page_title: Everclear (band)
section_title: Line-up changes and Welcome to the Drama Club (2004–2009)
hierarchical_section_title: Everclear (band) / History / Line-up changes and Welcome to the Drama Club (2004–2009)
caption_attribution_description: English: Art Alexakis, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Everclear, performing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 15, 2010.
context_page_description: Everclear is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1991. The band was formed by Art Alexakis, the band's lead songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist; and for most of the band's height of popularity, consisted of Craig Montoya on bass guitar and Greg Eklund on drums. After the limited release of their independently released debut album, World of Noise, the band found success with their first three albums on Capitol Records: Sparkle and Fade, So Much for the Afterglow, and Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile, which were all certified platinum in sales. However, the following two albums Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude and Slow Motion Daydream, were not as well received, and as sales suffered, Montoya and Eklund left the band shortly after in 2003.
  After a brief stint of solo performances, Alexakis decided to push forward with the Everclear name, finding new musicians to perform with and releasing two more albums, Welcome to the Drama Club and Invisible Stars.
context_section_description: After a solo tour in the fall of 2003, Alexakis decided to continue with Everclear, organizing a new band that made its debut in March 2004. The new lineup consisted of bassist Sam Hudson, guitarist Dave "Davey" French, and drummer Eric Bretl. In the summer of 2004, the band added keyboardist Josh Crawley, and swapped Bretl for former Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder. The new lineup released its first recording, a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", that summer. Alexakis, an Oregon delegate, performed the song (as well as "Everything to Everyone") with an acoustic guitar during a CNN interview at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. A self-released EP of performances recorded for XM Satellite Radio called Closure was given out at shows in the fall of 2004.
  Free of a major label, Alexakis spent the ensuing year and a half slowly recording material for a new Everclear release. He admitted that the time after the breakup of the original lineup served as a "wake up call", during which he suffered his third divorce and filed for bankruptcy and did not retain sole custody of his family pet, a dog named Scooby. The new lineup was signed to Eleven Seven Music. Everclear released Welcome to the Drama Club on September 12, 2006, the title being in honor of their affection for the stage. Two songs were released from the album, "Hater" and "Glorious".
  In January 2008, Alexakis posted on the band's Myspace that they were working on a cover album, and a new album, which should be released in 2008. In addition, two unreleased songs from the Drama Club sessions, "Downtime" and "Here Comes the Darkness", were posted.
  The Vegas Years, a collection of cover songs was released April 15, 2008 by Capitol Records. It contains a mix of newly recorded, previously released, live, and remixed older covers. To celebrate the release, Art and the band hosted a live video chat. They confirmed they will be touring in the summer of 2008 including a possible UK tour in autumn. They also plan to release a series of singles for download online in the summer.
  In August 2008 former Godsmack and Fuel drummer Tommy Stewart replaced Brett Snyder on drums. While guest hosting on Sirius radio station 24, Lithium, Art Alexakis debuted "Jesus Was a Democrat".
  In November 2008 the band traveled around Iraq in support of the troops and the USO. They stopped at Camp Liberty, Camp Shield and Camp Slayer, FOB Echo and many other FOBs around the country. The sets were primarily done acoustically and consisted of most of the band's hits. In March 2009, Art Alexakis went on a solo acoustic tour, playing Hard Rock Cafes around the US. The tour was a benefit for the Musicians on Call charity.
  On October 6, 2009 the band released In a Different Light, a collection of re-recordings of old Everclear songs in a more acoustic fashion. The collection also featured two new Everclear songs, "Here Comes the Darkness", which was actually a leftover track from Welcome to the Drama Club, and "At the End of the Day", which Alexakis had written and performed with Marion Raven.
  On September 13, 2009, Alexakis posted a blog on Myspace that all of the current members had left the band, and were replaced by all new musicians. This included Freddy Herrera who was the bassist of The Exies, who had previously toured with Everclear. This new version of Everclear toured for two months in support of In a Different Light.
  On December 28, 2009, Alexakis again posted on Myspace that former guitarist Davey French, was back on guitar, and Johnny Hawthorn was exiting the band. In the same blog, Alexakis said the band would be recording the next album in March and April 2010, for a 2011 release. On May 7, 2011, Alexakis announced on the band's Twitter page that keyboardist Josh Crawley rejoined the band.
caption: Art Alexakis, lead vocals and guitar (1992–present)
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