse Rock creator Thomas G. Yohe, which contained remakes of many popular "Schoolhouse Rock" songs - The Lemonheads offered their take on "My Hero Zero." Previously, the band had contributed to a Kiss tribute album, recording Kiss' 1977 song "Plaster Caster" for Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
(1994).
The band toured successfully in 1997 and played a final gig at the UK's Reading Festival
. Following a cameo line in the BBC
's all-star cover version of Lou Reed
's "Perfect Day" (which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
), Dando continued to play live solo shows.
. He also co-wrote the song "The Last High" with Courtney Taylor-Taylor
of The Dandy Warhols
for the album Welcome To The Monkey House
by The Dandy Warhols.
, members of The Descendents. Recently, the live lineup has fluctuated, with Stevenson and George Berz (Dinosaur Jr
) both sitting in on drums during 2005, while Josh Lattanzi - chiefly known for his work with Ben Kweller
- has frequently taken on bass duties for live shows.
On September 14 and 15, 2005, Dando, Stevenson and Lattanzi performed two shows at Shepherds Bush Empire
in London as part of the ATP Don't Look Back series, where they played It's a Shame About Ray
in its entirety. Live photos from this show can be seen here.
In April 2006, The Lemonheads were signed to Vagrant Records
. The album, simply titled The Lemonheads
, was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States and one day earlier in the UK; the album featured special guests Garth Hudson
and J Mascis
on select tracks. To promote the album Dando toured the UK, Europe and US in late 2006 with a band consisting of Vess Ruhtenberg (bass) and Devon Ashley (drums) of The Pieces. In the US, they toured with Vietnam and Hymns (band)
as support. The same line-up toured again in 2007 and 2008. The recording line-up of Dando, Alvarez and Stevenson played live for the first time together on a 20-date US tour in late 2007.
While The Lemonheads reformed, co-founder Deily received a degree from Harvard University
. He currently works as an Associate Creative Director
in the advertising industry. His power pop/punk band, Varsity Drag, completed a 25-city European tour during January and February 2007, performing their own material alongside several Deily compositions from the first four Lemonheads releases. Varsity Drag continues to perform periodically in the Boston Area.
A deluxe reissue of Lemonheads' 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray was released in March 2008 (US) and April 2008 (UK) on Rhino Records., which features demos
, B-sides
and a DVD
issue of the previously VHS-only Two Weeks In Australia, featuring footage from the band's Australian tour in the wake of their breakthrough album's release. To promote the reissue, the line-up of Dando, Ruhtenberg and Ashley performed the album in full at a number gigs between March and May 2008. Later in 2008 the band toured again in Europe with Vess Ruhtenberg and P. David Hazel (drums) of Beta Male.
On April 23, 2008, at the inaugural NME
US Awards ceremony at the El Rey in Los Angeles
, Dando received the classic album award for It's A Shame About Ray, and also performed "My Drug Buddy" and the album's title track acoustically. According to reports, soon after receiving the award, Dando deposited it into a garbage can, telling a minder "I don't want this".
On June 23, 2009, The Lemonheads released Varshons - a collection of eleven covers, including tracks by Gram Parsons
, Wire
, GG Allin
, and Christina Aguilera
. The album also featured actress Liv Tyler
performing a duet
on Leonard Cohen
's "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye". Despite several websites reporting a release date of September 13, 2008, the album was not released on this date. Later, in a blog post on the band's MySpace page, Dando hinted at a March 2009 release. On March 27, 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released on June 23 on The End Records.
In an August 2007 interview, drummer Bill Stevenson stated that he was going to produce the Lemonhead's ninth album of original material. As of August 2010, however, announcements of a new album have not yet been released.
In September 2010 the Lemonheads announced an Australian tour playing all thirteen songs from the 1992 album It's a Shame about Ray
, plus a selection of songs from other albums.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. He is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986...
, Ben Deily
Ben Deily
Ben Deily is an American musician and songwriter, most famous as one of the founders, writers and lead singers of the Boston-based alternative rock band The Lemonheads.-Advertising career:...
and Jesse Peretz
Jesse Peretz
Jesse Peretz is an American bass guitar player, feature film director, and Grammy-Award winning music video director.-Life and career:...
