Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
On this episode of Adventures at Vital Adam and I
discussed this second album released by this Portland, Oregon band
in the year nineteen ninety five. That band is Ever
Clear and the album is Sparkle in Fade. Thank you
(00:39):
again for this cup of coffee. You're quite welcome. It's
coming in the spot. Yeah, yeah, good. I didn't dump
too much of the firewater in there.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I think it was just enough. Yeah, just enough to
kind of just elevate the coffee.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Oh, I didn't tell you about the gift that I
got the other night, So what did you get? We
were at a friend's house for dinner. It's actually my
wife's former boss when she was at Ucay. And you know,
they work with a lot of different large construction companies
doing campus construction. One of them is Nabo's Construction, right,
huge nationwide contractor. Well, I guess one of the guys
(01:14):
there at Nabos is a huge bourbon connoisseur. And oh yeah,
he's like one of the head guys. He has over
a million dollar collection of bourbon.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Oh, I just have bourbon, that's good. And people give
me bottles and we always kind of buy bottles. A
bunch of us of work like bourbon. Yes, so we
tend to trade bottles.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
So so herb Daniels ol boss, my buddy Kevin. He's
not a big bourbon guy. He's not an alcohol guy. Yeah,
so he gave me this bottle. I guess this guy,
you know, he has people come from around the country
to come do tastings at his house because he has
this huge collection. Well, they went on their corporate trip
and for their seventy fifth anniversary this year, they had
(01:53):
their own whiskey made at this private oh Distilleryy that's cool,
and it's their brand. It's one of one and they barreled.
They barreled it one barrel and then they basically kept
a bunch and then they gave a bunch out for gifts.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, they gave a couple of bottles the guys at.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
U see A and and both of the men actually
ended up in Kevin's hands because I guess the other
guy that got one he's not an alcohol guy either,
and kept like, what.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Do I do I gonna do with this?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
So our friend Pat, who's a Air Force drone pilot,
he gave one to him and then he gave the
other one to me. I was thinking, man, like one
of these days you and I were gonna.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Have to cry.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh I got, I got We could do a whole
bourbon tasting at the house and play records because I
got bottles that I am waiting, Like, I'm like, I
don't want to just try this by myself.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I want people over.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And really it's just a because it's good, Like I
don't want to, like you should kind of share really
good bottles of bourbon with people.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
You don't want to just drink it by yourself. No, no, no,
like that's like social thing.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, and I mean, if you're drinking, there's just like
stuff you're like, oh, I'm gonna have a glass bourbon.
You just get whatever, right, But like when you're when
you're dealing with big bottles, you know, like expensive bottles
and things you can can't find and people that may
not have tried.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
That's that's what really was. They did custom labeling for this.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
They did a custom container with a an Arkansas had
hired an Arkansas carpentry company to all those coasters that
are actually the top of the container that the mall
resides in. That's really cool, man, I was thinking, you
and I are gonna have to break that out one
of these days.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Oh dude, we can, like we can totally just I
could listen to records and music, and.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
My wife's gonna want to part of that. So it's
gonna be it's you and me. Man.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's like, well, he well, what it is.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
It's like, hey, we're having dinner, Am and I are
going to suburban and listen to records.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Here you guys, can you guys just Bridgerton? Yeah, there
you go, Bridgards. I guess have you watched it? Have
you watched Bridgerton at all? Do you think I've watched it?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I'm telling you, like, it's you know, for those of
us who wise forces to watch it, it's it's actually not.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I watched The Crown. That's what my wife. That was
pretty interesting too. It was good. It was interesting alright.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Netflix is doing a lot of like music documentaries, like, yeah,
I noticed that that there. I'm just hearing a bunch
of stuff where they're coming out with like album how
albums were done, and so I'm really interested in a
lot of those documentaries. But the one thing that really
kind of was cool is I'm a big Bob Dylan fan.
I have been a Bob Dylan fan for a long
long time. And Christmas, I think Timothy Shallomey is playing
(04:24):
Bob Dylan in the Fox Searchlight. That's good casting docu
documentary movie in because the Bob Marley one was excellent.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, one love. If you haven't seen that, man, it's.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
No, I've been meaning to see it. There's always I've
been meaning to see. I haven't gotten out and seen
the New Gladiator either, I haven't seen it. I haven't
seen Glad. There's several, but yeah, no, I actually have
been meaning to watch the Amy Winehouse one.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Oh yeah, that's that's one that's on my list because
there's one that just came out about.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Her, right, yes, yes, specifically and her her story.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yeah all right man, So song of the Week which
got Song.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Of the Week, Well, you know, I was kind of
this song popped up and it's originally a Black Sabbat
tune but probably one of my best and sometimes I
get on these cover kicks, okay, and this one popped up.
