More Than Just A Bit Part

Even despite the fact that they've had such divergent careers over the last quarter of a century, it's no surprise that long-time friends and confidants Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield are still playing shows together. The pair both started out in Boston's then thriving college rock scene at almost precisely the same time – Dando's outfit The Lemonheads and Hatfield's band Blake Babies both emerging there in 1986 – and it wasn't long before the pair inevitably crossed paths.

Hatfield approached Dando in a pizza shop the night after having seen The Lemonheads for the first time, and from these innocuous beginnings a long and fruitful bond was established.

“I knew there was something special about him,” Hatfield smiles at the memory. “My friend in the Blake Babies had discovered The Lemonheads early on – found their very first single in a little record store – and we all thought they were great and really special and we went to see them, that's how I recognised Evan in the pizza shop because I'd seen him play the night before, and then I introduced myself. I kind of knew it would be fun, just because I felt there was such a musical affinity that we had, and we both had a very melodic way of hearing things. But yeah, I guess I never knew it would be such a long-lasting friendship – it's gone on for more than twenty years now. “

It wasn't long at all before the two bands were not just solid mates but also cross-pollinating.

“After I introduced myself to Evan and told him about my band, he'd heard of us already,” Hatfield continues. “So then The Lemonheads came to see us and we went to see them again – we bought them flowers to their gig, and then they drove us home and hung out with us at the place we lived, and we were all like best friends from then on. When the Blake Babies' original bass player quit, Evan came into the band for a while as the bass player, and it was only when Evan left the Blake Babies that I picked up the bass and taught myself to play, and we became a trio – I was really influenced by Evan's bass playing because I thought he had a really cool approach.”

Hatfield soon became an accomplished bassist with a distinctive style, even joining The Lemonheads' for their most revered album, 1992's It's A Shame About Ray, although she states categorically that playing a more permanent role in that band was never an option.

“I don't know how that happened – I guess I was just available or something,” she reflects. “I think we were just friends and he needed a bass player, and I could sing too so it just fell together. And I think we were both on Atlantic by that time – I don't know, I don't remember the timeline. But I don't remember it ever being a question that I would stay in the band – I was doing my own thing, and I had my own record deal. I wanted to have my own career and have my music separate – I didn't want to just be the bass player in The Lemonheads

The situation was exacerbated by an incredibly invasive media of the day who became infatuated with the relationship between Dando and Hatfield, prompting constant speculation about whether they were a couple and the status of their respective sex lives, flames Hatfield inadvertently fanned by publicly proclaiming her virginity in the media.

“I didn't know what I was getting into when I signed to a major label and got myself into that publicity machine – I didn't really have any media training, and I didn't know really what people were going to be throwing at me,” she muses. “Maybe I didn't handle it very well, but really all of the questions about Evan and me, we didn't really answer them because there were never really any answers – we had an amorphous relationship. We had a kind of undefined relationship, so we never defined it publicly because it was undefined; we weren't trying to be coy and we weren't trying to be serious, we just didn't have any answers. And really we were just friends who played music together but we were also affectionate sometimes.

“It was quite invasive on reflection – when I look back I'm horrified, but at the time I was just trying to deal with it and was a bit freaked out by all the attention. Now when I look back I'm like, 'Jesus, some of those questions were very rude and I should not have even stayed in the room!' It was terrible, because I was so shy and inexperienced and socially inept, and I just didn't know how to deal with it.

This unease with perceptions about her eventually even impacted adversely on Hatfield's successful solo career.

“I have this sort of phobia about playing as Juliana Hatfield, it's weird; I don't want to play shows that are billed as Juliana Hatfield, I'm kinda phobic about it these days,” she admits. “I only want to play if I don't have to play by myself. I loved touring for many years and I loved being on the road, but about five years ago I just started to burn out a little, and being on the road started to take a toll on me physically. I developed a bit of anxiety about it and I'd lose weight and get really sick, and I'd come home really underweight and miserable, and I realised that touring's not good for me. It happens to a lot of people – they burn out and hit the wall. It hasn't happened to Evan yet though, he seems to love always playing all over the place. He has a lot of energy – I'm more of a homebody than he is.”

So is it easier to allay these fears and doubts while touring with her friend of more than quarter of a century?

“Evan's really complicated, so every day is not all puppy dogs and sunshine with him,” Hatfield admits. “He's very complicated – some days with Evan are funny and filled with laughter and joy, and then there are other days with him where I'm so frustrated and filled with anxiety, and I never know which type of day it's going to be. The last few times I've seen Evan this summer he's been great, he's been a great friend of mine, so if that's what I have to look forward to it will be fantastic.”.

Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield will be playing the following dates:

Tuesday 18 December - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday 19 December - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC