WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 Hey everybody, this is Art Alex Hawkus from the 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:05.059 band Everclear, and you're listening to My Weekly 00:00:05.059 --> 00:00:20.280 Mixtape with Brian Colburn. Take a listen. Welcome 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.820 to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that takes the 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:25.699 classic mixtape approach to building a modern 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:28.600 playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. One of 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:31.239 my favorite aspects of My Weekly Mixtape is speaking 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:33.719 with some of the amazing artists whose songs 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:36.119 have graced my mixtapes and playlists throughout 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:38.799 the years. And I'm excited to continue that tradition 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.200 on this episode by welcoming tonight's guest, 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:44.399 Art Alexakis of Everclear. Art, thank you so 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:47.140 much for joining me on My Weekly Mixtape. Thanks, 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:49.200 Brian. Thanks for asking me, man. Sounds cool. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.219 I used to be a killer mixtape maker back in the 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:54.549 day. Well, Art, I'm glad you said that because 00:00:54.549 --> 00:00:57.310 I start every episode by asking each guest the 00:00:57.310 --> 00:01:00.030 same question. What does the word mixtape mean 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:04.810 to you? Cassettes. Yeah, that's a mixtape. I 00:01:04.810 --> 00:01:07.989 mean, now it's a playlist. And I still make playlists 00:01:07.989 --> 00:01:11.090 for my wife, but back in the day I'd make mixtapes 00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:14.390 for people. But that was really before, you know, 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:19.209 my life became making music all the time. I just... 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:21.700 I don't have the time or the bandwidth to think 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:24.819 of stuff like that. I do, though. I make it for 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:27.480 my daughter, like my 15 -year -old, and even 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:30.180 my eldest daughter, I would do that for her as 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:33.060 well. Well, that's parenting done right. You 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:35.799 think so? Oh, 100%. Anything that I can do to 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:39.280 pass any bit of my musical tastes onto my children 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:40.939 in the next generation, I feel like we're doing 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:43.959 something right. That's right. So I want to start 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.959 by talking about an album that we're celebrating 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.579 its 30th anniversary this year, World of Noise. 00:01:48.739 --> 00:01:51.959 I love the raw aggressiveness that breathes throughout 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:54.659 the entire album. And I'm consistently blown 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.420 away by the fact that it was recorded with a 00:01:56.420 --> 00:01:59.760 $400 budget. Right. When you listen back to songs 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.680 like Your Genius Hands and Fire Maple Song, which 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:04.739 are my two personal favorites from the album, 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:07.859 what does three decades of hindsight and retrospect 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:10.539 for you bring to these songs as well as the album 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:13.659 as a whole? Well, personally, as songs and even 00:02:13.659 --> 00:02:15.900 as those master recordings, even though they 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:20.939 were recorded seriously lo -fi, I still think 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:22.840 they're exciting. I still think they're good 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.419 songs. They're written by a different guy. They're 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:28.840 written by a guy 31 years ago who's grown a lot 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.060 and been through a lot of different stuff and 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:34.199 experimented a lot. And, you know, at that time, 00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:37.039 I had never really been in a real studio. I've 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.500 been in like some studios, but not. With like 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.479 a major label budget behind me, that wasn't going 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:47.039 to happen for another year or two. And when I 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.900 listen to Your Genius Hands, I still think that's 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:53.479 a great album opener. And that was the show starter 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.960 for years and years and years until So Much for 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.219 the Afterglow. And now we start with So Much 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:01.460 for the Afterglow. But every now and then, we'll 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:03.939 break out Your Genius Hands for sure. And we 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:06.599 play Fire Maple song all the time. I just did 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.300 a four -show run. And we did it in two of the 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:13.520 shows. And Fire Maple Song is also featured on 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:15.639 Live at the Whiskey A Go -Go, which is the new 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:17.919 live album from the band that is coming out on 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:21.719 