Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt are featured in a new career-spanning interview conducted by Classic Rock. They look back on the highs and lows of their career, and discuss the band's long awaited return with their new album, SIX. Following is an excerpt from the story:
"'Rise', the ballsy, powerful first single from SIX, released at the beginning of March, is described by Cherone as “a cautionary tale on the rise and fall of fame. You get seduced into it,” he said in the press statement accompanying its release. “Once you’re on top, they’ll rip you apart and tear you down. That’s the nature of the beast.”
It says something about Cherone’s level-headed nature that when he’s asked whether the song’s lyrics are drawn from bitter experience – given that within five years of Extreme’s best-known song, monster-ballad 'More Than Words', topping the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1991, the band had broken up – he initially looks puzzled by the question, then weighs it up in silence for a few moments before answering.
“It’s funny,” he says, “I wrote the song, you know, looking out, I never applied it to myself. But yeah, I guess I could apply parts of it to Extreme. Was becoming a successful band everything we expected? It was everything we expected and more. Our first record (1989’s Extreme) did okay. And for the first nine months touring (follow-up) Pornograffiti we were playing in clubs, to kinda the same audience, as the record didn’t catch on. And then 'More Than Words' comes out, and explodes on MTV, and suddenly we’re being carried away by a whirlwind. We were just trying to hang on. All the excesses of rock’n’roll stardom – the sex, the drugs, the parties – are now open to us. But we could see temptations as potential pitfalls, and we just kept our heads down.”
Read the complete story here.
Multi-platinum hard rock icons Extreme - Gary Cherone (vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Pat Badger (bass), and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) - launch their "Rise: Generations On A Mission" campaign with the following message:
"Your mission, should you choose to accept it: We want to see your take on our song 'Rise'. Grab your bandmates, or put a band together and throw down our song, 'Rise', the way you and your band would do it.
Remember - this is not a challenge or a competition, but rather a celebration of rock 'n roll and a way for us to give back and shine a light on you as you have done for us."
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Extreme's new album, SIX, was recorded at Nuno Bettencourt’s home studio in Los Angeles. SIX swings between unapologetic fits of fret-burning hard rock and intimately introspective balladry. Order SIX here.
SIX tracklisting:
"Rise"
"#Rebel"
"Banshee"
"Other Side of the Rainbow"
"Small Town Beautiful"
"The Mask"
"Thicker Than Blood"
"Save Me"
"Hurricane"
"X Out"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Here's To The Losers"
“Other Side Of The Rainbow” video:
"Banshee" video:
"#Rebel" video:
"Rise" video:
Extreme's headlining “Thicker Than Blood” world tour kicks off in the US on August 2, followed by stops in Australia and Japan in September and has already sold-out dates in cities including Detroit, Hampton Beach, Tokyo and Yokohama. The band recently announced an additional jaunt beginning November 27 in Newcastle, UK and wrapping December 16 in Milan, IT.
Special guests Living Colour (who will also be supporting Extreme on their US and Australian shows) will appear on the UK leg and The Last Internationale will appear across Europe. Tickets at extreme-band.com.
Tour dates:
August
2 - Portland, ME - State Theatre #
3 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom #
5 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner #
6 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount #
8 - Reading, PA - Santander Performing Arts Center #
10 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom #
11 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theater #
12 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theater #
14 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
15 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #
17 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Live #
18 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre #
19 - Cedar Rapids, IA - The Paramount #
21 - Denver, CO - The Ogden #
22 - Albuquerque, NM - Revel Entertainment Center #
24 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues #
26 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency #
28 - Portland, OR - TBD #
29 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox #
September
6 - Perth, AU - Regal Theatre #
8 - Adelaide, AU - Hindley Street Music Hall #
10 - Melbourne, AU - Forum #
12 - Sydney, AU - Enmore Theatre #
13 - Brisbane, AU - Fortitude Music Hall #
17 - Sendai, JP - Sendai Gigs
19 - Yokohama, JP - KT Zepp Yokohama
21 - Tokyo, JP - Hitomi Memorial Hall
25 - