While at Commonwealth, Dando met Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz, and in 1986 they formed the Whelps before changing their name to Lemonheads, like that of the candy manufactured by Ferrara Pan. The Lemonheads debuted at the Meltdown House in Cambridge on July 18, 1986, followed by a show at The Rat on August 19. The band recorded an EP, "Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners", which got the attention of Taang! Records, a local label. The Lemonheads' first three albums, "Hate Your Friends", "Creator", and "Lick", were all released on Taang!