Friday, September 8th. Yeah. Now, in 1995, the 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.219 band released its major label debut, Sparkle 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:26.680 and Fade, on Columbia Records, and the album 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:29.680 produced classics like Heroin Girl, which Patreon 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.259 playlister Mally Hart chimed in with as her go 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:35.340 -to track, Santa Monica, which was the song that 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:37.759 introduced me and countless others to the band, 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:40.560 You Make Me Feel Like a Whore, and Heart Spark 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:44.360 Dollar Sign. Now on this album, the budget was, 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.680 I'd say slightly increased versus the $400 for 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.699 World of Noise. What was that indie to major 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:54.599 label transition like for you? You know, I think 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.199 I weathered it pretty well. I mean, I had a lot 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.460 of knowledge. I had a lot of, from doing a lot 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:02.240 of indie stuff over the years and being around 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:06.740 other people who had done it wrong, right? Who 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:10.270 had signed major labels and just. They got cars 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:13.090 and they did this and they did that. And I'm 00:04:13.090 --> 00:04:17.449 just like, man, you know, none of this is real 00:04:17.449 --> 00:04:19.769 until you make a record that does something. 00:04:20.149 --> 00:04:22.490 Then it's real. Because if you make a record, 00:04:22.629 --> 00:04:24.370 well, we're going to make, we have a three record 00:04:24.370 --> 00:04:26.449 deal. None of you don't. You have one record 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:30.550 and two options. And I was like, these kids didn't, 00:04:30.550 --> 00:04:32.529 and these kids were my age. They didn't know 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:34.790 what they were talking about. And when I signed 00:04:34.790 --> 00:04:38.560 to Capitol, I read everything. And I made the 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:41.939 lawyer sit there with me, my lawyers, their lawyers, 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:45.800 everybody. We read, oh, that's just boilerplate. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.980 Well, I'm a guitar player, singer. I don't know 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:52.079 what boilerplate is. Yeah, you do. Yeah, I do, 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.660 but I don't. Explain to me what this means. You 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:58.360 know, I was kind of a D about it, you know, but 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:04.259 you have to be because it's your, to me, I was 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:08.800 32 years old. It was my one chance. And if I 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.220 failed because of me, because I didn't write 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:13.939 the best songs, I didn't get the band to perform 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:16.360 them well enough or whatever, I could live with 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:19.319 that. But because it was someone else, I couldn't 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.100 live with that. So I was kind of a jerk about 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:27.060 it, but politely a jerk. But we got it done. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:32.180 My career at Capitol Records was millions of 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.560 records sold, and I got to experience the stuff 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:38.430 I dreamed about. I mean, my dream was to grow 00:05:38.430 --> 00:05:42.350 up, play guitars, not even sing in a rock and 00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:45.350 roll band, play guitar and have a house, nice 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:48.290 house, not a big house, not be rich. I've never 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:52.329 wanted to be rich and I'm not. So there you go. 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:56.829 And have a family. That was the dream to me because, 00:05:56.870 --> 00:05:59.490 yeah, remember, I grew up with a housing project, 00:05:59.689 --> 00:06:02.670 single mom, always worried about money, always. 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:05.610 And I just wanted to get one of the best things. 00:06:06.009 --> 00:06:09.449 Signing to the label and having success was not 00:06:09.449 --> 00:06:11.410 having to worry about paying the damn bills. 00:06:12.110 --> 00:06:14.610 You know? Amen. I mean, that's something everybody 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:20.149 can relate to. And it's just like, for a few 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:22.410 years there, I didn't have to worry about it. 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:25.750 It was wonderful. But I'm digressing. It was 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:29.250 just making that transition over there with that 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:31.949 money behind you. The way I likened it, Brian, 00:06:32.170 --> 00:06:35.870 was I had a car ready to go. but I didn't really 00:06:35.870 --> 00:06:39.269 have an engine. And the major label provided 00:06:39.269 --> 00:06:43.069 that with money, expertise, because all the people 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:45.769 that work there know what they're doing. If you 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:47.430 listen to them, that doesn't mean they know more 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:49.569 than you, but they know more than you about what 00:06:49.569 --> 00:06:52.050 they do. I didn't argue with people about how 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:55.610 to do marketing. I would tell them how I wanted 00:06:55.610 --> 00:06:58.470 the marketing and publicity done, and they'd 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:02.149 