My Evening With Art Alexakis of Everclear

What is this famous Everclear frontman like? Well, let me rant for a minute and just say -- he's not who you might think he is. 

Speaking from experience, you never truly know what to expect when you come face-to-face with a very successful artist. I always have high expectations when I meet someone I'm a fan of, but I'll just be blunt when I say, there are times when one arrives with an overbearing manager in tow, and destroys how you've felt about him/her for years by being... a total jerk.

In all fairness, if you were between the ages of 13 and 35 in the '90s and early 2000s, then it's likely he was the soundtrack to your life, so I think he is somewhat entitled to be a diva. But, what is Art Alexakis really like?

To put it in his vernacular, really 'f***ing' cool.

Art Alexakis is just a guy who loves lots of sugar in his Starbucks decaf americano, and talking about his two daughters. He's someone who has traded in a life of 'sex, drugs and rock 'n roll' for 'sex with is wife, food and rock 'n roll.'  He is a dad whose eight-year-old daughter tells embarrassing stories about him at school, just like every other parent out there.

He and his tour manager arrived at our station in a modest red sedan, just hours before his solo show at the Moxi Theater, with an entourage of only a leather jacket and a guitar named 'blondie.' He sat across from me ready and willing to play any and every song our listeners wanted to hear on the air.

Alexakis also said something pretty unique during his interview that resonated with me. Though his band recently released an album titled Black is the New Black, when he tours he will happily play Everclear's hits from two decades ago.

"I get very frustrated and I don't have a lot of patience for people who don't play their hit songs,' he said. 'That's what got you there. They're your good friends. They made your life different and they took you to another place where people actually pay attention to you, so I respect our hits.'

I also have to note that he exceeded my expectations during his set at the Moxi. Songs and Stories with Art Alexakis isn't a concert. It's Alexakis inviting his fans to  hang out with him. He engages in conversation, drops a lot of F-bombs, plays whatever Everclear songs the audience wants to hear, and he even stuck around after the show to meet and greet every concert attendee (and there were a lot).

Hear more from Art Alexakis, and his in-studio performance here:

No one can walk out of there saying that Art Alexakis has let any of his success spoil him over the last 20 years. And, he just gained another pretty big fan (and not just because he loved my kitty ears).