August 25, 2024 • 28 mins
Everclear are coming back to New Zealand in January for three shows around the motu, their singer Art called up for a chat about nicknames, Bowie, the state of new music and some great yarns about their hit songs.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Radio Hoda Keys Off the Record Podcast with
Angeline McGray.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Do you prefer Angie or Angelina? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, thanks for asking. Actually I'm good with either, So
what if Angie's easiest?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Right, I'm more of a full person. I usually don't
do nicknames, but if you prefer that, I'll use.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You know what, I I do appreciate that because of
New Zealand, it's all about nicknames like Steve O, Nico John. Oh, so,
thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I know it's it's the same thing in Australia. You
guys are all all down there. You're like, you guys,
keep it short. Everything's acronyms. Yeah, everything's yeah McDonald's macas.
I don't know if you guys call it.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, mcdee's. Yeah. It's very much tote for totally, you know,
defo for differently. It's was so lazy, it's terrible.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's awesome. I wonder if it's a throwback to immigrants
who might have.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Been you know, cocknew that would make sense.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It would make sense.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Have you ever talked to a full on cockney from London?
I mean it's almost not even English.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
It's very confusing. It's very confusing. Well, I've got to say,
first off, art from Everclear, welcome to the show. Great
to have you on board.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Thank you, Angela, it's good to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
We last spoke. I think it was when you came
here last for your Oh was there's so much for
the after Glow tour? When you came to New Zealander.
I want to say twenty seventeen ish, perhaps.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
It was seventeen, that is exactly right.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, so that was I think just before I took
a break from radio. I went on Vitinity leave for
a while and it came back. We all had the
COVID lockdown and it was it feels like the world
has it's been a different time in the last few years, right,
it's been a.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Different time the world. The world was on hold year.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, yeah, for us, it kind of felt like it
went on forever and then it's like a distant memory.
How did it affix ef A Clear and you with music,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you know, I mean, like everybody else, it was
hard to make a living in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
I was amused, I especially yeah, because we.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Can't we couldn't play shows, and that's how we make
our living. But it came back in twenty one and
very slowly, but we started working and that was great.
And you know, on a personal front, my daughter, like
a lot of adolescents, at the time, she was twelve.
Now she's seventeen, and she's in her not last year,
(02:44):
not her senior year of high school, what we call
the junior year of high school. So right, you know,
eleventh grade grade eleventh and I'm doing great now, but
for seventh grade grade, seventh grade eight, it was very
very rough. Anxiety depression, yeah, also stuff and a lot
of a lot of kids that age really that area
(03:06):
suffered from that. You know. It's but other than that,
I was just grateful to have our house, have my family.
I don't know how I made it work financially. I
was doing some serious dancing, yeah, figurative figur literally literally,
and but I pulled it off.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That's interesting you say, though about that that age of children,
because I think that is the age when you are
starting to form your own friend group. You're kind of
moving away from the family as your base, you know,
and those connections and folding your own and no one
could which is it goes against our natural instincts, you
know what I mean. So I really feel for that
(03:46):
era of children.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I absolutely You're exactly right. That is the that is
the age where they're pushing away from family, which is
hard for parents. Yeah, but it's it's natural, right, They're
pushing away and they want to create their own tribe.
You know that we're talking. This goes deep into the
genetics hundreds of thousands of years, right, Yeah, and they did.
(04:12):
They for the record, for the most part, did not
like the zoom. They felt exposed, they felt disassociated. And
you know, for a guy who's done a lot of
classes in psychology and I'm a life coach, and it's
it was. It was a really, really challenging time. But
(04:34):
she came out of it and I think a little
scar tissue, but for the most part, I think it
made her stronger. And I'm just waiting to see what
she does this year.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah. Well, on that note of what you just mentioned, Now,
you're a life coach, So when when did you start
You went quite hard out studying psyche, right, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I started psyche and I was I am. When COVID happened.
I went back to school online, of course, and I
got another year under my belt, so I'm about a
year away from a psychology degree and then work started
picking up and I just it was just too much
to do. Yeah. But I also got two Master Life
(05:16):
Coaching certifications three actually, and during during COVID as well. Yeah,
it's been it's been great and I'm just start starting
to build the practice with that.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Right, do you take international clients? Perhaps?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I do? Yay, I do.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
All right, we'll have to I'll get your details. We
can talk after this. You can help me with some
life coaching and of course you are coming back to
New Zealand for the summer tour for twenty twenty five,
playing alongside Ice House and Cold Chisel, which is great
for me because I grew up when I was little,
you know, I grew up with I guess Ice House
and Cold Chisel, and it was probably that age that
we were talking about before that I came into efically.