And this is a soul version of the Black Sabbath
song Changes and soul version. Yeah, and this is Changes
(05:19):
by Charles Bradley. It's off his album Changes and Changes
was the third and final album from soul artist Charles Bradley.
Bradley was sixty seven at the time of the release,
and it was released in the year twenty sixteen. It's
an incredible cover of an incredible song. And I get
on these kind of soul music kicks. It's kind of like,
(05:42):
I don't know, I just like souls here in the mood,
and you know, I've got some Marvin gay and but
this is one album that I was looking. I was like, man,
I wonder do I not have this album?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
When the weather sucks. I find myself like, I'll enjoy
the soul. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah, Like you know, there's some Marvin Gaye albums that
are just from not I'm but this one just the
way Charles Bradley's voice expresses the lyrics. I mean, it's
pretty deep. It's good cover, good cover. I dig it,
manod Yeah, it's good. They definitely check it out, man,
And maybe we'll play this a little bit later at
(06:17):
the end of the show. Sure, but what do you
got for your song of the work. So I went
a little bit different in a direction. I think you
want a complete polar opposite one I was.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I was in the Hunting Stand a couple of weeks ago,
and I just had a mixed going in my in
ears and this song popped up and I was like, man,
I forgot how much I love this song and really, man,
this album. So this is Poison and it's the song
so tell Me Why off their album Flesh and Blood,
released in June of nineteen ninety, probably their most realized
(06:45):
and best overall album as a band. Nice like they
they'd found their sound. They're strong, they're like their their
instrumentation is fantastic.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
The soft slippery no no, no no.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
This is off of Flesh and Blood before, which was
before slippery after see I know, slippery when wet, and
then that's it, like by Poison they did slippery when
wet they did. Oh man, I'm trying to remember the
name of the other album. Look what the Cat dragged in?
And then so tell me, So tell me Why is
off Flesh and Blood, which that's the one that had
(07:17):
the song Unskinny Bop Ride the Wind. Okay, so yeah,
like this song's on that album. It's probably my favorite
song off that album, although Sacrifice is also fantastic, but man,
it's peak Poison. I'm going only gripe with this song
is that when you listen to the bassline Bobby Doll,
he plays.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Like one note most of the song.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
It's like, dude, you have four strings and you've probably
got probably at least twenty frets on each string, Like,
what are we doing hanging out on.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
The e here?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
He was wasted? He was probably wasted, he had I'm
just gonna play this song totally on one string. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Well, Bobby liked the Booker Sugar back in the day,
so it doesn't really surprise me, I guess. But man,
it's a really catchy song. It's got a great chorus.
It just kind of really cool power anthem. I dig
it nice. Yeah, it's great. So it's it's that that time.
It's that time. We'll go ahead, and I'm interested to
hear what adjectives you have to describe my knowledge this week.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Oh, let's see what I come up with.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, it's another episode of Adventures
in Vino, and that means another round of stump the
baron on. Stumped the baron. I picked some random song
from a random genre. I give Adam a few clues,
and with all his.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Oh so you're doing this like ad hoc this week.
You don't have it written now, semi semi okay.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Okay, better than the next guy. Musical knowledge attempts to
guess the artists all that song title, that's valid. We
used to keep score, but actually we have no idea.
We just kind of like doing this because I just
picked something random. And so this week on stump the baron,
we're gonna play this song that was released on June fifth,
nineteen nine. I think it's nineteen ninety nine, but I
(08:55):
forgot the other nine and nine.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
It was a huge success.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
It was number one on the US Billboard Hot one
hundred for twelve consecutive weeks, Ladies and Gentlemen, twelve consecutive weeks.
It was not only the final number one hit of
the nineties, So nineteen ninety nine, we confirmed that it
was the first number one hit of the year two thousand.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
So let's see what we got here. I'm curious now.
Oh yeah, smooth Santana with Rob Thomas.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Yes, but can you tell me the album it was on?
And that's where I wanted to get supernatural.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Very good good, Yeah, got a fantastic album.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
It is a great album.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Really great album man, and you can't you can't hate
this song. Yes, it was all over the radio forever,
but it's a freaking great song.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And it didn't I thought, as much as they tried
to overplay it, it was awesome.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Let me tell you what PRS guitars after this album?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, Oh, they went.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Through Yeah, because it's like, well in Santana was really interesting.
He had his artist model, but you know, like artist
models and PRS's core line are super expensive. I mean,
you can't get anything below four thousand dollars that's off
the core line, no matter what the mall. And when
he approached the whole SE line came from Carlos Santana
(10:15):
because he wanted them to create his guitar before you
know that the majority of his audience could afford. And
I think that's where they contacted Court over in Indonesia
and that Court Factory, and that was kind of the
spawn of the SE line, which has been just incredibly
successful with PRS. Right, and I've owned a couple of PRS's.
