HUNGRY & HOLLOW SESSIONS GUIDE: EVERCLEAR: WORLD OF NOISE

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Recording: XX/XX/92
(? – Seattle, WA)

Band Members: Arthur Alexakis (guitar, vocals), others

Recorded:
[X] Your Genius Hands
[X] Others

Sources:  This session remains unsurfaced.

Notes:  "I [Craig] have a tape before we formed Everclear. Art jammed with these guys in Seattle. Playing like 'Your Genius Hands' off our first record with a different bass player and drummer. It's pretty funny." (41)

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Recording: 12/XX/92 - 03/XX/93
(Anonymous Noise - Portland, OR)
Recorded by: Karl Brummer
Mixed / Produced by: A.P. Alexakis

Band Members: Arthur Alexakis (guitar, vocals), Craig Montoya (bass), Scott Ralph Cuthbert (drums, backing vocals).

Recorded:
[O] Your Genius Hands
[O] Sick & Tired
[O] The Laughing World
[O] Fire Maple Song
[O] Pennsylvania Is...
[O] Drunk Again
[O] Malevolent
[O] Sparkle
[O] Trust Fund
[O] Loser Makes Good
[O] Invisible
[O] Evergleam

Sources:

Source	Quality	Complete	Runtime	Lowest Gen	Tracks Featured	Notes
SBD #1a	10.0	No	0:31:10	Official CD (World Of Noise)	• Your Genius Hands • Sick & Tired • The Laughing World • Fire Maple Song • Pennsylvania Is... • Malevolent • Sparkle • Trust Fund • Loser Makes Good • Invisible • Evergleam	Remixed by Capitol Records
SBD #1b	10.0	No	0:03:05	Official CD (Nervous & Weird EP)	• Drunk Again
SBD #1c	9.0	Yes	0:34:15	Pre-Tim Kerr (World Of Noise) Cassette	• Your Genius Hands • Sick & Tired • The Laughing World • Fire Maple Song • Pennsylvania Is... • Drunk Again • Malevolent • Sparkle • Trust Fund • Loser Makes Good • Invisible • Evergleam	Handed out by the band as a demo to get signed by labels.

Notes:  His divorce from his first wife Anita, the distributor of his label, Rough Trade went bankrupt which caused Shindig to go bankrupt, and the eventual breakup of Colorfinger were very tough on Art.  He decided to move to Portland, the home of his new pregnant girlfriend Jenny Dodson and settle there.
"I moved to Portland because my life was falling apart, because my record label went under, my girlfriend's pregnant, my band's falling apart. So I'm going to go to Portland." (2)

Art worked shitty jobs and later as a last ditch effort to form a band, put out an ad in “The Rocket.” Craig Montoya and Scott Cuthbert answered the ad. "The first time I ever spoke to Art on the telephone, I had to hold the phone about a foot away from my ear," says 24-year-old Everclear bassist Craig Montoya, who joined the band after he answered an ad Alexakis -- in search of musicians who shared his taste for Sonic Youth, Neil Young, X, and the Pixies -- had placed in Seattle's weekly rock paper, The Rocket. (2)

Art named the band Everclear.  He named it after the hard liquor “because it sounds so benign. My mom is like, 'Oh, that's a pretty name. Everclear. That's beautiful. That's pretty.'" (2)

Everclear’s first practice was 4 days after his daughter Annabella, was born. They recorded the demo, which cost 400 dollars, known as ‘World of Noise.’ This led to a gig at South By Southwest, which led in turn to a deal with the indie label Tim Kerr Records. World of Noise was released in 1993. And on and on -- good reviews, more buzz -- until major labels were buzzing around. "Quite a little songwriter, you are," was the vibe Alexakis got from A&R men. "I talked to all these people in one day and I was so jaded that I wasn't going to sign with anybody and then I went and met with Gary Gersh -- actually I met with Perry (the A&R man at Capitol) first. When I met with Gary, he told me he'd really become enamored with the record, with the music and my songwriting." (2)

At age 31, this was probably Art’s last chance to make music for a living.  There was a lot riding with this band.  With that in mind, ‘World of Noise’ had to be the best the band could make, with whatever they could afford.

