Mikey’s Ultimate Jukebox: Why Everclear Matters To Me
“Just the sound of my little girl laughing….. Makes me happy just to be alive!” (from Song From An American Movie Part 2) -Art Alexakis
They got a lot of airplay in the late 90’s while I was in college, but I didn’t pay much attention to them until after I graduated. And once I did, I became obsessed with their music as they became a potential threat to unseat AC/DC and KISS as my favorite band in the early 00’s. Their melodies were catchy, even though their lyrics were dark and depressing. I’ve seen them a few times in concert, and even got to sing and rub shoulders with Art on-stage at the legendary Roseland ballroom. Their music was influential during the “golden years” of my life. Their masterpiece, Wonderful, goes back and forth as my favorite song in my ultimate jukebox of 52,000+ songs. Ladies and gentlemen… Everclear. And why they matter so much to me.
Band Members: Art Alexakis, Craig Montoya, Greg Eklund
Year Inducted: 2012
Years As A Fan: 18 Years (*2000)
Intro Song: Father Of Mine
Top 500 Songs: Wonderful, Song From An American Movie Part 2, Summerland, Santa Monica, Everything To Everyone, Volvo Driving Soccer Mom
Addl. Key Songs: Heroin Girl, Unemployed Boyfriend, Electra Made Me Blind, The Honeymoon Song, When It All Goes Wrong Again, Rock Star, Misery Whip, Sunflowers, I Will Buy You A New Life, Now, So Much For The Afterglow, Blackjack, Learning How To Smile, AM Radio
Key Albums: Songs From An American Movie 1 & 2, Sparkle & Fade, So Much For The Afterglow, Invisible Stars, Slow Motion Daydream
Personal Music Awards: N/A
Seen Live: 3 Times *2001 Marist College, 2002 Dinner Club (Art Solo), 2003 Roseland Ballroom, 2008 Union Park
Photo Opp: N/A
Even though I worked at the radio station, was amassing a collection of greatest hits albums, and watching pop-up video religiously while in college, I was totally clueless to the new music scene that was red hot from 1995 to 1999. I was aware of the melodies and some of the band names producing these rock hits, but otherwise it was just filler music in the background for me and my friends as we planned wrestling events, talked about wrestling, or took trips to the mall to find wrestling figures. Commercial rock of all kinds was big in the late 90’s along with a lot of other genres when the music industry was doing great and record execs were making money hand over fist. Bands like Sugar Ray, Third Eye Blind, Tonic, and The Goo Goo Dolls dominated MTV and the radio. Another of those bands that hit their stride was Everclear, although at that time I couldn’t tell you the difference between Everclear and Everlast. I’d hear the tunes of Everclear while drunk at the college bar or on the radio such as Father Of Mine and Santa Monica while driving to the Poughkeepsie Galleria. And I would eventually put a face to the band’s name when I saw Art Alexakis kick ass on Rock Jeopardy although I thought he looked kind of old to be leading a hip new band that had appeal to other kids my age. Although Everclear was a prominent band during this era, it would not be until I graduated college and became a working man that I would become hooked on them.
My first job after college graduation was wearing many different hats for a baseball card grading company. Driving home one day from work while listening to WPLJ and the new song from Everclear debuted on the radio. The song was Wonderful, and I was engaged thinking this was a future classic right off the bat. A few weeks later, their album hit including this lovely new song hit record stores. Somebody I worked with who also collected music added the new Everclear CD to his growing pile on the floor next to him. I asked to borrow the CD so I could listen to Wonderful again at my desk. Each time I listened to it, I was just blown away by its melody, its lyrics, and its greatness. The melody was so sweet, even if the lyrics about a kid dealing with the constant fighting of his parents was really depressing and didn’t match the song’s title. I figured I should buy the album, Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile, so I could listen to the entire thing in my own environment. My free time was spent listening to Everclear’s albums at a time when physical albums and liner notes mattered. I’d sit on my bed and sing along with the lyrics over and over and fall in love and refresh my memory with tunes from Sparkle And Fade, So Much For The Afterglow, and the Songs From An American Movie albums. My down time at work was spent on Everclear’s website absorbing the details and history of the band. Besides gaining a respect for Art Alexakis, I began to appreciate Craig Montoya and Craig Eklund and their roles in Everclear. Even after graduating from New Paltz, I’d still drive up there on weekends to party and chill with friends. Most of those rides featured me doing car karaoke while singing Everclear classics anticipating another fun weekend drinking beers, meeting girls, and being with great friends. I was obsessed with this band, and was glad to share them with my brother and friends who also dug them. Everclear was the key band during my golden years after college from 1999 to 2001.
