Thanks, so much, for ‘The Afterglow’

Fans are making it clear how they still feel about two-decades-old Everclear album

Thinking back to Everclear’s tour in support of the band’s 1997 multi-platinum album, “So Much for the Afterglow,” singer-guitarist Art Alexakis remembered concerts in smaller venues that served a greater purpose.

“I remember that Odeon show in The Flats,” said Alexakis, calling from outside of Portland, Oregon. “I set up that club tour with Letters to Cleo and Our Lady Peace as a thank-you to our fans. We could have played much bigger venues on that tour, but I just wanted to go out and get the blood going again playing new songs.”

At the time, Everclear was still an up-and-coming act, arriving in the postgrunge era with its decidedly alternative-sounding breakout album, “Sparkle and Fade.” The 1995 platinum effort included hit singles “Santa Monica” and “Heroin Girl.”

However, when it came time to write a followup, Alexakis said the easy thing to do would have been to release another “Sparkle and Fade.” Odds are, if the group did follow that path, Everclear would have become a one-album wonder.

Instead, the singer decided to open his mind, stylistically speaking, and the results paid off with “So Much for the Afterglow.” The album included hit songs “Everything to Everyone,” “I Will Buy You a New Life,” “Father of Mine,” “So Much for the Afterglow” and “One Hit Wonder.” More importantly, the pop-minded album outsold “Sparkle and Fade.”

“I was just exploring something else,” Alexakis said. “I didn’t want to make the same record twice. I wanted to do something different that still sounded like Everclear. So that was the natural evolution.

“If you listen to our last few records, it’s pretty diverse. My next record is going to be a solo record where I’ll play all of the instruments myself. It should be out early next year.”

In the meantime, Alexakis is revisiting “So Much for the Afterglow” for a 20th-anniversary tour that finds Everclear playing the album in its entirety. The singer said any excitement he had about the deep album cuts was eclipsed by the Everclear fan base.

“When we did ‘Why I Don’t Believe in God’ for the first time ever, people were losing it,” Alexakis said. “It looked like their heads were going to explode. It was a trip, and I just was very grateful and humbled by it. It’s a hard song to sing about my mom having a nervous breakdown when I was 8, but that’s one of things that endeared people to that record.

“Some of the songs, including ‘Father of Mine,’ are autobiographical, but some aren’t. ‘Sunflowers’ is still intensely personal. Up until that time, I don’t think there were a lot of hard-rock bands doing those kinds of songs.”

The fact that people are still connecting to the songs two decades later is blowing Alexakis’ mind.

“It’s unfathomable — I have a hard time wrapping my head around it,” Alexakis said. “People ask me how I feel, and I say kind of humble. I don’t really know. This tour has really blown up. It’s not an ego thing or a money thing.

“It’s just like, I’m glad people are enjoying it because we’re enjoying it. We’re having fun.”

“Some of the songs, including ‘Father of Mine,’ are autobiographical, but some aren’t. … Up until that time, I don’t think there were a lot of hard-rock bands doing those kinds of songs.” — Art Alexakis, Everclar frontman

SUBMITTED Everclear is led, as always, by singer-guitarist Art Alexakis, center.