“That record would have been more diverse if I'd had the chance. There are still people who say it's the best thing we've ever done, but I don't think so. That was a demo, and it really shows how fucked I was and where we were at musically. I had one guitar, one amp - a Fender Super Twin, a weird amp from the Seventies - and I couldn't afford new tubes. I'd play for like five minutes and get this blue lightning thing coming out of the tubes. They'd start smoking and I'd have to turn the amp off. I was at the stage where I literally had no money to buy a matched set of tubes. That's like $120, and I didn't have it - considering that was a quarter of my recording budget,” said Alexakis. (4)

"For World of Noise all I had was a Fender Super Twin. It had blown 6L6 tubes in it, and because I couldn't afford new ones, they kept arcing. We made that record in one week. The amp would get hot and start smoking, so I'd have to turn it off, let it cool down, and put ice packs on the back of it. When I hit a chord it would make a high-pitched squeal. "I had a nice Fender Telecaster back then, but I'd gotten burnt by a pawnshop, who sold it a day before I came back to get it. It's the ultimate shame, pawning guitars, but I had a kid on the way, and I was trying to make ends meet. So I used a Guild Bluesbird with an old-fashioned Bigsby tremolo. And that was the first album: one broken amp, one beat-up guitar, and one Shure SM-58, close-milked. It wasn't meant to be an album; it was just going to be a demo." (59)
The songs off this album are both observational and personal. Songs like ‘Fire Maple Song’, ‘Loser Makes Good’ have personal significance to Art.

"We were living in a small 1 bedroom apartment in Portland when Anna was born, and there was a huge vibrant maple tree in the yard next door. We would sit on the grass with our brand new baby and look up at the brilliant colors and it would make me think of all the life I had lived up to that point, and how important it was to always remember everything... and to always stay present in the moment." (33) "It's about a place ... where my mom grew up, and I used to be sent for summer times ... Asheville, North Carolina." (40)

‘Loser Makes Good’ is a song about the insane homeless man who shot and killed Art's friend, Philip Bury. Philip was better known by his music stage name Buck Naked, of the San Francisco band ‘Buck Naked and The Barebottom Boys’. Art produced and released ‘Buck Naked and The Barebottom Boys'’ only album on his label, Shindig Records. (43)

The other songs, take an observational view at the wrongs of the world.
"There was a time when Pennsylvania had ... the nation's only democratic pro-life governor and he was very instrumental in ... creating some very, very intense anti-abortion laws. And, even though I am a devout parent and a devout believer in all life and children, I, as being a man, I have, an intelligent man, I feel, or let’s say educated, I have to be pro-choice, you know? I don't think anybody likes abortion. I hate abortion. But, when it comes down to it, it's not my body. If I don't want someone to get pregnant then I should go to great lengths on my part that they don't get pregnant. After that, it's their choice. And that's my belief." (40)

“People don't want to see what they don't like. Everyone wants to see a pretty picture. No one wants to see an ugly picture. If you have something evocative on a wall, people will see it. If you just have a picture of a horse, chances are you won't see it. If this is a psychological interview and were talking to me about something else and ask me what is on the wall, there's a naked woman on the wall or a picture of a dollar bill or something really vibrant, I'd remember. That's how it works. What this has to do with our song [Invincible], I have no idea.” (38)

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Recording: 05/XX/93 - 06/XX/93
(Anonymous Noise - Portland, OR)
Recorded by: Karl Brummer
Mixed / Produced by: A.P. Alexakis

Band Members: Arthur Alexakis (guitar, vocals), Craig Montoya (bass), Scott Ralph Cuthbert (drums, backing vocals).

Recorded:
[O] Nervous & Weird
[O] Lame
[O] Slow Motion Genius
[O] Connection
[O] Electra Made Me Blind (Early)

Sources:

Source	Quality	Complete	Runtime	Lowest Gen	Tracks Featured	Notes
SBD #1a	10.0	No	0:02:31	Official CD (World Of Noise)	• Nervous & Weird
SBD #1b	10.0	Yes	0:12:25	Offical CD (Nervous & Weird EP)	• Nervous & Weird • Lame • Slow Motion Genius • Connection • Electra Made Me Blind (Early)	First effort by the band released on Tim Kerr Records.