(10:38):
They don't They kind of gel with me, but kind
of don't, right, I seem to be leaning more towards
a Gibson and then Telly, you know, I'm kind of
like that scale week.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
So I have a friend who is a he's a
professional musician over in Nashville, and he used to have
this gorgeous blue tiger stripe PRS that I lusted after
for years. When he sold it, I was so sad
because I really wanted to get the money to get
to buy this thing from him. Yeah, in the end,
I just couldn't justify it because hey, guess what, I'm
more of a bass player. So yeah, but man, they
make some fantastic guitars, but this album and this song
(11:10):
in this video, I don't think that like my pres
sales skyrocket Yeah. Yeah, And I'm like you started seeing
him everywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Yeah, And I'm to the point now where I'm looking
at like thinning out some of the collections, some of
the things I built, parted out and really kind of say, hey,
what are the main things I'm playing? Sure, right, And
I'm leaning more towards like a possibly twenty five inch
scale PRS custom twenty four like as a main one,
or just getting go ahead and biting the bullet again
(11:38):
a Walnut e S three thirty five, because it's just
it's got really go wrong with that. You can play
just about it. I can play anything with that, and
it's light. It's a great guitar, you know. So I'm perplexed.
All right, but hey, this week, what are we talking about?
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Ever Clear?
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Ever Clear their second album Pure Grain, Alcohol, Pure Green, Ega,
baby ga funny? Is that how they named it? Is
that why they naed it? How they named it after?
They named it after Everclear? The alcohol?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Oh cool? Specifically? Well, you're ready to get into it? Yeah, dude,
let's do this then, all right, sit down, ladies and gentlemen,
here we go.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Released on May twenty third, nineteen ninety five, Sparkling Fade
is the second studio album from the Portland, Oregon band
ever Clear. Sparkling Fade has a link of forty two
minutes and forty seven seconds. Is his packed full and
is packed full, easy for me to say, with fourteen tracks,
Track number one off the album that you hear in
the background is called Electra Made Me Blind. It clocks
(12:34):
in at three minutes and forty three seconds. Adam, I
do believe this is a great opening track. I like
the heavy beat and this album is all about university
physics one a UAM for me because if it wasn't
for Sparkling Fade, I don't think I would have survived
that class. Okay, you know it's cool. I like that
you have like a core memory associated with the album.
To me, that's what makes an album memorable as well,
(12:56):
you have some kind of a core memory associated with it.
So for me, it was my the beginning of my
junior year in high school.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, and I was going through just garbage in my
life and this album was kind of right there for it. Yeah,
you know, the angst of it. You know, honestly I
couldn't relate to like the the drug abuse and stuff
like that, but just the angst behind it it resonated
with me.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I I think it was fan.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah, I think it was the inks because for me,
the album first semester of college had no idea what
I was doing, and I literally just took like we're
medial English because I'm stupid, a bunch of like three
math classes and physics one. That was like my first
first semesters, Man and physics one. Man like that teacher,
(13:45):
that dude, he was such an awful professor, I don't know,
and he couldn't pronounce words he pronounce his words worse
than we do, so you could.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Imagine, oh gosh.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
But so the song rocks, I mean, the riff in
the gression through the intro pretty repetitive. It still just
works many So Art alex Akis before ever clear, he
was very much into like the cowpunk scene.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, and what's the col punk do you said? Col cowpunk?
Like is it move?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Think about like white yoakum mixed with punk rock?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Okay, Like that was a thing.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Social distortion was kind of at the forefront of colpunk,
so like red like like he'll billy punk in a way.
But that was that was Art alex Akis's thing. Like
he so he went through a huge drug addiction heroin
cocaine in his early twenties, and I think he cleaned
up when he was in his late twenties and always
kind of a go getter.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Once he cleaned up, he.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Moved to San Francisco, got into the cowpunk scene real
big there because that was a thing back in the
late eighties, and then you know, eventually moved to Portland
after his girlfriend got pregnant, uh and they wanted to
move I think closer to where she was from. But anyways, man,
like this is just a great song of great way
to open the album. I remember the first time I've
(15:04):
heard this, I knew, like, Okay, this is different, this
is not.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Something I've heard before.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
I really love this song particular to open the album
because you get the automatic guitar tone and the tone
of the band. You kind of get an idea for
what their sound is going to be. But they don't
like open it with one of their hits, which I
can appreciate. I think if you open an album with
a hit, you're asking to be a one hit wonder
a lot of times.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Anyways, Man Electro maybe blind. Good song. Yeah, it is
good song. Good song.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So up next we start talking about one of the
first singles off the album, The Clock's in at two
minutes of twenty three seconds.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
It's called Heroin Girl.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Heroin Girl had a peak position on the Billboard US
Alternative Airplay Chart at thirty four. The song is generally
agreed to be about lead singer Art alex Zakis's girlfriend
and brother overdosing on heroin. He heard a policeman say,
because it was so rampant, just another overdose. Yeah, and
(16:04):
so that's about his brother's death.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Death. And that was a lyric that was used in
the song. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, I mean, man, great riff, very dynamic song, just rips.
