Editing Everclear (band) (section)

===Mainstream success (1994–2001)===
====''Sparkle and Fade'' (1994–1995)====
The band spent much of 1994 seeking out a major label deal. After a modest bidding war, they were signed to [[Capitol Records]] by Gary Gersh,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> who was responsible for signing [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Sonic Youth]], and [[Counting Crows]] to [[DGC Records]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Just before their signing, Everclear parted ways with drummer Cuthbert, citing personality conflicts, and brought in former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. In May 1995, the band released their first album for the label, ''[[Sparkle and Fade]]''.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

The album's first single, "[[Heroin Girl]]", received some modest airplay via MTV's ''[[120 Minutes]]'', but was generally missed by the mainstream. However, near the end of 1995, the second single "[[Santa Monica (Everclear song)|Santa Monica]]" found a strong audience via the burgeoning [[alternative rock|alternative]] radio format, which eventually carried over to mainstream success. The album subsequently was [[RIAA certification|certified platinum]]. However, two ensuing singles, "[[Heartspark Dollarsign]]" and "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore", failed to find a wide audience, and the band ended 1996 fast at work on their second major label full-length album.

As ''Sparkle and Fade'' reached its audience, Everclear had to endure consistent comparisons to [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]],<ref name="Larkin"/> particularly given the album's subject matter and drug references. Following a show with the [[Foo Fighters]] at the end of 1995, [[Dave Grohl]] told [[MTV News]] that he did not think that Everclear sounded like Nirvana, noting that [[Bush (British band)|Bush]] sounded more like Nirvana than any other band.

====''So Much for the Afterglow'' (1996–1999)====
By the end of 1996, the band had nearly completed the album, which they planned to release under the title ''Pure White Evil''. Alexakis, however, was dissatisfied with the results and decided to work on more songs for the effort, including "One Hit Wonder" and the eventual title-track to the album, ''[[So Much for the Afterglow]]''. The songs "The Swing" and "Otis Redding" were cut from the Pure White Evil Sessions and were not included on ''So Much for the Afterglow''. Eventually they were released: the former on the soundtrack album for ''[[Scream 2]]'' and the latter on ''[[Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile]]''. ''So Much for the Afterglow'' was released in October 1997. The first two singles from the album, "[[Everything to Everyone (song)|Everything to Everyone]]" and "[[I Will Buy You a New Life]]", performed modestly, but helped to begin a slow build for the album, while "Local God" was featured in Baz Luhrmann's ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]'' in 1996 as well as on the soundtrack. The band completed a US tour at the end of the year and started 1998 with a tour of Australia.

The Australian tour, however, was an unexpected disaster. At a show in [[Wollongong]] someone threw a shoe at Alexakis, knocking loose a few of his teeth. Two nights later in [[Melbourne]], someone threw a lit explosive on stage, which exploded and burned a stagehand. Tensions erupted backstage, with touring guitarist Steve Birch refusing to continue, and Montoya getting into a heated argument with Alexakis. In interviews for [[VH-1]]'s [[Behind the Music]], the band related that they nearly broke up that night. The band decided to cancel the remainder of their tour following a final show on the Gold Coast, during which Alexakis was hit with a shoe (while the crowd was singing him "Happy Birthday") and Montoya's acoustic bass guitar was stolen. Montoya declined to join the band for the ensuing tour of the United Kingdom, with then-bass-tech David LoPrinzi filling in. Everclear did not return to Australia until 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/everclear/2012/the-coolangatta-hotel-gold-coast-australia-73dd2af9.html|title=Everclear Setlist at The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast|website=Setlist.fm|access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Scott Cuthbert 1999.jpg|thumb|150px|David LoPrinzi in 1999]]
Following an extensive tour of the United States with [[Marcy Playground]] and [[Fastball (band)|Fastball]], the band released ''Afterglow'''s third single, "[[Father of Mine]]". The song catapulted the album and the band to mainstream success.

''Afterglow'' provided the band their only [[Grammy Award]] nomination to date, a Best Rock Instrumental nod in 1998 for "El Distorto de Melodica". Later that year, the band won [[Billboard Music Award|Billboard's Modern Rock Band of the Year Award]]. Though ''Afterglow'' never charted higher than No.&nbsp;33 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' album chart]], the album reached double-platinum status at the end of the year.

====''Songs from an American Movie Vol. One'' and ''Vol. Two'' (2000–2001)====
Following the success of ''[[So Much for the Afterglow]]'', Alexakis decided to step back from the Everclear sound and record a solo album of more pop-influenced songs, and brought in Everclear touring musicians David LoPrinzi, Brian Lehfeldt, and James Beaton to perform on the recordings. Unhappy with the results of the initial sessions, Alexakis decided to bring in Montoya and Eklund and transform the effort into an Everclear album. The results were released as ''[[Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile]]'' in July 2000. The album yielded the band's most successful single, "[[Wonderful (Everclear song)|Wonderful]]", and eventually reached platinum status. The song "Wonderful" was also notably used as the graduation song for the Columbine High School class of 2000, who the year before suffered from the [[Columbine High School massacre]].

Rather than tour for the release, the band arranged with their label to release a second album in 2000. Alexakis believed he had enough of a catalog of unreleased songs at the ready, and was eager to show the opposing sides of Everclear's sound. However, delays in the mixing process of ''Learning How to Smile'' had pushed its initial April release to July, limiting the amount of recording time for the follow-up in order to meet Capitol's demands of an end-of-the-year release.

Proclaimed as a "return to rock", ''[[Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude]]'' was released just four months after ''Vol. One'' in November 2000. Unfortunately, the promotional push for ''Vol. Two'' while still in the throes of supporting ''Vol. One'' confused much of the music-buying public. ''Learning How to Smile'''s second single "[[AM Radio (song)|AM Radio]]" was released barely weeks before the release of ''Vol. Two'', leaving some stores to mistakenly label the song as the first single from ''Vol. Two''. The confusion was amplified by the band's decision to accept an opening slot for [[Matchbox Twenty|Matchbox 20]] in the months after the release of ''Vol. Two'', a somewhat awkward billing for a band who was trying to support a hard rock album.

By the late spring of 2001, both albums had stalled. Capitol attempted a final push by re-releasing ''Learning How to Smile'' with "Out of My Depth" and "Rock Star" from ''Good Time for a Bad Attitude'' as bonus tracks. A cover of [[Van Morrison]]'s "[[Brown Eyed Girl]]" received some modest airplay as a result, but couldn't help revive the momentum. A tour of the United Kingdom for what would have been the band's first extensive tour out of the country since 1998 was cancelled shortly before its start.

That summer, the band decided to license the song "Rock Star" to the [[Rock Star (2001 film)|movie of the same name]].