Art Alexakis, the lead singer and founder of Everclear chatted about their “World of Noise — 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” and their 30th Anniversary Tour.
Everclear is one of the leading alternative rock bands to emerge from the ’90s. It is led by vocalist, guitarist, and founder Art Alexakis, They have released “World Of Noise — 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” and officially kicked off their “30th Anniversary Tour.”
The special remastered reissue marks the first time the band’s 1993 currently out-of-print debut album is available on all digital music streaming platforms.
“World Of Noise – 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” features all 12 original tracks as well as six bonus songs including the previously unreleased “Drunk Again” and “Nervous & Weird 2001 Remix.” The album will also be available on vinyl later this year. This deluxe edition is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
“You know when it’s deluxe, it is going to be great,” he said with a sweet laugh. “It is pretty amazing considering how that whole project came to fruition 30 years ago. Nobody thought that was going to happen, people have been asking me for years to put that out. It sounds premeditated and planned, but really, anybody who knows me knows that I am not that clever. It just fell into place.”
Alexakis listed the “Nervous & Weird 2001 Remix” and the bonus track “Blonde” as his personal favorite tunes on the deluxe edition of the album. “We just remastered ‘Blonde’ and it sounds great. We actually performed it last night,” he said.
Celebrating 30 years as a band in 2022, Everclear is comprised of Art Alexakis (vocals, guitar), Davey French (guitar), Freddy Herrera (bass), and Brian Nolan (drums). They officially launched their headlining 30th Anniversary Tour in Idaho. “We are right in the middle of it. We are in Denver tonight and it will be a nice Sunday night show,” he said.
“We are getting into the rhythm of the road, we are getting our setlist and we are trying to make it different from other sets, but at the same time, make it exciting,” he said.
This North American outing, featuring special guests Fastball and The Nixons, makes its way across the U.S. all summer, including a stop in New York City on July 22nd, with a setlist that runs the gamut of Everclear’s longstanding career including songs from “World Of Noise,” B-sides, fan favorites and all their hits. “We are having a great time out here playing and the fans are really enjoying it,” he said.
“We are ramping up for a long and strong summer tour,” he added. “We are trying to be safe, and we are following all of the COVID protocols. We believe in science and we read, and we are just trying to stay safe.”
A special commemorative anniversary video titled ” Everclear — 30 Years Gone: A Retrospective,” was hosted by former MTV VJ, current radio host, and longtime friend Matt Pinfield.
Since forming in 1992, Everclear has enjoyed a lengthy career by any measure, spanning 11 studio releases, including four that have been certified gold or platinum, selling over six million records, and achieving 12 Top 40 Hit Singles on Mainstream Rock, Alternative, and Adult Top 40 radio, including “Santa Monica,” “Father of Mine,” “I Will Buy You A New Life,” “Wonderful,” and “Everything To Everyone,” as well as numerous videos, thousands of shows, and various other accolades, including a 1998 Grammy nomination for “Best Rock Instrumental Performance.”
“The Grammy nomination caught me by surprise especially since we are considered a lyric band,” he said. “I was super excited because it made me a Grammy-nominated songwriter. I was very proud of that and it was fun going to the Grammy ceremony and hanging out with all of the superstars. It was a great experience.”
In recent years, Alexakis created and runs the annual Summerland Tour, which features a package of popular ‘90s alt-rock bands, and also released his first solo album, “Sun Songs,” in 2019.
After the demise of his band Colorfinger in 1992, Alexakis was struggling to make it in Portland, where he had moved from San Francisco. That extremely difficult personal and creative period was the crucible that forged Alexakis into the fiery songwriter heard on the early Everclear demos, the “Nervous & Weird” EP (1993), and ultimately the “World Of Noise” LP, both released on the Portland independent label Tim/Kerr Records.
The original 1993 release of “World Of Noise,” paired with the band’s significant efforts to break into college radio and the buzz they had created within the Portland music scene, attracted the attention of major labels, including Capitol Records, which signed the group soon after.
Beginning with their major-label debut, 1995’s platinum-selling album “Sparkle and Fade,” and its massive chart-topping hit “Santa Monica,” Everclear was soon a household name and catapulted into the masses, thus allowing their impressive three-decade career to prosper and endure.
On the key to longevity in the music business all of these decades, he noted that it has a lot to do with “tenacity.” “This is what I’m meant to do and I like doing it. Life keeps throwing me curve balls, with my health, and I just find a way to keep going. I have a great band, a great family, and a great support system. I feel very blessed and strong,” he said.
He shared that he has roots in Greece, and he just visited Greece this past April with his family. “My wife is Greek as well, and so is her mother,” he said. “We took her mom and my daughter, and we went to Santorini and Athens. My father is from Thessaloniki, which is close to Albania.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “It’s interesting because I consider myself from a different age. I’m still doing and I still put my music out. This record was made 30 years ago but it was put out in a digital format for the first time. That being said, I’ve embraced it. I’m a pragmatic person. It is what it is, and I try to do it that way. You are not judged on what you sell, you are judged on what people listen to. It’s a different world.”
Success
Regarding his definition of success, he said, “Achieving what you set out to do, and beyond.” “True success is achieving something different than what you planned, where things turn out even better,” he said.
For more information on Everclear, their music and tour schedule, check out their official website, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