I like the transition from electro made me blind into
this song.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
It's seamless.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It's like it literally one drops right into the other,
which is a kind of a cool dynamic. It kind
of helps you feel like the album is moving forward
and it's like momentum in a way.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
But man, the lyrics are dark.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yeah, they are again born of like Art's own heroin addiction,
the addiction of his brother who you know, ultimately overdosed
and then his girlfriend who overdosed but did not die.
His brother did pass away from his overdose. But man,
great song just rips obviously. Like this whole album, I
mean there's a lot of heavy themes yeah, but they
(16:52):
cover here.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Man, this song, it's a great song. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I just like the overall aggressive guitar corression of this
song just gets you.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Man, It's really good. Yeah That's what I'm looking about.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
All right, all right, moving on, moving on, moving on,
moving on, moving on. We are track number three, which
is uh, you make Me Feel like a Whore, And
it's the third track off the album and clocks in
two minutes and forty second seconds. Also the third single,
third or fourth single, third single third? Yeah, so you're
(17:25):
I mean back to back. You got three really good
tracks for single. Yeah, you got three really good tracks.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I think back to back.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
You know, we kind of talk about front loading an album.
This album definitely has the feel of being front loaded.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Oh yes, it's a front loaded final thoughts, man, I'll
get there, but yeah, this one is very heavy on
the front.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
You have the trend of a good front loaded album,
which yeah, you know, we we're I think as we
explore and talk more about this, you know, the the
trend with albums that we have.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Tend to like they're very front loaded. You know.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Interesting facts about this. This was released on on Capitol Records.
The album's cover actually features childhood pictures of the three
members of the band. So you've got Art ale Zakis
on guitar and lead vocals, Greg Eklund on drums and vocals,
and Craig Montoya on bass guitar a vocal.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Great bass player right away, Yeah, really great.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Bas Sparkle and Fage climbed to the top of the
heat Seekers chart in January of nineteen ninety six. It
was certified platinum in May of nineteen ninety six. By
December of two thousand and one, the album had sold
one point two million copies in the US, and it
held a peak position. The album held a peak position
on the Weekly Charts on the Billboard two hundred. Its
peak position was twenty five. Yeah, so not like a
(18:37):
super you know, I would consider their album not a
super Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You know we talked about stuff number one.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Number one, number one. This is kind of mid road.
It was one flew under the radar. Yeah yeah, yeah, Now,
like to me, it was front and center. Yeah, it
was very into this album when it came out, but
it was kind of the precursor for what was to come, right,
And I'm sure we'll cover so much for the after
glow Sunday. Yeah, but like this album kind of sets
(19:03):
that one up in a lot of ways. Man, this
is a great song, though. I really like you made in.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
The nineties, you had all these bands that their second
album was like their mainstream album, mainstream success.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Yeah, this was so this was successful, yeah, but it
wasn't the main success.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Like I think you saw the third album.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Album after all, and I think that's where they became
a B band into an A band was a third
album for sure, where you know, I think of this
is not to say that the B band's bad, no,
but a band.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
You see them come out exposure, yeah, yeah, yeah, And
I think this helped build them up to get them
into the exposure, yeah, which is good.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
The great thing about this album in particular is that
it's not so polished that it like takes away from
the themes that he's going for. You know, he's talking
about drug addiction and sex and all these things that
are kind of heavy. So it's just raw enough to
really feel like those themes fit within the construct of
the production. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I definitely agree with that. All right, So a great
one here. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Though not commercially released as a single. In the United States,
radio stations played this fourth track on the album enough
for to reach twenty nine on the Billboard Hot one
hundred airplay charts.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
This one charted all over the place.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
And number one on the Billboard Album Rocks Chart Tracks
chart for three weeks in nineteen ninety six. The track
is Santa Monica. It clocks in at three minutes and
eleven seconds.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I think it hit like four different Billboard charts in
the top fifty. It was number one on the mainstream rock,
number five on the alternative airplay, number twenty nine on
radio songs, and number thirty five on pop airplay, I mean,
number forty in the UK as well, just global. One
of those instantly recognizable songs.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
As soon as you hear that riff, you know it's
exactly what you're listening to.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
I mean, you can't miss it. I mean, I like
how this song builds from the beginning. It starts with
just clean power chords and by the end of it, man,
it's ripping. I love those songs that start slow, add elements,
build up.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
And then go out with a bang, and this is
definitely one of those songs. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Well, and I the one thing I really like about
this song is just the rhythm guitar track. It's little twangye, which.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
We're back to those cowpunk influence. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah, it's just got a hint, right, it's there in
the background, yep.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
And it just it's good. It's an excellent song.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Man, it's pantamnica, and it's really the quintessential song off
this album. Yeah, I think for from like a mainstream perspective,
although not my favorite.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Yeah, I would say it's it's a great track.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
It's not my favorite off the album We'll get there,
but overall, good great song.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So five number five we are going with summer Land,
which is the fifth track off the album. It clocks
in three minutes and forty two seconds. I this is
another great track. I think it's kind of like a
deep track. It could based on how much I like
this song, it could be.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
A single.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
It has enough interest for me that I'm surprised it
wasn't released as a single.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, I would agree in my notes I have this
one is one of those deep cuts that always resonated
with me. I've always been able to relate to this
theme of just getting in the car and driving to
God knows where and just kind of almost like starting
over again in a way. I thought about doing that
a couple of times in my life when I was
on the younger side.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Man for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
But like even the chord voicing kind of conveys a
theme of just being tired, like and ready to get
away from the mundane nature of life. Sometimes, just the
way he leaves those strings open at the end of
each chord, you hear that like you have the base
chord and then it's just the gb E at the end.
