For Everclear’s Art Alexis, their bestselling 1997 album ‘So Much For The Afterglow’ is still in the limelight all these years later.
Everclear were performing an anniversary tour a few years ago when they received a lot of feedback from fans wanting to see an anniversary tour for Everclear's double platinum album ‘So Much For The Afterglow’.
“We did it first for ‘Sparkle And Fade’ [Everclear's second studio album] a couple of years ago and one of the things [fans] kept asking me was ‘hey, this is great, are you going to do this for '…Afterglow'? You’ve got to do this for '…Afterglow,'” Art says.
If you grew up in the '90s, you’d have heard hits from the album such as ‘I Will Buy You A New Life’ as well as 'Father Of Mine’, which featured on Triple J's Hottest 100 Vol. 6. '...Afterglow' brought Everclear their first mainstream success and saw the album go double platinum in 1998.
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“It was by far our biggest album. I never expected any of that because it sounded so different to ‘Sparkle And Fade’. I just wanted it to be the best record we could make and sound like Everclear, but not sound like the last record.”
'...Afterglow’s 20th anniversary is currently touring the US, the band performing the album in full along with a few tracks from their other '90s post-grunge albums. While the big hits from ‘So Much For The Afterglow’ do well in live shows, Art was surprised at the response for some the lesser known tracks.
“There’s a song on there called ‘Why I Don’t Believe In God’, and before touring this year we never played that live, ever. But that’s definitely gotten a great response from people.
“Lyrically it’s a very serious, intense song about my mum going through a nervous breakdown when I was a little boy, told from my perspective.”
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Everclear is known for their storyteller style of songwriting, and covering difficult situations from other’s perspectives has made them quite relatable for audiences.
“I’m a storyteller, I like storytellers as songwriters and that’s pretty much how it comes out with me. So I think writing from the first person a lot of the times is really engaging for people.”
Art drew on a troubled childhood and poor upbringing for inspiration in well-known hits like ‘Father Of Mine’ and ‘I Will Buy You A New Life’, but his songs are not always related to a personal life story. “A lot of people make the mistake of thinking it’s all autobiographical, but it’s not.
“On this record, there are maybe three songs that come from somewhere real, but there’s some artistic licence there. So my job as the writer is to make it seem believable, possible and relatable.”
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While the ‘...Afterglow’ 20th anniversary tour has been going well, Everclear have been carrying the flame of '90s nostalgia for some time putting together the annual ‘Summerland’ tour that’s been touring the US since 2012.
Every US summer they’ve been bringing together popular rock bands like Marcy Playground, Sugar Ray, Live, Filter, Fuel and many more for a festival that celebrates the '90s alternative-rock era. “I’m trying to get them to pick it up out in Australia… the festival has been pretty successful and I’d like to bring it down there.”
Art says he enjoys touring Australia. “I love the fans and you’re one of the few countries in the world where your people like Americans, because nobody likes Americans at the moment. So it’s a very special, warm, accepting place for us.”
Everclear Tour Dates
Fri 29 Sep - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)Sat 30 Sep - The Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Tue 3 Oct - The Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Wed 4 Oct - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thu 5 Oct - Croxton Band Room (Melbourne)