Notes: ‘Nervous & Weird’ and ‘Lame’ were still a work in progress in April of 1993, when they were both debuted live.

‘Connection’ is a Rolling Stone cover that was performed by the band in several early live shows.

‘Slow Motion Genius’ is an instrumental that is a slowed down version of the song ‘Your Genius Hands.’ In early shows, ‘Slow Motion Genius’ was used an outro to ‘Your Genius Hands.’

This ‘early’ rendition of ‘Electra Made Me Blind’ is similar but slower than the one found on ‘Sparkle & Fade.’

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Recording: XX/XX/94
(Smegma Studios - Portland, OR)
Recorded by: Mike Lastra
Mixed by: Mike Lastra and A.P. Alexakis

Band Members: Arthur Alexakis (guitar, vocals), Craig Montoya (bass), Scott Ralph Cuthbert (drums, backing vocals).

Recorded:
[O] Detroit
[O] 1975
[O] Blondes
[O] Pacific Wonderland (Instrumental)
[O] Heroin Girl (Early Version)
[O] For Pete's Sake
[O] Happy Hour (Demo)

Sources:

Source	Quality	Complete	Runtime	Lowest Gen	Tracks Featured	Notes
SBD #1a	10.0	No	0:16:32	Official CD (White Trash Hell EP)	• 1975 • Blondes • Pacific Wonderland • Heroin Girl (Early) • For Pete’s Sake	Songs originally only found on ‘Fire Maple Song EP’
SBD #1b	10.0	No	0:02:17	Offical CD (Santa Monica Maxi Single / Heartspark Dollarsign Maxi Single)	• Happy Hour (Demo)

Notes: Not much is known about this session at this time. 'Blondes' and 'For Pete Sake' had been written and performed live by September of 1993.

Most of the songs were included on the 'Fire Maple Song' EP which later turned into 'White Trash Hell.' Art explained that Fire Maple Song EP contained "4 unreleased songs that were just demos we done before we remixed and threw on there, just to tide people over until the new stuff." (62)

When asked about the story behind songs like ‘Detroit’ and ‘Static’ that have to deal with Michigan, Art responded, "I lived in the UP of Michigan for a summer. That was a lot of fun. All my siblings, except for my oldest sister, were born in Michigan. My mom and my dad moved to California a year or two before I was before because that's where all the jobs went. I still have a lot of ties to Michigan. I love Michigan, I love Wisconsin, and I love Minnesota. I love the Midwest." (42)

‘Pacific Wonderland’ is short surf instrumental.

‘Heroin Girl’ features a slightly different beginning than on ‘Sparkle & Fade’

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Recording: XX/XX/94
(? - Portland, OR)

Band Members: Arthur Alexakis (guitar, vocals), Craig Montoya (bass), Scott Ralph Cuthbert (drums, backing vocals).

Recorded:
[U] Heroin Girl
[U] The Twistinside
[U] 1975
[U] Deep In Empty Out

Sources:

Source	Quality	Complete	Runtime	Lowest Gen	Tracks Featured	Notes
SBD #1	8.5	Yes	0:14:07	ANA(X)	• Heroin Girl • The Twistinside • 1975 • Deep In Empty Out

Notes: Not much is known about the session at this time. Everclear sent tapes of their latest material to attract major labels.  One of those labels that received one of those tapes was Giant Records.  When the label went under, some record store guy got some of the tape and put it up for auction on eBay. 

This session is interesting as it contains 'Deep In Empty Out' that only appears here.  The song has never been officially released.

This rendition of ‘The Twistinside’ is a minute longer and has a more interesting breakdown than the version found on ‘Sparkle & Fade.’

'Heroin Girl' sounds quite similar to the version found on 'White Trash Hell."
'1975' is slightly different from its 'White Trash Hell' version.
This is believed to be the last known recording featuring Scott Cuthbert on the drums. He was kicked out of the band by Craig and Art due to personality differences. He would be replaced by Greg Eklund in June of 1994.
“The band started with me, Craig Montoya and the drummer Scott Cuthbert who we never got along with musically or personally. The band should have always been with Greg Eklund.” (60)