(22:35):
It's just like this open like blood. I'm so tired
of this, ya you know.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I love that it fits the theme real well. It's
just a great song. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I think it's a great song, great album track, great
deep cut, whatever you want to call it. Like still
like belongs like on a loaded front half of the
album for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, I agree, all right man.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Right next we are talking about Strawberry, which is the
six track off the album, and then clocks in two
minutes and thirty five second.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
I love that, nah, Like they hit that note and
then dive right into the electric guitar. Okay, So you're
used to hearing acoustic songs, right, Like you listen to
somebody like they just play an acoustic and it's to
them in an acoustic. What I love about this one
is this one is just art and an electric.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Who does that? Who does that? An electric?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You got harmonies, but like no other instruments in the
song per se. They might have mixed in an acoustic
like in post just to give them a little bit
more depth to the electric, but it's primarily art on
in an electric guitar. Point and that's what I really
love about this guitar is that I'm sorry this song
easy for you to say, Adam, is that he does
that differently. He doesn't just go to an acoustic, He
(23:45):
plays an electric. I think it just better fits the
band at this point. Yeah, but man, like it gives
a musical edginess to a song, you know, whose lyrics
are all about spiraling down into drug addiction.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Yeah, and I.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Think it just having an acoustic there. To me, it
just doesn't fit as well, especially from a theme perspective. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Yeah, for me, I think.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Every time I listen to this song, I can't decide
if I like it or not. And then by the
end it's over and I'm like, eh, I'll just worry
about it next time.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
So like I'm I don't really have a good opinion.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
You do it, but you don't hate it. Yeah, but
I don't have a bad I got you right. What's
interesting in the harmonies I think are interesting?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Yeah, And I agree, you know.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
I mean, it's it's an okay song, but it's not
my favorite off the album. It seems a little bit repetitive,
but that may be because it's a single guitar.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
It's more about the lyrics than anything else. When when
you listen to the lyrics, I mean it's it's deep.
It's just talking about like you got out of drug addiction,
but then you fell back in. Yeah, and you know, like,
I think that's more the focus. It's less not obviously
not musically complex at all. It's a very simple progression.
But it's about the lyrics in this song in particular.
And I admit I really like this song. It's not
(24:58):
one of my favorites on the album, but it's it's
quite good in my opinion. Now we're on to my
favorite song.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
No, which is the third single and seventh track off
the album Sparkling Fabe. We're talking about Heart's Heart Spark
Dollar Sign, which was written by Art ale Zachis before the.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Band Ever Clear was ever formed.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Yeah, Heart Spark Dollar Sign was released as a single
in May of nineteen ninety five. Clock's into two minutes
of fifty two seconds. Adam, I'm sure you're gonna tell
us how successful this one single?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
One?
Speaker 3 (25:29):
So not as successful as Santa Monica, but still a
big success.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I mean, it was number thirteen.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
On the Alternative Bear Play charts, number twenty nine on
Mainstream Rock, number eighty five on the Hot one hundred,
and number forty eight on the UK Singles Chart. I mean, man,
I double down on this song. I love this song
and never gets old easily my favorite song on the album.
