Though he’s closely associated with the cities of Los Angeles, California (where he grew up) and Portland, Oregon (where he founded his band), Everclear singer/rhythm guitarist Art Alexakis does have some roots right here in Houston, Texas.

It’s where as a teen in the ‘70s he lived with his father in Alief and Katy for just under a year, leading to two other short-lived stints with roommates in Montrose and Sharpstown.

“Yes, Montrose back in the dope days!” Alexakis laughs today, before asking some localized questions. “Is the old theater on Westheimer gone? Or the one that used to show The Rocky Horror Picture Show?"

When told that both the Tower Theatre and Alabama Theatre are indeed long gone, he tosses out one more local landmark a bit closer to him.

“Is Fitzgerald’s still there? I saw some great bands at Fitzgerald’s! We must have played there five or six times, including me solo.”

I have to disappoint Alexakis again by informing him that Holy Shrine of Houston Music on White Oak is now a parking lot.

Still, the subject of famous musical venues segues nicely into Everclear’s new record, Live at the Whisky a Go Go (Sunset Blvd. Records). And despite having played many of LA’s other historic stages, the December 2022 show captured here was the band’s first time treading the Whisky’s storied boards.
Surprisingly, though the record also serves as a celebration/souvenir of the band’s 30th anniversary tour last year, it’s actually their first live album. Sort of.

“It’s our first ‘official’ live album,” Alexakis says, explaining that a little over a decade ago, Sony Records put out a limited-edition live show that a club had recorded, for which he listened to some mixes and made some notes.

“I’ve never actually heard it. They never sent me any copies! But I’ve heard people say they’ve heard it, that’s all I know!” he says. “But this one, this is a labor of love. And it sounds pretty good!”
After an introduction from former MTV VJ/DJ and band friend Matt Pinfield, Live at the Whisky a Go Go features 14 tracks of Everclear’s best-known material (“Santa Monica,” “Father of Mine,” “Wonderful,” “I Will Buy You a New Life,” “Everything to Everyone”), fan faves/deeper cuts (“Nervous and Weird,” “Fire Maple Song”), and a Nirvana cover (“Molly’s Lips”). There are also two newish studio tracks that are very, very timely (more on those later).

As Alexakis notes in his liner notes, these versions are much more raw and raucous than their studio counterparts. And he says there’s a disconnect for most bands in that sense. “You’re going to listen to a [studio] album way more times than you’re going to a show, so you need more depth and bells and whistles and compression there,” he offers.

“Live albums and shows to me are meant to be more raucous and rock. If you listen to our first record, World of Noise, that’s close to being a live record. No one had heard of tuning! In hindsight…I loved that! Less choices and having your back up against the wall creatively. But I digress!”
The current Everclear lineup also includes Davey French (lead guitar), Freddy Herrera (bass) and Brian Nolan (guitar). And he’s more than happy with this version of the band, with Herrera clocking in at a decade and a half of service and French at two. Asked what makes this lineup standout from any other, Alexakis says it’s a question of musical tightness. And trust.

“We’re all older guys and we’re not changing anybody out. I feel a sense of band with these guys moreseo than anybody ever, even the guys in the [early] videos, Craig [Montoya] and Greg [Eklund],” Alexakis says of the two men in the “classic” Everclear lineup for most of their first decade.

“I really cared for Craig, and I still do. But I never felt connected to Greg, I don’t think anybody did. But he was a great drummer, and we made some great records, for sure,” Alexakis offers.
“The big thing in any relationship is trust. You have to trust your partners to do what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it. And they have to have that trust in you the same way,” he continues. “I have that hardcore with this band. We’re doing this because we want to do it. And all the guys take a lot of pride in the brand, Everclear. That means a lot to me.”

Hardcore fans will note that the songs on the record pretty much stick to that first decade, which Everclear’s leader says is intentional.

“To be honest, the recent stuff doesn’t really connect with as many people. Every show there are people asking for deep tracks over the last few records. And we do that sometimes. But that’s not what people want to hear,” he says.
“I just like playing my music for people who want to hear it and get them excited. I don’t have this arrogant ego where I have to play obscure songs to feel like I’m an artist and not play my hits. It’s pretentious and precocious. And if I sounds like I’m being nasty toward people like that, I am!”

On the record, Alexakis gives a shout out to his absent teenage daughter who he has with third wife Vanessa Crawford, apparently too sick to make it to the Whisky gig. The proud father notes on the phone that while she and likes pop music, her favorite ‘90s-era band is not Everclear, but Rage Against the Machine.

“It’s kind of hard to argue that!” he laughs. “I can’t get her into country, but I think that will come in time!” He also shares another older daughter with his first wife.
Today, Alexakis is writing new songs, but “doesn’t see a time” where he or Everclear put out another studio record. He instead thinks of releasing a few new songs each year, accompanied by “low budget” videos.

Now, for these two new studio tracks on the album, both tackle very current topics, with “Sing Away” about child bullying that leads to suicide.

“That song… I have a friend whose kid killed themself. And I read about a couple of kids who got bullied so bad they killed themselves. And as a father, that shit just broke my heart!” Alexakis says.

“Year of the Tiger” indirectly addresses (though not by name) a certain U.S. political leader with an astounding cult of personality that even Everclear’s recent touring mates Living Colour couldn’t invent. As well as his more diehard followers who just may wear hats emblazoned with the letters MAGA.

“With all the shit that had gone on in the last few years, I’m surprised there haven’t been more protest songs. It seemed like a lot of complacency. So I played this for my friend who’s in a pretty famous pop-punk band and he said ‘Art, this isn’t a protest song. This is a fight song. You’re just trying to start shit!’” he says, before continuing down the path of one Donald Trump.
“Wasn’t it good for the past couple of years he wasn’t in the news every single day? Or several times a day?” he offers. “He was a carny, man. Snake oil! An old school fucking carny robber baron. So was his dad!”

Ah yes, Fred Trump. What Art Alexakis didn’t know until I told him was that the elder Trump himself was the subject of a protest song by no less a bona fide folk music icon than Woody Guthrie.

In 1950, the Dust Bowl balladeer was living at the Fred Trump-owned Beach Haven Apartments in Brooklyn, New York. Guthrie deplored what he saw as Trump’s overtly racist housing practices and rental policies against Blacks.

Guthrie never recorded his original “Old Man Trump,” but his handwritten lyrics were unearthed by Guthrie scholar Will Kaufman while doing archival research. They are on display at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I stumbled upon them during a visit in 2019. The song has since been recorded by several folk and alt-rock musicians.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Did you take a picture of the lyrics? I’ve got to find that!” Alexakis says with the exploratory joy of a musical Indiana Jones. “Dude, you have my number. If you find a copy of it, send it to me! Or I’ll Google it as soon as we’re done talking!”

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