run with it. And we were really blessed to have 00:07:02.149 --> 00:07:05.430 a great team. In the 90s, in capital under Gary 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:08.329 Gersh and Perry Watts Russell was my N .R. gun. 00:07:08.709 --> 00:07:12.730 So I have really just, for want of a better word, 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:15.649 a blessed experience, man. I just, we didn't 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:19.410 mean we didn't knock heads. We did. Of course, 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:22.699 of course. And then, due to the popularity of 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.139 Sparkle and Fade, you were able to go back to 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:27.360 the studio and record the two times platinum 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.319 So Much for the Afterglow, which spawned anthems 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:32.379 such as the title track that you mentioned you've 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:35.500 opened up every show since, Everything to Everyone, 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:38.860 I Will Buy You a New Life, Father of Mine, and 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:41.579 Amphetamines, which several of the mixtapers 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:43.560 chimed in as one of their personal favorites 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.540 across the My Weekly Mixtape social media channels. 00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:49.610 Art, did you know you were turning in a truly 00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:52.709 special album when you submitted it to the label? 00:07:53.250 --> 00:07:55.550 It's hard to define the word special. Did I know 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:58.029 it was going to sell three million records? No. 00:07:58.509 --> 00:08:01.990 But I knew that I was giving them everything 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:04.970 that they needed. And they told me that. You've 00:08:04.970 --> 00:08:08.470 given us three extremely song singles. You've 00:08:08.470 --> 00:08:11.389 given us a great record, great artwork, just 00:08:11.389 --> 00:08:15.629 a vision. And we're going to run with it. And 00:08:15.629 --> 00:08:17.930 it's funny because there's a story, I don't know 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:20.310 if you've heard this story before, but when I 00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:23.350 went in to make the record in late 96 after Sparkle 00:08:23.350 --> 00:08:26.790 and Fade, after touring that summer, we went 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:29.550 in and we recorded about 15 songs and I was going 00:08:29.550 --> 00:08:34.169 to call the record Pure White Evil. Go figure. 00:08:34.309 --> 00:08:37.490 And we recorded some songs up through Christmas 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:39.470 and I wrote some more songs over the holidays. 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:44.070 In January, late December, early January, I recorded 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:46.639 a new song I had written called I Will Buy You 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:50.960 a New Life. And we finished that song. We went 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.019 in to mix it in January in New York, and I'd 00:08:54.019 --> 00:08:57.419 used the same mixer, Brian Maloof, who had mixed 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:02.440 Sparkle and Fade. And back then, there was no 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.960 way to get stuff quickly to people except for 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:09.159 ISDN. Do you remember ISDN? Yes, I do. Yes, from 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.460 radio, for sure. So we had to get an ISDN line 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:17.970 from Electric Ladies. to my A &R guy, and I played 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:21.629 a line for him, and he listened to it. Perry, 00:09:21.769 --> 00:09:25.429 he's a British guy, and he's like, Arthur, I'm 00:09:25.429 --> 00:09:27.509 not going to try to do this action. He goes, 00:09:27.570 --> 00:09:32.429 Arthur, this is a good album. It's not great. 00:09:33.110 --> 00:09:35.389 There's songs on it that could be great, but 00:09:35.389 --> 00:09:39.090 they're not great. What? And this record is not 00:09:39.090 --> 00:09:44.789 going to do what you want it to do. Wow. it kind 00:09:44.789 --> 00:09:48.769 of kicked my ass you know and I'm grateful to 00:09:48.769 --> 00:09:53.049 him because that was his job and my wife at the 00:09:53.049 --> 00:09:57.210 time had flown out to be with me and I just like 00:09:57.210 --> 00:09:59.929 she went home when I stayed in New York for two 00:09:59.929 --> 00:10:04.490 weeks and just walked around kind of like blind 00:10:04.490 --> 00:10:07.389 and dumb and just walked around kind of in shock 00:10:07.389 --> 00:10:10.870 for a couple days and a movie called Jerry Maguire 00:10:10.870 --> 00:10:12.649 had just come out and I went and saw that movie 00:10:12.649 --> 00:10:17.549 like Eight times, right? And there was a song 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:19.990 in it. I didn't know at the time, but one of 00:10:19.990 --> 00:10:21.549 my favorite guys in the world, but I couldn't 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:24.610 tell who it was, Bruce Springsteen, Secret Garden. 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:28.450 And that song, for some reason, just hit me really 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:33.110 hard. And I went back and I wrote a song called 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:37.389 Song from an American Movie. And even though 00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:39.950 that was going to be on the next record, I just 00:10:39.950 --> 00:10:42.740 started writing songs. And I got two notebooks 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:45.320 from the drugstore. I got a notebook to write 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:48.740 songs in. And I got a notebook to make notes 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:52.120 on what I was going to do, like different production 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.080 things I was going to do. And some songs were 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:57.460 like, just get rid of them. Not going to make 00:10:57.460 --> 00:10:59.559 the record. Some songs were like, re -record 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:01.340 the drums. Some songs, re -record everything. 