Art Alexakis hasn’t had the easiest life. But you don’t need us to tell you that; it’s all in the lyrics to some of the most popular songs by his alternative rock band Everclear. Growing up with an absentee dad? “Father of Mine.” Being a child of divorce? “Wonderful.” Brother succumbing to a heroin overdose and his girlfriend dying by suicide before he was even a teen? “Heroin Girl.” Relapsing after desperately trying to stay clean from the clutches of addiction? “When It All Goes Wrong Again.”
These days, even though he’s got 36 years of sobriety under his belt, the path hasn’t gotten easier. Back in 2019, the singer revealed that three years prior, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis following a car accident. Alexakis penned a letter to fans of the band letting them in on his health battle, partly to assure them that if they saw him “stumbling… sweaty, looking both tired and anxious at the same time,” it was due to the autoimmune disease and not from falling off the wagon.
Incredibly, the battle with MS hasn’t appeared to slow the 63-year-old Alexakis down – at least to the naked eye. Last month, he kicked off a 43-date outing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sparkle and Fade, Everclear’s major label debut, which features the hits “Santa Monica” and “Heartspark Dollarsign” alongside fan favorites like “Summerland.” On Tuesday night (October 21), the trek rounds the corner into its final stretch with a stop at Big Night Live in Boston’s North Station.
“I do everything I’m supposed to do to make myself as healthy as I can,” he tells Vanyaland. “I do my physical therapy, my medication diet, working out, swimming – to slow down the MS because it’s inevitable. It’s a chronic disease.”
Ahead of the show, which includes support from the ever-reliable Local H and surprisingly resilient Sponge, Alexakis sat down for a 617 Q&A (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings). Checking in on a much-needed day off, he talked openly about his ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis, his infamous suicide attempt as a child, and why now is the right time to start working on a new Everclear record.
:: SIX QUESTIONS
Michael Christopher: How is your health through a long tour like this?
Art Alexakis: You mean the MS? Yeah, it’s there. It just makes everything harder. I just have to work harder, and I have to push harder, and I am blessed that I am able to still do what I love to do and to be able to provide for my family and for my band and everybody, all the people that work for me. And we’re still able to do it. Who knows how long, but I feel like we’re good for a while, for years. It does; it makes everything harder.
They say that if you live long enough with MS, you’re going to be in a wheelchair. Well, I think I’m a couple of years away from a cane. Like, we went to the Parthenon a couple of years ago, and that was awesome. We had to climb up these little steps that are like 4,000 years old. I took my cane and I’m glad I did. I think there was a lot of, people who wish they had a cane. [laughs] But my balance isn’t what it used to be. And it’s just like I could let myself trip out about stuff like that. “Oh my God, I have a cane, and I have to do this.” Instead of just like, “Man, I got to do whatever I got to do to do what I want to do.” And I want to play music. I want to take care of my family. I want to enjoy life. I want to experience life. I want to do whatever I have to do to do it. And I love people when they have that attitude. That’s how you win.
I’m a long-time advocate of suicide prevention and mental health awareness, and through my work, I hear a lot of stories. One of the wildest ones that has stuck with me is since I first heard it, was about your suicide attempt and how you filled your pockets with –
Everyone makes a big deal about that. [laughs] I was 12. My girlfriend had died, and I jumped off the pier…
With your pockets filled with sand…
Sand and lead fishing weights. It was my brother’s army jacket, those big army jackets you get at a surplus store and with all the pockets and stuff. And I was just miserable, and I was on drugs and drinking and just a sad, confused kid. And I jumped off the Santa Monica Pier and went all the way to the bottom, had my big boots on, and when I got down there, I saw my brother. To this day, I see him walking towards me with light, and I can hear him, and he is just like, “No, this is wrong. You got to go back up. You’re not done yet.” And maybe I was asphyxiating [laughs] and I hallucinated it, but man, I don’t know.
I’m clean and sober 36 years. So, I work a program pretty hard. I believe in a higher power, and I think all things are possible in this world. Who knows what it was? But for me, it was very visceral and very real, and I’m very grateful for it because I felt like he was looking out for me, and I wasn’t done yet.
