Everclear und Fastball

The group originally consisted of the trio Alexakis as lead vocalist and guitarist, Craig Montoya on bass and Greg Eklund on drums. They found success with their first three full length albums, 'Sparle and Fade', 'So Much for the Afterglow' and 'Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How To Smile' which were all released on Capitol Records.

All three of these releases were certified platinum selling in the States, yet the band couldn't maintain the success for their next two releases and in 2003 both Montoya and Eklund decided to leave the project. Although Alexakis decided to persist with Everclear and released a further two albums with other musicians. Everclear have struggled with promotion campaigns and record label support throughout their career, one of the main reasons American Movie Vol. Two wasn't considered a successful album was due to the fact it was released just four months after the first and the public became confused as to why the band were releasing original material whilst singles were still being promoted from the predecessor.

Similar disputes occurred during the promotion of Slow Motion Daydream due to Alexakis demanding an early solo track that had been toured the previous year be chosen as the lead whilst record bosses were far more keen on 'The New York Times'. The end result meant that neither received consistent backing and the album stalled after passing 100,000 copies and the demise seemed unavoidable after both Greg and Craig decided they were leaving. However Alexakis managed to salvage the reputation of the band and worked on the successes they achieved in the 1990s.

Born and bread in the American south, friends and bandmates Tony Scalzo, Miles Zuniga, and Joey Shuffield hall all previously played in the rock group Big Car. Scalzo, Zuniga, and Shuffield subsequently decided to form their own group, which despite being unable to decide on a moniker, developed a devoted following in and around Austin. In 1996, after signing with Hollywood Records, the band settled on the name Fastball, and issued their debut album “Make Your Mama Proud”. The record went on to win the “Best Pop Band” award at the Austin Music Awards and spawned the radio single “Are You Ready For the Fallout?”.

Whilst still working day jobs in January 1998, by April, Fastball had appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” to promote their sophomore album “All the Pain Money Can Buy”. Earning a string of positive reviews and platinum certification, the record was led by the singles “The Way”, “Fire Escape”, and “Out of My Head”, the former of which topped Billboard’s Modern Rock chart for seven weeks. The following year the record was nominated for two Grammy Awards, “Best Rock Performance” and “Best Long Form Video” (This Way”, and was supported by an extensive tour alongside Marcy Playground and Everclear.

The band’s third full-length, “The Harsh Light of Day”, arrived in September 2000 produced by Julian Raymond. Led by the single “You’re an Ocean”, the record features the likes of Billy Preston, Brian Setzer, and Michael Ward, and was again supported by generous touring. The studio album “Keep Your Wig On” followed in 2004, as did the full-length “Little White Lies” in 2009.