(05:57):
You know, I think I was maybe sixteen seventeen eighteen
when that was kind of the the songs played on
the radio.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So what do you say you were a nineties girl?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, in the names in the nineties, Yeah, exactly, So
that's I guess they said the songs that you listen
to in the nineties and what carry you through the
rest of your life rribbets when you're forming your emotions
and everything. So I'm curious to know who you see
at ever clear gigs these days. I mean, I have
I think last time we spoke, you said, it's a
bit full circle and you're now getting younger kids who
(06:29):
weren't even born, you know when you guys were, you know,
around in the nineties. How are you finding the audience?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Oh, that's a wonderful question. You know. Since COVID, it
seems like a lot of kids went online and we're
looking for alternative music, what's contemporary and there's really no
like like that in the States and popular contemporary bands
(06:59):
or new there's not really a lot of guitar based rock.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Bands, even the fund you know, like yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, it's it's usuly very produced music. Regardless of what
genre is, it all kind of sounds the same. And
it seems like what I asked these kids, And there
are some kids that were turned on to it by
their parents or their big brothers and sisters or aunts
and uncles. But for the most part, Angelina, I think
(07:27):
most of them tell me, they just gravitated, gravitated towards
the nineties because they felt like that was the last
real valid era of rock of rock and roll, and
they kind of just started listening to reading about it
and listening to different nineties bands, and a lot of
(07:48):
them have plumbed on to Everclaire, I think kids that
like like lyrics a lot, you know, that really pay
attention to lyrics and stories, but also like big guitar
rock and roll. So's I'd say twenty five percent of
our are are audiances late teens to late twenties.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
See, that's that's really rare to hear it. Yeah, well,
I mean you do get a little bit dissolutioned because
I do find tuning onto contemporary stuff these days it
is it sounds the same, but there's no like back
in the nineties eighties, there were all sorts of genres
that were making it onto the radio, like your new
wave and then your thrash metal GNR and then you
grunge and and singer songwriters that were all thrown in together,
(08:32):
whereas now it just feels like very much solo artists,
so many solo artists people not making bands these days
because do you think it's harder. You've got to get together,
You've got to I guess collaborate, and I don't know
what's what I'm looking for. Compromise.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You have to compromise. You have to you're in a
relationship and you're talking to a You're talking about a
whole generation of kids, the Gen zs and consumers and
even younger who are constant, constantly all they're doing. All
they're doing is this, them on this and computers and
(09:17):
you know, streams, and even though they're talking to people,
they're not really connecting and learning to live with people.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yes, so it's very it's an individualized society.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Right, it is it almost it's almost it's almost like Kafka, right.
But but at the same time, it's I think this age,
this era, and of kids this age are a lot
more intelligent, a lot of ways, more compassionate, more sympathetic.
(09:58):
I think they just don't have the the actual hands
on body memory skills, learn learned skills of compromise and
living together and just being able to say, Okay, this
is you, that's me. Let's let's we'll do some of
your stuff, We'll do some of my stuff. It's not
that they don't want to do it. They just don't
(10:20):
know how right, you know. Yeah, And that's my take
on it from from kids I talk to and I
don't work with kids, but with a lot of parents
with kids, and that's that's a whole different. And you know,
I have a kid. Yeah, yeah, I have to deal
with that. She's my second daughter. I have a thirty
two year old. She had her own she had her
(10:42):
own drama as well, but now she's you know, she's
married and doing her own thing. But my my babies
just at the beach today with her boyfriend, and I
hope she's I don't care about she's smart, she's smart,
he's going to be safe. I don't care about that.
(11:03):
I don't care about the drugs. And then they contained
the alcohol because a lot of times they don't know
what they're getting when they get that deep. Yeah, you
can be phentanyl in it. It's horrifying.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I'm lucky. I'm lucky at the moment because I've got
mina what six and four my daughters, and I'm hoping
it's gonna maybe there'll be a revolution a in terms
of you know, how the world's going, but also musically
as well, what I do love is at my free
year old has obsessed with David Bowie and I don't know, Well,
maybe it might be to do with me a little.
But that's amazing, lady.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You were doing something right, right, doing something right, good, good, Anya.
I mean you know what interesting is true about David Boy. Yeah,
David Boy died about three days after my dad did.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I didn't really know my father, you know, I didn't
really know him. I I've lived with him very short
while for a few months a couple of times, and
but you know, it was my dad. And I talked
to him about four or five days before he died,
and he was almost ninety four. He was three days
shy of being ninety four. He'd died on the day
(12:17):
that Boi died, he'd have been ninety four years old.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So there's no tragedy there, you know, that's that's an
amazing long life. I think you're guaranteed about eighty to
eighty five years. Anything over that it's gravy.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, And I.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Think and so and I was sad and sad for
his family now, but I didn't it wasn't tragic when
when when David Boie died. I felt like my heart
was ripped out of my body. Now I'm a big boyfriend?
(12:55):
Am I a fanatic? Is that the only thing I
listened to? No but David Bowie from the time I
was eleven years old and Ziggy came out, and then
I went backwards to Hockey Doria and then all the
other records that came out, lad saying dim Dog's one
of my favorites. Right there. He made it okay to
(13:19):
be weird and to be different. He made it okay
to be a freak. Not only did he make it okay,
he made it he told he taught me how to
use it as a badge of honor. And you know,
my whole life, I've never been one of those guys
who goes after people who are my idols and try
to reach out to him and stuff, even when I
(13:42):
became pretty well known and had the ability to. But
it was nineteen ninety eight. We played a show in
San Francisco and David Boy was on the ability He's
headline in this radio show benefit, and he was standing
right there and I'm and I'm pretty shy, but I
(14:05):
just went up to him. I said, did my name
is Art and you sing a band called ever Claire goes, yeah,
I've heard your band. Yeah, I like, I like, I
like that single. I go yeah, I think everything to
everyone was out at that point, or father, mine or something,
and I just I just talked to him. I just
said thank you for for being so brave and strong
(14:28):
and and helping the rest of us learn how to
do it. Thank you so much. And he goes, what
does your mother call you? My mother calls me Arthur?
