Editor's Note: Evan Dando and his Lemonheads will perform It's a Shame About Ray tonight at Mercy Lounge, and you can see Seth Graves' preview coverage here. Below, you'll find an anecdote regarding Mr. Dando courtesy of Abigail White Plachy. Enjoy.
Even as a nascent music writer, I knew that interviewing one of my teen idols was a risky move. But I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk to Evan Dando. I mean, Evan Dando! This man was the object of my obsession in junior high — I hold him partially responsible for the fact that I spent most of my singledom in pursuit of shaggy-haired musicians, or that I enhanced my semblance to Courtney Love. So, when a publicist informed me that he was doing press for his 2003 solo album Baby I’m Bored, I went in full preparation mode, dusting off my CDs and digging through old interviews with the prince of slacker rock.
Initially exposed to his hotness via MTV in the early ’90s, I fully committed with my obsession and ransacked the indie record stores in my hometown to secure copies of Lick, Creator and Hate Your Friends, records that surely drove my punk-hating parents nuts. I knew every lyric from “I am a rabbit / I’ve got to have it” to “I don’t need you to suck my dick or to help me feel good about myself,” which also drove my parents nuts. At the age of 14, I convinced my mom to drive me and my fellow Lemonheads-loving pal to a concert at an area university, where she sat on the floor in the back of the room while we desperately tried to blend in with the college kids and, ultimately, sneak backstage. (Foiled by Mom. Totally. Embarrassing.)
