Everclear - Welcome To The Drama Club Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 09.19.2006
Art Alexakis is back with a new band, but how will they compare to the Everclear everybody knew, loved and got tired of?
My Story
I like Everclear, but I know that’s not necessarily “cool” anymore. A lot of people see the band as kind of a big singles rock radio group and nothing more. Sort of like a west coast Nickelback. If that’s true, then why do I find Sparkle & Fade more enjoyable than the Best Of set? The truth is that Everclear used to make some pretty great albums, with big hooks, big choruses and a good attitude. Unfortunately, sometime after Learning How To Smile, the boys became content to just make a lot of NOISE. Their last two studio releases have yielded a lot less enjoyable music. With a new label and practically a new band, will Everclear be able to turn the corner on their new album?
Their Story
Everclear vocalist and guitarist Art Alexakis was born in Santa Monica, CA in 1962. He was raised poor in a lower class urban neighborhood, his dad ran off and his older brother died from a drug overdose. Pretty much your standard American childhood. Suffice to say, Alexakis had a crappy youth that he has since relied upon to write some catchy and interesting songs.
In the early 90’s, Art moved to Portland, OR and hooked up with bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert. The trio dubbed themselves Everclear and produced an EP of raw alternative music filled with guitar hooks and Alexakis’ “us against society” lyrics. The EP was soon released on a small Portland label that, unfortunately, could not provide the set with adequate promotion, so Everclear packed up and hit the road to do it on their own. The band toured relentlessly and even mailed copies of their demo to anyone they thought would listen and any radio station they thought might play it.
In 1993, the group added more songs to the demo and released it as World Of Noise on Fire Records. The debut album got a little bit of radio attention, but Everclear’s real selling point was their live shows, where they toiled to earn new fans one at a time. Late in the year, Cuthbert was replaced on drums by Greg Eklund to form the Everclear line-up that would remain for over 10 years. In 1994, the band finally hit it big and signed on to Capitol Records.
Capitol released Everclear’s second album, Sparkle And Fade, in 1995. The single “Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)” gained heavy rotation on radio and MTV and, suddenly, Everclear was everywhere. The song hit #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and Art Alexakis even became MTV’s correspondent for the ‘96 US Presidential debates. Sparkle And Fade produced another hit single in “Heroin Girl” and was certified platinum.
Everclear returned with their third album, the double platinum So Much For The Afterglow, in 1998. The album spawned even more hit singles (“Father Of Mine”, “Everything To Everyone”, “I Will Buy You A New Life”) and the track “Distorto De Melodica” earned the band a Grammy™ nomination for Best Rock Instrumental. Everclear was truly taking the world by storm.
At this point, Alexakis decided to take a break from the band for a while, starting his own acoustic solo tour and beginning work on a solo album. During this time, Everclear dropped off the national map. Fortunately for fans, Art’s solo project eventually evolved into a full band project and, in 2000, Capitol released Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile, Everclear’s most acoustic and cleanest sounding album to date. The band came roaring back to popularity with the hit singles “AM Radio” and “Wonderful”, the latter of which became their career-best charting song on Billboard’s Hot 100, nearly cracking the Top 10. Learning How To Smile was eventually certified platinum and, in November of that same year, the band released the follow-up Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude. Attitude was in stark contrast to its predecessor, with the band proclaiming the disc as its loudest record to date. Unfortunately, the pissed-off angst of Vol. 2 didn’t seem to jibe with the radio audience and, despite the minor hit “Outta My Depth”, sales for the album slumped. While Vol. 1 hit #9 on the Billboard album charts, Vol. 2 never got past #66.
Following the failure of Attitude, Everclear took a few years off from recording, but remained more than visible on the touring circuit, where they played for a very large audience of hardcore fans. Release of their next album was held back several times due to the band’s problems with Capitol Records. Apparently, both parties were excited about the prospects for Slow Motion Daydream, but Capitol wanted the 9/11 inspired “New York Times” to be the album’s debut single, while Alexakis would not back down on releasing the tongue in cheek “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom” first. The label eventually relented, but, perhaps as a result of the conflict, promotion for the album was poor. This only further angered Everclear. Even though they hadn’t seen eye to eye with Capitol all the time, one thing the label did was get behind the band’s records. Daydream tanked, barely cracking the Top 40 on the album charts and failing to generate any hit singles. The set sold lousy too, barely moving more than 100,000 units.
As the tour for Slow Motion Daydream wrapped, both Montoya and Eklund decided to leave in favor of new endeavors, leaving Alexakis as the sole owner of the Everclear name. To no one’s surprise, Alexakis and Capitol Records parted ways not long after, commemorating the band’s time there with the 2004 compilation Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear.