I won't go into detail, but I can relate to
this song versat like by like some personal experiences from
(25:53):
my team, I can too. I mean, you grow up
in Arkansas, man, you're gonna encounter some stuff, right.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, And the track was originally titled color Blind.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, so if you know that that should bring some
context to it.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
That you look at the lyrics.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Man, it's all about like interracial relationships, and I mean man,
like again, I had some personal experience there. It's not
a really like complex guitar progression or anything. It's basically
a simple one five four five, No new ground broken here, but.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
The lyrics behind this are really.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Profound and you know, speak to arts personal experience growing
up in LA and his relationships there. I just again, man,
I never get sick of this song. And it's one
of my favorite Everclear songs period, no matter what album,
it's fantastic. Yes, I mean, this is another one of
those songs where as soon as I hear the opening riff,
I know, boom hearts bark, dollar sign, Let's go. This
(26:43):
one gets me pumped. Great song, that's good. Just a
great song man.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
All right. So we're definitely on the second half of
the album.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
So we're getting on the side B now, right, which
is Twist Inside is the eight track off the album,
clocks in infour mints and thirty seconds thirty seven seconds.
It's a little bit of a slower pace song. I
noticed throughout the album, the longer songs just have a
slower pace too. The Uh, every single song on this
album tells a story.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Yeah, i'd agree with that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Second, I mean it's it's literally one story that's being
chronicled after another of the I think, you know scenes
in Art Alexa Art alex Achis.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
It's a storyteller.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
You can tell he's a storyteller in the way that
he writes his lyrics, you know, like some things you
can tell, like he's using terminology that might not resonate
with you and me, but other times it's quite clear
what he's talking about. But yeah, this is definitely one
of those storng songs where he talks about you know,
the theme of living an alternative lifestyle that doesn't really
play real well.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Out there in the real world.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
And also like in the process, like watching someone you
love spiral down into a diction. I love the bass tone,
like in the solo section. I like the progression solo section.
It's a solid album track, but not one that I'm
gonna have on heavy rotation.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Yeah, i'd agree with you, you know, like I will skip it.
I'll listen to it, but it's not the one I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
No, I would say for me, there's not a skippable
track on the album. I'm gonna go ahead and say
it now, right because one, I mean the songs that
are okay with that, they're not my favorites. They're fairly short, right,
And when you're listening to something in the background, you know,
driving working out for me, you know, doing university physics one, yeah,
(28:36):
and solving physics problems over and over to try to
figure out how much momentum or spring force has in
a spring connected to a block hanging down at a
forty five degree angle.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
You know, right over my head. All that stuff that's
probably interacturate what I just said. You know. The album
was a good listen.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Yeah, yeah, all right, man, that was random. It's okay,
It's okay. Tangents are Love Okay.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Number nine clocks in at two minutes and two seconds
and is called her brand New Skin.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah. I love the fast pace in the dynamics. Yeah,
it's just a very quick yeah. I mean it's just
a really quick two minutes. Man.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
It's funny the what I got from this song when
I read the lyrics and I listened to them.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
It's like that person that you used.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
To party with that was like a hardcore partier, yeah,
but then they went completely like straight edge on you,
and now they're calling you out and you're like, you
know they're right, but at the same time, you're like,
I don't really want to listen to you right now.
That's what this song reminds me of when you look
at the lyrics, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
But it's it's a good song.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
It's not again, not necessarily when I'll have on repeat,
but it's not one I'm gonna skip.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, i'd agree, Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's definitely it's good,
not great, you know, but it's good. Now.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
The tenth track that I cannot pronounce the clocks in
a one minute and secondsm.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Haalem ne haalm. Yeah, I think it's actually a town.
Is it a town in Oregon? I think it's I
think it's a town in Oregon.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
I could there.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Somebody will fact check me, I will, but yeah, haalum,
I believe it is the name of a town. It
almost sounds like a retread of her brand new skin
to me. I mean, I'm not saying I don't like it,
but it just feels very much like that song. It
has the same speed almost like almost the same bpm.
But I do enjoy the fast pace. If there's one
(30:31):
thing that Everclear does really well, it's hard driving, fast
pace punk rock.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
I mean, like you get onto the next album so
much for the afterglow you listen to like amphetamine same
kind of thing. I mean, just hard driving, fast paced
punk rock.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And the Halum is a very very small town in
Oregon right off Highway.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
What I thought it was.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
I remember looking up incorporated in eighteen eighty nine and
had three hundred and sixty five population of three hundred
and sixty five at the twenty twenty cents.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
So what you're saying is that I wasn't speaking out
of my ass. Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
No, you were speaking out of your mouth. Out of my.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Mouth, that's correct. Not your safe speaking out of my
ass or whenever my kids are around, you're not your
bung hole. There you go, all right, man. So anyways,
just just good, yeah, not great, but good. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
And that leads us to track number eleven, which is
called Queen Queen of the Air.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Easy for you to say.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Queen of the Air clocks in a two minutes fifty
nine seconds. It's got a similar feeling to another song
like maybe summer Land. You know, it seemed really kind
of it kind of sound.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
I'm just gonna put this out there. I just don't
really enjoy this song.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yeah, I mean it's all right, it's kind of like
it's not bad but all down now.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Like that lyric is, you know, it just kind of
repeats and repeats yes, well and he so that's the thing.
