The interview was scheduled for a Wednesday, but if Everclear lead singer/guitarist Art Alexakis did not call it would be understandable. America was attacked the day before.
“Yesterday was a day where the country needed to take a step back and wrap their arms around each other,” Alexakis said. He later added that, “We’re going to buy some food and take it where it needs to go.”
The mood at Anderson Arena will hopefully be more happy when Everclear takes the stage this Saturday night. Bowling Green State University will be the last stop on what is being called the “Back to School Tour,” although Alexakis is hesitant to call it a tour.
“It started with one or two shows that people asked us to do,” he said, “It does look like a mini tour…We are going to be on a bus so I guess you can call it a tour.”
The band, which also includes drummer Greg Eklund and bassist Craig Montoya, was in the area back in the spring as part of matchbox twenty’s “Mad Season” tour. That show made a stop at Toledo’s Savage Hall. However, according to Alexakis the band had to change their show slightly for those shows.
“Those matchbox twenty shows were a real challenge for us,” he said, “We had to work hard to get the crowd excited.”
Alexakis noted that the average age for a matchbox twenty show is slightly older than what Everclear plays to. Alexakis added that he was not a fan of the reserved seating system that was used for the “Mad Season” tour. Only a four or five shows had general admission seating, meaning that there were no assigned seats.
“These shows are going to be much more rowdier. We’ll play more rowdier,” he said.
Another important thing about the Bowling Green show is that it might be the last live Everclear performance for at least the year. Alexakis said that the band had actually turned down show offers that would have taken place after the Bowling Green show.
“This is the last time you will see this incarnation of this [touring] band,” Alexakis said, “Everclear will always be Art, Craig and Greg.”
For Art the future holds quite a bit of activity. “I’m always in the studio,” he said.
Alexakis said that he will direct videos for other artists along with working with the band Flip, which is signed his label Popularity Records. “I’m always in the studio,” he said.
Along with touring and studio work, Alexakis has also been very open about his past, which included drug abuse. Last year the band was the subject of VH1’s “Behind the Music.” For Alexakis, opening up was not a problem. “The hard thing was opening up our friends and family,” he said, “It’s a little unnerving.”
For the most part Alexakis said that the show got it right, except for two small things.
One, the program showed the wrong house when Alexakis’s childhood was discussed. Art remembers his family’s reaction when they saw that segment in the show. “We went, ‘We didn’t live there. Where in the hell did they get that?'”
Then there was that other small detail that was missed altogether. “They skipped the fact that I had a first wife,” Alexakis said, “It was kinda tidy.”
With the past behind the band and a live performance in Bowling Green on the way, Art is looking forward to playing at Anderson Arena. “I’m excited that we are playing in Bowling Green,” he said, “I love Ohio. I love the Midwest.”
“It’s going to be a different show [than matchbox twenty in Toledo],” Alexakis said, “It’s going to be rowdier. Be prepared for that.”
