In a time of turmoil, Art Alexakis wants to leave people with a sense of hope and optimism with his music.

”Absolutely. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel in every situation. Even this one we are going through as a country, we will come through it. We will be OK,” says the frontman and creative force of the multi-platinum rockers Everclear in a telephone interview from his Portland, Ore., home.

”I don’t know if we will rebuild those towers in New York, but we will make something out of the rubble. We’ve done some bad things in this country and learned from our mistakes. At the same time we’ve done a lot of good in this country and in the world.”

The singer-songwriter-guitarist believes that his group’s music resonates for fans because it feels uplifting though the lyrics can be “kind of depressing and kind of gritty.”

He agrees that music in general is a healing force, a fact that takes on even more power in this time of world turmoil.

”I try not to oversimplify what we do, nor at the same time overglamorize it. We entertain people,” he says. “Hopefully I’m going to write songs that make people happy or touch you. Even if it’s sad I try to find a positive way to make a connection.”

Alexakis has been referred to as an unlikely rock star.

”Sometimes I feel what we do is so inconsequential and so ridiculous and, like movies, people make such a big deal of it. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about people and learning how to live together and making a life together.”

People lose sight of that, he says.

Everclear tries not to lose sight of the big picture, he says, even while they go out to entertain and help people forget about what is going on in the real world for a while.

“Our job is to play rock’n’roll as hard and energetically as we can and get people to have a good time, “ he adds.

Everclear’s current tour allows the band to play in a more intimate atmosphere.

Audiences will see the band rock out, Alexakis says.

“We are more of a rock band than what our singles on the radio will tell you. We are an old-fashioned hard rock’n’roll band. We are exciting to watch. Craig (Montoya, bass) and Greg (Eklund, drums) are exciting. We can anticipate each other musically. We have a lot of fun on stage.”

The group will play all the radio hits and “all the songs we like the best,” he adds. The trio is supplemented by three musicians to comprise a full band.

Alexakis doesn’t wear his faith on his sleeve but it informs his person and his creativity. “I have a strong connection with God, and I’m trying to live spiritually. That’s a hard thing,” says Alexakis.

His efforts include testifying before Congress on a bill proposed by ACES (Association for Children for Enforcement of Support) that would force deadbeat dads to make their child-care payments.

He watched, along with the nation, Sept. 11’s terrorist attacks and the heart-tugging reports about children and parents and husbands and wives reaffirming their bonds of love one last time in cell phone calls from doomed planes and towers.

Alexakis hopes that might remind some fathers who are not taking their responsibilities seriously to reconsider.

”It’s about children; it’s about right and wrong. It’s also about being prepared to take responsibility for a child if you have unprotected sex,” he says.

It’s not just about paying the bills when a child is born, he says. It’s about being a father and being prepared to communicate and cooperate with the mother of the baby, even if marriage isn’t involved, for the good of the child.

Alexakis and his first wife have co-custody of their 9-year-old daughter, and they work hard to make sure she knows she is loved by both.

Like other parents, he struggled with how to talk to his daughter about the Sept. 11 tragedy. “I was having a hard time comprehending those images myself,” he says.

”I think about the heroes on that flight that went down outside of Pittsburgh. You think, ‘Man, can you make choices like that when you are put on the spot?’ Everybody hopes they can accept certain death to save hundreds of others.”

He hopes such incidents will remind people, especially young people, not to take our country and what we have here for granted.

Alexakis has traveled the world with Everclear and he acknowledges that no system of government is perfect. “But America gives a chance for anyone to make a better life for themselves. With their own mind and hard work and cunning they can achieve a lot. I’m living proof of that.”

Everclear’s most recent album, “Songs From an American Movie Vol. Two,” is moving toward platinum in sales. Last year’s “Vol. One” has sold a million and a half copies and made Rolling Stone’s list of “Top 50 Albums of the Year.”

The trio’s 1997 album, “So Much For The Afterglow,” sold more than two million copies in the U.S. alone.

Everclear is not a Christian rock band, he says, but spirituality runs deep in the creative process for him.

”Most of the work you do when you are a writer comes from your sub-conscious and from inside by praying and trying to connect with God, what I deem to be God, the power all around us. It’s all part of what gives me calm and peace, to find the words I need to find.”

Alexakis says before he can try to make sense of what is going on in the world, he has to try to make sense of what is going on in his heart or soul, the forces that drive him.

And doing that he says he hopes his writing can help others better understand the questions with which they may be struggling.

”I don’t presume to be a spokesperson for anyone else,” he says. “I don’t assume what I say will make an impact. That’s not why I sing it or play it. It’s to make rock’n’roll music and the stories and messages that seem complete and right and good to me. Hopefully other people will find it complete and right and good as well.”