You notice.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
There's a few of those throughout this album where he
like repeats a certain phrase, which is fine, like he's
trying to create themes.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
And I understand that, but yeah, I'm just not into this.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I think it's the weakest song but I mean it's
not like I don't skip it when it's on.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
But it's it's not bad, but there's just not a
lot there to grab you. Yeah, that's it all right.
Pale Green Star.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Pale Green Stars has tracked them twelve clock sit in
four minutes and seventeen seconds.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
I quite like the intro to the song. Yeah. Song
lyrics are good.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
It's so thematically it's talks about the effect of two
parents fighting on a little girl. Yeah, you know, and
like growing up with parents just fighting, fighting, fighting.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
It does there's a lot of this that went through
that personal experience. Yeah, exactly. I mean, man, I grew
up with that.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
My parents made it like crazy when I was a kid,
and I remember like what that made me.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Think, Oh yeah, being in the room next to him
yelling yeah you hear through the walls.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
So musically though, it's almost at a contrast with the messaging,
right you notice it's like kind of very happy and upbeat,
and then you have just like this.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Really like depressing side of it. Yeah, Like it's like
there's all this hope and then all that's taken away.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Yeah, musically there's this hope, but lyrically there's just not right. Yeah,
But I think that's something that Art alex Akis does
on purpose. He's trying to create this like irony in
his songs between the music and the lyrics.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Right, And you can tell just the theme of the song,
like the loneliness of the person who's witnessing all that.
And I think if you a lot of us gen
xers who grew up in that, you know, we're all
either products of you know, marriages that didn't go so well,
right or products of divorce. That's one kind of resonating Yeah,
(33:41):
a little bit for sure, I will say. I'm sure
it resonated with a lot of people out there.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Yeah, yeah, this is a good song. Yeah, it's a
really really good song.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Yeah, another one of those like deep cuts, but I
think one that like it's more deep cut because of
the meaning behind it. Musically it's good, but the meaning
behind it, man, I just ooh this one hit me.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Yeah all right, man, moving all right?
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Track number thirteen is your smile a chemical smile?
Speaker 3 (34:07):
I don't know, Well, I think if you have a
chemical so I don't have any chemicals on my lips,
so I guess not. Maybe it's drug use chemical sweet
so it could very well be obviously, which is something
I'm not highly first in.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
But this Woman in forty nine seconds track, maybe it
has started to do this.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
So this one okay? So have you ever heard World
of Noise the first album? Yes, okay, this one feels
almost like it belongs more on World of Noise. Yeah,
it's good though, it's a minute fifty a punk rock man,
can't you? Fast pace and fun?
Speaker 2 (34:35):
I like it? Yeah, Yeah, it's good stuff.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Yeah, and it's a good way to kind of you know,
after you had Queen of the Air, then you had
Pale Green Stars, slower songs.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
It kind of like, hey, wakes you up? You have
anything since Nehalem? Yeah? Really like fast paced get ready
get ready for the end of the album. Yeah this song? Sure?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Yeah, thanks, great, it's good stuff, man. I mean at
a minute fifty it certainly doesn't not stay as welcome.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Yeah, all right? Is it out?
Speaker 1 (35:00):
The album is track fourteen, which is called My Sexual
Life Clocks in a three minutes and fifty one seconds.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Just I think it's another good song man.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I so I'm really surprised that I actually like it
as a normally, like the last track of the song,
I'm like eh.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
Yeah, normally, like last album, last tracks of the album
don't resonate with me. I say that theme continues for
me here personally. I think it's the lead guitar progression
that kind of doesn't.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Do it for me. I just don't connect with it musically.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Lyrically the song title kind of describes what the song's about,
you know, and make any bones about it, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
I just don't resonate with this song. Yeah, so you
think it's more of a weak closer.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
Yeah, I would, But again, man, like this is also subjective.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Well you look at and you think it's great than great?
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Well, I think the theme of the album it fits,
it fits, And I actually don't mind the song.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Sure, it's actually kind of like.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
It's okay, it's just it's just not it doesn't stick
out to me, honestly.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Man, So final thoughts, Final thoughts, Well, let's see.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Probably the eight or nine range.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
I mean, just looking at it, I mean I don't
it's not a perfect ten. No, it's not a six
or seven, okay, right, So I'm gonna give it a
solid maybe seven and a half eight.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
So it's funny because I put it that did exactly
the same thing. I said, it's seven and a half
or an eight.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Yeah, it was like, it's it's I don't consider it
a you know, it's like it could be an eight.
