NOT KID STUFF

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

When Art Alexakis was a kid growing up in a predominantly black and Hispanic housing project in Culver City, California, he used to wander away to play with other white kids in nearby, more affluent neighborhoods. But when the parents of his new playmates found out where he was from, they would send him home--and check their kids for lice. Alexakis, now 34 years old and the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the rock band Everclear, based in Portland, Oregon, is still pained by the memory. "I've never had head lice in my life," he says, still arguing his case.

Everclear's major-label debut album, Sparkle and Fade (Capitol), explores life on the emotional and economic edge with passion and wisdom. On songs that range from the tragic realism of Heroin Girl to the lyricism of Queen of the Air, Alexakis and his bandmates, bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund, manage to combine introspection with raw power. "This record is about getting out of bad situations," says Alexakis, a former cocaine user who gave up drugs 12 years ago, and says he's been clean ever since (he's now married and has a three-year-old daughter).

On one of the album's best songs, Heartspark Dollarsign, Alexakis sings of having an interracial affair and rejecting one's racist past. The song's video was directed by Larry Clark (his name was removed from the credits after an editing disagreement), the man behind the controversial, nihilistic movie Kids. "I didn't see Kids until after the video," says Alexakis. "It offended me as a father." Clearly, this is a rocker with adult concerns, and this mature album proves it.

--By Christopher John Farley