>Art Alexakis |
Everclear's rock melodies always featured front man Art Alexakis' strong singer-songwriter sensibility, and his open diary found purchase with those who didn't grow up protected by a white picket fence -- either because there never was one, or because it was broken. In addition to reaching fans through radio hits, including "Father of Mine," "Santa Monica," and "I Will Buy You A New Life," Alexakis' kind spirit and personal strength offered an example to others that despite drugs, alcohol or other personal crisis, you could still could scrape yourself off of the pavement and succeed. His ability to counter tragedy with optimistic, witty melodies is something Everclear's listeners instinctively grasped. With 10 years under their collective belt, the band has decided to put together a CD compilation of some of their favorite moments, and are touring to support it. Recently, StarPolish spoke to Everclear's Art Alexakis about the band's anniversary retrospective album, Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994-2004 (Capitol), and where he sits with life these days.
STARPOLISH: Did you ever foresee yourself putting together a Best of Everclear retrospective?
ALEXAKIS: (Laughs) No. It was really weird. Capitol wanted to do it, even though I'm off the label now. We fulfilled our contract and we're just looking to do something different. I don't know if I want to be on a major label anymore; I don't know that I don't, either. I'm taking my time right now and working new songs and when they came to me and talked to me about doing this, I was pretty excited, but I didn't want them to just pick 10 or 12 songs that had just been on the radio. I wanted to do more of a retrospective. So there are 21 songs on that album, and it spans the whole history of Everclear. It was really fun to do. It was kind of hard, though, because I had to choose between my kids -- which are my songs. Invariably, people who are friends or fans are like, Well what about this? What about that?' I had to make a decision on certain songs.
STARPOLISH: Each song obviously means something different and reflects a particular moment in your life. Are there some tunes on the compilation that mean a little more than others?
ALEXAKIS: "I think "Summerland," and "Learning How To Smile" weren't necessarily singles, but a lot of people thought they should be and were songs that meant a lot to me -- [they] still mean a lot to me. In the liner notes I write stories to go along with every song, talking about the history and anecdotes about what my mindset kind of was... I'd say, "Learning How To Smile" kind of epitomizes me then and now through everything I've been through, [and]everything I've put myself through. Incidentally, that's going to be in the live show and we've never played it live before. It'll be fun.
STARPOLISH: How did you work your new material into the CD?
ALEXAKIS: Well, I felt some of the radio songs had to be there because that's where people know us from. I didn't try to please everybody, but I did try to be cognizant [not only] of old-time fans and myself, but also the people who have heard the singles and wanted to dig a little bit deeper. As far as new songs go, there's a new song on there that wasn't really a single, called "New York Times," that is a really important song to me. It deals with the election of 2000 and also 9/11 and a lot of stuff that went on there.
STARPOLISH: People have always really identified with the subjects in many of your songs. How close does your writing reflect your actual life?
ALEXAKIS: I think a lot of times people forget that bands -- I think even guys in bands forget -- that they're just normal people living life. I think your art should reflect that. I don't know if it has to imitate it or be an exact replica of what you're going through, but I think it definitely has to reflect it for it to be real, whether your art is writing a column or writing a record. It has to come from somewhere real. I don't think people connect with things that don't smack of sincerity and genuineness.
STARPOLISH: Do a lot of people still come up to you to let you know that your music made them feel better about a similar situation in their own lives?
ALEXAKIS: Every day. It's like I went through a really hard time this year with the divorce and heartbreak, and I haven't experienced that since I was a kid pretty much. I would have people come up to me and tell me, "God, your record got me through a horrible breakup or college and this and that," and I'm like, "God, I wish it would work like that for me." But that's not my lot in life, I guess. My lot is to process and experience stuff and the communicate it.
STARPOLISH: We talked earlier about your music reaching people instinctually. Can you talk more about that?
ALEXAKIS: I like reading things that are clever and intellectual and funny and that can strike a chord with me, but at the same time, I like things that are very instinctive, that hit a note in me. I think that just goes deeper into what we're about. I mean, we're emotional animals. When you can connect both with someone's head and someone's heart and someone's sexuality at the same time, I think that's what rock n' roll's all about.
>Art Alexakis |
STARPOLISH: What is your thinking on Everclear's future?
ALEXAKIS: To be honest with you, I'm more excited about music and the possibilities that are ahead of me right now than I have been for years. I'm kind of flying without a net, really. It's the first time in, Jesus, 18 years that I haven't been in a committed relationship and married or living with somebody, and it's weird. It makes me live in the moment a lot and makes me really be cognizant of friends and people that I've taken for granted. We all need wake-up checks and humbling experiences to keep us on track of emotional growth and stuff like that. It's been a big year for me as far as that goes in some bad ways and in some really great ways. I've grown up a lot.
StarPolish contributing writer Tina Whelski is a NY-based freelance writer/photographer who's a regular columnist for the Aquarian Weekly/East Coast Rocker and WomanRock.com. She also contributes to Music Connection, Good Times and others.
