• ••••••• ' " - * vN WillametteWeek

PORTLAND'S NEWSWEEKLY I I KNIGHT UBRARY UNIVERSrTY OF OREGON 15Q1 KINKAID EUGENE, OR 97402

Art Alexakis is the hottest rocker in Portland—and the most unpopular

BY RICHARD MARTIN P.18

Liberals fight back on screen p.62 Is wearing Birkenstocks a disability? p. 11 Art Alexakis is the hottest rocker in Portland—and the most unpopular

BY RICHARD MARTIN

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t's one of rock music's best gigs: You stride onto the stage of New York's historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where the Beatles and Elvis once played. The spotlight shines; giddy music director Paul Shaffer thrusts his arm in the air and, with a burst of exag- geration, signals for you to start. From behind a nearby desk, David Letterman is watching. Seated in front of their televisions, millions of people are listening. This Friday, Art Alexakis will become one of the few Portland musicians ever to experience this sensation when his band, Ever- clear, plays The Late Show with David Letterman. And, for the 34-year-old singer and guitarist, along with his mid-20s band- mates Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund, it's another step toward the highest echelon in the music world. So why aren't his fellow musicians in Portland happy for him?

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U J May I May 7,19% Willamette Week f

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can live beside the ocean/Leave t's becoming the de ri^ueur the fire behind/Swim out past the biography for alternative rock breakers/Watch the world die." stars in a trend popularized by & Wild I At 22, after a decade of drug Courtney Love: raised in a turbu- use, Alexakis nearly killed himself Reasons to Try lent home; an adolescence plagued after injecting an overdose of co- by drug abuse and failed relation- Mickey Finn's: caine into his arm. That experi- ships; a channeling of the experi- ence scared him straight. In 1987, ence and rage into emotional he moved north to San Francisco. songs. After a period marred by fail- Arthur Paul Alexakis, born ures—of his first marriage, his O U R DUNGENESS April 12, 1962, in Santa Monica, band Colorfinger and his small la- C RAB FEED Calif., is a songwriter, like Love, bel Shindig—Alexakis moved to OrdendFrttU who can siphon years of pain and Portland with Jenny Dodson. The bitter memories into a few two had met during a Colorfinger TOMORROW! poignant verses and a handful of appearance at the East Burnside catchy choruses. THURSDAY Music Millennium store where Fourteen such songs make up N D Dodson worked. She eventually MAY 2 Sparkle and Fade, the 1995 Capi- joined Alexakis in San Francisco, O'KKtr includes C'(a* Cboudw tol Records release purchased by but after the dissolution of Col- and Fr-tsk Sr-md more than 500,000 consumers, orfinger and the discovery that earning Everclear a gold record. Dodson was pregnant, the pair — AN D — The album's popularity surpassed came to Portland for a fresh start the expectations ot Capitol execu- in 1991. tives and even Alexakis. It's also forced him to confront the effects Alexakis decided to found an- of fame—both in his community other band, and he hooked up with B UCKETS OF and in his mind. Montoya and drummer Scott Cuth- bert. The trio played taut, edgy C RAZY CRAWDADS Nearly all rock bands start with rock songs garnished with a type DrdtrtdFrttk/ shoddy instruments and empty of fuzzy distortion similar to that bank accounts. They must clamor of Nirvana. It was 1993, and Alex- SATURDAY for recognition from the media akis had a band and a baby girl, MAY 4™ and from those who book the mu- Annabella. 4-IOPM sic venues. Most important, they have to play great music and build In the early stages of his re- a fan base. birth as a man and musician, Alexakis' lyrics revealed a sharp 4336 SE WOODSTOCK But the progression from a 788-1 587 punk club to the arena stage is a world view. On the 1993 EP Ner- dangerous one that requires ma- vous & Weird and later that year neuvering through a virtual mine- on the full-length World of Noise, field of adulation, attention and in both released by Portland's T/K some cases alienation. Many Records, the writer addressed the Take me don't survive. AIDS epidemic and abortion leg- islation. In "Fire Maple Song," Nick Drake, an obscure yet in- The success of 1995 release Sparkle and Fade, which has sold more than 500,000 copies, surpassed even Alexakis' expectations. one of his most heavily melodic to your fluential English singer-songwriter compositions, Alexakis remi- who died of a drug overdose in nisced about his fallen brother. percolator. 1974 at the age of 26, wrote, for this article, but in an October In "Heroin Girl," Alexakis The track caught the attention of "Some men of fame can never find 1994 discussion with this reporter, shrieks, "Just another overdose," record executive Gary Gersh, the the way, till the time has flown far he said, 'The thing I want to do is repeating the phrase he heard a man who had signed Nirvana to from their dying day." reach as many people as possible." police officer utter when reporting DGC Records—making him, un- Nirvana is credited with shap- That's a lofty goal for a guy the death of 12-year-old Art's old- officially, the smartest man in ing the rock music world as it ex- who grew up in a Southern Cali- er brother. At 13, Alexakis' girl- the record industry—and who ists today, yet its skittish leader, fornia housing project, raised by a friend also died of a drug over- had moved on to become presi- Kurt Cobain, couldn't cope when single mother. Yet poverty and its dose, which stirred Art to attempt dent of Capitol. his audience grew from a group of effects have come to serve Alex- suicide by jumping off the Santa friends in a Seattle club to millions akis well. Everclear concert T- Monica pier. The song "Santa With Gersh interested, other of people worldwide. Two years shirts read "White trash and proud Monica," currently No. 3 on the labels began to pursue Everclear. ago, he committed suicide. of it." And his lyrics, mining Billboard mainstream rock chart, Alexakis' business acumen sur- Alexakis, however, relishes the themes of modern-day blight, have perfectly captures the bleak out- faced. He fired drummer Cuth- opportunity before him. He de- critics hailing Alexakis as the look of such a troubled young bert and replaced him with the clined requests to be interviewed Bruce Springsteen of the '90s. man. In the chorus, he sings, "We more eager Eklund, whose hip.