. Dando has remained the band's only constant member.
Since its formation, recording and touring lineups of the band have included co-founders Deily and Peretz, John Strohm (Blake Babies
Blake Babies
Blake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
), Doug Trachten, Corey Loog Brennan
T. Corey Brennan
Terry Corey Brennan is an associate professor of Classics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, , and was a guitarist and songwriter involved with several bands, most notably the alternative rock band The Lemonheads....
, Byron Hoag, Ben Daughtry, Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield , is an American guitarist/singer-songwriter and author from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies and Some Girls. She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
(Blake Babies
Blake Babies
Blake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
), Nic Dalton
Nic Dalton
Nic Dalton is an Australian musician, best known as the bass guitarist for American band The Lemonheads at the height of their popularity...
(Godstar, Sneeze
Sneeze (band)
Sneeze is a music group from Sydney, Australia consisting primarily of Nic Dalton and Tom Morgan from Smudge. They have had many extra band members including drummers Lara Meyerratken, Russell Hopkinson from You Am I, Simon Gibson from Half Miler, Evan Dando from The Lemonheads and Andy Calvert...
, The Plunderers), Dave Ryan, Patrick "Murph" Murphy (Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
), Bill Gibson (Eastern Dark), Mark 'Budola' Newman, Kenny Lyon, Vess Ruhtenberg, Devon Ashley, Karl Alvarez
Karl Alvarez
Karl Matthew Alvarez is the bass guitar player for both the Descendents and All, the band that resulted after the Descendents disbanded again in 1987....
and Bill Stevenson (Descendents
Descendents
The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...
), P. David Hazel and various others.
After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an independent/"college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
" band in the late '80s, the Lemonheads' popularity with a mass audience grew in 1992 with the major label album It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....
, which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb
Bruce Robb (producer)
Bruce Robb is an American musician, record producer, engineer, and music supervisor. He is most recognized for his active role in the formative years of the music industry: first as a member of “The Robbs” during the music revolution of the 1960s, then as a founder of Cherokee Studios in the...
, Dee, and Joe). This was followed by a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
's "Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Robinson
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song written by Paul Simon and first performed by Simon & Garfunkel. When released as a single in 1968, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, for their second chart-topping hit after "The Sound of Silence"...
", which eventually became one of the band's most successful singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The Lemonheads were active until 1997 before going on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads (album)
The Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on September 25th 2006 in the UK and on September 26th 2006 in the USA, on the Vagrant label. Although a "reunion" of the Lemonheads, the album featured none of the original members aside from lead singer Evan Dando...
the following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons
Varshons
Varshons is an album of covers by alternative rock band The Lemonheads. On 27 March 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released in the US on 23 June on The End Records....
, in June 2009.
Early years (1986-1991)
Evan DandoEvan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. He is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986...
, Ben Deily
Ben Deily
Ben Deily is an American musician and songwriter, most famous as one of the founders, writers and lead singers of the Boston-based alternative rock band The Lemonheads.-Advertising career:...
and Jesse Peretz
Jesse Peretz
Jesse Peretz is an American bass guitar player, feature film director, and Grammy-Award winning music video director.-Life and career:...
formed the Lemonheads as teenagers at the Commonwealth School
Commonwealth School
Commonwealth School is an independent high school of about 155 students and 35 faculty members located at 151 Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.-History:...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The band was originally called the Whelps, until inspiration came from a brand of candy
Lemonhead (candy)
Lemonhead is a brand of candy produced by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company. Lemonheads are a round, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core....
, which Dando noted was "sweet on the inside and sour on the outside." The band recorded and self-released the 7" EP Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners. The band's first show was played on August 19, 1986.
After high school, Dando enrolled at Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
but could not maintain his grades and dropped out to pursue a musical career. Having signed to local label Taang! Records
Taang! Records
Taang! Records is an American independent record label founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts which is currently based in San Diego...
, the Lemonheads released the albums Hate Your Friends
Hate Your Friends
Hate Your Friends is the debut album of the American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. The original 1987 LP release is a rare find; most available copies are of the 1992 reissue, featuring tracks from the original LP, along with bonus tracks from small-run singles and EPs...
