Out of the seemingly endless list of rock bands that have released music in the 90s, it is absolutely imperative that any music fanatic bring up Everclear in the list of era-defining artists. Formed in Portland, Oregon by Art Alexakis, this band would go on to release what is arguably one of the most iconic and timeless albums of the decade, if not of all time … “Sparkle and Fade.” The album marked its 30-year anniversary on May 23 since its 1995 release and the band is currently on tour with two renowned bands from the same era, Local H and Sponge. One of their tour stops? The NorVa in the great old city of Norfolk on Oct. 17, 2025.
On a personal note, it was exciting to see such an impactful band come around to play an album that has undoubtedly reached a legendary status among music enthusiasts. In anticipation for their performance in Norfolk, one simply could not pass up the opportunity to interview the mastermind behind it all, Art Alexakis.
Already getting halfway through the tour. How have the shows been? How has the turnout been?
Art Alexakis: I think out of the 14 shows we’ve done, I think 10 or 11 of them, 10 have been sold out. The others are pretty close. It’s been phenomenal. And, you know, a good way of like, even back in the punk rock days when you’re printing T-shirts, posters, and flyers and stuff in people’s basements and stuff, to now where we have a company, Nacre and Rich. One of the barometers a band, any band can figure out is how they’re doing at shows, how their shows are going over, is how much merch they sell. And we have record numbers of merchandise being sold on the store. It’s kind of blowing us away. And the fact that no one’s leaving, and we’re doing a whole album with a lot of, like, you know, like, not hit songs that were just parts of that. But we’re doing the whole album, “Sparkle and Fade.” But we’re doing three songs off “Sparkle and Fade,” and then I’ll throw in a hit from “Afterglow” or from another record. You know what I mean? Just to break it up. It seems to flow, like we really got it flowing nicely right now…