Beyond the Barricade: Art Alexakis of Everclear

This is Fox 9's Beyond the Barricade, where we talk with bands and musicians that people know and love, taking time out of their busy schedules ahead of their recent stop in Minnesota to talk about their past, present, and what keeps them going. Today's guest is Everclear singer and founder Art Alexakis. Art, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Thank you, Nicholas. Good to see you. So first off here, how's the latest tour going? Looks like you're booked well through November with a stop on November 15th at the Mystic Lake Showroom, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, Mystic Lake Showroom. Have you ever been there for a gig? No, personally, I have not yet. Yeah, I've heard it's really nice. I got some friends up there and it's really nice. Yeah, the tour, thank you for asking. The tour is going. Really well. It's the Lucky 7 Tour. And that basically, I just had the idea. People are always asking to hear the deep songs, right? Bands, you know. And they think the bands know every, can play any song they've ever done. And we have like 300 songs recorded. And I'm like, dude, you got to give me, you know, a couple of weeks to learn that one with the band. And, but over the years, And I've been thinking, why not do it one tour where we give them access to a certain amount of songs, people vote on it online, and each show, we play the top seven songs. And that's what we're doing. And the hits, and all the fan favorites. And if someone comes up and requests a song, we'll play that too. But we're doing those seven songs, and we've got... We've got media on stage. It's got like a 50s slash punk rock kind of Vegas tattoo theme going on. It's pretty cool. It's just fun. The crowds are having a good time. Next year is a big tour for us. We're going to do the 30th anniversary of So Much for the Outriggers, our biggest selling record. This is just a fun year. Well, yeah, it definitely sounds fun. Where did you get that idea for the fan, the interactive fans voting? And then has there been any surprises been thrown your way yet? Yeah, I mean, songs that I thought would definitely make Seven in every show or the top 14, like of the, so to keep with the biggest. Basically, we had 21 songs, right? You picked from 21 songs that we went back to our social media. I had memories and emails that people had asked for songs. We made a list of 21 songs, put it on. When we announced the tour in March, we put it on the internet. And people voted on it. And then a month before each show, you start voting from there. But the one thing that's surprising is that it was a couple of things, actually, that a lot of the songs we're asking for didn't even make .00. You know? It's like, they want to hear deeper songs off the bigger records, or like American Girl by Tom Petty, which we did for a tribute record, even before Sparkle and Fade came out. That was high, high ranker, almost every show. And so we do that, which is fun to do, our version of American Girl. And Brown Eyed Girl, if you want to hear that. All But the number one song, every show, has been a song that I didn't think it was going to be. A song called You Make Me Feel Like a Fool off Sparkle and Fade. right. It's a pretty punk rock song. So we start the show with that. And we have these video intros to all the seven songs that I had a friend of mine do. No AI. You just got old film footage. of, uh, Dean Martin and Ann-Margaret, and then, you know, remember how they used to do the thing where you just cut out someone's mouth and put someone else's mouth there? It looks hilarious, and, uh, it's just fun. Yeah, definitely, definitely. So, you know, talking about this pretty extensive back catalog you guys have, how does it feel to have written, you know, some of the more notable anthems of the 90s and early 2000s? I, you know, I'd list them off, But, you know, we've only got so much time here. Well, um... You know, I don't really think about it. I mean, I'm really proud of my life's work. My life's work has been my dream. The little dream of a little boy who saw the Beatles when he was four on Ed Sullivan. You know, not the first time. I'm not that old. But like the last time in 66 when we played. And I, man, I saw him and I never wanted to do anything else. And I really, I've worked a lot of jobs. But since I've been 30, I've been making a living from music, which is a blessing. It really is. I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination. I'm spiritual. I'm just, when good things happen, I accept them and I'm grateful for them. And I'm 64 years old, fighting a little strep throat, so if you'll excuse my cough. um Just out here playing music, man. for a living. That's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. And you guys have been doing it for, jeez Louise, count the years, more than three you decades now. What are some of the biggest differences you've seen in your three-decade career very