Art Alexakis The Unmade Solo Album
The Everclear Front Man On American Movie Volume 1 And Beyond
When Art Alexakis wanted to make a solo album with a poppier sound, it ended up being an Everclear release after all. In the fourth part of our interview he tells us why.
- Genre: alternative / indie / rock
- Art Alexakis (vocals / guitar), Davey French (guitar / vocals), Sam Hudson (bass / vocals), Josh Crawley (keyboards / vocals), Brett Snyder (drums / vocals)
- Sounds like: Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen
- Home: Portland, Oregon, US
- Everclear
A Gentleman And A Scholar
In the fickle world of rock music, there are few artists who can genuinely say they have inspired a generation of fans-turned-performers. There are even fewer who don't pander to their egos and shout this from the rooftops. Everclear front man Art Alexakis is one such man.
Currently touring to promote the new album Welcome To The Drama Club, released on their new indie label Eleven Seven Records and seeing the band return to the sound that was their trademark, Art sat down with Suite101 to discuss everything from his early years to dispelling stories about the band. Articulate, funny and humble, and never one to shy away from any subject, Art's is probably one of the most enjoyable interviews I've ever had the pleasure of conducting.
In the fourth part of our special five-part interview, Art discusses regrets about rushing album releases and why sometimes not all the best songs make it onto an album.
Art Alexakis Interview Part 4: The Unmade Solo Album
Suite: After winning Billboard's Rock Band of the Year Award for 1998, you decided to make a solo album. What was the reasoning behind that, given the recognition the band was getting?
Art: Well, I just was in that kind of place at that time, you know? I'd been doing Everclear for so long, I just needed a break. Plus, I'd written a whole bunch of songs that I liked, but weren't necessarily Everclear songs – they were a whole more poppier than any song we'd ever done. So I decided I wanted to make a solo album. I asked the guys in the band to have a listen and see what they thought, and then they said that they wanted to play on the album. And I thought that was weird, with it being a solo album, but they said they wanted to play on it because they wanted it to be an Everclear album.
Suite: Which then became Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1, right?
Art: Right. And you know, it was a good album and it had some great songs on it - Wonderful came from that album, and that's a song I'm really proud of. But really, it wasn't an Everclear album. Which is why we brought out Songs From An American Movie Vol. 2, which was a rockier, more traditional Everclear album.
Suite: In hindsight, do you think you released Songs From An American Movie Vols. 1 & 2 too close to each other, perhaps confusing the public?
Art: Probably, yeah. I think that there were some good songs on both albums, and some crap songs on both albums, and if I could go back and take out the crap ones and blend the good ones into one album, you'd have a really great release. But I think the problem was, we were all really tired at that stage as well. We had been touring a lot, we were getting into arguments together, and listening to these albums now, I think you can tell we were just drained; I know I was. And that had a direct effect on how the albums came out. Plus our label at the time was pushing us to keep the records coming, so yeah, it was definitely a bad move on our part. But hey, you live and learn.
Suite: Would you ever go back to making a solo album sometime in the future?
Art: I would never rule out making a solo album – there are a lot of sounds that I like to experiment with, and they wouldn't necessarily fit the Everclear sound, so we'll see.