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Consolidated Law Federal Office Building • Environmental Impact Statement Public Scoping Meeting

The General Services Administration invites you to attend a^ public scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Consolidated Law Federal Office Building to be sited within Portland's central business district.

Tuesday, May 7, 1996 and Wednesday, May 8, 1996 Everclear's success garnered the band a full-page feature at the in Rolling Stone and landed Alexakis a recent appearance Edith Green - Wendell Wyatt Federal Building on MTV's "Choose or Lose." 1220 SW 3rd Avenue write great songs. I want the band now three World Wide Web sites, Portland, Oregon to evolve. I want to make a living run by fans, featuring gossip, from it." photos and the lyrics to all of Ev- Open House Everclear spent approximately erclear's songs. One site pro- four-fifths of 1995 on the road, claims that Everclear is "the best" 4:30 pm - 5:15 pm touring from coast to coast and hard rock band on the planet." Public Comment Period performing in Europe. By Octo- According to a program direc- 5:30 pm-7:30 pm ber, the band had landed a full- tor at KNRK 94.7 FM who says page feature in Rolling Stone. the station plays Everclear's sin- Citizens, groups, agencies, and affected tribes are encouraged to attend Writer Jon Weiderhorn heaped gles "Santa Monica" and "Heroin this praise on Alexakis and his and provide comments on the scope of the EIS. mates: "Everclear's music...con- veys a palpable sense of fury and "We get 50 to 100 frustration, but rather than veil sentiment with cryptic lyrics, calls a day for Alexakis takes a brutally bluni Everclear." and largely autobiographical ap- —Matt Souther. proach to songwriting." The cur- KNRK program director rent issue of Details includes a lengthy feature story under the headline: "Clear Unpresent Dan- ger—Needles, Death and Suicide: Art Alexakis wasted his youth, and it wasted him in return. With Lap it up in our classic pool for a stress-free workout alternative extremists Everclear, he's become grunge's voice of Girl" between two and five times experience." each day, the trio has an ecstatic- The charismatic Alexakis following in Portland as well. saunters through the band's oft- "For us, they're a staple band." played videos on MTV, dressed says program director Matt in neat Urban Outfitters-style Souther. "We get 50 to 100 calls clothes and shooting glances at a day for Everclear." the camera. In 1995, the popular A third single, "Heartspark online music publication Addict- Dollarsign," in which the narra- ed to Noise named Everclear its tor describes the racist reaction band of the year, and there are of his family when he brings