00:11:01.539 --> 00:11:03.840 Some songs were like, add keyboard. Add some 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.460 sort of bell -like sound here. Do this. I went 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:09.200 through everything. Two weeks. I stayed there 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.159 for two weeks. made all these notes, got on a 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.860 conference call with everybody, my A &R guy, 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:17.899 management, all the guys in the band. I'm like, 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:20.019 this is what we're going to do. We're going to 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:23.240 go into this studio. I need you to book this 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.080 studio for this time. I want Andy Wallace to 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.000 mix it. Please call him, see if he'll mix it 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:32.580 and what his schedule is, this and that and this 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:36.240 and this. And that was it. And we did all that. 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.539 I had like this. It looked like the Debussy Scrolls. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.080 It was like, this is what we're going to do. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.940 And we did all that stuff. And I added some new 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:49.980 stuff as time went on. So when I handed that 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:53.480 in with the artwork, Perry's like, well, the 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.419 first song's too punk rock. And even with that 00:11:56.419 --> 00:11:58.740 Beach Boys intro, I think people are going to 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:01.879 think there's no changes. I'm like, look, and 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:04.799 here's a list. Here's a, here's a, here's a. 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:08.059 a list of how I we think the song should go on 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:10.179 the record and I go oh great can I have that 00:12:10.179 --> 00:12:14.799 I go you didn't even read it I go no I have creative 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:19.480 control this record is the best it can be leave 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:25.379 it alone don't f with it leave it alone and yeah 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:27.879 so I did feel like I was giving them something 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:31.639 that was that had hit all their benchmarks of 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:35.080 what they wanted and Get everything inside me 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.419 creatively for what I wanted. I couldn't make 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:41.220 that record any better. And I got to say, that 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:43.440 record and the record after it, Songs from American 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.860 Movie, are two albums that have very little or 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:50.379 no cringe factor, meaning you listen back and 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:54.019 go, we should have done that differently. I don't 00:12:54.019 --> 00:12:56.259 have any of that with those records. Not really. 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:58.980 A little bit with Sparkle and Fade. That's like 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:01.379 sacrilege to some people, man. Some people are 00:13:01.379 --> 00:13:04.460 like, that's it. Leave it alone. That's a masterpiece. 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:08.240 I go, nah, it's my work. I can decide what it 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:11.279 is. No, they'll argue with me all day about it. 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.259 And I love the passion, man. People that have 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.240 that kind of passion for what you do, how wonderful 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:19.720 is that? It's amazing. It's amazing. When people 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:21.720 love music, man, that's all that needs to be 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.389 said. It's love. Now you mentioned this song 00:13:24.389 --> 00:13:26.129 just a moment ago, but when you're following 00:13:26.129 --> 00:13:29.450 up an album like Afterglow, I'm sure you're aware 00:13:29.450 --> 00:13:32.909 it's no easy feat. But the band did that in what 00:13:32.909 --> 00:13:35.990 I would call epic fashion, releasing two albums 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:39.490 in one year, 2000's Songs from an American Movie 00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:42.389 Volume 1, Learning How to Smile, along with Volume 00:13:42.389 --> 00:13:46.250 2, Good Time for a Bad Attitude. Now between 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:48.649 those two albums, fans were treated to songs 00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:52.830 like AM Radio, Wonderful, Your Incredible cover 00:13:52.830 --> 00:13:55.889 of Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl, When It All 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:58.490 Goes Wrong Again, which Patreon mixtaper David 00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:01.490 Owens chimed in with as his go -to track, and 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:04.350 Unemployed Boyfriend, which Patreon playlister 00:14:04.350 --> 00:14:08.070 Cactus Pete chimed in with as his go -to track. 00:14:08.350 --> 00:14:10.990 Can you talk about the mindset behind releasing 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:14.769 two albums in one year versus maybe releasing 00:14:14.769 --> 00:14:17.490 a Songs from an American Movie double album? 