1: Learning How to Smile surfacing in early fall and Songs from an American Movie, Vol. A double-barreled concept effort appeared in 2000 with Songs from an American Movie, Vol. Everclear was also hailed Modern Rock Artist of the Year by Billboard magazine in 1998. He testified in front of Congress regarding child support laws and campaigned with several presidential tickets, among other efforts. So Much for the Afterglow followed in 1997, and went double-platinum, particularly due to the success of three Top 5 modern rock hits, "Everything to Everyone," "I Will Buy You a New Life," and "Father of Mine." Alexakis had become a father himself around this time as well, and the birth of his daughter prompted the singer to become even more politically active. Meanwhile, Alexakis became a major alternative media figure, reporting from the 1996 political conventions for MTV. Alternative radio quickly picked up on the singles "Santa Monica" and "Heroin Girl," and the album eventually certified platinum. Their second album Sparkle and Fade appeared in 1995. 18, 1970), and signed to Capitol in June.
During 1994, the group toured relentlessly, replaced Cuthbert with Greg Eklund (b. Alexakis grew frustrated with the company's lack of promotion, so he hired an independent promoter to push the EP and personally mailed copies to media outlets and distributors.br /br /Everclear then added several songs to the EP and released it as World of Noise in 1993 on Fire Records. 14, 1970) and Everclear's first drummer, Scott Cuthbert the trio recorded a demo EP (for $400) that was released on Portland's Tim/Kerr label. The band imploded, and Alexakis moved to his girlfriend's hometown of Portland, Oregon. The group released one LP on Alexakis' Shindig label, but the album (and an EP) became out of print after distributor Rough Trade folded. The d**h of both his brother and girlfriend by drug overdoses convinced him to kick his own c**aine habit in the mid-'80s, and he later formed a country-punk band named Colorfinger in San Francisco.
12, 1962, West Los Angeles, CA) was raised lower-middle-cla** by his single mother in Santa Monica. Also elemental to Everclear's success was their obsessive touring schedule and agressive self-promotion.br /br /Art Alexakis (b. The band's sound reflected the rock, post-punk and singer/songwriter influences of Alexakis like X, the Replacements, the Pixies, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello. Though Everclear's Northwestern grunge-punk style was hardly revolutionary when the band became popular in 1995, the band's superb songs and Art Alexakis' us-against-them lyrics were taken to heart by bored Gen-X teens.