Everclear (band)
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Everclear | |
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Hermosa Beach, California in 2017. | |
Background information | |
Origin | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Genres |
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Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | |
Members |
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Past members | Past members |
Website | everclearmusic |
Everclear is an American
After a brief stint of solo performances, Alexakis decided to push forward with the Everclear name, finding new musicians with which to perform and releasing two more albums,
History
Formation and World of Noise (1992–1993)
Art Alexakis suffered through a troubled youth, beginning with his father walking out when Alexakis was a child. Financial hardships pushed his family into the slums of Los Angeles, where Alexakis became a heavy drug user.[3] During his teenage years, Alexakis was shuttled around the country between various family members (including a brief period in Houston living with his father's new family), but the drug addiction persisted. Eventually Alexakis suffered a near-fatal cocaine overdose, which finally pushed him to clean up.[5] In the late 1980s, Alexakis played in a short-lived rock band in Los Angeles called Shakin' Brave, where he began to hone his songwriting skills. Frustrated by the inattention of the L.A. music scene, Art relocated to San Francisco where he fell into the then-burgeoning cowpunk scene.
Alexakis founded Shindig Records, a label that represented San Francisco's cowpunk scene. He began recording material of his own for a solo album, but it ended up evolving into a group project called
In a single month in 1992, Shindig failed (when its distributor went bankrupt), Colorfinger broke up, and Alexakis learned that his girlfriend was pregnant. Seeking a change of location, Alexakis and his girlfriend moved to her hometown, Portland, Oregon. There, he placed an ad in local music weekly The Rocket, which earned two responses: bass player Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert. The name Everclear was chosen as a reference to
Mainstream success (1994–2001)
Sparkle and Fade (1994–1995)
The band spent much of 1994 seeking out a major label deal. After a modest bidding war, they were signed to Capitol Records by Gary Gersh,[3] who was responsible for signing Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Counting Crows to DGC Records.[5] Just before their signing, Everclear parted ways with drummer Cuthbert, citing personality conflicts, and brought in former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. In May 1995, the band released their first album for the label, Sparkle and Fade.[3]
The album's first single, "Heroin Girl", received some modest airplay via MTV's 120 Minutes, but was generally missed by the mainstream. However, near the end of 1995, the second single "Santa Monica" found a strong audience via the burgeoning alternative radio format, which eventually carried over to mainstream success. The album subsequently was certified platinum. However, two ensuing singles, "Heartspark Dollarsign" and "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore", failed to find a wide audience, and the band ended 1996 fast at work on their second full-length album.
As Sparkle and Fade reached its audience, Everclear had to endure consistent comparisons to Nirvana,[5] particularly given the album's subject matter and drug references. Following a show with the Foo Fighters at the end of 1995, Dave Grohl told MTV News that he did not think that Everclear sounded like Nirvana, noting that Bush sounded more like Nirvana than any other band.
So Much for the Afterglow (1996–1999)
By the end of 1996, the band had nearly completed the album, which they planned to release under the title Pure White Evil. Alexakis, however, was dissatisfied with the results and decided to work on more songs for the effort, including "One Hit Wonder" and the eventual title-track to the album, So Much for the Afterglow. The songs "The Swing" and "Otis Redding" were cut from the Pure White Evil Sessions and were not included on So Much for the Afterglow. Eventually they were released: the former on the soundtrack album for Scream 2 and the latter on Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile. So Much for the Afterglow was released in October 1997. The first two singles from the album, "Everything to Everyone" and "I Will Buy You a New Life", performed modestly, but helped to begin a slow build for the album, while "Local God" was featured in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet in 1996 as well as on the soundtrack. The band completed a US tour at the end of the year and started 1998 with a tour of Australia.
The Australian tour, however, was an unexpected disaster. At a show in
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Scott_Cuthbert_1999.jpg/150px-Scott_Cuthbert_1999.jpg)
Following an extensive tour of the United States with Marcy Playground and Fastball, the band released Afterglow's third single, "Father of Mine". The song catapulted the album and the band to mainstream success.
Afterglow provided the band their only
Songs from an American Movie Vol. One and Vol. Two (2000–2001)
Following the success of So Much for the Afterglow, Alexakis decided to step back from the Everclear sound and record a solo album of more pop-influenced songs, and brought in Everclear touring musicians David LoPrinzi, Brian Lehfeldt, and James Beaton to perform on the recordings. Unhappy with the results of the initial sessions, Alexakis decided to bring in Montoya and Eklund and transform the effort into an Everclear album. The results were released as Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile in July 2000. The album yielded the band's most successful single, "Wonderful", and eventually reached platinum status. The song "Wonderful" was also notably used as the graduation song for the Columbine High School class of 2000, who the year before suffered from the Columbine High School massacre.