Does Arthur? I have a wonderful show. And after I
came off the stage, I walked by me. He woke up,
walked up to me, and he put his arm around me.
(14:49):
He goes, well done, Arthur, Well done. And I'm like, man,
sorry kill me now.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now life highlight moment. That is amazing, absolute respect though.
I love it. What does your mother call you? I
love it?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
I mean, you know, I actually never remembered that. It
wasn't that big of a deal to him, but to me,
it was a huge deal.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
That's yeah, that is amazing. I love that story. Oh
oh god, what's I going to say about that? I
was just thinking back to when I first heard Everclear.
It was I think Heroin Girl was the first song
and I still to this day that will be my
everclear song that I still love it. I think it's
it's fast, it's the raw energy. Do you remember recording
(15:36):
and writing that song, that that kind of era and
the feelings around it. Do you do you remember, like,
can you give us any recollections or any stories from
that time?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Well, Heroin Girl was recorded when we were still in Portland,
before we got signed to Capitol. We did a dem
all of it. It didn't show up on World of Noise.
It was after World Noise, but it was when I
was writing songs and it was one of the songs
that gave the label, Yeah, all the labels when they
(16:09):
were interested in us. And but then we decided to
re record it for Spark Lunt paid and it just
came out wonderful. It was our first single in the States,
but only about fifteen stations played it in the whole country,
(16:30):
and at the time I think there was one hundred
and thirty alternative stations. Only fifteen played it because of
the word herouin. Yeah, they wouldn't play it because of
the word heroin, And so it was it was meant
to set up more for Santa Monica, but it's it's
kudos to you guys down in New Zealand and Australia
(16:55):
because no one hesitated they played. That was a huge
song New Zealand. It was a huge song in Australia
and even England to this day and Canada, so all
the British former coladays, right, yeah, yeah, I'm I love
(17:18):
that song. That's one of those songs. It wasn't a
huge hit at the time, but it's it's a song
we have to play every night where people get mad
at stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Of course, it was that moment as well, like Saint
Monica being being the big, massive hit. But when Local
God I remember getting picked up. They got picked up
by the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. Did that expose you
to another audience as well?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Do you think, well, that's an interesting story as well.
So it didn't get picked up. We got a call
that and I had seen Strictly Ballroom and I loved it,
and I heard that that was Luhreman wanted was doing
a different take, a more contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet.
(18:03):
And I got a little bit of the video of it,
of the scene that he wanted us to write a
song for and I wrote the song called Local God
that I was already working on the riff and the lyrics,
and I already had the lineup, you know, be My
be My Romeo, which had nothing to do with the movie,
(18:26):
and and uh, then you know, but I put the
words local guy in there, and uh that that that
comes straight out of Shakespeare. And I remember there was
a guy named what was his name? He was like
a DJ that was really famous in Europe and England
(18:46):
at the time. Uh, and he didn't like the song
at all. He's like too many guitars and the guy
screaming and can't sing. And I'm embarrassed because it says Romeo.
And Baz wrote back a letter and goes, well, I'm
glad we're on different sides of what we do because
it fits my movie perfectly, and I think it's phenomenal
(19:08):
and I'm so grateful the art for making it. I'm
just like, oh, well, there you go, and you know,
it's interesting. So it wasn't a single here, and I
just thought it was it was a not a throwaway song,
but it was a song for a for a soundtrack
(19:28):
from the soundtrack for the movie. And then When we
get down to later that summer of ninety seven we
or ninety eight, rather we get down to Australia. The
head of am I Australia was looking at OURSELVILCA where's
local god mate? I go, we're not playing that song.
(19:50):
No one kids about to think of. It's a hit.
It's a huge hit over three formats here, and you're
gonna have to play in New Zealand too because it's
a hit there. And I'm like, oh, and we didn't.
We had to learn how to play it during the
soundtrack because we hadn't played it live.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I didn't realize it was written. I didn't realize it
was actually written for the soundtrack. I always just thought
it was the stand alone single. So that goes to show,
doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, it was never meant to be a single, not there,
not here, not anywhere. But it was just someone started
playing it and people started picking up on it and
requesting it and freaking out on it, and it became
a hit in Australia. I don't know if it got
ahead in New Zealand first and then translated over very well.
Could have. I'm not really sure, but you know, by
(20:39):
the time we got down there. It was it in
both places and we had to play it.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
That is choice. Well, I've been talking to you. It's
probably for fall too long, so I'm taking up your time.
May I ask one more question? Because what I'll do
is I'll play three Everclear tunes. We do a thing
at midday call twelve o'clock rock. So I'll throw in
the song that we played pretty much still every day
here when I stayed in, which is Santa Monica. What
do you think it is about that song that just
(21:04):
has carried through and it's just such a massive hit.
