Everclear, one of the leading alternative rock bands to emerge from the ‘90s, celebrated their 30th Anniversary in recent years, and founder, vocalist and guitarist Art Alexakis has made it clear that he has no plans to slow down. 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 6 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.
After the demise of his band Colorfinger in 1992, Alexakis was struggling to make it in Portland, where he’d 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’d 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.
In 2019, while being treated for an injury caused by a minor car accident, Alexakis was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and learned that he had likely been living with the disease for nearly twenty years. Since being diagnosed, Art has donated one dollar from every ticket purchased for his performances to charities such as Sweet Relief Musicians Fund and National MS Society.
In 2022, Everclear reissued World Of Noise as a special 30th Anniversary remastered, deluxe edition, making the album available for the first time on digital streaming platforms with 6 bonus songs in addition to its original 12 tracks. Adding to the celebrations that year, Everclear released a commemorative anniversary video, “Everclear – 30 Years Gone: A Retrospective,” hosted by former MTV VJ, current radio host and longtime friend Matt Pinfield, and embarked on a lengthy North American Tour. One special stop on the tour, back in Alexakis’ hometown of Los Angeles, was recorded and filmed for a new live album. Live at The Whisky a Go Go, out now via Sunset Blvd. Records, features all the hits and hidden treasures from throughout Everclear’s extraordinary catalog as well as two new original bonus studio tracks.
In addition to his thousands of Everclear performances over the band’s lengthy career, Alexakis created and runs the annual Summerland Tour, which features a package of popular ‘90s alt rock bands, and he released his first solo album, Sun Songs, in 2019. More than three decades later, Everclear’s enduring legacy and ongoing appeal as a live band continues.