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:20.620 Was that you? Was that the label? It wasn't the 00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:23.299 labels at all. They didn't want to do that. Originally, 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:26.799 I pitched it to them saying, and pitched it to 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:28.419 them. I told them, I'm going to give you a double 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:30.940 album. And they're like, as long as it's got 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:33.779 two to three singles on it that we can sell, 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:37.740 great. And I'm like, I will give you that. I 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:39.960 don't write singles, but I'll keep writing songs 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:43.139 and recording them until I feel like you have 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.779 singles. And then when you agree, we'll move 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.480 forward. That's fair. I don't mind doing that. 00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:51.750 I never wrote songs to be singles. That's creepy. 00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:54.370 That's like trying to produce product instead 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:58.490 of making music. Right. And it does become product. 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.750 That's fine. Once you give it to the label, it's 00:15:01.750 --> 00:15:05.450 product. But that means when I give it to them, 00:15:05.509 --> 00:15:07.970 when an artist gives it to them, you got to feel 00:15:07.970 --> 00:15:11.909 100 % about everything about it from the artwork, 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:15.809 credits, everything on down the line that you 00:15:15.809 --> 00:15:19.200 feel like it represents you artistically. And 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.679 I used to think that rock and roll people that 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:27.120 call themselves artists were pretentious. It's 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.500 not. I was wrong. Creating something from nothing 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:33.700 is art. It's maybe not higher. It's probably 00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:38.179 not Rodin, you know, doing the thinker. But it's 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:43.559 art that has lived for me for 30 years plus, 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:46.360 and it's still going strong. We're playing the 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.500 war, people. We have more people online. We're 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.580 getting more downloads than ever. There's like 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:55.419 a 90s thing going on, but there's also an Everclear 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:58.639 resurgence right now. That's really interesting 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:01.919 considering I'm 60 years old with gray hair. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.860 I know people are like, he's bald. Not bald, 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:09.019 just gray. My father doesn't even refer to it 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:11.720 as gray. He just calls it going chrome in car 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:15.360 terms. Now, since I mentioned earlier your cover 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.139 of Brown Eyed Girl and being a massive fan of 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:20.399 cover songs, there's an artist that you have 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:23.080 covered not once but twice in your career. And 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:26.019 that is my favorite artist of all time, Tom Petty. 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.539 Right. In 1994, on the You Got Lucky, a tribute 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:32.120 to Tom Petty compilation, you released a cover 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:35.139 of American Girl. And in 2011, you covered I 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:37.340 Won't Back Down for the Return to Santa Monica 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:40.879 release. So I'd be remiss if I didn't ask. What 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.480 does Tom Petty's music mean to you as a fellow 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:47.220 musician and artist? Well, I've always put Tom 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:50.179 Petty on a pedestal. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:53.879 to a lesser degree for me, John Cougar, Mellencap, 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:57.899 Coog, as they call them. These are American rock 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:01.559 and roll singer -songwriters. And they all derive 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:05.900 from Dylan and, to a certain extent, Van Morrison 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:09.460 and different people. But what Tom brought... 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:12.640 was more rock and roll. And there was almost 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:17.059 like new wavy punk edge to his early stuff where 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:21.960 it was unapologetically rock and roll. It didn't 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:24.579 sound like the cool new wave stuff coming out 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:27.500 of the UK. It didn't sound like the stuff coming 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:30.980 out of Hollywood. And it was hugely successful 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:35.839 because I believe that good rock and roll, and 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.680 if you ask me to define Everclear, I've always 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:41.680 said it. We're a hard rock and roll band. Call 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:43.940 us alternative if you want. If that sells it 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:46.259 for you, that's fine. I don't know what we're 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:48.740 alternative to when you listen to bands that 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:51.460 are truly alternative. We're a rock and roll 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:57.660 band. Tom Petty brought lyrics, an American voice, 00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:01.960 and just a sense of himself and the world around 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:06.039 him, as did