Still is the lyrics? Is it the catches of the tune?
What do you reckon it is?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I think it's a little bit of everything. You know.
It's like I So when we got signed to do
Sparkling Fade, I was living in Portland and at that
time in my life I was suffering from anxiety and
depression and just weirdness. And We're getting signed in major
labels and people are writing as checks and I didn't
(21:33):
know how to deal with that. I had never been
successful in my life. I was used to people doubting me.
I was used to people me having this struggle, this
whole thing where everybody acts like they're my buddy, won.
I didn't believe it, which is smart, right, yeah, But secondly,
I just didn't understand it. And I remember, like right
(21:55):
before we left to go on tour for that record release,
me and my wife at the time and our two
year old daughter spent the weekend on the Organ coast
at this town called Seaside, And when I got close
to the ocean and could see the ocean smell, I
(22:15):
just my anxiety just disappeared, went away, just went away,
And as we're driving back, it started coming back. The
closest we got closer we got to Portland, and I
stayed up that night after putting my daughter to bed,
and wrote that song and the band came in the
next day, and it just is one of those songs
(22:37):
that just came together like that, just instantaneously. And I
remember when our an, our guy who's a Brett Terry
Watts Russell, came up to listen to the songs before
we went to record him. He's making notes and he's going, yeah,
Heroin girl for sure, Yeah, this song I like that.
(23:00):
I like your choice here, yeah, And then I go
we have a song called Santa Monica. It goes great,
and we played it for him and he goes, wait
a minute, you don't say Santa Monica once in that song,
I don't think. I go nope, why don't you call it?
Call it something else? I go, no, No, it's a
song about comfort zones. I was born and raised in
(23:22):
Santa Monica. Call it Santa Monica. And he goes, we'll
play it again. We'll play it again. He goes, man,
that song's almost perfect, it's just not finished it. I
go till we record it in the studio, record it
and came back and he goes, man, I'm convinced this
is going to be one of your best songs. I
(23:44):
don't know if it's a single, but definitely an album track.
But it's not done yet. But wait till we mix it.
We'll go in and mix it, and he's like. He
comes out and he goes, I am convinced that this
is a hit song, but it's not done yet. And
then we got into like a verbal screaming match at
(24:06):
each other. Use me to love the upwards. And I'm
not talking fatherhood or feminism here, which are two of
my favorites. We're not talking about that one, and finally
I go, all right, you know what, fine, all right,
I'll do what you want. I'll make I'll make this
song longer, but just for you. Because of it, I'm
(24:29):
going to write a song called you Make Me Feel
like a Whore. I just I just thought of that
on the moment, you know. And I didn't have a
song called that, but I had the title, and I
started thinking about it and started thinking about the music business,
and over the next two or three months, I wrote
that song. But anyways, so we went in the studio
(24:51):
and this is before pro tools were auto tune or anything,
and we tried to re record the song, like but
that take was magic. It was just magic. Oh. I'm like,
let's how do we make it longer. Guy's like, well,
we'll have to record the last chorus and then you know,
(25:15):
actually splice the tape of it onto the master tape
and then you record more stuff on it if you
want to. And I'm like, okay, And I did that,
and never I did another vocal where I go higher,
and I did guitar, you know, a group vocal and stuff,
and it just made it more exciting. And I played
(25:37):
a rough of it for my ANR guy. He goes,
if this isn't a hit song, I will give you
ten thousand dollars. I'm like, he goes, it's a hit song.
Would it had been a hit song without his meddling?
We don't know. Yah, do I want to find out? No,
I don't. I'll give them all. I'll give them all
(25:59):
the credit. And obviously he didn't have to pay me
ten thousand dollars obviously.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Yeah, So yeah, that was a great story about that song.
That song is just You're right. It's just one of
those songs that people never get tired of hearing.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And I think it's also when you've explained behind it
as well, you can actually hear the authenticity of it
being that comfort place and that now it makes a
lot of sense to me. Now it is you can
tell when something is sincere and authentic, and then that's
where I think you really grab a core audience. So
that's what you did there.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Well, I appreciate you saying that, And we try to
be authentic in everything we do. I try to be
authentic in every aspect of my life. You know, I
haven't always been, but being clean it's over almost thirty
five years it's something that's very very important to me
in me and people around me and people that work
(26:51):
for me and people that I work with. So that's
thank you for saying that. That's something that I think
that song and all of our music because authentic in
a way that's unique to us, and it might not
be the best, but it connects with certain you know,
with a lot of people, I think in different ways,
(27:11):
you know, for different reasons. Like you said, it could
be lyrics, could be the hook, could be the guitar sound,
or it could just be everything, the whole interlighte as.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
We said, Well, thank you so much up for chatting.
That's been one of my favorite conversations actually that I've
had in a long time for an interview. So thank you, ma'am.
