Art Alexis and Everclear, courtesy.

Art Alexakis has always cared, even when it wasn’t “cool.” The vocalist, guitarist and founder of alt-rock band Everclear stood out from his peers in the ’90s by not only making it big but by being unashamed of his desire to do so. In a time when others pretended to be embarrassed  about getting famous, he refused to play that game.

“I never played into that whole ‘I’m too cool, I’m gonna try to be indie, I’m not gonna act like I want something’ kinda thing,” he says, resolutely. “I grew up in a housing project! My propensity for that kind of bullshit was always zero. Life is too short to like act like you don’t care.”

Alexakis’ tenacity and ambition brought him success with Everclear, even as he was criticized for it.

“I got vilified for it early on in the Portland scene,” he says. Adopting a tone of mock horror, he recalls others’ reactions: “‘Oh no, he’s coming in here, and he’s all business-savvy and he wants things!’ Hell yeah I do! I was on welfare at the time, and I had a baby at home; I didn’t want that for my family. I wanted to make a living from music, and I felt like I had the talent and the drive to do it.”

You can hear that early talent and drive on Everclear’s first album, World of Noise, which was recently remastered and released to streaming services for the first time last month.

“I found the tapes in a box!” he says. “I thought they were gone; I thought they’d just disappeared! It was such a great find. I went and got an archivist, and he baked the tapes because they were so old, and he transferred everything to digital. He made it sound great; it still sounds fresh.”

The rights to the masters had reverted back to Alexakis several years before streaming services became a thing, so these songs have not been available on Spotify or other streamers until now. Some weren’t available at all.

“There were a couple songs that hadn’t been previously released, so they’re on there too, as bonus tracks,” he says.

Everclear will be playing some of these songs, including bonus track “Blondes,” on its current tour.

“It’s a song that I always loved, and I can’t believe I never put it on a record,” he says.

Alexakis says he’s glad fans will finally get a chance to hear it, digitally and on a new vinyl pressing, too. He cares what they think. Three years ago, he posted an open letter to Everclear’s website announcing that he has multiple sclerosis. He wanted to go public with the diagnosis because he wanted to be open about it. “I wanted you to know the truth, simple as that,” he said in the letter.

Alexakis cares about the state of the country, too. Earlier on the day of this call, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, and he’s so upset about it that he apologizes to me, a woman, on behalf of all men.

“People forget, but it wasn’t that long ago that women were demonstrating and being beaten and put in jail over the right to vote; that was only like 100 years ago,” he says. “Point being, nothing ever got done by pretending not to care.”

Having embarked on a 30-year anniversary tour, Alexakis reflects that he’s spent half his life in Everclear.

“I realized this is my life’s work, this is my legacy,” he says. “And it’s something that to me has been overwhelmingly positive, constructive and productive. … A lot of people have told me my music has helped them, and what a great thing that is to be able to celebrate that now.”

The writer of monster hits like “I Will Buy You a New Life,” “Wonderful” and “Everything to Everyone” knows how fortunate he is to have had that success, including selling more than 6 million records and achieving 12 Top 40 hits on various Billboard charts. Fans still go wild when Everclear plays “Father of Mine” before breaking into “Santa Monica.”

“I’m very grateful for my hits,” he says. “My hits have been great friends to me; they changed my life, and I’m very respectful of that. I never get tired of playing those songs because I know how much they’re woven into the fabric of people’s lives now.”

Art Alexakis, well-known for his longtime sobriety in an industry that certainly isn’t a haven for it, seems to be reaching for another legacy now, as well: life coaching. He’s certified as a creative coach, life coach and a sobriety coach. He’s started a business called Coaching and Counseling for Creatives, which aims to work with people in creative industries.

He says he believes he’ll be able to help creatives because he’s familiar with the pitfalls and breaks they face. He’ll connect over video calls, just as he’s done every day with his 12-step program.

“I’ve been clean and sober for 30 years. I have a really strong fellowship of sober guys,” he says. “Zoom is so great for touring musicians like me.”

Alexakis says he still cares about what his mom always wanted for him, so he has another goal left.

“I’m going to finish my bachelor’s degree in psychology,” he says. “I’ll probably be 62, 63 by the time I finish, but I promised my mom right before she died in 2006 that I would get my four-year degree. I promised, and she honored me, so I gotta honor her.”

Everclear, meanwhile, has a new song coming in September, titled “Year of the Tiger.”

“Maybe we’ll just do a new song every six months, put it out, and make a video of it,” he says. “I’ll come up with a few grand to make a video. That sounds like fun to me.”

He doesn’t miss the pressure of turning out an album for a label. He’d rather just go out and entertain the fans on tour.

“At this point in my life, if it’s not fun, I don’t want to do it,” he says.

Follow Rachel Alm at Twitter.com/thouzenfold and Instagram.com/thousandfold.