Greenville, SC (7/1/22) – I still remember working at a restaurant in high school, and everyone losing their mind that a musician was there. They all kept saying it was the singer for Everclear, who as a teen I wasn’t too familiar with at the time. As I got older and more into music I regret not taking a moment to talk to Art Alexakis. When I saw they were coming to Cowboy Up in Greenville I was excited to put in for a media pass. Many years later I made up for the moment the teenage me missed out on.
Starting the night off was The Nixons. Pardon my language, but DAMN! I have never seen an opening act come out and just take the stage over the way they did. They had such hard hitting high energy across the whole stage through out their set. Recently reunited and with a new single “Kaleidoscope” these guys are on a mission to make sure they are remembered. The groups frontman Zac Maloy has spent time writing for Carrie Underwood and Shinedown, while drummer John Humphrey has played with Seether since 2003. Bassist Ricky Brooks and guitarist Jesse Davis have continued producer projects through the years as well. The Nixons have never left the music industry just hid behind the scenes for awhile getting more talented and hungry for the live show again. They just dropped a new EP also called Kaleidoscope, check it out.
“All the Pain Money Can Buy,” you’ve got to remember that album from Fastball who took the stage next. Taking us back to 1998, as they rocked the house, you could tell it was just three friends on stage having fun playing music. Fans would join the band in singing their hits “The Way” and “Out of My Head.” With years of experience under their belt and lots of talent, these guys are still out making their fans smile.
Finally it was time to head back to Santa Monica! Everclear was officially on stage and ready to take us on a trip through all their hits. Starting off the night with the intro to “So Much For The Afterglow” the fading into “Electra Made Me Blind” these guys had everyone screaming. It didn’t take long for Art Alexakis to show the whole venue he has done nothing but gain more talent and energy since his days of being all over MTV back when songs like “Father of Mine” taking over the airwaves.
As I watched the show It kept bugging me all night who the bands bass player was, he just looked so familiar and I couldn’t place it. After a simple google search I realized it was Freddy Herrera from The Exies. I was a huge fan of them and their song “My Goddess” back when I used to skateboard. It was cool to see those dots connect all these years later. Art may be the soul original member, but he has put together an amazing touring line up.
When it was time to wrap up this amazing night, Everclear closed the show out with “Santa Monica.” What a high energy 90’s throwback show this was. You have young new bands that can’t hang with any of these guys. All three bands are streaming all over the internet so be sure to check them all out and catch a show near you soon as the tour continues through September 3rd ending in Henderson, NV.
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Copyright Chris Hedden/Jaded Images Photography