We'll be seeing you when you get down here playing
of course pick it on our coatures or ice House
the summer of twenty twenty five. It'll be great to
catch up.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
We'll see you then. Thank you anything.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Radio Head Aches Off the Record podcast. Why not subscribe
so they download automatically and don't forget to rate us
five stars?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Thanks mate.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Find out more about this podcast and the people who
make it at Holdache dot co, dot m z
Welcome to Radio Hoda Keys Off the Record Podcast with
Angeline McGray.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Do you prefer Angie or Angelina? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, thanks for asking. Actually I'm good with either, So
what if Angie's easiest?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Right, I'm more of a full person. I usually don't
do nicknames, but if you prefer that, I'll use.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You know what, I I do appreciate that because of
New Zealand, it's all about nicknames like Steve O, Nico John. Oh, so,
thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I know it's it's the same thing in Australia. You
guys are all all down there. You're like, you guys,
keep it short. Everything's acronyms. Yeah, everything's yeah McDonald's macas.
I don't know if you guys call it.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, mcdee's. Yeah. It's very much tote for totally, you know,
defo for differently. It's was so lazy, it's terrible.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's awesome. I wonder if it's a throwback to immigrants
who might have.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Been you know, cocknew that would make sense.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It would make sense.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Have you ever talked to a full on cockney from London?
I mean it's almost not even English.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
It's very confusing. It's very confusing. Well, I've got to say,
first off, art from Everclear, welcome to the show. Great
to have you on board.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Thank you, Angela, it's good to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
We last spoke. I think it was when you came
here last for your Oh was there's so much for
the after Glow tour? When you came to New Zealander.
I want to say twenty seventeen ish, perhaps.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
It was seventeen, that is exactly right.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, so that was I think just before I took
a break from radio. I went on Vitinity leave for
a while and it came back. We all had the
COVID lockdown and it was it feels like the world
has it's been a different time in the last few years, right,
it's been a.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Different time the world. The world was on hold year.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, yeah, for us, it kind of felt like it
went on forever and then it's like a distant memory.
How did it affix ef A Clear and you with music,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you know, I mean, like everybody else, it was
hard to make a living in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
I was amused, I especially yeah, because we.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Can't we couldn't play shows, and that's how we make
our living. But it came back in twenty one and
very slowly, but we started working and that was great.
And you know, on a personal front, my daughter, like
a lot of adolescents, at the time, she was twelve.
Now she's seventeen, and she's in her not last year,
(02:44):
not her senior year of high school, what we call
the junior year of high school. So right, you know,
eleventh grade grade eleventh and I'm doing great now, but
for seventh grade grade, seventh grade eight, it was very
very rough. Anxiety depression, yeah, also stuff and a lot
of a lot of kids that age really that area
(03:06):
suffered from that. You know. It's but other than that,
I was just grateful to have our house, have my family.
I don't know how I made it work financially. I
was doing some serious dancing, yeah, figurative figur literally literally,
and but I pulled it off.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That's interesting you say, though about that that age of children,
because I think that is the age when you are
starting to form your own friend group. You're kind of
moving away from the family as your base, you know,
and those connections and folding your own and no one
could which is it goes against our natural instincts, you
know what I mean. So I really feel for that
(03:46):
era of children.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I absolutely You're exactly right. That is the that is
the age where they're pushing away from family, which is
hard for parents. Yeah, but it's it's natural, right, They're
pushing away and they want to create their own tribe.
You know that we're talking. This goes deep into the
genetics hundreds of thousands of years, right, Yeah, and they did.
(04:12):
They for the record, for the most part, did not
like the zoom. They felt exposed, they felt disassociated. And
you know, for a guy who's done a lot of
classes in psychology and I'm a life coach, and it's
it was. It was a really, really challenging time. But
(04:34):
she came out of it and I think a little
scar tissue, but for the most part, I think it
made her stronger. And I'm just waiting to see what
she does this year.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah. Well, on that note of what you just mentioned, Now,
you're a life coach, So when when did you start
You went quite hard out studying psyche, right, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I started psyche and I was I am. When COVID happened.
I went back to school online, of course, and I
got another year under my belt, so I'm about a
year away from a psychology degree and then work started
picking up and I just it was just too much
to do. Yeah. But I also got two Master Life
(05:16):
Coaching certifications three actually, and during during COVID as well. Yeah,
it's been it's been great and I'm just start starting
to build the practice with that.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Right, do you take international clients? Perhaps?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I do? Yay, I do.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
All right, we'll have to I'll get your details. We
can talk after this. You can help me with some
life coaching and of course you are coming back to
New Zealand for the summer tour for twenty twenty five,
playing alongside Ice House and Cold Chisel, which is great
for me because I grew up when I was little,
you know, I grew up with I guess Ice House
and Cold Chisel, and it was probably that age that
we were talking about before that I came into efically.
