Rumours of My Demise: A Memoir

‘A wry, heady, fitfully eye-watering account of his adventures as a musician and addict.’ Guardian

Evan Dando spills the true story of his band’s tumultuous history and what it was like to be famous in the pre-internet days in this candid, colourful, and unputdownable memoir.

After Kurt Cobain died in 1994, everyone thought Evan Dando was next. The Lemonheads’ frontman and songwriter had leapt from Boston’s mid-80s punk scene into international grunge royalty. Two gold records, acting roles, glam photo shoots and a roster of celebrity drug buddies made Dando quickly into a poster boy for 90s analogue excess. He was so deep in it, some people believed a fake report that he had died from an overdose.

Rumours of My Demise is Evan Dando’s story – raw, wild, unfiltered and straight from the source. A privileged kid who snuck into gigs and crashed on whatever floors he could find. A stunningly gifted rocker who propelled his high school band into the highest reaches of indie fame. The industry’s favourite ‘alternahunk’ until he wasn’t, who all the same burned through the 90s like he owned them. A guitarist and singer who racked up struggles punctuated by some striking successes in the internet hashtag decades that followed, before making a wholly new home and life in Brazil.

But you won’t find a redemption arc here, and just a few regrets. At the end of it all, it’s a manifesto. In this memoir, Evan Dando explains how and why he has always lived for the music.