***
As a songwriter, I feel like you can go down a couple of different paths. One of them is you’re doing songs that are more arm’s length subject-wise, like Zeppelin doing songs about Tolkien or writing about partying or having a good time. And you can also be confessional and sing about what resonates with you personally, which then other people can identify with. You’ve obviously chosen the latter in a lot of your lyrics. Writing about addiction, childhood trauma, the search for redemption, mental health. And I wonder if that’s a choice or if it’s something that you feel compelled to do?
I think it’s both, but I definitely feel compelled. But it’s a choice I make. I mean, look man, I love Led Zeppelin. I really do. They get a pass, they get a get out of jail free card, singing about Mordor and “Valhalla, I am coming” – whatever. Led Zeppelin, they get to do that. No one else. Dungeons & Dragons? Not my thing. Writing songs about getting laid, getting high, and partying. Yeah, that’s never been done. I grew up loving songwriters. I grew up with, like, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. John Prine. My mom was listening to country music, listening to Willie [Nelson] and Patsy Cline and The Louvin Brothers…I had all this wealth of music growing up, and I love it.
There’s two kinds of music to me: Music I like and music I don’t. Not “good or bad.” It might not be good to me. I might not like K-Pop, but some people do, and it’s a big deal to them, so it’s good for them. When people start going, “That band sucks.” No, you suck. [laughs] But I am a singer-songwriter and storyteller, but I also love huge, big guitars and drums and hard rock/punk rock. So that’s whatever Everclear is. It’s pretty simple.
A lot of the stuff you’ve been through, I think, singularly, would obliterate some people. Do you ever ask yourself why you’re still here?
I used to. I used to. After having kids, I know why I’m still here. There’s no doubt. I’m here because I chose to have children. And once you choose to have children, you can’t abandon them. And trust me, when I go out, I’m going out screaming, man, I ain’t going out easy. And that goes back to Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” That’s me because I am a dad, because I have that responsibility. And it doesn’t just end when they’re 18, it’s forever. And my wife would tell you it’s for her too. And I’d have to agree.
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A lot of the bands that are “from the ‘90s,” they don’t like to be put in the category of a ‘90s band.
No, some of ’em. Not a lot of ’em. There’s a few.
But it doesn’t seem to bother you.
Because it’s what it is. They are ‘90s bands. They had success in the ‘90s. If they didn’t have success in the ‘90s, no one would know who they are now. There are bands like Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam and maybe a couple of others here and there. But for the most part, the ‘90s bands are ‘90s bands. I understand that they don’t want to be defined by that, but a lot of times it’s managers going, “Oh no, don’t want you defined by the ‘90s.” It’s just bullshit. It’s just spin. And to me, it is what it is. I don’t have a problem with it. I’m grateful for the ‘90s. What a great time.
This tour is for the 30th anniversary of Sparkle and Fade. When you look back at that album, are there parts where you’re like, “Man, I wish I had done this or that instead…”
No cringe factor. Cringe factor is very low. Yeah, I wouldn’t have turned it in at the time if I still had that cringe factor. I mean, listening to it now, is it the record I’d make now? Probably not because I’ve lived another 30 years of life, but at the time, all of my records, all the Everclear records were records that I put my whole life into. And I drove myself really hard. And unfortunately for anyone who was in my band at the time, I drove them pretty hard too [laughs], and engineers and mixers. And I wasn’t rude to people. I was very demanding that if you’re going to work on this project, you were going to put everything you had into it. And we’re getting ready to make a record. And I’ve already told the guys, “Man, I’m going to push you. I haven’t pushed you guys hard yet. You haven’t seen me push you hard. I’m going to push you hard.”
So, would you say you’re like the James Brown of power-pop?
[Laughs] I’m not fining people! “You missed that note, 50 bucks!” No, I’m not James Brown. No. I’m more like, “Alright, well, I like where you came at it. Let’s try, let’s flip that around. Instead of a descending line, let’s try an ascending line,” or “Try it with your fingers on and let’s try it with the pick,” even though he might not want to use the pick – “Tough, use the pick. Let’s try it.” And I’m like that. I’m very polite. I’m like, “Okay, cool. Let’s try this. Alright, let’s try something else. I like what you did there.” I’m not trying to necessarily write everybody’s part. I know what I want to hear. If I don’t hear it, I can pick it up and play it, but I don’t want to do that. So, what I do is… I’ve learned to inspire people into finding things within themselves.