(05:57):
You know, I think I was maybe sixteen seventeen eighteen
when that was kind of the the songs played on
the radio.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So what do you say you were a nineties girl?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, in the names in the nineties, Yeah, exactly, So
that's I guess they said the songs that you listen
to in the nineties and what carry you through the
rest of your life rribbets when you're forming your emotions
and everything. So I'm curious to know who you see
at ever clear gigs these days. I mean, I have
I think last time we spoke, you said, it's a
bit full circle and you're now getting younger kids who
(06:29):
weren't even born, you know when you guys were, you know,
around in the nineties. How are you finding the audience?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Oh, that's a wonderful question. You know. Since COVID, it
seems like a lot of kids went online and we're
looking for alternative music, what's contemporary and there's really no
like like that in the States and popular contemporary bands
(06:59):
or new there's not really a lot of guitar based rock.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Bands, even the fund you know, like yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, it's it's usuly very produced music. Regardless of what
genre is, it all kind of sounds the same. And
it seems like what I asked these kids, And there
are some kids that were turned on to it by
their parents or their big brothers and sisters or aunts
and uncles. But for the most part, Angelina, I think
(07:27):
most of them tell me, they just gravitated, gravitated towards
the nineties because they felt like that was the last
real valid era of rock of rock and roll, and
they kind of just started listening to reading about it
and listening to different nineties bands, and a lot of
(07:48):
them have plumbed on to Everclaire, I think kids that
like like lyrics a lot, you know, that really pay
attention to lyrics and stories, but also like big guitar
rock and roll. So's I'd say twenty five percent of
our are are audiances late teens to late twenties.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
See, that's that's really rare to hear it. Yeah, well,
I mean you do get a little bit dissolutioned because
I do find tuning onto contemporary stuff these days it
is it sounds the same, but there's no like back
in the nineties eighties, there were all sorts of genres
that were making it onto the radio, like your new
wave and then your thrash metal GNR and then you
grunge and and singer songwriters that were all thrown in together,
(08:32):
whereas now it just feels like very much solo artists,
so many solo artists people not making bands these days
because do you think it's harder. You've got to get together,
You've got to I guess collaborate, and I don't know
what's what I'm looking for. Compromise.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You have to compromise. You have to you're in a
relationship and you're talking to a You're talking about a
whole generation of kids, the Gen zs and consumers and
even younger who are constant, constantly all they're doing. All
they're doing is this, them on this and computers and
(09:17):
you know, streams, and even though they're talking to people,
they're not really connecting and learning to live with people.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yes, so it's very it's an individualized society.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Right, it is it almost it's almost it's almost like Kafka, right.
But but at the same time, it's I think this age,
this era, and of kids this age are a lot
more intelligent, a lot of ways, more compassionate, more sympathetic.
(09:58):
I think they just don't have the the actual hands
on body memory skills, learn learned skills of compromise and
living together and just being able to say, Okay, this
is you, that's me. Let's let's we'll do some of
your stuff, We'll do some of my stuff. It's not
that they don't want to do it. They just don't
(10:20):
know how right, you know. Yeah, And that's my take
on it from from kids I talk to and I
don't work with kids, but with a lot of parents
with kids, and that's that's a whole different. And you know,
I have a kid. Yeah, yeah, I have to deal
with that. She's my second daughter. I have a thirty
two year old. She had her own she had her
(10:42):
own drama as well, but now she's you know, she's
married and doing her own thing. But my my babies
just at the beach today with her boyfriend, and I
hope she's I don't care about she's smart, she's smart,
he's going to be safe. I don't care about that.
(11:03):
I don't care about the drugs. And then they contained
the alcohol because a lot of times they don't know
what they're getting when they get that deep. Yeah, you
can be phentanyl in it. It's horrifying.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I'm lucky. I'm lucky at the moment because I've got
mina what six and four my daughters, and I'm hoping
it's gonna maybe there'll be a revolution a in terms
of you know, how the world's going, but also musically
as well, what I do love is at my free
year old has obsessed with David Bowie and I don't know, Well,
maybe it might be to do with me a little.
But that's amazing, lady.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You were doing something right, right, doing something right, good, good, Anya.
I mean you know what interesting is true about David Boy. Yeah,
David Boy died about three days after my dad did.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I didn't really know my father, you know, I didn't
really know him. I I've lived with him very short
while for a few months a couple of times, and
but you know, it was my dad. And I talked
to him about four or five days before he died,
and he was almost ninety four. He was three days
shy of being ninety four. He'd died on the day
(12:17):
that Boi died, he'd have been ninety four years old.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So there's no tragedy there, you know, that's that's an
amazing long life. I think you're guaranteed about eighty to
eighty five years. Anything over that it's gravy.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, And I.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Think and so and I was sad and sad for
his family now, but I didn't it wasn't tragic when
when when David Boie died. I felt like my heart
was ripped out of my body. Now I'm a big boyfriend?
(12:55):
Am I a fanatic? Is that the only thing I
listened to? No but David Bowie from the time I
was eleven years old and Ziggy came out, and then
I went backwards to Hockey Doria and then all the
other records that came out, lad saying dim Dog's one
of my favorites. Right there. He made it okay to
(13:19):
be weird and to be different. He made it okay
to be a freak. Not only did he make it okay,
he made it he told he taught me how to
use it as a badge of honor. And you know,
my whole life, I've never been one of those guys
who goes after people who are my idols and try
to reach out to him and stuff, even when I
(13:42):
became pretty well known and had the ability to. But
it was nineteen ninety eight. We played a show in
San Francisco and David Boy was on the ability He's
headline in this radio show benefit, and he was standing
right there and I'm and I'm pretty shy, but I
(14:05):
just went up to him. I said, did my name
is Art and you sing a band called ever Claire goes, yeah,
I've heard your band. Yeah, I like, I like, I
like that single. I go yeah, I think everything to
everyone was out at that point, or father, mine or something,
and I just I just talked to him. I just
said thank you for for being so brave and strong
(14:28):
and and helping the rest of us learn how to
do it. Thank you so much. And he goes, what
does your mother call you? My mother calls me Arthur?
