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Mon. August 17.1998 3:03 AM EDT |
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Art Alexakis Steers Clear Of Everclear On Solo DebutSinger said he expects his first solo LP to be more lush than his past work. by Senior Writer Gil Kaufman |
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Alexakis plans to get back to his R&B roots on solo album. ( ) |
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Everclear leader Art Alexakis promises he'll get back to making music with his
power-pop trio as soon as he has the time. But, for now, he's got a lot on his plate -- such as recording his debut solo album, finishing his first novel and
First up, though, is the singer's debut solo album, which he said he will begin recording in his native Portland, Ore., in a few weeks. "I'm really looking forward to doing this solo thing," Alexakis said. He described the sound of the 14 songs he's working on as "less bombastic" than such driving, pop-punk Everclear tunes as "Heroin Girl" (RealAudio excerpt), from the group's 1995 breakthrough Sparkle and Fade, the second of the three full-length albums from the trio. Alexakis, 36, promised that his still-untitled solo album will be more rough and raw than Everclear's polished tunes, but that he doesn't intend to "pull a Nebraska," alluding to Bruce Springsteen's bleak yet critically acclaimed 1982 album of acoustic songs. "These songs will have more textures, more dynamics. I'm using a lot of technology to make it sound raw," he said. "There will be more acoustic guitars ... lots of strings and horns and keyboards. The nature of the songs will be different [from Everclear] because they're more R&B-influenced, going back to the stuff I grew up with." A hint at the direction Alexakis might be taking with his solo debut -- which he hopes to have out in April of 1999 -- can be heard on the song "Overwhelming," which he contributed to the soundtrack for the upcoming film "Permanent Midnight." "Overwhelming" -- Alexakis' first solo effort -- is a clear break from the work he's done with Everclear. The song comes with a 14-piece string section, along with a number of loops and samples. Alexakis said he wanted the song to have a more lush feel than some of the more recent Everclear material. "I wanted to do it a bit differently than the band stuff," Alexakis said of the track, which was recorded in July in Los Angeles. To achieve a larger sound, Alexakis shared production duties for the first time in his musical career, bringing in former XTC producer Paul Fox to help beef up the sound of the track. The song suits the film perfectly, said soundtrack supervisor Jeff Rabhan, who described it as "hauntingly beautiful." "Art [the main character] is a recovering heroin addict and that's one of the themes of the movie and how sometimes trying to keep your head above water is a chore in itself," Rabhan said. Alexakis has also broken with his usual way of recording. This time out, he's arranging all the drum loops and samples in his basement before he enters an L.A. studio later this year to lay down his vocals and guitars. "I'm singing a lot more on this one ... but it still rocks. I just want to make it sound a bit different and push myself in a different direction," he said. The band leader said the time off from Everclear bandmates Craig Montoya (bass) and Greg Eklund (drums) would probably be good for the group. "I think they're real happy with it," Alexakis said. "They want a break. They're tired of touring. I think a departure from the spotlight is healthy for us." Alexakis shrugged off rumors that the trio was on the verge of a breakup in April of this year, when he and Montoya were reported to have engaged in an onstage scuffle during an Australian gig. He said that current plans call for Everclear to reconvene sometime next year and work on the follow-up to last year's platinum-selling So Much for the Afterglow. "I think this next Everclear record will be more diverse, with more weirdness and I think it will be songs that just rock," Alexakis said. "After doing this [solo album] I will really want to kick it out and I think the boys will also." |
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