Art Alexakis

Alexakis was born in Los Angeles, the youngest of five children.[1] When Art was five years old his father left the family,[1] and financial difficulties forced his mother to relocate the family to the Mar Vista Gardens housing project in California, located on the west side of Los Angeles in Del Rey. Alexakis was physically and sexually abused by older children in his neighborhood.[3]

His brother George died of a heroin overdose when Alexakis was 12. That same year, Alexakis's 15-year-old girlfriend died by suicide.[4] Not long after her death, Alexakis attempted suicide by filling his pockets with sand and lead weights and jumping off the Santa Monica Pier. Later, he said that the vision and voice of his brother George compelled him to survive.[5] Alexakis started shooting up when he was 13, mostly taking crystal methamphetamine.[6] He became addicted to heroin and cocaine, and he survived a cocaine overdose when he was 22.[7] He quit drugs cold turkey in June 1989.[6]

Alexakis took film classes at Los Angeles Community College.[8]

From March 2017 through February 2019, Alexakis hosted a weekly radio show on Sirius XM's 1990s alternative and grunge music channel, Lithium (Channel 34).[13]

In 2000, Alexakis made brief appearances in the Heather Graham comedy Committed. He played the lead role in the 2006 short film Room to Breathe and had parts in Rid of Me (2011)[14] and Rogue River (2012).

In 2014, he had a role as a tattoo artist in the biographical drama film Wild starring Reese Witherspoon.

Alexakis was interviewed on Space Ghost Coast to Coast; the interview never aired, although it is briefly glimpsed on Episode 60, "Lawsuit". In 2002, Alexakis appeared in two episodes of The Chris Isaak Show. In 2006, he appeared on an episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide on Nickelodeon as a music teacher named Mr. Gibson (a reference to Gibson guitars).

In August 2006, Alexakis appeared on The O'Reilly Factor discussing the music video for "Hater", the first single from Everclear's Welcome to the Drama Club.

In 2000, Alexakis testified before Congress in support of HR 1488, the Compassion for Children and Child Support Enforcement Act. Through ACES, the Association of Children for the Enforcement of Support, President Geraldine Jenson and Nancy Pelosi sponsored this bill. The law passed.[15]

Alexakis was a delegate for the 2004 Democratic National Convention representing Oregon's 3rd congressional district after campaigning for John Edwards during the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. He and Everclear recorded the Woody Guthrie standard "This Land Is Your Land",[16] which he performed at several political events.

Alexakis is also a gay rights activist. In 2010, he expressed his support for gay marriage and opposition to Proposition 8, "I don't think Prop 8, gay marriage or the things your community lobbies for are political issues. We are Americans; that's where it ends. If Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, then why not towards your community? It is going to happen; it's happening, and I think it is a great thing." In the same interview, he reflected on the gay rights movement in the 1970s by saying, "I went to San Francisco to see the Sex Pistols in 1978. I was barely 16 and I went with this neighbor of mine, who my mom didn't know was gay, but I knew was gay. I went to Castro with a whole group of gay guys and saw a side of the culture that I had never seen before. I was aware of Harvey Milk before most people were. It was a great experience."[17]

Alexakis has also been involved in drug awareness programs, including the taping of public service announcements for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Along with Everclear, he has performed for U.S. soldiers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Hawaii, and Abu Dhabi. He has also performed for Snowball Express, which organizes events for military families who lost loved ones in the war.

During his younger years, Alexakis was an atheist. In an August 2000 interview with Spin, Alexakis stated he had since become Christian. Speaking about his then-fiancée Stephanie Greig, he said, "She's a Christian, and I'm a Christian—my ex isn't—and so I was like, it's okay to be a Christian. I'm not like a born-again... Well, I guess I am born-again, in a way. But I don't knock people over the head with it. I just kind of use my spirituality to make my life better."

On March 26, 2019, Alexakis announced that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in a letter to fans posted on the band's website. Alexakis says he was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS following a car accident three years prior.[18]

With The Easy Hoes:

• 1989 – Tragic Songs of Life

With Colorfinger:

• 1990 – Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun
• 1990 – Demonstration

With Everclear:

• 1993 – World of Noise
• 1995 – Sparkle and Fade
• 1997 – So Much for the Afterglow
• 2000 – Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile
• 2000 – Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
• 2003 – Slow Motion Daydream
• 2004 – Ten Years Gone: The Best of Everclear 1994-2004
• 2006 – Welcome to the Drama Club
• 2008 – The Vegas Years
• 2009 – In a Different Light
• 2012 – Invisible Stars
• 2015 – Black Is the New Black

Solo:

• 2019 – Sun Songs

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Alexakis.

• Art Alexakis at IMDb
• Art Alexakis at The Political Graveyard
• Alexakis's 2000 testimony to Congress at the Wayback Machine (archive index)