Does Arthur? I have a wonderful show. And after I
came off the stage, I walked by me. He woke up,
walked up to me, and he put his arm around me.
(14:49):
He goes, well done, Arthur, Well done. And I'm like, man,
sorry kill me now.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now life highlight moment. That is amazing, absolute respect though.
I love it. What does your mother call you? I
love it?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
I mean, you know, I actually never remembered that. It
wasn't that big of a deal to him, but to me,
it was a huge deal.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
That's yeah, that is amazing. I love that story. Oh
oh god, what's I going to say about that? I
was just thinking back to when I first heard Everclear.
It was I think Heroin Girl was the first song
and I still to this day that will be my
everclear song that I still love it. I think it's
it's fast, it's the raw energy. Do you remember recording
(15:36):
and writing that song, that that kind of era and
the feelings around it. Do you do you remember, like,
can you give us any recollections or any stories from
that time?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Well, Heroin Girl was recorded when we were still in Portland,
before we got signed to Capitol. We did a dem
all of it. It didn't show up on World of Noise.
It was after World Noise, but it was when I
was writing songs and it was one of the songs
that gave the label, Yeah, all the labels when they
(16:09):
were interested in us. And but then we decided to
re record it for Spark Lunt paid and it just
came out wonderful. It was our first single in the States,
but only about fifteen stations played it in the whole country,
(16:30):
and at the time I think there was one hundred
and thirty alternative stations. Only fifteen played it because of
the word herouin. Yeah, they wouldn't play it because of
the word heroin, And so it was it was meant
to set up more for Santa Monica, but it's it's
kudos to you guys down in New Zealand and Australia
(16:55):
because no one hesitated they played. That was a huge
song New Zealand. It was a huge song in Australia
and even England to this day and Canada, so all
the British former coladays, right, yeah, yeah, I'm I love
(17:18):
that song. That's one of those songs. It wasn't a
huge hit at the time, but it's it's a song
we have to play every night where people get mad
at stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Of course, it was that moment as well, like Saint
Monica being being the big, massive hit. But when Local
God I remember getting picked up. They got picked up
by the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. Did that expose you
to another audience as well?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Do you think, well, that's an interesting story as well.
So it didn't get picked up. We got a call
that and I had seen Strictly Ballroom and I loved it,
and I heard that that was Luhreman wanted was doing
a different take, a more contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet.
(18:03):
And I got a little bit of the video of it,
of the scene that he wanted us to write a
song for and I wrote the song called Local God
that I was already working on the riff and the lyrics,
and I already had the lineup, you know, be My
be My Romeo, which had nothing to do with the movie,
(18:26):
and and uh, then you know, but I put the
words local guy in there, and uh that that that
comes straight out of Shakespeare. And I remember there was
a guy named what was his name? He was like
a DJ that was really famous in Europe and England
(18:46):
at the time. Uh, and he didn't like the song
at all. He's like too many guitars and the guy
screaming and can't sing. And I'm embarrassed because it says Romeo.
And Baz wrote back a letter and goes, well, I'm
glad we're on different sides of what we do because
it fits my movie perfectly, and I think it's phenomenal
(19:08):
and I'm so grateful the art for making it. I'm
just like, oh, well, there you go, and you know,
it's interesting. So it wasn't a single here, and I
just thought it was it was a not a throwaway song,
but it was a song for a for a soundtrack
(19:28):
from the soundtrack for the movie. And then When we
get down to later that summer of ninety seven we
or ninety eight, rather we get down to Australia. The
head of am I Australia was looking at OURSELVILCA where's
local god mate? I go, we're not playing that song.
(19:50):
No one kids about to think of. It's a hit.
It's a huge hit over three formats here, and you're
gonna have to play in New Zealand too because it's
a hit there. And I'm like, oh, and we didn't.
We had to learn how to play it during the
soundtrack because we hadn't played it live.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I didn't realize it was written. I didn't realize it
was actually written for the soundtrack. I always just thought
it was the stand alone single. So that goes to show,
doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, it was never meant to be a single, not there,
not here, not anywhere. But it was just someone started
playing it and people started picking up on it and
requesting it and freaking out on it, and it became
a hit in Australia. I don't know if it got
ahead in New Zealand first and then translated over very well.
Could have. I'm not really sure, but you know, by
(20:39):
the time we got down there. It was it in
both places and we had to play it.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
That is choice. Well, I've been talking to you. It's
probably for fall too long, so I'm taking up your time.
May I ask one more question? Because what I'll do
is I'll play three Everclear tunes. We do a thing
at midday call twelve o'clock rock. So I'll throw in
the song that we played pretty much still every day
here when I stayed in, which is Santa Monica. What
do you think it is about that song that just
(21:04):
has carried through and it's just such a massive hit.
Still is the lyrics? Is it the catches of the tune?
