Art Alexakis Tours And Alt Radio

Everclear Help Establish Indie Music And The Joys Of Playing Live

May 5, 2007

Art Alexakis talks to Suite101, Midwest Beats

In the third part pf our interview series with Art Alexakis of rock band Everclear, we discuss the band's part in alternative radio and their crazy Australian tour.

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 part three of our special interview, Art tells us about the burgeoning alternative music radio scene at the time and Everclear's place in its history, as well as how he'd never close the door on touring Australia again, despite lost teeth...

Art Alexakis Interview Part 3: Alternative Radio And Crazy Tours

Suite: Do you feel you were one of the pioneers of alternative radio? Santa Monica seemed to go hand in hand with the growth and popularity of these radio stations.

Art: I wouldn't say we pioneered alternative radio; I think it was pretty established by the time that song came out. I mean, you had Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and bands like that. I think maybe Santa Monica pushed it a little bit more to the front with the mainstream – it was just one of these songs that a lot of people got, and bought, and that made us very happy and paid some bills (laughs). But what is alternative radio anyway? To me, I'd say someone like David Bowie was alternative, but he got played on the mainstream radio stations too, so were they actually alternative?

Suite: You had a torrid time in Australia in 1998 – will you ever go back, or is it too bad a memory?

Art: Okay, back into debunk mode (laughs). First and foremost, yes, I would definitely like to go back to Australia. Despite that tour, I had a great time and the fans over there are great, for the most part. There's a lot of stories come out of that time, some of them true, some utter crap…

Suite: Like the guitar going up in flames?

Art: Man, that's a new one (laughs)!! Okay, what happened there was we had a commitment to do an Australian tour, but our bassist Craig Montoya had some problems with his wife at the time, which was never made public. So he wanted to go home – we had a pretty heated meeting, and I tried to tell him that we had a tour to do, you know, we'd be home soon and things could get sorted then. But he was adamant, he said he had to go home, and that was that. So our bass tech Dave LoPrinzi filled in, and you know what? He did a damn good job, and we kept him in that slot for the UK tour after that. So there's Craig sitting at home thinking, "wow, Everclear are touring and I'm not up on stage – I can be replaced". Which was a good wake-up call for him, so he got back with us when we came back from the UK.

Suite: But you had some trouble with the crowd at two of the Australian shows, right?

Art: Oh yeah, but you know, Australia's a crazy place! You give them a couple of beers, and that's it, they're out for blood, and that's just the women (laughs)!! So we're playing one show, and this frigging boot comes flying through the air, hits the microphone, and sends the mic back into my mouth. I lost two teeth that night. Then another night after that… That was the crazy night! We're playing, and something smoking comes flying onto the stage – I look at it, and it's a f***ing home-made pipe bomb! So I move away, because I'm a firm believer that if something's smoking, you move away, right? (laughs) But our guitar tech, he goes up to move it, and I'm like "Whoa, get the f*ck away from that thing!" but it goes off. He was lucky – he damaged his hands, but it could have blown his arm off or something, right? So yeah, we had a crazy tour there, but I have no problems with Australia, and if we have the money, we'll definitely go back over there. Being on an indie label means less money to tour, but that's all that's stopping us at the minute – if the record sells over there, we'll be there.

Suite: So the UK tour after that must have been a bit of a relief after that?

Art: Oh, I don't know about that (laughs)! You're British, you know what the country's like. You've got that place up north, Newcastle – Christ, give them some beers and they want to EAT you (laughs)! Then you've got Wales, and that has some very strange people… But you know, that's what makes the world go round and keeps us all different, and we need that. The world can be a f***ed-up place, and you need these differences.

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