Rather than tour for the release, the band arranged with their label to release a second album in 2000. Alexakis believed he had enough of a catalog of unreleased songs at the ready, and was eager to show the opposing sides of Everclear's sound. However, delays in the mixing process of Learning How to Smile had pushed its initial April release to July, limiting the amount of recording time for the follow-up in order to meet Capitol's demands of an end-of-the-year release.
Proclaimed as a "return to rock", Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude was released just four months after Vol. One in November 2000. Unfortunately, the promotional push for Vol. Two while still in the throes of supporting Vol. One confused much of the music-buying public. Learning How to Smile's second single "AM Radio" was released barely weeks before the release of Vol. Two, leaving some stores to mistakenly label the song as the first single from Vol. Two. The confusion was amplified by the band's decision to accept an opening slot for Matchbox 20 in the months after the release of Vol. Two, a somewhat awkward billing for a band who was trying to support a hard rock album.
By the late spring of 2001, both albums had stalled. Capitol attempted a final push by re-releasing Learning How to Smile with "Out of My Depth" and "Rock Star" from Good Time for a Bad Attitude as bonus tracks. A cover of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" received some modest airplay as a result, but couldn't help revive the momentum. A tour of the United Kingdom for what would have been the band's first extensive tour out of the country since 1998 was cancelled shortly before its start.
That summer, the band decided to license the song "Rock Star" to the movie of the same name.
Slow Motion Daydream (2002–2003)
The band regrouped a year later to record their sixth album,
At the end of the tour support for Slow Motion Daydream in August 2003, Montoya and Eklund decided that it was time to move on, and departed the band to pursue other interests. The following summer, Everclear ended its relationship with
Line-up changes and Welcome to the Drama Club (2004–2009)
After a solo tour in the fall of 2003, Alexakis decided to continue with Everclear, organizing a new band that made its debut in March 2004. The new lineup consisted of bassist Sam Hudson, guitarist Dave "Davey" French, and drummer Eric Bretl. In the summer of 2004, the band added keyboardist Josh Crawley, and swapped Bretl for former Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder. The new lineup released its first recording, a cover of
Free of a major label, Alexakis spent the ensuing year and a half slowly recording material for a new Everclear release. He admitted that the time after the breakup of the original lineup served as a "wake up call", during which he suffered his third divorce and filed for bankruptcy and did not retain sole custody of his family pet, a dog named Scooby. The new lineup was signed to
In January 2008, Alexakis posted on the band's Myspace that they were working on a covers album, and a new album, which was expected to be released in 2008. In addition, two unreleased songs from the Drama Club sessions, "Downtime" and "Here Comes the Darkness", were posted.
The Vegas Years, a collection of cover songs was released April 15, 2008 by Capitol Records. It contained a mix of newly recorded, previously released, live, and remixed older covers. To celebrate the release, Art and the band hosted a live video chat. They confirmed they would be touring in the summer of 2008 including a possible UK tour in autumn. They also announced a series of singles to be released for download online in the summer.
In August 2008 former Godsmack and Fuel drummer Tommy Stewart replaced Brett Snyder on drums. While guest hosting on Sirius radio station 24, Lithium, Art Alexakis debuted "Jesus Was a Democrat".
In November 2008 the band traveled around
On October 6, 2009, the band released In a Different Light, a collection of re-recordings of old Everclear songs in a more acoustic fashion.[8] The collection also featured two new Everclear songs, "Here Comes the Darkness", which was actually a leftover track from Welcome to the Drama Club, and "At the End of the Day", which Alexakis had written and performed with Marion Raven.
On September 13, 2009, Alexakis posted a blog on Myspace that all of the current members had left the band, and were replaced by all new musicians, including Freddy Herrera who was the bassist of The Exies, who had previously toured with Everclear. This new version of Everclear toured for two months in support of In a Different Light.
In another Myspace post on December 28, 2009, Alexakis announced that former Everclear guitarist Davey French had returned, and Johnny Hawthorn was exiting the band. In the same blog, Alexakis said the band would be recording the next album in March and April 2010, for a 2011 release.