I’d see Everclear three times live and Art by himself once during the 00’s. The first show was at Marist College in 2001 with my friends and my girlfriend at the time. Beyond experiencing an amazing concert that wasn’t very expensive, I also remember feeling like absolute garbage before the show throwing up in garbage cans and having some “poopy” problems. It all went away when Everclear hit the stage and so glad I was able to weather the storm and not leave. I still consider it as one of the Top 20 concerts I’ve ever attended. A year later with my girlfriend at the time who would become my wife and mother to my two children, I saw Art do a solo performance at the Supper Club in NYC. As an Everclear fan, I enjoyed seeing Art perform some of the more obscure tunes as well as unveil some upcoming songs including the future classic, Volvo-Driving Soccer Mom. As a live music fan, it was just average and I think my wife was bored out of her mind. The next Everclear show I’d hit would be an amazing experience in NYC at Roseland Ballroom. Heading there with my pals and brother, we met a group of fellow Everclear fans including some cute girls at the front of the stage. That made for a fun time as we sung and danced together to our favorite songs. Having had some drinks (not that like that even mattered!), I even got on-stage and sang Rock Star with my arm resting on Art’s shoulder during the finale. This was before the rise of Youtube and cell phones, and I’ve yet to find a video of that performance which I would love to see again. We saw a dude had known who was able to get my brother access to meet the band after the show. Bummer I had to wait for him, but since we were hanging with some cute girls and chatting about the show, it was fine. My brother got autographs. But photos with famous people wasn’t a big thing back then like it is now, so he didn’t get the pictures with the band. With our new friends, we hit up another bar in the city that never sleeps and it was just one of the most memorable concert experiences I’ve ever hard. I’d see Everclear at a free festival in Cranford a few years later which was good value for the non-cost. With only Art and a bunch of no-names as his support, it was good but not too memorable compared to the other times I’d seen them.
In 2003, Everclear released their Slow Motion Daydream album. I enjoyed the new album and thought there were some great tunes on there. Due to a fight with the record label over the choice of first single, the label refused to push the album. It was a huge commercial flop. With the music scene changing, Everclear was becoming irrelevant on mainstream pop radio. This would also be the last album with the classic Everclear line-up as both Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund either quit or were fired depending on who you talk to. Art remained while other guitarists, drummers, and keyboard players entered and exited over the years. The magic of Everclear was over and eventually they got dropped from Capitol Record. They’d release an album of covers, re-recorded greatest hits, and live albums along with a few weak studio albums over the next fifteen years. Invisible Stars was the only new album that really mattered, perhaps since it was a carbon copy of the sound that made them great. Everclear pretty much is now a 90’s pop/rock nostalgia band who tours each summer on a package tour with other bands of that era like Sugar Ray, Fuel, and Lit.
Regardless of the future of Everclear and current creative lull of Art Alexakis, I’ll still lend an ear to any new recordings and am grateful for their music that was essential during my golden years. Seeing them live again is doubtful unless Art reconciles with Greg Montoya and Greg Eklund and they go on a reunion tour to support a new album. Everclear was a product of their era and their music was very essential during a very important era of my life. I often reflect on the past when I hear songs like Heroin Girl or Wonderful or Father Of Mine and remember those times when music wasn’t disposable and I’d listen to songs and albums over and over without my mind wandering off to something else. Ahh, memories!
-Mikey Hersh
