When my friends learned I had landed an interview with Everclear, a common response was, "Oh man, my 12-year-old self is so excited for you." It's true: It seems like Everclear hasn't been up to much since 1998 or so. So, when I sat down with frontman Art Alexakis, I asked him where he's been all these years.
Turns out, he's been doing plenty. Since the original band's breakup in 2003 and a departure from Capitol Records, Alexakis continued on with the name. He put out the album Welcome to the Drama Club in 2006. The album yielded two singles, "Glorious" and "Hater," which achieved moderate success.
It didn't do as well "because it was on a label that didn't work it," Alexakis said. "I wonder what we could have done. I really put my heart and soul into that record."
Despite his disappointment, the album still sold almost 100,000 copies. Now, with Strategic managing and producing for the band, Alexakis sees a much better fit, like "people give a damn." He sees a promising future with Strategic for his newest album, The Vegas Years.
The Vegas Years is essentially a covers album. It has some classics, like "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "Jenny (867-5309)," and some oddities, like the Speed Racer theme.
Alexakis explained the album's title as it relates to Vegas.
"Everywhere you go [in Vegas] somebody is playing covers. Whether it's a guy, a band, three chicks covering Black Sabbath a capella. I mean, it's f---ing weird. It's a pretty good psychology. The people that own those places want you to come there for one reason: to throw money in the hole ... They want you sloppy. You get your guard down when you're singing "Sweet Home Alabama." You're comfortable. You don't want people to think."
So, it's kind of a joke, but the music isn't. Yes Everclear is an old band, but Alexakis says they aren't past their prime. "We're known for our songwriting, so I thought covers would be a lot more fun and that people could just enjoy the fact that we're just a really good rock band. It's a fun summer album."
While Alexakis himself didn't seem like the type to hold grudges, he related some stories about the changes at Capitol that led to tension. When Everclear broke away from the label, Capitol retained all the rights to the songs produced during their time together.
So, Capitol put out a "greatest hits" album, which Alexakis called, "That s---ty one they put out for $3.99." What's more, he said, "They put it out on the exact day that we put out Welcome to the Drama Club. It was the old president of the label. It's just a s---ty thing to do." Those guys are long gone now, so relations with Capitol are at least amicable at present.
So what's next for Everclear? After this album, Alexakis says he has another in the works. "I'm going to start doing downloadable singles, maybe downloadable albums. Because I hate the labels, I hate the middleman. No one makes any money. And the people who want the records pay too much money. You shouldn't pay more than $10 for an album ... If I put an album up for download, and people can download it for $10, after giving 20 percent to iTunes ... I can keep the 80 percent. I might not get rich, but with that, at least I can sustain a family." Something, he believes, that can't be done with the big labels, which take 80 percent.
For the immediate future, Alexakis said, "I have about eight or nine new songs. I want to write about 10 more, then go in and make a record. I've got a pretty good vision about what I want to do ... I'd like to see it out by next summer. That's the plan; we'll see."
When I pressed him about the band's long-term plans, Alexakis said, "I think I have one more Everclear record. We'll see. I always say one more, I've been saying one more for four or five albums. I don't want to start going down the same road all the time. That's just boring. Some bands make a career out of making the same record over and over and over. But that's not my thing."
As anyone who went to the show Friday knows, Everclear cares about its fan relations. They set up a table after every show for a meet and greet - not to feed Alexakis's ego, but rather because he knows how much it means to the fans.
"I don't enjoy signing autographs, but it's something that people like, to be able to come up and shake your hand. Or take a picture. Or whatever. If that's what they like, why not? They support us by buying tickets, by buying albums." The show, of course, ended with a huge girls-only dance party onstage. The crowd ate it up, and Everclear seemed to be having a great time after all these years. Sure, the backing band is different, and Alexakis's voice might have aged a bit. But the show was all Everclear, with no sign of anyone being tired of their middle-school favorites. Another album or two sounds just fine to me.