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Willamette Week May I-May 7.19% IS1 tight-knit collective of musicians, cific Northwest's sizzling rock Alexakis. "Now that time has "People complain about these studio engineers, record-label em- scene. "He moved |here| and built passed. He's on MTV. He could bands that get famous like Ever- ployees and club booking agents a following at a time when any move to any other place in the clear," Hedling remarks with a strikes a dissonant chord. Mem- music that came out of the North- country and be just as successful. note of sarcasm. "But look, they bers of the local music industry west was God," the singer says of H e could move back to L.A., or got famous? Good. They're on the g o to New York, or Boise, or road all the time. It's a great idea. murmur that Alexakis is an oppor- Lincoln, Nebraska—the further Get them the fuck out of town." tunist who fled San Francisco in away the better." What inspires such vitriolic late 1991 to exploit Portlanders' trusting and helpful nature and to Longtime punk rock promoter comments from a man generally Jr. High frontman Sean Croghan says that adopt the in-vogue regional style Billy Hedlind, once so close to regarded as one of the friendliest Alexakis moved here from California to now known as grunge. Alexakis that Everclear performed musicians in the city? take advantage of Portland's sizzling The tension between Alexakis but supportive rock scene. at his wedding reception, also Alexakis' steadfast denial that wants his former friend exiled. h e benefited from Portland's and the community has become

You Can Make It If You Try

Everclear seems poised to become the Portland music industry's biggest success story. But a look back at this city's other major-label performers re- veals that fame and fortune can be fleeting.

O n Broadway • Paul Revere and the . »Jwt 'JM Ma Just LI* l)s> Raiders had four albums, PAUL REVERE STNE RAIDERS Spirit of '67, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Just Like Us and Midnight Ride, which were certified as gold (sold more than 500,000 Southwest Traditions WANTED copies) in 1967. Your Designer • Figures regarding the * i Kingsmens sales of Suits "Louie, Louie" aren't avail- able, but the song, released I i:* Sportcoats as a single in 1963, went to Sportswear No. 2 on the Billboard chart.

Shoes • Quarterflash became Portland's first post-'60s success story. The etc. straightforward rock-'n'-roll band, set apart by Rindy Ross' saxophone play- ing, earned a platinum record (more than 1 million copies sold) for its self-ti- • tled Geffen debut in 1982. With an opening slot on an Elton John tour and the hit "Harden My Hearf in heavy Native American Tottery, Lamps, rotation on radio and MTV, Quarter- Mandellas. Dream Catchers, Masks. flash seemed to be on the bnnk of Artifacts, Jewelry, Music and Books. Blankets, Rugs, Wallhangings, Well long-term stardom But after two un- Home Decor and Furniture acclaimed follow-up albums, it loin us for a cultural experience. Suited jumped from Geffen to MCA in 2006 NE Broadway 1986, where the band was soon 288-8665 Men's Designer Resale dropped. Epic then signed Quarter- Cedar Hills Blvd 2415 NE Broadway • 284-5939 flash and planned to resurrect its Beaverton career, but never released the 646-5437 BUY & CONSIGN band's fourth and final album in the United States.

STEREOTYPES HOME AUDIO • In 1986, Nu Shooz's Atlantic 1st Annua/ Spring Records debut Poolside went gold and garnered the band a Grammy Valerie Day and John Smith nomination But the dance band's ANNIVERSARY SALE of Nu Shooz J r follow-up, Told U So, was a failure. mmmm • The Dan Reed Networic was Portland's hottest rock band of the late '80s. resulting in an opening slot on the Rolling Stones' 1990 "Steel Wheels" European tour SYSTEM • M1CROMEGA PRICES 1 combo SlS^y price and several albums for START • A T $5 59 IIHffiy?g>¥iWllf!!!y • In the early '90s, bands such as Sprin- kler the Spinanes and Hazel signed to Seat- e's Sub Pop Records, the label that found Nir- vana, piquing the inter- est of the major record Dan Reed Network companies in Los An- geles and New York. In the years that followed, Elektra/EastWest snatched up Pilot. Capitol took on Everclear and Geffen inked Skiploader But in 1995, Pilot was dropped. Skiploader recently dis- banded following the release of its debut in February. At least three more Portland bands will have major-label debuts this year: Harvester a transplant from Northern California, on DGC; Heatmiser on Virgin; and the Dandy Waritois on Capitol. Will these bands break Portland out of its major-label slump and join the rockers who went for the gold? —AM

