Everclear
Funny how heroin can change lives. It took the O.D. of his brother and girlfriend before Everclear's Art Alexakis thought it might be a good idea to kick the habit. As that struggle began in the mid-80s, Alexakis started the Punk-Country, Colorfinger. Of all the synthesis concepts available Punk-Country was probably the deadest of dead ends. When Colorfinger bit the dust, Alexakis left L.A. and moved to his new girlfriend's hometown, Portland, OR. There he hooked up with bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert. They released a CD on a local label. That went nowhere and only served to frustrate Alexakis. Another indie release, on a new label, the EP "World of Noise," came out in '93.
Hitting the road for brutal touring schedule Cuthbert dropped out and was replaced by Greg Eklund. Soon though, Capitol signed them. "Sparkle and Fade" came out in '95 and was notable for "Heroin Girl" and "Santa Monica," an ode about the place falling into the ocean.
"So Much For The Afterglow" arrived in '97 firmly establishing Everclear with the sarcastic "I Will Buy You A New Life" and the angst-ridden "Father Of Mine." The title track opened with some captivating Beach Boys type harmony (Alexakis is from So. Cal. after all) before the guitar churn blows it away. Great album intro.
"Songs From An American Movie, Volume 1: Learning How To Smile" and "Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude" shot out in '00. Two years later Everclear released "Slow Motion Daydream."
All good things must come to an end but it looked like Everclear's had come sooner than expected. Following the "Slow Motion Daydream" tour in August of '03 both Montoya and Eklund left to work on their own projects. That resulted in another split, this time between Capitol Records and the band. The label effectively cashed in their chips with the '04 compilation "Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994-2004."
Just to complicate matters, Alexakis also went through his third divorce. On top of that, he filed for bankruptcy, reportedly in debt to the tune of $3million. Yikes! Time to get to work.
After a brief stint as a solo, Alexakis decided to reform Everclear with guitarist Dave French, bassist Sam Hudson and drummer Eric Bretl. But Bretl was eventually replaced by former Everclear drum tech Bret Snyder.
'04 saw the addition of keyboard player Josh Crawley and singer/guitarist Amir Khalifa. Now a quintet the "new" Everclear" signed with Eleven Seven Music and released "Welcome To The Drama Club" in '06.
Everclear's "The Vegas Years," with covers of hits originally recorded by Tom Petty ("American Girl"), Thin Lizzy ("Boys Are Back In Town") and Hall and Oates ("Rich Girl"), was available in '08. "(It's) kind of a tongue-in-cheek joke at ourselves because a lot of times when musicians get older they start becoming caricatures of themselves and playing their songs like they're covers," explained Alexakis.
For the title track, "I Will Buy You A New Life" and "Father Of Mine," Everclear's "So Much For The Afterglow" is the CD to get. However, the best track is the blasting "Amphetamine." Can't beat it.
"Slow Motion Daydream" opens with the relatively mellow "How To Win Friends and Influence People," a weak song that doesn't do much to kick off the album. Another glaring shortcoming is the useless acoustic gripe song "Science Fiction." But not to worry. Everclear pull it out of the fire. "I Want To Die a Beautiful Death" and the hard-charging "Blackjack" (with the "didn't see it coming" lyric) are undeniably great but the set's true high water mark comes with the suburban skewing "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom." Great guitar line and a humorous bent to the lyrics. The album is very reminiscent of "So Much For The Afterglow" and that's a good thing.
"Welcome To The Drama Club" raises a timeless question. When is a group no longer the group it claims to be? Many bands from the 60s, 70s and 80s are circulating with more replacements than original members. Sometimes the presence of the original lead singer or guitarist is enough to hang the band's name on. Now it's the '90's turn.
The "Drama Club" edition sounds more like angry Wallflowers than vintage Everclear. That's not bad, actually, it serves them well, but it's not the same. The most notable difference is the incorporation of keyboards. An organ or piano can play riffs or runs just like a guitar but they aren't often employed in that capacity. Rather, keyboards either provide the pads to fill out a song or they are used percussively as a rhythm instrument. Crawley takes the latter route and it lightens up the songs, including the single "The Hater," where Alexakis grinds an axe or two. ("don't want to be with a hater like you").
The one constant between this Everclear and the past is, of course, Alexakis. His vocals are still passionate and emotive, especially on the acoustic ballad "Broken" where he sings "broke about a thousand hearts, don't like it when it's your turn." Now there's a line to an ex-wife. Gotta be #3, right?
"Now" has pop song appeal with clever lyrical turns. "The Drama King" and "The Shameless Use Of Charm" also connect. On the raucous "A Taste Of Hell," the driving organ propels the track while Alexakis delivers the theatrics.
"Sparkle and Fade" is a strong start but "Songs From An American Movie Vols. 1 & 2" are inconsequential.
If your band is going to do a covers album, it's best to do songs nobody expects you to do. "The Vegas Years" almost accomplishes that. Rolling through Hall & Oates' cloying "Rich Girl" and giving it some teeth is brilliant. Doing a heavier turn on the Go-Go's upbeat "Our Lips Are Sealed" is OK. But taking a run at Classic Rock staples, "The Boys Are Back In Town" or Van Morrison's warhorse "Brown-Eyed Girl," is just a set up to failure. Yeah sure, Everclear fans don't listen to Classic Rock but their parents do, and those two songs have been played to death, so how could Everclear's crowd not have the original version imprinted deep in their gray matter? Then there's "American Girl." They catch Tom Petty's lament but not much else.
But why harp on the negative? Where "The Vegas Years" succeeds is when Everclear blasts the lean Paul Revere & The Raiders '60's anti-drug song "Kicks." Or actually puts some serious urgency into "867-5309 (Jenny)." Then there's "Speed Racer." Yes, the theme song from the cartoon show. Campy right? Sure, but it still Rocks.