from the early 90s to this recent resurgence of alternative rock and guitar-based music? much. Differences. Differences how? With people? You tell me as far as how the industry works or how touring, how you put tours together, how you even put music out these days. I mean, you know, no one buys records anymore, so, you know, that's something, that's different. I think the biggest difference now is, how I put it, is back in the day, you made an album, and that was the focus, that was it. You put the album out, and everything you did was to support the album. Touring, you toured to support the album, sell the album. And now, because... Most bands aren't on major labels. Major labels have all these stringent rules of a big old 360 rule where they want a percentage of everything you do for life. I'm not going to do that. We're working on a new album, by the way. But now you make a record to really support your fans and support the tour and to have something to sell on tour. Base a tour around, you know, to make it more interesting. We tour every year, and we sell. People are not going away, man. The shows are just getting bigger and bigger. And like you said, the 90s resurgence, man, there's kids coming out to our shows that are 14, 15, 16 years old. And they're finding out about Everclear, not from their parents, but from other kids at school. And now we're on TikTok. We have no place being on TikTok, but every band is on TikTok, even old guys like us. And like we played a show two nights ago and there was so many young people there. It just blew my mind. And they know all the words, all the words to every song, every song. So how does that feel? I mean, your first wave you had, you know, in the early to mid 90s. Now do you have parents with their kids, like a whole second generation? Yeah, yeah. That's what we call legacy. Yeah, there's a lot of that. But that's not the surprising thing. If you have kids, your kids are going to like what you like because they're sitting in the back of the car seat and they have no choice in the matter, right? But these young kids are making the choice for 90s rock because they tell me that they feel like there's no contemporary music they like. Except for now, bands like Turnstile, you know, bands that are actually playing instruments. And that's pretty exciting. Yeah, absolutely. So then, talking about new music in the future, it sounds like you have a new album coming out. When can we get our hands on that? I don't know. We've got nine songs recorded. We got a... I'm working on another six songs right now, maybe more, to record after this tour. And then we'll see. I mean, next year is going to be very centrically. 30-year anniversary for So Much for the Afterglow. We're putting out a double album remaster, one whole set of double vinyl, and I've been going through the vaults at Capitol and finding outtakes and songs that didn't make the record originally, all sorts of covers that we made during the time. So there's going to be a whole album of that, which is exciting to put out. Yeah, we've got a big couple of years coming up. Okay, cool. Look forward to that. Only a couple more here. So you're coming through Minnesota yet again. Any fun memories or anecdotes you have about Minneapolis or Minnesota in general? I love Minnesota. I've spent so, so, so much time there. My best friend is from St. Paul, and we go there a lot. Thank I'm trying to think of anecdotes that I can share. I'm I've got anecdotes that I shouldn't share. starting you But, yeah, no, I just love the vibe there of people, very regardless of, it's just, you know, it can be so cold and brutal to much. speak and it can be so warm and just inviting. And it's just a great place to be. I love it. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. Never had a bad show there. Never. Cool, cool. So then finally here, you know, three decades in, a new album in the works, a new tour in the works. After all these years, what keeps you going? Why still do this? I got to go. I just put a kid in college, man. What do you think? What else am I going to do, man? I just love doing this. The travel is hard. You know, my health has been... Rough the last couple of years. I don't know if you know it, but I got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 10 years ago. And I've had back issues, spinal surgery and stuff like that. So it's, it's travel is hard, but every night when I walk on stage, I get that same feeling that I've had since I was six, since I first walked on stage when I was 16. And I guess I'm just addicted to it, you know? And it's just what I do. I couldn't imagine wanting to do anything else. Well, once again, thanks again for spending the time with us today. Everclear are playing on November 15th at the Mystic Lake Showroom with American Hi-Fi. Everyone check it out, and we'll look forward to seeing you again, hopefully next year, for that tour. I think you make those. It's good talking to you. Take care. You too.