ffl May I-May 7,19% Willamette Week

L M-F 10-9 Sat 10-7 forS^f-Gr^... Sun 11-6 Mall 205 • 9998 SE Washington St. • 25-4-1131 so pronounced that Everclear Upcoming Workshop,* hasn't asked a Portland band call to re.tervt your .tpace to open for one of its area I 1 WHAT IS WICCA? shows in almost a year, exact- ly the sort of snub Alexakis -S'j Intro: Fri., Mav 3, 7-8:30pm, $3-5 ! i Full Workshop: Sat., May A, Mpm. $30 has complained about. < Come Mt ant) feet the hMen uvrle) around you. "We've never gotten gigs e r i r o from any of the big bands, and SIBERIAN SHAMAN VISUAL IMAGERY Z -FRestauranI t that's cool," Alexakis said in a j.1 Four Day Workshop—Preregistration Required Rocket interview after signing Level I: Thurs. & Fri., May 9-10, 5:30-9pm. $150 + Bar with Capitol in 1994. "Every- & Level II: Thurs. & Fri., May 16-17, 5:30-9pm, $150 thing we've done, we've done Chakra.', acupuncture meridian,! ant) aura. Son NW 21 on our own, without money or I'o r 11 ,i n d connections. So I feel good 22ft. J 394 /',',vfwnetihitl II i'/'/\*/>('/>.' I'hrotiqhotil the )<•

"Everything we've done, we've done on our own." —Art Alexakis

^ool all The incident sparked a feud between Alexakis and Hazel singer and guitarist Pete Krebs, once romantical- ly linked to Dodson, that continues to this day. The visiting? Think again, bad blood spilled over to other acquaintances of Dod- son and Krebs. This March, Alexakis de- We'll give you the inside scoop nounced Krebs in an Orego- on nian article touting Ever- clear's homegrown yet inde- pendent success. "There are personal reasons why I was never friends with Hazel, be- great Places off the beaten tween me and Pete Krebs. path. that he'll never tell anyone about and neither will I. That's why he's always bad- mouthed me, and his friends followed suit." But Mike Jones, who owns independent label Schizo- phonic and is a long-time booking agent in Salem, be- lieves Alexakis' public snip- ing is misguided. Jones first heard of Everclear when he and Krebs were organizing a Salem concert Hazel would headline. "I remember stand- ing in my kitchen with him, going, 'Pete, who do you want on this show down here?' And he goes, 'Well, there's this new band in town, Everclear: I'd really like to get them on NEWSCENTER the bill."' Croghan insists that the rift 5:00 PM between Alexakis and Krebs is only a lingering effect of Ever- CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Willamette Week May I May 7. 1996 0 Children's WE TEACH TOUCH Authors & Events Wednesday the ttth ut 10:00 am Erika Silverman FOR THE CAREER-MINDED Everyone thinks Mrs. Peachtree should give up try ing to learn how to ride a hike, except her loyal cat. Yet Frika LMT Training Previews (free) Fri, May 10, 2pm / Mon, May 27, 7pm if So Silverman's Mrs. Peachtree s Buycle (Simon & Schuster) is a Legislative Proposal Review (free) Thu, May 16, 7pm happv testimony to all those who have tried and tried and finally succeeded. The Bottom Line! Successful? (free) Thu, May 16, 7pm Wednesday the 15th at 10:00 am Foundation Builders Meeting (free) Thu, May 23, 7pm Elise Peterson Elise Peterson presents a hilarious rhyming story. Tracy's CONTINUEEvercleaD FROM PAGE r25 Mess (Whispering Coyote Press). Readers will identify with FOR THE BEGINNER Tracy as she explores creative solutions to her all too dear's fait accompli—tram- pling on reserved Portlanders Tai Chi Ch'uan ($7 drop-in) Wed, May 1-29, S-ftpm common problem, cleaning her room. to make it to the top. In Holistic Optometry (free) Thu, May 2, 7pm Rosalind Wang Wednesday the 22nd at 10:00 am The Magical Starfruit Tree (Beyond Words Publishing) tells Croghan's view, Everclear Couples Massage ($100/couple) Sat, May 11, 10am-5pm the story of a kind hearted young boy and an old beggar transformed Portland from an man on a hot day. Frustrated because she was unable to find uncommercial and amiable mu- any Chinese folk tales for children. Rosalind Wang decided sic town to a competitive one. to write (hem herself. OREGON SCHOOL "I think he's done a good OF MASSAGE job to kill whatever kind of POWELLS CITY OF BOOKS scene there was before," 950(1 SW Barhur Blvd, Suite 100, Portland 97219 • Information: 244-3420 1005 W Burnside • 503-228-4651 Croghan says of Alexakis. "There really was a music community in Portland, and I think with the success of Ev- erclear, any new young bands that get involved in the scene are looking to them and say- If you can find a better bike for less, ing, 'Well, that's what you're it's probably STOLEN. supposed to do.'" "Everclear's on the road all the time. It's a great idea. Get them Sherpa Country CS the fuck out of

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Shimano Alivio Derailleur. or Alexakis, life has come to fulfill the lyrics in one of his early songs, "Nervous & rWeird": "I think I'm better now than how I used to be." In the May issue of Details. he and Dodson describe the domestic violence incident in print for the first time; both declare that it was a learning experience. His sentence, they reveal, was a 24-week course in anger management that helped change him. But although he apparently smoothed over the relationship at home, he shows few signs of reconciling with the communi- ty in his adopted hometown. He might not be able to even if Our Sherpa bikes arc solid, light, responsive and quick. They're he tries. According to Courtney Taylor, the singer and guitarist outfitted with top o) the line components, suspension forks, shifters, tires, for British-sounding pop band the Dandy Warhols, you make wheels, fiddles, nuts, holts, hlood, sweat and tears. The only thing wd don't some enemies in Portland just

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i Tiyard. 639-1906 9120-C SW Hall Blvd. Everclear begins recording Grcsham. 669-5190 2333 F. Powell Blvd. Salem. 316-9015 482 Lancaster Dr. NE. its follow-up album to Sparkle and Fade this month.

171 May I-May 7, 1996 Willamette Week Spring Blowout You'd be surprised On Limited Stock 30% - 50% off how many people through May 11 injure their backs climbing the corporate ladder.

any of us are spending more M hours at our desks. But long hours in the office don't have to mean sore backs and creaky bodies. That's why we offer everything from office chairs designed to fit your body and work position to Dandy Warhol Courtney Taylor, whose band also signed with complete workstation Capitol Records, says you can make some enemies in Portland solutions. Come in and just by succeeding. see how we can by succeeding. make every day at "I go out for coffee and someone across the room will k more comfortable. glare |at me] and maybe say something really, really bad about my band to whoever they're sitting with," explains Taylor, whose band also made the jump from T/K to Capitol. "It's their personal moment of being a powerful little person 2750 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. standing up for what they be- lieve. That happens once a in Walker Center RELAXv month." While Taylor goes on Contemporary- Eyewear 643-1088 THE BACIT to describe such people as "al- l5B€LI€VinG 908 NW"23rd • 22 1-1459 http://www.relaxtheback.com STOR>reI W ternative music Nazis" because they are unwilling to accept what they consider unfashion- able, he says that the reactions are natural and that he silently returns their sentiments. Is this the price of fame in Follow the the modern rock world? you can Jones, an avowed Ever- clear supporter who featured take it one of the band's songs on 1-5 Beep Killers, a Schizophonic local with you! music compilation, thinks that Creative Use of an AirTouch Pager: Alexakis could peacefully ex- ist as the most famous rock "When I've misplaced m» AirTouch Pager at home or musician in a city brimming al the oflice, all I need to do is call my pager number with talent. "I think he's and follow the beep!" caused more trouble for him- self in Portland just by his re- action to all this stuff," Jones Special Nay Iffer: says. "If he would have just kept quiet about it, I think it TryAlrT SI'S UNIQUE Organic wouldn't have been such a big Wasted igfon deal. But he's talked about it jr CavaraJ i f a r inly on MTV. My God! Every- Lg»l body knows about it." $10.00*1 month. Reportedly, Everclear's Newton With Mil >ra§e, Pure White Evil, which the band begins recording this Stay Connected Anytime, Anywhere. you can [pagad month, will feature lyrics that With the Apple Message Pad and inWA.ffl .0111. ruminate on the personal and The Northwest Network from AT&T Wireless Services professional impacts of fame. AI, CO. I and NW But Alexakis hints at his feel- • Check and send E-mail • Access the Internet ings in a track from Sparkle • Dial into your office or home computer and Fade, "Summerland." • Cellular plus has all the Message Paa software ana Alexakis' voice conveys fa- accessories too - woria processing & spread sheet programs, memory tigue. disdain and vengeance storage cards, cool leather organizers, charging station and more! Call today! as he sings: "Forget about our jobs at the record store/Forget [800) 219-2370 about all the losers that we know/Forget about all the (503) 218-2370 memories that keep you down/Forget about them we CELLULAR PLUS could lose them in the sparkle E-Mail us at [email protected] - for more information and fade." GQ 10500 SW Greenburg Road • Portland • 620 PLUS PLUS - Unlimited Incoming Calls for 60 days with KTlI Wireless Services A TAT Wireless Services on approved rate plan # Mtx(MM Willamette Week May I-May 7,19% fjj