Return to Santa Monica, Invisible Stars, 1990s nostalgia touring and Black Is the New Black (2010–present)
The band entered the studio in 2011 to begin work on both a new forthcoming studio album and to record an album of cover songs and new versions of past hits. The album entitled
In June 2012, Everclear released their first album of new material in six years, entitled
They have not released an album since then, but still continue to tour with bands such as Marcy Playground and Stone Temple Pilots.[9][10]
A live album was recorded at the Whisky a Go Go on December 1, 2022, commemorating the band's 30th anniversary.[11][12] The album, Live At The Whisky A Go Go, was released on September 8, 2023 via Sunset Blvd Records.[13]
Influences
Everclear has been described under multiple genres, predominantly alternative rock,[14][15][16][17] and power pop,[14][18][19] but also post-grunge,[20] grunge-punk,[21] grunge,[17][22] and pop rock.[23] Sparkle and Fade was predominantly alternative rock, but with occasional songs that were instead considered punk rock and grunge.[17][24] So Much for the Afterglow featured a more experimental sound, moving further away from grunge-inspired music and more to a power pop sound.[24][14] Alexakis said of the grunge label:
"I don't think we really sound like a grunge group. Those people really haven't listened to the records. They hear 'Heroin Girl' and go, 'Oh, they're a punk band. Oh, the lead singer has blond hair, they're from the Northwest, they must sound like Nirvana – they are Nirvana!' I don't give a shit. That's like looking at some old English lady and calling her the queen."[14]
Everclear is influenced by
Band members
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Timeline
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/k1raxgp8jxg2md2qpl6f1mtxvon31sc.png)
Discography
- Studio albums
- World of Noise (1993)
- Sparkle and Fade (1995)
- So Much for the Afterglow (1997)
- Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile (2000)
- Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude (2000)
- Slow Motion Daydream (2003)
- Welcome to the Drama Club (2006)
- Return to Santa Monica (2011)
- Invisible Stars (2012)
- Black Is the New Black (2015)
References
- ^ "Everclear – World of Noise – Review". Sonic Perspectives. June 17, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ John Bush "Everclear – Discography" "AllMusic.com" Retrieved October 27, 2017
- ^ ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ White, Logan (June 21, 2023). "Everclear Announce Live Album Details + Share New Music Video For "Heroin Girl"". Substream Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ The Discovering Alcoholic (April 30, 2009). "Art Alexakis of Everclear at The Discovering Alcoholic". Discoveringalcoholic.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ "Everclear Setlist at The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast". Setlist.fm. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
- ^ "News : Everclear, Edwin McCain to perform in Sierra Vista on Saturday : Sierra Vista, AZ". June 14, 2009. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
- ^ Meisfjord, Tom (May 11, 2020). "Whatever Happened To Everclear?". Grunge.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ "Tour". Everclear. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ Shaw, Jenna (December 19, 2022). "Thank you, Everclear, for 30 years of glorious music". topshelfmusicmag.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ "Everclear celebrates 30th birthday at the Whisky". riffmagazine.com. December 2, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ White, Logan (June 21, 2023). "Everclear Announce Live Album Details + Share New Music Video For "Heroin Girl"". Substream Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Everclear clarifies style with 'Sparkle'". Daily Bruin. October 7, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
- ^ Ikenberg, Tamara (May 14, 1998). "Alexakis is an alternative to alternative rock". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
- AL.com. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c Reger, Rick (February 9, 1996). "EVERCLEAR DIPS OUT OF GRUNGE MUCK". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "SAVE THE DATE: '90s power-pop legends Everclear coming to rock the Cambridge this summer". Newcastle Live. October 18, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
- ^ "Telethon announce new album 'Swim Out the Past Breakers,' share 2 new songs". Brooklyn Vegan. July 23, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
- ^ Mervis, Scott (June 1, 2017). "Everclear celebrates 20th anniversary of 'So Much for the Afterglow'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ Bush, John. "Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ Freydkin, Donna (May 11, 1999). "Power-grunge Everclear avoids 'One Hit Wonder' trap". CNN. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ Cush, Andy (August 12, 2019). "Art Alexakis of Everclear Announces Debut Solo Album Sun Songs". Spin. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
Art Alexakis, frontman and songwriter of '90s pop-rockers Everclear, has announced a new album called Sun Songs, his first record released outside the banner of his longtime band.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "So Much for the Afterglow". AllMusic.
- ^ Bush, John. "Everclear". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ Kot, Greg (October 31, 1997). "EVERCLEAR EVER SAVVY". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ Staum, Noah (May 3, 2019). "Everclear's Art Alexakis Still Lives His Lyrics: "Everything Is Wonderful"". Grit Daily. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
External links
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