What a year it's been for Art Alexakis, frontman for '90s pop-punk favourites Everclear, and 2020 is set to bring another milestone for the beloved group as well as an Australian tour.
“2019's been a great year both personally and for the band,” Art says. “I did a lot of [live] solo stuff for my solo record; this next year we're doing the 20th anniversary of 'Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1' and that's going to be exciting for us, touring all over the world.”Though 2019 has seen Art excel professionally, foremost on his list of achievements for the year is going public with his multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.
“This last year I came out publicly that I'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few years ago and it's been overwhelming how many people have reached [out] for me to offer support and love. It's been a really great experience, so that's been a really important part of 2019 for me.”
Art goes on to talk about how coming to terms with his medical condition has brought about a change in lifestyle, so that he can keep writing and playing music for as long as possible. “It's one of those things where I got diagnosed in 2015 and I've been dealing with it since then; I wasn't hiding from it,” he explains.
“I'm not in a wheelchair, I'm not even using a cane; I'm pretty mobile. I changed my diet. . . I'm in pretty good shape. I respect people who have this disease. . . everybody is just trying to make their way through and live as much of a normal life as possible.”
His health in check, Art is on his way to Australia with Everclear in 2020 to help headline the Hotter Than Hell tour series and also play a number of their own headline sideshows.
Everclear were last in Australia in 2017 for the 20th anniversary tour of their seminal album 'So Much For The Afterglow'. Art says it took far too long for Everclear to come back to a country that's home to perhaps their most dedicated fan base.
“The last time we played [in Australia] was in '98 and then we didn't come back until late-2011, and so that was over 13 years and that was fun doing that,” he says.
“Then we came back and did 'Afterglow' and I gotta say Australia has always been one of those places that it's even more fun playing there than playing at home. Back in the day we [sold] more records per capita in Australia and New Zealand than we did in The States.
“In the States on 'Afterglow' we were double-platinum but in Australia we were triple-platinum and in New Zealand we were quadruple-platinum, so you know the excitement for us down there has always been really high. It's going to be the longest tour we've ever done in Australia, we're going to be down there for like three weeks.”
Everclear's return to Australia ranks highly on Art's list of things he's looking forward to about the coming year, promising the band is in the best form of their career. “Going out with all these bands for this tour, we get back to our punk-pop, power-pop, melodic roots – it's exciting,” he says.
“We've been doing that for the past few years, we haven't had a keyboard player or anyone else, just four of us and it sounds great.”
Hotter Than Hell 2020 Dates
Sat 1 Feb - Coopers Alehouse (Adelaide)Sat 8 Feb - York On Lilydale (Melbourne)
Sat 15 Feb - Kirwan Tavern (Townsville)
Sat 22 Feb - Dunsborough Tavern (WA)
Everclear 2020 Tour Dates
Thu 30 Jan - Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)Fri 31 Jan - The Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Sun 2 Feb - Odeon Theatre (Hobart)
Thu 6 Feb - The Croxton Bandroom (Melbourne)
Fri 7 Feb - Pier Bandroom (Melbourne)
Sun 9 Feb - The Basement (Canberra)
Wed 12 Feb - The Helm (Sunshine Coast)
Thu 13 Feb - Parkwood Tavern (Gold Coast)
Fri 14 Feb - Racehorse Hotel (Ipswich)
Thu 20 Feb - Freo.Social (Fremantle)
Fri 21 Feb - The Carine (Perth)
