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Soon after Alexakis' father left the family, financial difficulties forced Alexakis' mother to relocate the family to the [[Mar Vista Gardens]] housing projects in California, located near [[Culver City, California|Culver City]]. Alexakis was sexually abused by thugs in his neighborhood. <ref>[http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2011/03/sxsw_film_festival_the_other_f.php Carlson, Daniel. "SXSW Film Festival: The Other F-Word"]</ref> His brother George died of a [[heroin]] [[overdose]] when Alexakis was 12. That same year, Alexakis' 15-year-old girlfriend committed [[suicide]].<ref>[http://www.whenyouwere15.org/artalexis.htm Alexakis, Art. "When I Was Fifteen (Written in My 44th Year)"]</ref> Not long after her death, Alexakis unsuccessfully attempted suicide by filling his pockets with sand and lead weights, and jumping off the [[Santa Monica Pier]]. Later, he said that the vision and voice of his brother George compelled him to survive.<ref>Edwards, Gavin. "Clear Unpleasant Danger". ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]''. May 1996.</ref> |
Soon after Alexakis' father left the family, financial difficulties forced Alexakis' mother to relocate the family to the [[Mar Vista Gardens]] housing projects in California, located near [[Culver City, California|Culver City]]. Alexakis was sexually abused by thugs in his neighborhood. <ref>[http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2011/03/sxsw_film_festival_the_other_f.php Carlson, Daniel. "SXSW Film Festival: The Other F-Word"]</ref> His brother George died of a [[heroin]] [[overdose]] when Alexakis was 12. That same year, Alexakis' 15-year-old girlfriend committed [[suicide]].<ref>[http://www.whenyouwere15.org/artalexis.htm Alexakis, Art. "When I Was Fifteen (Written in My 44th Year)"]</ref> Not long after her death, Alexakis unsuccessfully attempted suicide by filling his pockets with sand and lead weights, and jumping off the [[Santa Monica Pier]]. Later, he said that the vision and voice of his brother George compelled him to survive.<ref>Edwards, Gavin. "Clear Unpleasant Danger". ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]''. May 1996.</ref> |
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Over the next eight years, he was shuffled around between various family members all over the country. He spent a brief period in [[Houston, Texas]], living with his father, and a period in [[Roseburg, Oregon]], living with his sister, a [[born-again|born-again |
Over the next eight years, he was shuffled around between various family members all over the country. He spent a brief period in [[Houston, Texas]], living with his father, and a period in [[Roseburg, Oregon]], living with his sister, a [[born-again|born-again Christian]], and her husband. Eventually, he returned to Los Angeles to live with his mother. He attended [[journalism]] school for a time, and worked as a music reviewer for ''The Evening Outlook'', a small newspaper in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]]. |
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After moving to Culver City, he found himself within the area's criminal and [[drug culture]]; he was soon a regular user of drugs such as [[cocaine]] and heroin. Eventually, a near-fatal cocaine overdose pushed him to quit drugs. |
After moving to Culver City, he found himself within the area's criminal and [[drug culture]]; he was soon a regular user of drugs such as [[cocaine]] and heroin. Eventually, a near-fatal cocaine overdose pushed him to quit drugs. |
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On January 4, 2005, Alexakis filed for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in United States Bankruptcy Court, [[Central District of California]]. According to the filing, Alexakis owed a federal tax bill for the years 1999, 2001, and 2002 of $2.75 million, as well as nearly $230,000 to the Oregon Department of Revenue and more than $120,000 in [[credit card]] debt spread over several accounts. As a result of the bankruptcy, he sold all his rights to the previous Everclear catalogue in order to pay some off. |
On January 4, 2005, Alexakis filed for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in United States Bankruptcy Court, [[Central District of California]]. According to the filing, Alexakis owed a federal tax bill for the years 1999, 2001, and 2002 of $2.75 million, as well as nearly $230,000 to the Oregon Department of Revenue and more than $120,000 in [[credit card]] debt spread over several accounts. As a result of the bankruptcy, he sold all his rights to the previous Everclear catalogue in order to pay some off. |
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During his younger years, Alexakis was an [[atheism|atheist]]. However, in an August 2000 interview with ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', Alexakis stated that he is now a |
During his younger years, Alexakis was an [[atheism|atheist]]. However, in an August 2000 interview with ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', Alexakis stated that he is now a [[Christian]]. Speaking about his then-fiance Stephanie Greig, he said, "She's a Christian, and I'm a Christian—my ex isn't—and so I was like, it's okay to be a Christian. I'm not like a [[born-again Christian|born-again]]... Well, I guess I ''am'' born-again, in a way. But I don't knock people over the head with it. I just kind of use my spirituality to make ''my'' life better." |