Bruce Springsteen before him and 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:09.700 while he was doing it. Yeah, those two guys are 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:13.119 very big for me, influential bots. Well, I want 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.140 to pivot now to my personal favorite Everclear 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:18.880 song because this show is something that is special 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:21.420 to me. And this is a song that might be considered 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:23.680 a deeper cut to people, but I've always wanted 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.279 to ask you about it. And it's the song The Drama 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.859 King from 2006's Welcome to the Drama Club. Just 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:32.720 hits me to my core. And I'd love to hear the 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:34.480 story behind this one because it means so much 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.250 to me. And you did go deep. I thought you were 00:18:37.250 --> 00:18:39.670 going to say learning how to smile. You went 00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:43.809 deep. You know, it's funny. I listened to that 00:18:43.809 --> 00:18:46.869 album the other day just out of nowhere. It came 00:18:46.869 --> 00:18:49.670 up in my playlist. And I'm like, I listened to 00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:53.630 it. That's a good record. I don't know that in 00:18:53.630 --> 00:18:56.890 hindsight it should have been an Everclear record. 00:18:57.009 --> 00:18:59.029 I think it probably should have been a solo record. 00:18:59.690 --> 00:19:01.970 Because those songs are really personal. I was 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:04.819 going through a divorce. And even though... I 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:08.059 have 34 years of sobriety and I haven't drank 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:11.920 or used drugs for 34 years. In the program, a 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.420 lot of times we'll say someone's tri -drunk, 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:17.880 which means they're not using or drinking, but 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:20.640 they're not working their program and they're 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:25.819 acting in alcoholic behavior. And I've gone in 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:27.900 and out of that over the years. The last four 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:31.779 years, my program is strong and wonderful and 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:34.509 I've done the steps again. I'm just... I'm doing 00:19:34.509 --> 00:19:37.569 really well right now. But at the time, I had 00:19:37.569 --> 00:19:40.809 just started. I got a sponsor again because I 00:19:40.809 --> 00:19:43.529 went through this breakup and emotional issues 00:19:43.529 --> 00:19:47.130 and stuff like that. So I was really present 00:19:47.130 --> 00:19:51.089 when I wrote the songs on that record about amends, 00:19:51.089 --> 00:19:55.390 about my part in it instead of assigning blame 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:58.990 to people. So that's an intense, lyrically intense 00:19:58.990 --> 00:20:02.269 record. Yes, very much so. To me, it's kind of 00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:04.309 like... You just need to listen to it once or 00:20:04.309 --> 00:20:07.450 twice, and then you're good. Kind of like Schindler's 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:11.910 List. Fantastic movie. Saw it. Don't really feel 00:20:11.910 --> 00:20:14.750 the need to see it again, you know? I probably 00:20:14.750 --> 00:20:17.349 will every 10, 15. No, I think I've watched it 00:20:17.349 --> 00:20:19.910 again. I watched it with my daughter, and she's 00:20:19.910 --> 00:20:22.730 like, that's wonderful. Man, that's amazing, 00:20:22.869 --> 00:20:25.109 Daddy. She's crying. She goes, can we never watch 00:20:25.109 --> 00:20:28.269 that again? I go, absolutely. That's my kid. 00:20:28.950 --> 00:20:33.339 But Drama King is just basically from, The perspective 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:36.839 of my breakup that I was going through and other 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:40.000 breakups I've known, a lot of times things were 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.900 autobiographical, and this was kind of that, 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:47.039 not really 100%, but it was also a lot of times 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.019 I'll make amalgams and composites of characters 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:53.539 that are me from different experiences and put 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:57.119 them together. So a third of my songs were probably 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:59.539 autobiographical, 100 % like Father of Mine, 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:02.799 I'll Buy You a New Life, stuff like that. And 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.720 then I think another 30 % are those, are the 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.299 composites. And then another 30%, I just write 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:14.680 songs. Just write songs. Well, out of all of 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:16.799 those songs, if you had to sum up your musical 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:20.000 legacy in three Everclear songs, which ones would 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:32.480 you choose? I don't know. Definitely Santa Monica. