Art Alexakis and his alternative rock band Everclear will be on stage at the Performing Arts Center on March 7. Courtesy photo

NASHUA – As many bands do, alternative rock group Everclear has seen its share of members come and go during the past 33 years; however, unlike other bands, the one individual who has stood the test of time is frontman Art Alexakis.

Together with guitarist Davey French, bass player Freddy Herrera and drummer Brian Nolan, Alexakis will take the stage at the Performing Arts Center on March 7.

Growing up in the Mar Vista Gardens housing project in Los Angeles, Alexakis’ childhood was anything but easy. When he was just five years old, his father walked out and sent the family into financial turmoil. Seven years later, his brother George died from a heroin overdose.

Alexakis would later endure his own battle with addiction and nearly died from a cocaine overdose when he was 22 years old.

Alexakis discovered the rock genre at a young age when he saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. His mother even gave him George’s old acoustic guitar.

“I never wanted to do anything else,” said Alexakis, adding that he began writing songs when he was 20 years old.

While living in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Alexakis enjoyed runs with bands Shakin’ Brave, Easy Hoes and Colorfinger.

After Colorfinger broke up in 1991, he moved to Portland, Ore. where he teamed up with bass player Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert to form a new band — Everclear.

The group’s first major success came in 1995 with the release of the Sparkle and Fade album, featuring songs such as “Heroin Girl” and “Santa Monica.” The following year, the album received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. By the end of 2001, 1.1 million copies of Sparkle and Fade had been sold in the U.S.

Everclear enjoyed even greater success with its next album, So Much for The Afterglow, which was released in 1997 with songs including “Father of Mine” and “I Will Buy You a New Life.” The album received a multi-platinum certification from the RIAA and sold 2.2 million copies. It also earned the band a Billboard Modern Rock Artist of the Year Award in 1998.

“We had a pretty good run in the 90s and early-2000s,” said Alexakis.

In 2000, the band released “Wonderful,” which quickly became Everclear’s greatest hit reaching number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was also played during Columbine High School’s 2000 graduation ceremony. One year earlier, the school lost 12 students and one teacher in what was then the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

“AM Radio” was released in the summer of 2000. Although it did not reach the Hot 100, the song took the number one slot on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart.

More recently, the band released Live at the Whisky A Go Go in 2023. The album showcases Everclear’s trademark songs from the past three decades such as “Wonderful,” “Father of Mine,” “Heroin Girl,” “Everything to Everyone” and “Santa Monica.”

Despite being 62 years old and living with multiple sclerosis, Alexakis continues to tour with Everclear dazzling millions of die-hard fans.

“I love what I do,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool job.”