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Alexakis made his religious conversion more widely known in his MySpace [[blog]] upon release of the Everclear song "[[Jesus]] Was a [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democrat]]." Alexakis stated that he is a |
Alexakis made his religious conversion more widely known in his MySpace [[blog]] upon release of the Everclear song "[[Jesus]] Was a [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democrat]]." Alexakis stated that he is a "[[Christian left|left-wing Christian]]". |
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Alexakis is also a [[gay rights]] activist. When being interviewed with The Windy City Media Group in 2010, he expressed his support for [[gay marriage]] and opposition to [[Proposition 8]], "I don't think Prop 8, gay marriage or the things your community lobbies for are political issues. We are Americans; that's where it ends. If Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, then why not towards your community? It is going to happen; it's happening, and I think it is a great thing." In the same interview, he reflected on the gay rights movement in the 1970s by saying, "I went to [[San Francisco]] to see the [[Sex Pistols]] in 1978. I was barely 16 and I went with this neighbor of mine, who my mom didn't know was gay, but I knew was gay. I went to [[Castro District|Castro]] with a whole group of gay guys and saw a side of the culture that I had never seen before. I was aware of [[Harvey Milk]] before most people were. It was a great experience." <ref>{{cite web|title=Art Alexakis (Ever)clearing the air|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Art-Alexakis-40Ever41clearing-the-air/24270.html|publisher=windycitymediagroup.com|accessdate=2010-01-20}}</ref> |
Alexakis is also a [[gay rights]] activist. When being interviewed with The Windy City Media Group in 2010, he expressed his support for [[gay marriage]] and opposition to [[Proposition 8]], "I don't think Prop 8, gay marriage or the things your community lobbies for are political issues. We are Americans; that's where it ends. If Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, then why not towards your community? It is going to happen; it's happening, and I think it is a great thing." In the same interview, he reflected on the gay rights movement in the 1970s by saying, "I went to [[San Francisco]] to see the [[Sex Pistols]] in 1978. I was barely 16 and I went with this neighbor of mine, who my mom didn't know was gay, but I knew was gay. I went to [[Castro District|Castro]] with a whole group of gay guys and saw a side of the culture that I had never seen before. I was aware of [[Harvey Milk]] before most people were. It was a great experience." <ref>{{cite web|title=Art Alexakis (Ever)clearing the air|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Art-Alexakis-40Ever41clearing-the-air/24270.html|publisher=windycitymediagroup.com|accessdate=2010-01-20}}</ref> |
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[[Category:American alternative rock musicians]] |
[[Category:American alternative rock musicians]] |
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[[Category:American bloggers]] |
[[Category:American bloggers]] |
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[[Category:American |
[[Category:American Christians]] |
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[[Category:American male singers]] |
[[Category:American male singers]] |
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[[Category:American rock guitarists]] |
[[Category:American rock guitarists]] |
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[[Category:American rock singers]] |
[[Category:American rock singers]] |
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[[Category:California Democrats]] |
[[Category:California Democrats]] |
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[[Category:Converts to |
[[Category:Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism]] |
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[[Category:Everclear (band) members]] |
[[Category:Everclear (band) members]] |
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[[Category:Former atheists and agnostics]] |
[[Category:Former atheists and agnostics]] |
Revision as of 18:02, 10 January 2014
Art Alexakis | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Arthur Paul Alexakis |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | April 12, 1962
Genres | Alternative rock, post-grunge, cowpunk |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, A&R representative, political activist, actor |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, banjo |
Labels | Eleven Seven Music, Capitol, Tim/Kerr, Shindig |
Website | www |
Arthur Paul "Art" Alexakis (born April 12, 1962) is best known as the American singer, composer, and guitarist of the rock band Everclear. He is of Greek ancestry. He has been a member of several notable bands, in addition to his own work as a songwriter for other artists. Alexakis founded several record labels throughout his career, and worked as an A&R representative for major record labels, between and during his own musical projects. Later he became a political activist, and lobbied for special concerns which included drug awareness policies, and support of the families of the military. Along with the band Everclear, he performed for soldiers stationed in Cuba. His political involvement continued to expand, and Alexakis campaigned for the (unsuccessful) bid of former candidate John Kerry for the position of President of the United States.
Biography
Early life
Alexakis was born in Los Angeles, California. He had an older brother, George, and three sisters.