It really strikes me that you’re working on a new record. Because I was reading a quote from you a couple of years ago where you said making a new record “sounds like doing 10 root canals.” I had one root canal, and it wasn’t fun. What made you want to revisit that process?
Look around you. Not in the world, in our country, in my state, in my city, on my street. Things just changed, and I just started writing. I just started having ideas and just started writing. And I’m like, I got to make a record. God’s telling me I got to make a record. Yeah, no, up until the election last year or even before that, “Come on, don’t you want to make another Everclear record?” No, not at all. I made 11 records, man, I don’t need to make any more records. Well, apparently, I do. But I even said it. I said at the time, “I seriously doubt it,” but I always leave a little bit of room for possibilities. That’s what life is, man. And sometimes you might not want to go down this road, but that’s where it’s pointing.
My wife is like, “Are you going to make another record? You get crazy when you make records.” She’s like, “Can you go to Romania or somewhere and make the record?” “Nope. Coming home every night, baby, just to be with you.” She’s like, “Great.”
It’s going to be like 10 root canals for her.
Yeah. Now I’m doing the root canal. “Who da dentist now?” [makes drilling sounds]
:: ONE RECOMMENDATION
I am a huge fan of swimming. See, the reason I swim is because I used to run, but I can’t run anymore because I’ll fall down. I have what’s called drop foot. I have three lesions on my brain. I have two on my spine, and the ones on my brain are on the left side. So that affects my right side. And so, I have to be very careful when I walk or when I can’t run. I used to love to run, but I always enjoyed swimming. And the thing about swimming is with MS, you’re not supposed to get overheated. Heat is bad. Cold isn’t great, but heat is really bad. So, I can swim and not get [overheated] and really get a lot of really hard cardio. Plus, swimming is just great exercise for everybody. It’s no impact. Low impact. I do exercises like physical therapy exercises they give me in the pool for water resistance and stuff.
:: SEVEN OF SOMETHING
You are a huge fan of The West Wing. What are seven of the things or certain episodes that resonate most about the show for you?
Well, if you’re a fan of what’s going on politically in this country right now, you’re not going to like The West Wing. But if you’re not a fan, Martin Sheen is the actor. His representation of Josiah Bartlett is going to make you wish that he were the President of the United States. He’s just smart. He’s not perfect. He’s kind of a cantankerous guy, but he’s got a huge heart.
The first episode was a pilot. And it starts in a bar with one of the characters. And that flashes back and flashes back, flashes ahead, and stuff like how they got to where we’re at now. And I really love that episode.
There’s a double episode where there’s an assassination attempt and different people get hit by bullets, including the president at the time. And there’s just a lot of really emotional, just great acting, great writing.
***
Aaron Sorkin [The West Wing creator], he’s just an amazing writer, just incredible. But there’s so many things about the first four seasons of that show are some of the best written entertainment, movies, and television that just still to this day, that’s kind of my comfort food. If I don’t have anything to watch, I’ll watch that to fall asleep to when I’m in the back of the bus.
A lot of people don’t like it. But in the seventh and last year of the show, it transcends into the actor Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos, who becomes president. And I like the last two episodes, or the episodes when he’s going through getting elected and stuff.
One of the things I really like about it is its ability, and I try to do it in my writing as well, to blend drama and humor because I feel like the human experience is something that, if it’s all one thing, it’s so one-dimensional. You have to have everything. And all the characters in that show, especially the earlier seasons, they’re so just fleshed out. And the ideas of every show dealt with issues at that time that were political issues that, in some ways, are still political issues to this day. Shutting down the government because the opposition party shuts down the government where we’re at right now. And there are like two or three episodes about that.
And I love finding that juxtaposition of then and now and just really see that it really, people are like, “This is the worst thing that’s ever happened.” And I’m like, “Yeah, it’s bad right now from my point of view, but it didn’t come out of nowhere.” It’s been around, there’s been people, different types of people in America from the very beginning, and we’re just kind of coming to the end of a road that was paved a long time ago.
And I think that watching The West Wing both makes me understand that and gives me hope. I think if you can create characters like that, they’re living somewhere. They’re not islands in a stream. It’s all based on someone real. And I still have hope. Even though I’m a dummy.
EVERCLEAR + LOCAL H + SPONGE :: Tuesday, October 21 at Big Night Live, 110 Causeway St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $55 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
