Everclear coming to National Cattle Congress Fair in Waterloo

If there’s one phrase to describe Art Alexakis and his musical career arc, it would be “late bloomer.”

It was in 1992 when the Los Angeles native recorded a demo for what would become his group’s 1993 full-length debut “World of Noise.”

Time apparently flies when you’re having fun because Alexakis and his band, Everclear, have released a 30th anniversary deluxe edition of this formerly out-of-print release. The new version contains six bonus songs, including the previously unreleased “Drunk Again” and “Nervous & Weird 2001 Remix.”

And while 30 is a nice round milestone number, Alexakis admits the decision to reissue “World of Noise” was the product of some decluttering.

“While I knew it was the 30th anniversary, (reissuing it) really wasn’t in the forefront of my mind, despite it being out of print for a while and not being (available) on any platforms,” he said in a recent phone interview.

“But in January, me and Freddy Herrera, my bass player at the time, were going through the storage and some boxes I hadn’t dealt with for years. I kept moving them from space to space.

“I found all these tapes and the original four-track master and mixed tapes for ‘World of Noise.’ I had them baked and also found a bunch of other tapes that weren’t even in boxes and didn’t even have names on them. I took those to this guy to bake them. I found the original tapes for all those bonus tracks. I never did like the mastering that they did when it went to Capitol (Records).”

Going back 30 years might be an awkward exercise for some artists, not unlike revisiting old yearbook photos or journal entries, but for the 61-year-old singer/songwriter, it was more about presenting the band’s earlier work on his terms.

“There is a song on the Everclear page that everyone’s freaking out about called ‘Deep In and Empty Out,’ ” he said. “It was a ... sketch. Nobody was supposed to put it out for people to hear. It’s like coming to my house and me half-cooking food and giving it to you. I wouldn’t like it and I wouldn’t do it.

“It’s hard for (fans) to understand. I don’t want to be a (jerk) to people who like my music. That’s not nice and it’s stupid. But at the same time, I’ll tell you when something is done and it’s representative of what I want you to hear.

“That’s a long-winded way of saying that ‘World of Noise’ was a release, and even though it’s got some flaws to it and it’s not where I am now, it is a really amazing document of where we were at that time,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to make that record at the time.”

“World of Noise” didn’t make many waves commercially, but it didn’t take long for Everclear to make an impact. The band’s second album, 1995’s “Sparkle and Fade” broke through behind the alt-rock hits “Santa Monica” and “Heartspark Dollarsign” and the next two albums – “So Much for the Afterglow” and “Songs from an American Movie Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile” – also went platinum, while adding several more hit singles to the Everclear catalog.

On the road

Fast forward to the present and Everclear is back on tour, with a concert recording, “Live at the Whisky A Go Go,” due for release this month. The band is making a stop at the National Cattle Congress Fair in Waterloo on Sept. 23, 2023, as part of the fair’s concert series.

As someone who can still wax rhapsodic about hearing Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and the Pixies for the first time, Alexakis is all about keeping it fast and loose on stage when asked what fans can expect when they come out to see the band.

“If you’re never seen Everclear before, live, we’ve never sounded like our pop hits,” he said. “We play them, but they’re more rock. I never thought studio and live were supposed to be the same thing. They’re supposed to have their own flavor to it. That’s the age I grew up with.”

As someone who has weathered plenty of rough times, from drug and alcohol addiction to a 2019 multiple sclerosis diagnosis and an early-2021 bout with COVID-19 that put him in the hospital for two months, resiliency and optimism remain Alexakis’ primary superpowers.

“My mom taught me to grab ahold of something, sink your teeth into it and just not let go,” he said. “I’m full of gratitude brother, I’m serious. I’m sober. My program is strong. I’m doing everything in my power to be better with my disease. I don’t ever want to be in a wheelchair. I want to live 20 or 30 years as best I can.

“What’s going to happen? I don’t know. But it ain’t gonna happen if I don’t try.”