EVERCLEAR

Everclear is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear consisted of Art Alexakis (vocals and guitar), Craig Montoya (bass guitar and vocals), and Greg Eklund (drums, percussion & vocals). Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994. Montoya and Eklund departed the band in 2003, but Alexakis continued the band with Dave "Davey" French (lead guitar), Josh Crawley (keyboards), Sam Hudson (bass guitar), and Tommy Stewart (drums, percussion). However all members except for Alexakis left the band in July 2009 to be replaced with a 4th lineup of Everclear. The band spent much of 1994 seeking out a major label deal. After a modest bidding war, they were signed to Capitol Records by Gary Gersh, who was responsible for signing Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Counting Crows to DGC Records. Just before their signing, Everclear parted ways with drummer Cuthbert, citing personality conflicts, and brought in former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. In May 1995, the band released their first album for the label, Sparkle and Fade. Initially, the album didn't find an audience. The album's first single, "Heroin Girl", received some modest airplay via MTV's 120 Minutes, but was generally missed by the mainstream. However, near the end of 1995, the second single "Santa Monica" found a strong audience via the burgeoning alternative radio format, which eventually carried over to mainstream success. The album subsequently was certified platinum. However, two ensuing singles, "Heartspark Dollarsign" and "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore", failed to find a wide audience, and the band ended 1996 fast at work on their second full-length album. As Sparkle and Fade reached its audience, Everclear had to endure consistent comparisons to Nirvana, particularly given the album's subject matter and drug references. Following a show with the Foo Fighters at the end of 1995, Dave Grohl told MTV News that he genuinely didn't think that Everclear sounded like Nirvana, noting that Bush sounded more like Nirvana than any other band. After a solo tour in the fall of 2003, Alexakis decided to continue with Everclear, organizing a new band that made its debut in March 2004. The new lineup consisted of bassist Sam Hudson, guitarist Dave "Davey" French, and drummer Eric Bretl. In the summer of 2004, the band added keyboardist Josh Crawley, and swapped Bretl for former Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder. The new lineup released its first recording, a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", that summer. Alexakis, an Oregon delegate, performed the song (as well as "Everything to Everyone") with an acoustic guitar during a CNN interview at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. A self-released EP of performances recorded for XM Satellite Radio called Closure was given out at shows in the fall of 2004. Free of a major label, Alexakis spent the ensuing year and a half slowly recording material for a new Everclear release in Biloxi, Mississippi under the direction of his new band instructor who moved from the northern part of the state where she worked at a music store. He admitted that the time after the breakup of the original lineup served as a "wake up call", during which he suffered his third divorce and filed for bankruptcy and did not retain sole custody of his family pet, a dog named Scooby. The new lineup was signed to Eleven Seven Music. Everclear released Welcome to the Drama Club on September 12, 2006, the title being in honor of their affection for the stage. Two songs were released from the album, "Hater" and "Glorious". In January 2008, Alexakis posted on the band's Myspace that they were working on a cover album, and a new album, which should be released in 2008. In addition, two unreleased songs from the Drama Club sessions, "Downtime" and "Here Comes the Darkness", were posted. The Vegas Years, a collection of cover songs was released April 15, 2008 by Capitol Records. It contains a mix of newly recorded, previously released, live, and remixed older covers. To celebrate the release, Art and the band hosted a live video chat. They confirmed they will be touring in the summer of 2008 including a possible UK tour in autumn. They also plan to release a series of singles for download online in the summer. In August 2008 former Godsmack and Fuel drummer Tommy Stewart replaced Brett Snyder on drums. While guest hosting on Sirius radio station 24, Lithium, Art Alexakis debut on August 28, Alexakis debuted "Jesus Was a Democrat". The song can now be downloaded for free off the band's official website, or Myspace with free artwork and lyrics. In November 2008 the band traveled around Iraq in support of the troops and the USO. They stopped at Camp Liberty, Camp Shield and Camp Slayer, FOB Echo and many other FOBs around the country. The sets were primarily done acoustically and consisted of most of the band's hits. In March 2009, Art Alexakis went on a solo acoustic tour, playing Hard Rock Cafes around the US. The tour was a benefit for the Musicians on Call charity. On October 6, 2009 the band released In a Different Light, a collection of re-recordings of old Everclear songs in a more acoustic fashion.[2] The collection also featured two new Everclear songs, "Here Comes the Darkness," which was actually a leftover track from Welcome to the Drama Club, and "At the End of the Day," which Alexakis had written and performed with Marion Raven. On September 13, 2009, Alexakis posted a blog on Myspace that all of the current members had left the band, and were replaced by all new musicians. This included Freddy Herrera who was the bassist of The Exies, who had previously toured with Everclear. This new version of Everclear toured for two months in support of In a Different Light. On December 28, 2009, Alexakis again posted on Myspace that former guitarist Davey French, was back on guitar, and Johnny Hawthorn was exiting the band. In the same blog, Alexakis said the band would be recording the next album in March and April 2010, for a 2011 release. On May 7, 2011, Alexakis announced on the band's Twitter page that keyboardist Josh Crawley had rejoined the band. The band entered the studio in 2011 to record both a new forthcoming studio album and to record cover songs and re-recordings of past hits album entitled "Return to Santa Monica." Furthermore Extended Versions was released, which contains 10 live recordings of a show taken place on October 15, 2010 in Seattle, WA at the Historic Columbia City Theatre. Art Alexakis stated on Twitter that a new Everclear album entitled Invisible Stars is planned for release on June 26, 2012. On March 26, 2012, a tour with Sugar Ray, Lit, Marcy Playground, and the Gin Blossoms was announced at www.summerlandtour.net