Art Alexakis went on a solo tour following his exit from Capitol Records, the future of Everclear up in the air. When the trek was over, Art decided to reinvest in the band, forming a new group consisting of bassist Sam Hudson, second guitarist Dave French and drummer Eric Bretl. The new Everclear debuted in March of 2004 and, by the summer, had added Josh Crawley on keyboards, marking the first time the band had swelled to a five-piece (Bretl also left around this time, replaced by ex-Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder).
Alexakis and his new bandmates took their time recording an album, finally signing to independent label Eleven Seven in 2006. The band recently released a new single, “Hater”, on their MySpace site, as well as a video, featuring “Hater Jesus”, that made the rounds on YouTube.
The Album
On September 12, 2006, Eleven Seven Music released Welcome To The Drama Club, the seventh studio album by Everclear and their first since leaving Capitol Records. The album is the follow-up to 2003’s Slow Motion Daydream and is also the first to feature the “new” line-up of Everclear. The CD contains the hidden track “Beautiful Dream”. The disc is available in both standard and clean versions.
The Band: 8.0
Art Alexakis: guitar, vocals
Sam Hudson: bass, vocals
David French: guitars
Josh Crawley: keyboards, vocals
Brett Snyder: percussion, drums, vocals
Well, the obvious thing to start off with is: does the “new” Everclear sound like the “old” Everclear? Pretty much, yeah. There are some obvious changes, but mostly for the good. The great backing harmonies that made Everclear so successful are still intact, with all the new guys doing a great job filling the place of Eklund and Montoya, keeping things sounding big and poppy. But the additions, like keyboardist Josh Crawley, really fill out the band’s sound. Most times that’s a good thing, with lush fills and some great electric piano moments, but I can’t help but miss the three-piece sound, the stripped down appeal that made tracks like “Summerland” and “Strawberry” so immediate. Still, as far as sounding like the Everclear of the 2000’s, sure, there’s not much difference.
Art Alexakis’ vocals are still the same, too. He’s still got that smart-ass edge, that west coast sensibility and that “I’m a veteran of rocking the fuck out” surety that translates very well. Alexakis has never been the greatest vocalist in rock music (his songwriting is what propels him), but, damn, if he isn’t easy to sing along with.
There are some other moments on the album where the band’s newer versatility is great, like the added acoustic instruments on songs like “Shine” that really shine a spotlight on what a great craftsman Alexakis is when it comes to writing great pop songs. Art produces here and you can tell he’s taken the same fun and less raw approach that has marked Everclear's last 3 or 4 albums.
In all, if you like Everclear, you’re gonna like the way this album sounds. The band has remained true to what brought them to Mainstream Rock success throughout their recent changes and, if you don’t get hung up on a band refusing to change much, then you’re gonna appreciate Drama Club as a listen.
The Songs: 7.0
1. Under The Western Stars
2. Now
3. Shine
4. Hater
5. The Drama King
6. Glorious
7. A Taste Of Hell
8. Portland Rain
9. A Shameless Use Of Charm
10. Clean
11. Broken
12. Your Arizona Room
Once again, if you’re looking for pop rock hooks, look no further. Everclear brings plenty to spare. Songs like the break-up tune “Hater” and the danceable “Shine” are major head nodders, even if the lyrics weave in and out from interesting to childish. “Hater”, for example, has a great biting lyric with “You’re a hypocrite/Yeah, you lie to me/You use what you don’t understand/You embarrass me”, but follows it up with the brainless “You’re beautiful/In an ugly way/Hey, the sex was never that good anyway”. Things like these keep Alexakis from being an introspective lyrics, holding him at just observant.
“The Drama King” follows in the standard Everclear “fucked up guy, catchy rock song” vein, but it’s good, if not that interesting. Still, if you’re going through some kind of shit, the line “I wish that it was easier to be in love” will hit you hard. Oh, and speaking of formulas, check out “Drama King” again. How many times is Everclear gonna cop that “Father Of Mine” riff?
Everclear breaks from their formula a few times to mixed results. “Your Arizona Room” tries to be a big album closer, but is just too built up and produced to rival “My Sexual Life”. “Glorious”, though, brings in a big accompaniment choir and it absolutely soars.
In all, Welcome To The Drama Club is another nice sounding Everclear album, slightly better and more focused than their 2003 release. Unfortunately, with so little fanfare, odds are good this one will sink to the quickly forgotten pile. If you enjoy Everclear, don’t let that happen. Art Alexakis still has a lot to say.
The 411: Welcome To The Drama Club may be the debut of the “new” Everclear, but things are still more or less the same. The addition of a keyboardist has filled out the band’s sound, and, despite the second guitarist, the album rocks a little less hard, but the big pop hooks are still there and the songwriting is still relatable and fun. Songs like “Hater”, “Drama King”, "A Taste Of Hell" and “Glorious” will have you coming back to this one, but only until the next “fun” rock album comes out. Not a bad choice if you dig Everclear already, or even if your nostalgic for that 90’s alt rock sound, but you’re probably not going to be seeing an Everclear radio revival anytime soon.
