Everclear Never Left the 90s - And What's Wrong With That?

(Published in The Mirror 4/21/05)
The smoke filled the stage, the floor shook, and the crowd at Toad's Place was taken back to the days of grunge-punk mid-'90s rock, courtesy of the band Everclear.

Front man, founder and only remaining original member Art Alexakis stepped out from the darkness in a black knit hat, with his tattoo-covered arms, and humbly found himself back in the spotlight.

Later, the humility would fade and he would find himself posing for my photos, stealing audience members' hats and inviting 30 or so carefully chosen young women on stage to dance with him. Unfortunately, he knows all too well that he is really who you are talking about when you say Everclear.

I went to the concert expecting it to be a teeny-bopper festival, because of the band's somewhat recent pop hits such as "Wonderful" and the cover of Van Morrisson's "Brown-Eyed Girl." I was pleasantly surprised to find a real rock show. Many of their fans were far older and more diverse than I could have imagined, and it made for a very interesting atmosphere.

The audience was composed of two clearly separated groups, though, thanks to Toad's bouncers. On one side of the barrier were the teens and preteens, who seemed to all be hopped up on ecstasy partaking in various orgy-like behaviors. The other, larger side (21-plus only) was filled with a more mature crowd of drunken soccer moms, college students and some possible heroin addicts.

Life stories like Alexakis' are reminders of those of Keith Richards and the like. But you would never guess after seeing him perform that he has done more drugs than the average rocker and you would never believe that he is 43 years old.

He started drinking and using drugs at a very early age, according to his bio on allmusic.com. Another bio says he started at age eight.

After his brother and girlfriend died from drug overdoses and after Alexakis himself survived suicide attempts and overdoses, he cleaned up and became very active in the music industry. When he formed Everclear in 1992, he had the experience in the industry to move to the mainstream quickly.

Emerging as nothing special in the shadow of bands like Nirvana, Everclear was at their hottest when they released "So Much for the Afterglow" in 1997. Based in Portland, Oregon, Everclear has experience nearly 15 years of semi-stardom.

They have been out of the spotlight for some time now, in the midst of a musical society that is not as welcoming of a 43 year-old's rock music as it is of welcoming pop sensations.

The energy that poured from Alexakis' face, his music and his voice was passionate and helped to show the crowd that he still had it. What "it" is for Everclear is hard to say. They are no Nirvana, no Black Crowes, no Greatful Dead, but they can still put on a great show. They are a California rock band whose music can make it feel like its summer and you are on the beach playing Frisbee.

As the show progressed, it was obvious that even in concert, many of their songs sounded alike, but they performed them well. I'm not sure if those two things even out or not, but I do know that I enjoyed myself.

I think most of the enjoyment came at the end of the show, when Alexakis let the women on what he called his stage. It was obvious that he was almost literally humping the American Rock n' Roll dream, but it's a unique touch. He told them they had to dance.

The show was a party and everyone became a part of the band. A woman came on stage to play guitar for one song. One man lost his hat to Alexakis. And everyone else got the chance to jump up on stage with them. "But you have to dance!" he said.

Oh yeah, and one more thing:

"Even though I enjoy you rubbing against my ass, it's hard for me to perform as an artist, so mellow out or I kick you off!" said an obviously satisfied Alexakis.

I had seen this before, in Worcester, Mass. Everclear was opening for Matchbox Twenty and invited women on stage to dance. After asking one to leave for not dancing, she gave him the finger, and he stopped the show. He would not begin again until the girl was out of the building.

Never mess with a self-proclaimed arrogant rock star.

He'll tell you in his song "Rock Star" that he wants "to make those girls on the Real World fantasize about" him. Well, he was successful in that regard.

He named all the women who were more than half his age and ferociously groping him Jenny and began playing the Tommy Tutone hit "Jenny (867-5309)" to end the evening. The lights then came on and everyone got a chance to meet the band on stage.

Advice came before the song "Buy You a New Life" from the man who has experienced first-hand everything from death to drugs to bankruptcy this year.

The bleached blonde hair, black goatee and the dark tattoos all serve as reminders of his troubled past all seemed to grow fainter and more innocent.

"Please enjoy every day of your lives," he said, "because, man, you have no idea when it'll be over."