Soon after Alexakis' father left the family, financial difficulties forced Alexakis' mother to relocate the family to the Mar Vista Gardens housing projects in California, located near Culver City. Alexakis was sexually abused by thugs in his neighborhood. [1] His brother George died of a heroin overdose when Alexakis was 12. That same year, Alexakis' 15-year-old girlfriend committed suicide.[2] Not long after her death, Alexakis unsuccessfully attempted suicide by filling his pockets with sand and lead weights, and jumping off the Santa Monica Pier. Later, he said that the vision and voice of his brother George compelled him to survive.[3]
Over the next eight years, he was shuffled around between various family members all over the country. He spent a brief period in Houston, Texas, living with his father, and a period in Roseburg, Oregon, living with his sister, a born-again Christian, and her husband. Eventually, he returned to Los Angeles to live with his mother. He attended journalism school for a time, and worked as a music reviewer for The Evening Outlook, a small newspaper in Santa Monica.
After moving to Culver City, he found himself within the area's criminal and drug culture; he was soon a regular user of drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Eventually, a near-fatal cocaine overdose pushed him to quit drugs.
Career
Early bands
After quitting drugs, Alexakis briefly attended UCLA film school. While living in Los Angeles, he organized a band called Shakin' Brave. Shakin' Brave featured a rather rough rock sound, but never really rose above the sea of music in Southern California. Generally frustrated with the music scene in LA, Alexakis and his first wife Anita relocated to San Francisco.
While living in San Francisco, Alexakis stumbled upon a genre of music known as "cowpunk". The sound meshed together the two prevalent forms of music with which he grew up—which involved the tunefulness of country and the distorted guitars/fast tempo from rock and roll. Inspired, Alexakis established Shindig Records. Much of this period was explicitly detailed in the album, Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun, which was originally intended as a solo album, but gradually developed into a group project under the name Colorfinger.
In 1992, within a single month, Shindig went bankrupt, Colorfinger disbanded, and Alexakis' girlfriend Jenny became pregnant. Seeking a new start, Alexakis moved with her to Portland, Oregon. There, they married and had a daughter named Annabella Rose Alexakis.
Everclear
Following the move to Portland, Alexakis placed an ad in The Rocket seeking a bass player and a drummer to form a new band. Alexakis had two respondents, Craig Montoya and Scott Cuthbert. The trio became the first incarnation of Everclear. After Cuthbert was replaced by Greg Eklund, the band spent the better part of a decade as a dominant act on alternative rock radio. The band scored three platinum albums in Sparkle & Fade, So Much for the Afterglow, and Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile.
The instability and personal turmoil Alexakis experienced throughout his life would directly inspire his lyrics. "Father of Mine" and "Why I Don't Believe in God" described his difficult youth, while "Heroin Girl", "Strawberry", and "Color Pit" touched upon his drug addictions.[4] Everclear's first major album, Sparkle & Fade, deals with the themes of escape and redemption that pervaded his life upon leaving San Francisco.
Solo projects
While finding success as a musical act and songwriter, Alexakis began taking on other projects within the music industry. For several years, he served as an A&R representative for Capitol Records. In 1996, he produced Frogpond's 1996 album Count to Ten. Alexakis was interviewed on Space Ghost Coast to Coast but the interview never aired, although the interview is quickly glimpsed on Episode 60, "Lawsuit". In the early 2000s, Alexakis established his own label, Popularity Recordings, as a subsidiary of Artemis Records. Alexakis produced the label's first release, the 2002 album Volume by Flipp. However, Alexakis chose to shutter the label in 2003.
Alexakis has also dabbled in songwriting with other artists, including co-writing the song "At the End of the Day" released on Marion Raven's 2005 and 2007 albums, Here I Am and Set Me Free, respectively.
In August 2006, Alexakis appeared on The O'Reilly Factor discussing the music video for "Hater", the first single from Everclear's Welcome to the Drama Club.
In October 2008, Alexakis entered the studio with the Minneapolis-based band Apparently Nothing (Previously a Madison band, and later renamed to The Usual Things) to produce their debut album, tentatively titled The Middle Coast.[5]
Political activism
In 2000, Alexakis testified before Congress in support of HR 1488, the Compassion for Children and Child Support Enforcement Act.Through ACES, The Association of Children for the Enforcement of Support, President Geraldine Jenson and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sponsored this bill. The law passed.[6] Alexakis was a delegate for the 2004 Democratic National Convention representing Oregon's 3rd congressional district after campaigning for John Edwards during the 2004 Democratic Presidential primaries. He and Everclear recorded the Woody Guthrie standard "This Land Is Your Land",[7] which he performed at several political events.