(1987), Creator
Creator (Lemonheads album)
Creator is the second album by American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. It was issued twice, as an LP in 1988, and as a CD in 1992, which included three bonus live tracks, recorded at the radio station VPRO in The Netherlands...
(1988), and Lick
Lick (album)
Lick is the third album by The Lemonheads and the last to feature founding member Ben Deily. It was released in 1989 and was the group's last album before signing to major label Atlantic. Due to a typo on the album itself, many believe that this record was actually released in 1988, but this...
(1989) with Deily and Dando sharing lead vocals and songwriting duties. The band enjoyed a good deal of college radio airplay and were popular in the burgeoning indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
scene, up until Deily left the band in 1989. Dando then recruited David Ryan on drums, signed to major label Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, and produced the album Lovey
Lovey (album)
Lovey is the fourth album by The Lemonheads. It was released in 1990 and was the group's first album for Atlantic Records. The album was the last with founding member Jesse Peretz, who would leave the band to pursue a career in photography and filmography...
in August 1990. Straddling punk rock, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, Lovey album was released a year before the commercial explosion of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
Breakthrough and height of fame (1992-1997)
Dando cut his losses and flew to Australia to write some songs with friends Nic DaltonNic Dalton
Nic Dalton is an Australian musician, best known as the bass guitarist for American band The Lemonheads at the height of their popularity...
and Tom Morgan. These songs formed the basis for It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....
, the Lemonheads' breakthrough album. A cover of "Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Robinson
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song written by Paul Simon and first performed by Simon & Garfunkel. When released as a single in 1968, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, for their second chart-topping hit after "The Sound of Silence"...
" (recorded to promote the video release of The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
) was released as a single and got them the most exposure they had had so far. This cover was also used in the film Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a Public-access television cable TV show from Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....
. When the Ray album was reissued, the track was tagged on to the end. The band enjoyed some success on college radio, and mainstream exposure. During 1992-1993, Dando's face graced many magazine covers, and he was included in People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
s 50 Most Beautiful People list.
The band officially renamed themselves from "Lemonheads" to "The Lemonheads" prior to the release of the Come on Feel the Lemonheads
Come on Feel the Lemonheads
Come On Feel the Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on October 12, 1993 .Although the album did not maintain the same popularity as the previous album, It's a Shame About Ray, Come on Feel the Lemonheads reached number 56 on the Billboard 200, making it the Lemonheads'...
LP. A breakthrough single still eluded the band as they released Come on Feel the Lemonheads
Come on Feel the Lemonheads
Come On Feel the Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on October 12, 1993 .Although the album did not maintain the same popularity as the previous album, It's a Shame About Ray, Come on Feel the Lemonheads reached number 56 on the Billboard 200, making it the Lemonheads'...
in October 1993. The band continued to tour featuring various lineups including bassist Mike County and guitarist Bill Peterson. This was a successful album with tracks such as "Style" and "The Jello Fund." The band enjoyed modest mainstream success, this time with the single "Into Your Arms
Into Your Arms
"Into Your Arms" is a song by alternative rock band The Lemonheads. The song is included on the 1993 album Come on Feel the Lemonheads. It reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in November 1993...
" (their highest charting UK hit to date). Writer Robyn St. Clare made the first recording of this song in 1990 as part of Love Positions with Nic Dalton.
Dando befriended Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
and appeared at the band's live shows. The cracks were beginning to show, and after one particularly disjointed interview with Dando almost unable to speak, having lost his voice after smoking crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, he admitted to having a drug problem,
In 1996, Dando re-formed The Lemonheads, featuring John Strohm and Murph (ex-Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
), as well as bassist Bill Gibson of the Australian band The Eastern Dark, a long-time associate of previous bassist Nic Dalton. This band produced another Lemonheads album, Car Button Cloth
Car Button Cloth
Car Button Cloth was alternative rock band The Lemonheads' last album before the band's 8-year breakup from 1997 to 2005. The album, originally released in 1996, was also the band's last studio album until the 2006 release of The Lemonheads....
. While featuring jangly guitar songs such as "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You," this set also showed off the darker side of Dando's writing.
