(Photo Credit: Ashley Osborn)
We got a chance to chat with Art Alexakis of the legendary alt rock group Everclear about the reissue of Everclear's debut album 'World of Noise' and the 30th Anniversary of the band!
1. How does it feel looking back on 30 years of Everclear?
"It makes me feel old sometimes! But at the same time but having this missing piece of World of Noise, I'm really proud. It's a lot of work. When you start a band, you have no idea that it's going to be your legacy. It's my life's work. I'm not getting old and doddy, I'm just reflecting. I feel content and like I did good. My Mom would be proud."
2. With this reissue, does it feel like you're introducing a whole new generation of fans to World of Noise?
"I hope so, that would be really cool. That's a really good question, I've mentioned to people in the last two years that younger people are coming to shows by themselves, not with an older sibling or parent etc. It's up to about 25% and they're all up front. The other day, these two women were singing some obscure lyrics to some of the bonus tracks from World of Noise. I talked to them and they said "There's just no rock and roll coming out". Rock and roll is alive and well, regardless of what the people who dictate what you play are doing. People are going to find what they want because there's an endless encyclopedia in every kid's hand, with their iPhone."
3. Listening to the album today, it pops off the record with such a sense of grit. What was the process like for remastering the album and curating the bonus tracks?
"In January after the holidays Freddy Herrera my bass player and I were looking to just clean out the back area of band storage and we found these boxes. We went inside this one box, and I knew it was old. It had all my original tapes and the actual masters for World of Noise. I had been reluctant to put it up online in the past because all I had was a 1994 version that Capitol Records mastered that I wasn't fond of."
"So when I found this, I called a buddy who helped out with cleaning and getting these tapes ready to be remastered. When we finally listened, the difference between these and the '94 version was startling. The whole album has a sound and cohesiveness even across 18 songs."
4. On World of Noise, you can very much hear the roots for albums to come. How did you first come to arrive at that sound, those songs, and that message?
"It was just what was coming out of me, the anger, frustration, and angst. I was poor had a new baby and had moved to Portland where my girlfriend was and I was experiencing a hard transition. I knew this was going to be my last band. I knew I wanted to have a three piece, I'm not necessarily the greatest guitar player but removing that lead (guitarist) aspect, that's why it sounds the way it does."
5. We're excited for the 30th Anniversary Tour with Fastball and The Nixons. What can fans expect at the shows?
"You're going to see rock bands that love what we do. We play with intensity and a lot of finesse. Some of the things we have in common is we all grew up listening to the same bands. We're three bands that are an anomaly because we don't use click tracks, we play live, there's no autotune on vocals. It's old school rock and roll."