90s alt-rock band Everclear comes to Sweetland

“We’re older guys, but we’ll show you that even guys, even someone like me, [who] is 62, clean and sober for 35 years and has multiple sclerosis can still put on a great rock show,” said Art Alexakis, founder and frontman for popular 90s alternative rock band, Everclear.

The band is coming to Sweetland Amphitheater on Aug. 23. Fellow 90s rock band Sister Hazel will accompany them.

“I wasn’t even aware they were playing it until I saw later when I got the original contract, they were on there. So this is just a happy coincidence,” Alexakis said. The two bands ran in the same festival circuit and have been friends since.

Everclear was started by Alexakis in 1992. Since then, the band has put out 11 studio albums, many of them going gold or platinum, had 12 songs go to Top 40 and been nominated for a Grammy. Most of the accolades came in the early years. Alexakis said Everclear has embraced the role as a bringer of 90s nostalgia, rather than trying to shy away from the “heritage band” moniker.

“I think a lot of the people who are now in their late 30s, 40s, even early 50s, were fans of 90s music, and so they’re bringing their kids out and listening to songs to take them back, which is cool,” Alexakis said. “I think a certain amount of nostalgia is a good thing.”

That does not mean the songwriter isn’t making music, he is. But rather, it means Everclear can be appreciated for what it was, by the people who listened to it years ago, and new listeners discovering them for the first time.

“We’ve been to a lot of these community shows this summer, and it’s just been phenomenal. These smaller towns just have been putting on shows, and 1000s of people are showing up,” Alexakis said.

He adds that a percentage of the audience at these shows are members of younger generations. And, they are not just there to accompany older relatives.

“A large number of them, strangely enough, were just kids who were frustrated with contemporary music. Wanted something hard rocking and turned to the 90s, because ultimately, that was the last of what people would call classic rock,” Alexakis said.

Everclear has enjoyed the gigs in smaller communities.

“That vibe is really exciting. It’s really exciting because people are palpably, visibly just stoked to be there,” Alexakis recounted.

When able, the band will donate a percentage of ticket sales to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which helps musicians and their families with medical costs, Music Cares, a similar non-profit that also helps with addiction recovery services and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Addiction and MS are causes close to Alexakis. He was diagnosed with MS in 2019.

“I’ve been in treatment. I’m a recovering alcoholic, addict for 35 years. So these are things that touch me personally, touch the band personally, and because my band’s got to deal with me, with my MS and me being a sober guy,” Alexakis said.

Everclear as a band has had some turnover with members, but Alexakis has remained at the helm, using the band as a “creative vehicle” throughout the years.

“It’s something that I felt very strongly about musically, and it’s been my creative vehicle since 1992 and I’ve been blessed to have different amazing musicians in my band,” he said.

Not including Alexakis as the singer and guitarist, the current band members; Davey French on guitar, Freddy Herrera on Bass and Brian Nolan on Drums, have all been in the band for over a decade.

“So we’re the band. This is going to be the band that finishes Everclear,” Alexakis said.

While part of the band’s continual appeal is a healthy dose of nostalgia, Alexakis attributes the longevity to passion.

“We’re an honest rock band…I mean, we’re tight. We work hard, we put on the best show that we can every night,” he said. “We play to 300 people like we would play to 300,000, we do that honestly, we do that every night.”

There are no distinct themes Alexakis writes about. The songwriter said one day he will scribble down lyrics that are autobiographical, and another he will make up characters or stories. The key, he said, is when listeners can’t tell which lyrics are fact and which are fiction.

“Writers are selfish people. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Good art, good art, I’m not saying great art, but good art, well-done art, comes from a selfish place, you’re trying to scratch that you have creatively,” Alexakis explains. “You’re trying to touch things inside of you that are either autobiographical, real, or things that are just that that come to you that are both positive and negative, and that’s where the really good art and expression comes from.”

However, this does not mean the final product is inaccessible.

“Once you put it out in the world…Absolutely, you want people to connect to it, but that’s not why you write songs,” he said.

As for what is ahead for Everclear, the band has been rereleasing old albums with some new tracks added on. The band’s fourth studio album is set to be released sometime this year, although a date has not been announced yet. And this release is particularly special.

“When I signed with Capital [Records], I was a big vinyl aficionado, and I’m like, ‘You got to put out vinyl.’ And at that time, in the 90s, no one was buying vinyl, but I made them put it in the contract,” he said.

While Capital went back later and refused to make vinyl due to the popularity of CDs at the time, Alexakis will have the last laugh as he finally sees his music on a turntable. Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile will be rereleased on vinyl to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album.

Alexakis excitedly discussed how he got the email confirmation the test pressing had been shipped to his home. He has a whole set up for his stereo and turntable laid out, and is currently haggling with his wife on placement of the system, he said jokingly.

The 90s frontman’s passion for writing, music and performing has not diminished over the years. Rock is very much alive for the group and the audiences that continue to come out to see Everclear.

“It’s gonna be a great concert. Please come out, I’ll keep it clean for the kids but we’ll still put on an old-school rock show,” Alexakis said.

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