The band contributed to a 1996 tribute album for Schoolhouse Rock creator Thomas G. Yohe, which contained remakes of many popular "Schoolhouse Rock" songs - The Lemonheads offered their take on "My Hero Zero." Previously, the band had contributed to a Kiss tribute album, recording Kiss' 1977 song "Plaster Caster" for Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved
-Charts:Album - Billboard Singles - Billboard -External links:*...
(1994).
The band toured successfully in 1997 and played a final gig at the UK's Reading Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
. Following a cameo line in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's all-star cover version of Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's "Perfect Day" (which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
), Dando continued to play live solo shows.
Hiatus (1998-2004)
Atlantic released The Best Of The Lemonheads in August 1998. Through 1998 and 2004 Evan Dando undertook some solo tours performing the band's songs but an official reunion was never confirmed. During this time, Dando released a live album Live at the Brattle Theatre in 2001, and a solo album in 2003, titled Baby I'm BoredBaby I'm Bored
Baby I'm Bored is an album by Evan Dando, released in 2003.-Track listing:#"Repeat" – 3:13#"My Idea" – 2:34#"Rancho Santa Fe" – 4:23#"Waking Up" – 2:35#"Hard Drive" – 3:14#"Shots Is Fired" – 2:47#"It Looks Like You" – 3:15#"The Same Thing" – 3:42...
. He also co-wrote the song "The Last High" with Courtney Taylor-Taylor
Courtney Taylor-Taylor
Courtney Taylor-Taylor is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. He is the lead singer and guitarist of alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, a band he co-founded. The vast majority of the band's songs are written by Taylor-Taylor, including hits "We Used to Be Friends" and...
of The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
for the album Welcome To The Monkey House
Welcome to the Monkey House (album)
Welcome to the Monkey House is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. "We Used to Be Friends" was a popular single from the album, which later went on to be the theme song for the cult TV show Veronica Mars....
by The Dandy Warhols.
Comeback (2005-present)
After a nine-year recording absence, it was announced in the summer of 2005 that the band had reformed with a recording lineup bolstered by Bill Stevenson and Karl AlvarezKarl Alvarez
Karl Matthew Alvarez is the bass guitar player for both the Descendents and All, the band that resulted after the Descendents disbanded again in 1987....
, members of The Descendents. Recently, the live lineup has fluctuated, with Stevenson and George Berz (Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
) both sitting in on drums during 2005, while Josh Lattanzi - chiefly known for his work with Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...
- has frequently taken on bass duties for live shows.
On September 14 and 15, 2005, Dando, Stevenson and Lattanzi performed two shows at Shepherds Bush Empire
Shepherds Bush Empire
The O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
in London as part of the ATP Don't Look Back series, where they played It's a Shame About Ray
It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....
in its entirety. Live photos from this show can be seen here.
In April 2006, The Lemonheads were signed to Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
. The album, simply titled The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads (album)
The Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on September 25th 2006 in the UK and on September 26th 2006 in the USA, on the Vagrant label. Although a "reunion" of the Lemonheads, the album featured none of the original members aside from lead singer Evan Dando...
, was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States and one day earlier in the UK; the album featured special guests Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson
Eric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
and J Mascis
J Mascis
J Mascis is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.- Biography :...
on select tracks. To promote the album Dando toured the UK, Europe and US in late 2006 with a band consisting of Vess Ruhtenberg (bass) and Devon Ashley (drums) of The Pieces. In the US, they toured with Vietnam and Hymns (band)
Hymns (band)
Hymns is an indie rock band based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally consisting of North Carolina natives Brian Harding and Jason Roberts , the band picked up Texas-based rockers Tony Kent and Matt Shaw upon arriving in NYC...
as support. The same line-up toured again in 2007 and 2008. The recording line-up of Dando, Alvarez and Stevenson played live for the first time together on a 20-date US tour in late 2007.
While The Lemonheads reformed, co-founder Deily received a degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He currently works as an Associate Creative Director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
in the advertising industry. His power pop/punk band, Varsity Drag, completed a 25-city European tour during January and February 2007, performing their own material alongside several Deily compositions from the first four Lemonheads releases. Varsity Drag continues to perform periodically in the Boston Area.