He has also been involved in drug awareness programs, including the taping of public service announcements for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Along with Everclear, he has performed for U.S. soldiers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Hawaii. He has also performed for Snowball Express, which provides events for military families who lost loved ones in the war.
Acting
While pursuing a music career, Alexakis has also dabbled in acting. In 2000, he made brief appearances in the Heather Graham comedy Committed. Two years later, he made cameo appearances in two episodes of The Chris Isaak Show. In 2006, Alexakis appeared on an episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide on Nickelodeon as a music teacher named Mr. Gibson (a reference to Gibson guitars). He also had a lead role in the 2006 short film Room to Breathe, and a role in the film Rid Of Me in 2011.[8]
Personal life
Alexakis has been married three times. He has a daughter named Annabella Rose (born 1992), from his relationship with Jenny Dodson. He and his current wife have a daughter named Arizona Star, born on November 10, 2007.
On January 4, 2005, Alexakis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California. According to the filing, Alexakis owed a federal tax bill for the years 1999, 2001, and 2002 of $2.75 million, as well as nearly $230,000 to the Oregon Department of Revenue and more than $120,000 in credit card debt spread over several accounts. As a result of the bankruptcy, he sold all his rights to the previous Everclear catalogue in order to pay some off.
During his younger years, Alexakis was an atheist. However, in an August 2000 interview with Spin, Alexakis stated that he is now a Christian. Speaking about his then-fiance Stephanie Greig, he said, "She's a Christian, and I'm a Christian—my ex isn't—and so I was like, it's okay to be a Christian. I'm not like a born-again... Well, I guess I am born-again, in a way. But I don't knock people over the head with it. I just kind of use my spirituality to make my life better."
Alexakis made his religious conversion more widely known in his MySpace blog upon release of the Everclear song "Jesus Was a Democrat." Alexakis stated that he is a "left-wing Christian".
Alexakis is also a gay rights activist. When being interviewed with The Windy City Media Group in 2010, he expressed his support for gay marriage and opposition to Proposition 8, "I don't think Prop 8, gay marriage or the things your community lobbies for are political issues. We are Americans; that's where it ends. If Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, then why not towards your community? It is going to happen; it's happening, and I think it is a great thing." In the same interview, he reflected on the gay rights movement in the 1970s by saying, "I went to San Francisco to see the Sex Pistols in 1978. I was barely 16 and I went with this neighbor of mine, who my mom didn't know was gay, but I knew was gay. I went to Castro with a whole group of gay guys and saw a side of the culture that I had never seen before. I was aware of Harvey Milk before most people were. It was a great experience." [9]
Partial discography
With The Easy Hoes:
- 1989 – Tragic Songs of Life
With Colorfinger:
- 1990 – Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun
- 1990 – Demonstration
With Everclear:
- 1993 – World of Noise
- 1995 – Sparkle and Fade
- 1997 – So Much for the Afterglow
- 2000 – Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
- 2000 – Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
- 2003 – Slow Motion Daydream
- 2004 – Ten Years Gone: The Best of Everclear 1994-2004
- 2006 – Welcome to the Drama Club
- 2008 – The Vegas Years
- 2009 – In a Different Light
- 2012 – Invisible Stars
References
- ^ Carlson, Daniel. "SXSW Film Festival: The Other F-Word"
- ^ Alexakis, Art. "When I Was Fifteen (Written in My 44th Year)"
- ^ Edwards, Gavin. "Clear Unpleasant Danger". Details. May 1996.
- ^ "WL Everclear FAQ – Section B". Whitelightning.org. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ^ "Apparently Nothing blog post". Apparently-nothing.com. 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ^ Staff reporter (2000-03-15). "Everclear Frontman Art Alexakis to Testify Today Before the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on the Need for Federally Enforced Child Support Laws". NyMusic. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
Everclear singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Art Alexakis is taking time from recording two different albums due out this year to testify at a congressional hearing on the need for federally enforced child support laws. Alexakis will appeal on behalf of ACES (The Association for Children for Enforcement of Support, Inc.) to the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 16 at 11:00 AM (EST) in Washington, DC.
- ^ Jeckell, Barry A. (2004-07-23). "Everclear Singer Headed To DNC". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
As an elected delegate, the singer will represent Oregon's 3rd congressional district (Portland) at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Boston.[...] Tying in with the July 25–29 convention and this year's U.S. presidential election, Alexakis has recorded a version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", which became available for download from the Rock the Vote Web site.
- ^ "Movie Reviews & TV Show Reviews | Screen Junkies". Ifilm.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ^ "Art Alexakis (Ever)clearing the air". windycitymediagroup.com. Retrieved 2010-01-20.