But then you know, when you go back to some
of the songs, you're like, it's okay, it's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's short. Yeah. I was like, well, it can't be
an eight, right. That means they just had some fluff
on the album. Yeah. Yeah, you know, you maybe you
get then you get to it.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
You get to an album like so much for the
after Glow where there's literally virtually no fluff. Yeah, and
you're just like, okay, all right, you know, you see
the progression. This is a band that was only a
few years in at this point too. You have to
remember that, like, this band's only been together for a
few years, which is not that long of a time,
you know, when you put things in.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
Perspective, I mean, just look at it.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
I mean with you know, this album, which did really well,
an album after this did it went platin really well?
Speaker 3 (37:13):
It went Yeah, I went platinum and I don't even
remember what so much for the Afterclouded at least probably
three or four times platinum.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Yeah. I mean it's you know, it made the band
some money.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
But I mean this is just a really good album,
a really good album. Seven and a half or eight
out of ten for me. The side one is just
a banger, seven great songs.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
But it's very much front loaded.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Not to say that there's not good stuff on the
back half too, it's just very different front I think.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
On the back half, if you would have had some
a couple of more songs that were single worthy, yeah,
it would it would be it would be ranked higher,
you know. But it's it's so hard to see. Normally,
you see a front loaded album that does extremely well,
people buy it for the first six tracks Sideline right,
and then as you get into Decide too, it's a
(38:01):
little bit more disappointing. You know, there's rare albums. I
think we're still in the search. It's like, okay, where's
the perfect ten, Where's the perfect come close a couple
of times, but not quite there, and we keep going
through music libraries picking stuff at random trying to find it.
So that's well, we're still on the quest or we'll
get there at some point. I think it's a good album.
(38:22):
I think people enjoy.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
It definitely go check out Sparkling Fade.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Now.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
I don't think Everclear is good to listen to right
now live because I think they're playing like Bob's excellon
and overall.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
First of all, it's entirely different. Okay.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
So one thing about Ever Clear that we didn't talk about.
When Art Alexakis startus has started this band, he was
in his mid mid thirties. Yeah, I mean, this dude
is now he's like in his mid late sixties. Compared
to a lot of guys back in the nineties that
were in their early twenties, mid twenties. He was already
like a man at this point who had been through
a life and had, you know, come out of addictions
(38:57):
and you name it. So, I mean, honestly, you look
at him now. First of all, he's an old dude, right,
he's in his suitpiece. But none of the original band
members remain, none of them except for him, and it's
basically just Art and a bunch of studio musicians. To me,
the magic of this band is being a three piece,
not a five piece like what he's got going now.
(39:18):
And it's those three pieces in particular, it's Greg Eckland
on drums, Craig Montoya on bass, it's Art Alexakis on
guitar and vocals. That's what I loved about this band
was that they were a three piece that sounded huge,
and now it's just a five or six piece that
doesn't really resonate with me anymore. So I know they
(39:38):
do that Art Alexakis kind of quarterbacks of the Summerland
tour every year.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
If it came through our area, I would definitely go
see it and I would stick around forever. Clear, But
I don't know that it would be the same without
Ecklund and Montoya in there for me, because that was
the everclear I loved so much in the late nineties,
was that three piece.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
So all right, man, well, hey, we're kind of at
the end. I think we got to decide is this
the last episode of the year. We're going to try
to push in one more. I think we should probably
make this one the last of the year, last of
the year.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Yeah, let's give everybody a break for the holidays, give
ourselves a break for the holidays.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well, it allows us to come out and start prepping
for next year. Yeah, get out ahead of it, all right.
So I think you know, we're ending another year, a
full year.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Of Adventures in Vinyl. Yeah. Good year, Yeah, good real
good year. Some equipment upgrades, some format upgrades. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
And I think you know, we'll talk and figure out
what we want to change, if we want to change anything.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
I think we honestly, I mean, I know, hey, this
is very self aggrandizing, but I think we just keep
getting better and better.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Man. Yeah, I think you just keep tweaking and see
what happens. Yeah, for sure. Hey, And with that.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
We close another episode of Adventures in Vinyl and another year.
So I hope everyone has a great, great holiday season
and a good start to the year twenty twenty five.
For more information on the band ever Clear, you can
check out their website at ww DA dot Everclearmusic dot com.
If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to check us
out on our website at www dot Adventures in Vinyl
(41:06):
dot com, where you can find links to our episodes,
and through our support section, you can find a place
to order your very own Adventures in Vinyl t shirt.
You can follow us on Instagram at Adventures dot en
dot Vinyl, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast
on your favorite platform of choice. Adams on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
At eat dot Prey dot armbar.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
And myself at Todd David Ward. And with that, I'm
Todd Ward and I'm Adam Barron.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
For those of you that celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas all
the rest of you guys. Happy Honka, Happy Kwanza, Happy
Festivus for the rest.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Of us, fest of Us for the rest of us,
Absolutely happy New Year. We'll see you next time and
next year on another episode of Adventures in Vinyl