Regrets—Art Alexakis has had more than a few. And he’s had his share of losing, too. But the Everclear frontman has always done it his way. While far too many of his ’90s Pacific Northwest brethren (Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Andrew Wood, et al) ended up six feet under, Alexakis has been a survivor, enduring arrests, attempted suicide, drug abuse, divorce, depression, bankruptcy and much more. Despite being dubbed Nirvana lite by music critics, Everclear soldiered on, becoming a platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated, hit-making band, and Alexakis used this success to champion causes close to his heart. The revolving-door group’s latest release, In A Different Light (429), is a collection of (mostly) older Everclear songs reinterpreted in a stripped-down manner. Alexakis is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all this week. Read our Q&A with him.
Alexakis: Trying to find a common passion with your child—at any age—seems to be the holy grail for most parents. You always wonder and fear that they act like they like the same food or music because either you made them have it growing up or they are doing it because they want to make you happy. I am fortunate that my daughter Anna really seems to have the film addiction like I do. We watch, enjoy, dissect and criticize movies together, and while we don’t always agree, we always enjoy the process. It’s our thing. (Strangely enough, she seems to be closer to her mom when it comes to music.) But Jerry Lewis, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, the Coen brothers—not to mention the good times we have bad-talking certain famous people behind their backs (lol)—always seems to keep us connected, whether I’m 2,000 miles away or in the same room. And to be honest, I don’t really care what it’s about; I’m just happy when my kid wants to talk to me. Video after the jump.