What do you reckon it is?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I think it's a little bit of everything. You know.
It's like I So when we got signed to do
Sparkling Fade, I was living in Portland and at that
time in my life I was suffering from anxiety and
depression and just weirdness. And We're getting signed in major
labels and people are writing as checks and I didn't
(21:33):
know how to deal with that. I had never been
successful in my life. I was used to people doubting me.
I was used to people me having this struggle, this
whole thing where everybody acts like they're my buddy, won.
I didn't believe it, which is smart, right, yeah, But secondly,
I just didn't understand it. And I remember, like right
(21:55):
before we left to go on tour for that record release,
me and my wife at the time and our two
year old daughter spent the weekend on the Organ coast
at this town called Seaside, And when I got close
to the ocean and could see the ocean smell, I
(22:15):
just my anxiety just disappeared, went away, just went away,
And as we're driving back, it started coming back. The
closest we got closer we got to Portland, and I
stayed up that night after putting my daughter to bed,
and wrote that song and the band came in the
next day, and it just is one of those songs
(22:37):
that just came together like that, just instantaneously. And I
remember when our an, our guy who's a Brett Terry
Watts Russell, came up to listen to the songs before
we went to record him. He's making notes and he's going, yeah,
Heroin girl for sure, Yeah, this song I like that.
(23:00):
I like your choice here, yeah, And then I go
we have a song called Santa Monica. It goes great,
and we played it for him and he goes, wait
a minute, you don't say Santa Monica once in that song,
I don't think. I go nope, why don't you call it?
Call it something else? I go, no, No, it's a
song about comfort zones. I was born and raised in
(23:22):
Santa Monica. Call it Santa Monica. And he goes, we'll
play it again. We'll play it again. He goes, man,
that song's almost perfect, it's just not finished it. I
go till we record it in the studio, record it
and came back and he goes, man, I'm convinced this
is going to be one of your best songs. I
(23:44):
don't know if it's a single, but definitely an album track.
But it's not done yet. But wait till we mix it.
We'll go in and mix it, and he's like. He
comes out and he goes, I am convinced that this
is a hit song, but it's not done yet. And
then we got into like a verbal screaming match at
(24:06):
each other. Use me to love the upwards. And I'm
not talking fatherhood or feminism here, which are two of
my favorites. We're not talking about that one, and finally
I go, all right, you know what, fine, all right,
I'll do what you want. I'll make I'll make this
song longer, but just for you. Because of it, I'm
(24:29):
going to write a song called you Make Me Feel
like a Whore. I just I just thought of that
on the moment, you know. And I didn't have a
song called that, but I had the title, and I
started thinking about it and started thinking about the music business,
and over the next two or three months, I wrote
that song. But anyways, so we went in the studio
(24:51):
and this is before pro tools were auto tune or anything,
and we tried to re record the song, like but
that take was magic. It was just magic. Oh. I'm like,
let's how do we make it longer. Guy's like, well,
we'll have to record the last chorus and then you know,
(25:15):
actually splice the tape of it onto the master tape
and then you record more stuff on it if you
want to. And I'm like, okay, And I did that,
and never I did another vocal where I go higher,
and I did guitar, you know, a group vocal and stuff,
and it just made it more exciting. And I played
(25:37):
a rough of it for my ANR guy. He goes,
if this isn't a hit song, I will give you
ten thousand dollars. I'm like, he goes, it's a hit song.
Would it had been a hit song without his meddling?
We don't know. Yah, do I want to find out? No,
I don't. I'll give them all. I'll give them all
(25:59):
the credit. And obviously he didn't have to pay me
ten thousand dollars obviously.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Yeah, So yeah, that was a great story about that song.
That song is just You're right. It's just one of
those songs that people never get tired of hearing.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And I think it's also when you've explained behind it
as well, you can actually hear the authenticity of it
being that comfort place and that now it makes a
lot of sense to me. Now it is you can
tell when something is sincere and authentic, and then that's
where I think you really grab a core audience. So
that's what you did there.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Well, I appreciate you saying that, And we try to
be authentic in everything we do. I try to be
authentic in every aspect of my life. You know, I
haven't always been, but being clean it's over almost thirty
five years it's something that's very very important to me
in me and people around me and people that work
(26:51):
for me and people that I work with. So that's
thank you for saying that. That's something that I think
that song and all of our music because authentic in
a way that's unique to us, and it might not
be the best, but it connects with certain you know,
with a lot of people, I think in different ways,
(27:11):
you know, for different reasons. Like you said, it could
be lyrics, could be the hook, could be the guitar sound,
or it could just be everything, the whole interlighte as.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
We said, Well, thank you so much up for chatting.
That's been one of my favorite conversations actually that I've
had in a long time for an interview. So thank you, ma'am.
We'll be seeing you when you get down here playing
of course pick it on our coatures or ice House
the summer of twenty twenty five. It'll be great to
catch up.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
We'll see you then. Thank you anything.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Radio Head Aches Off the Record podcast. Why not subscribe
so they download automatically and don't forget to rate us
five stars?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Thanks mate.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Find out more about this podcast and the people who
make it at Holdache dot co, dot m z
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