A deluxe reissue of Lemonheads' 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray was released in March 2008 (US) and April 2008 (UK) on Rhino Records., which features demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
and a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
issue of the previously VHS-only Two Weeks In Australia, featuring footage from the band's Australian tour in the wake of their breakthrough album's release. To promote the reissue, the line-up of Dando, Ruhtenberg and Ashley performed the album in full at a number gigs between March and May 2008. Later in 2008 the band toured again in Europe with Vess Ruhtenberg and P. David Hazel (drums) of Beta Male.
On April 23, 2008, at the inaugural NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
US Awards ceremony at the El Rey in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Dando received the classic album award for It's A Shame About Ray, and also performed "My Drug Buddy" and the album's title track acoustically. According to reports, soon after receiving the award, Dando deposited it into a garbage can, telling a minder "I don't want this".
On June 23, 2009, The Lemonheads released Varshons - a collection of eleven covers, including tracks by Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
, GG Allin
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
, and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
. The album also featured actress Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
performing a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
on Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye". Despite several websites reporting a release date of September 13, 2008, the album was not released on this date. Later, in a blog post on the band's MySpace page, Dando hinted at a March 2009 release. On March 27, 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released on June 23 on The End Records.
In an August 2007 interview, drummer Bill Stevenson stated that he was going to produce the Lemonhead's ninth album of original material. As of August 2010, however, announcements of a new album have not yet been released.
In September 2010 the Lemonheads announced an Australian tour playing all thirteen songs from the 1992 album It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray
It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....
, plus a selection of songs from other albums.
Discography
- Laughing All The Way To The Cleaners 7" EP (1986)
- Hate Your FriendsHate Your FriendsHate Your Friends is the debut album of the American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. The original 1987 LP release is a rare find; most available copies are of the 1992 reissue, featuring tracks from the original LP, along with bonus tracks from small-run singles and EPs...
(1987) - CreatorCreator (Lemonheads album)Creator is the second album by American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. It was issued twice, as an LP in 1988, and as a CD in 1992, which included three bonus live tracks, recorded at the radio station VPRO in The Netherlands...
(1988) - LickLick (album)Lick is the third album by The Lemonheads and the last to feature founding member Ben Deily. It was released in 1989 and was the group's last album before signing to major label Atlantic. Due to a typo on the album itself, many believe that this record was actually released in 1988, but this...
(1989) - LoveyLovey (album)Lovey is the fourth album by The Lemonheads. It was released in 1990 and was the group's first album for Atlantic Records. The album was the last with founding member Jesse Peretz, who would leave the band to pursue a career in photography and filmography...
(1990) - It's a Shame About RayIt's a Shame about RayIt's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....
(1992) - Come on Feel the LemonheadsCome on Feel the LemonheadsCome On Feel the Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on October 12, 1993 .Although the album did not maintain the same popularity as the previous album, It's a Shame About Ray, Come on Feel the Lemonheads reached number 56 on the Billboard 200, making it the Lemonheads'...
(1993) - Car Button ClothCar Button ClothCar Button Cloth was alternative rock band The Lemonheads' last album before the band's 8-year breakup from 1997 to 2005. The album, originally released in 1996, was also the band's last studio album until the 2006 release of The Lemonheads....
(1996) - The LemonheadsThe Lemonheads (album)The Lemonheads is an album by The Lemonheads. It was released on September 25th 2006 in the UK and on September 26th 2006 in the USA, on the Vagrant label. Although a "reunion" of the Lemonheads, the album featured none of the original members aside from lead singer Evan Dando...
(2006) - VarshonsVarshonsVarshons is an album of covers by alternative rock band The Lemonheads. On 27 March 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released in the US on 23 June on The End Records....
(2009)
External links
- The Lemonheads official site
- Ben Deily official site
- Evan Dando & Lemonheads tribute CD
- "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" music video
Tributes
- Squealing Fans In My Tune Volume 1 - CD 2005
- Squealing Fans In My Tune Volume 2 - CD 2005
- Squealing Fans tribute to Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray - download only 2008
- New Squealing fans cover project
- Drug Buddies: A Tribute to The Lemonheads - CD 2009