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:37.039 Definitely Santa Monica. But I could do three 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.039 songs a record. I don't know if I could do three 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:41.220 songs for the whole career. I could definitely 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:43.859 do three songs a record. Learning How to Smile, 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:46.740 I think, is one of my best songs I've ever written, 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:49.559 ever produced. I think that came out. We just 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:52.079 started playing that live again. So if you see 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.599 us in the fall, we've got a fall tour with the 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:58.180 Ataris and Pink Spiders. It's going to be a great 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:00.859 tour. It starts in... september 6th and we got 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:03.259 a double live album coming out yes september 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:06.220 8th called live at the whiskey a go -go i actually 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:07.880 kind of wanted to name it double live at the 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.680 whiskey a go -go because growing up in the 70s 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.539 and 80s all the cool bands put out double live 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:17.180 record yes and we're putting out final man it's 00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:21.480 gonna be cool super cool vinyl cds and electronic 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.859 i don't think we're doing cassettes i hope i 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:26.099 don't think i don't know i don't know that's 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:29.660 up to the label but um Let's see, one more song. 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:36.079 I'm getting off of Drama Club. I really like 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.319 a song on that record called Under the Western 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:41.640 Stars. Oh, yeah. I was going to name that record 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:44.680 Western Stars. That was the working title. You 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:47.359 can see it on the tapes that the working title 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.180 of that record is Western Stars. And then I changed 00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:53.519 it to It Became So Personal. Welcome to the Drama 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.809 Club was the right name for it. But then Bruce 00:22:55.809 --> 00:22:57.490 Springsteen came out with a record a few years 00:22:57.490 --> 00:23:01.630 ago called Western Stars. Coincidence? Totally. 00:23:01.890 --> 00:23:04.650 It's totally coincidence. He's going to take 00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:10.009 something from me. Third song. What would your 00:23:10.009 --> 00:23:13.710 three songs be? Oh, my three, going down the 00:23:13.710 --> 00:23:16.769 list, I'd have to go with Santa Monica, the Drama 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:20.450 King, because we talked about it. And third, 00:23:20.609 --> 00:23:22.549 I'm actually going to go with Be Careful What 00:23:22.549 --> 00:23:25.920 You Ask For from Invisible Stars. Wow. Okay. 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:29.980 Okay. That's a good one. Yeah. I didn't even 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:32.220 think about the later records. I mean, I think 00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:34.339 there's some great songs on Black is the New 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:37.039 Black. Oh, I absolutely love that album. Probably 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.480 the band's most hard rock album to date. The 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:41.660 Man Who Broke His Own Heart really just hits 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:44.579 the nail right on the head for me. Yeah. Yeah. 00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:48.180 You, the song You, but that's so personal. I 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:50.579 mean, I've never played that live. That's about 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:53.019 me getting raped when I was eight. Pretty 100 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:56.119 % autobiographical. I don't think I'll ever play 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:59.200 it live. Understandably, of course. I don't, 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.259 you know, it's there. You want to listen to it, 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.039 listen to it. I think the version came out great. 00:24:05.299 --> 00:24:09.140 Yes. Recorded. But yeah, I mean, let me pick 00:24:09.140 --> 00:24:11.579 a third song. I don't know. Man That Broke His 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:13.460 Own Heart is a pretty good song. I'd go with 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:16.240 that. One I can definitely agree with. It's hard, 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:18.059 man. It's hard to choose between your babies. 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:20.339 I don't know if you have kids, but. I do. Two 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:22.720 girls. There you go. Which one's your favorite? 00:24:25.029 --> 00:24:34.190 I'm sorry. You're breaking up art. See, and everybody 00:24:34.190 --> 00:24:37.730 kind of has a favorite, but you'll never tell. 00:24:38.269 --> 00:24:41.289 You'll never say it. Never in my lifetime. That's 00:24:41.289 --> 00:24:43.190 for sure. Art. I know you're pressed for time. 00:24:43.230 --> 00:24:44.809 I know you've got other interviews to do. So 00:24:44.809 --> 00:24:47.289 I thank you so much for taking the time to speak 00:24:47.289 --> 00:24:50.029 with me here tonight on my weekly mixtape. See 00:24:50.029 --> 00:24:52.160 you later. Remember to connect with My Weekly 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.400 Mixtape on social media at My Weekly Mixtape. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:58.140 You can also head to myweeklymixtape .com to 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:00.420 hear all the music we've discussed in tonight's 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:03.460 episode via the playlist embedded on the episode 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:06.079 page, as well as to check out the full catalog 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:09.099 of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. If you want to 00:25:09.099 --> 00:25:11.339 support the show, please consider becoming a 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:14.500 Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:17.759 myweeklymixtape. That's all for this week. Thanks 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:20.319 again for listening. Until next time, enjoy the 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:20.539 tunes.