With my big black boots and an old suitcase
I do believe I’ll find myself a new place
Those lyrics hit me for some reason as did the song. It was my first introduction to the band and I loved it.
Art Alexaskis formed Everclear in Portland, Oregon, in 1991. Portland in the early 90s had a huge music scene. Everclear broke out first with this song nationally. Many bands there didn’t think Everclear deserved it over everyone else…there was a lot of competition there at that time.
Santa Monica is a seaside town in California where Everclear lead singer Art Alexakis grew up. He describes it as Like LA, but on the coast.
The song peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, #4 in Canada’s Alternative Charts, #27 in New Zealand, and #40 in the UK in 1996.
It was on the 1995 album Sparkle and Fade. John at 2 Loud 2 Old Music reviewed all of their albums in this article. It’s a great review of their recording career.
Art Alexakis: ” The warm weather, beaches and palm trees serve as iconic references in the song, “I’ve lived in cold places and been in bad relationships, and I think everybody has a place in their mind that is like a safe haven. It’s also about getting away from bad times… the ending of something is also the beginning of something new, whether it’s with someone or getting out of a bad job, a bad way of life or an abusive relationship.”
From Songfacts
Alexakis: “In the Eastern way of looking at things, ‘Chaos’ doesn’t necessarily mean no boundaries, it means new beginnings. It’s kind of one and the same, something that never ends. It’s about getting to a point where you can leave bad things behind and just be self sufficient. There’s a sense of romance about it. I feel like that very much now, but I was just getting to where I understood that when I wrote that song.”
On their 2003 tour, the band would pick an audience member to play guitar on this song. If that person didn’t play well, he would get kicked off stage and replaced with someone else from the crowd.
Santa Monica
I am still living with your ghost
Lonely and dreaming of the west coast
I don’t want to be your downtime
I don’t want to be your stupid game
With my big black boots and an old suitcase
I do believe I’ll find myself a new place
I don’t want to be the bad guy
I don’t want do your sleepwalk dance anymore
I just want to see some palm trees
I will try and shake away this disease
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
I am still dreaming of you face
Hungry and hollow for all the things you took away
I don’t want to be your good time
I don’t want to be your fall-back crutch anymore
I’ll walk right out into a brand new day
Insane and rising in my own weird way
I don’t want to be the bad guy
I don’t want to do your sleepwalk dance anymore
I just want to feel some sunshine
I just want to find some place to be alone
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die
Yeah watch the world die
Yeah watch the world die
Yeah watch the world die
Yeah watch the world die
Another band that doesn’t ring a bell. It’s a great tune. I like the build.
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They are a band I really liked in the 90s…some good songs.
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I’m going to check them out. I realize time and again that once it goes beyond the ’80s, my knowledge of music increasingly becomes even more spotty. Apart from occasional new songs by then-new artists, oftentimes, I listened to music released by “old artists” I had started to follow in the past.
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The songs to check out are “Wonderful”… “I Will Buy You A New LIfe” and the song AM Radio
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Great, I’ll start with these tunes. Thanks, Max!
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Thanks for reading Christian!
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Thanks for the shout out!! I love these guys and wish they were still cranking out the albums, but at least I have a pretty solid catalog to fall back on.
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No problem…. I really thought they would be a huge band into the new century.
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I was hoping, but didn’t happen.
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Going to the Santa Monica pier is on my bucket list.
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think it was the first song I heard by them too, certainly the one that got most airplay up north in the ’90s. A band whose blessing and curse was that they fit the times… not bad music but it fit in so easily with many others of that genre then that they never really stood out at all, if that makes any sense.
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I know what you mean. It was a welcome relief for me from the grunge I was hearing. There were some other bands around this time with a similar sound but Art has a distinctive voice… Plus he loves the seventies almost as much as me lol. He was older than his peers.
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All this time, I thought this song was about a woman but, knowing his background and the dad problem, this is about his dad, too. I feel for him. He had such a hard time. Though I am not particularly fond of the music. I’m impressed with his work and talent.
Getting over a bad parent or parents is a lifelong journey. Some never recover.
I see the screw is loose, again.
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So Much For The Everglow is the only album I own. This song though was huge. Pretty good tune
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I always liked their sound.
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Such a good jam. I like the way it gets warmed up and then seriously jams. Wonderful lyrics.
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Another cool song Max. Love this one (and the record)
“I dont want to be the bad guy” Love that lyric.
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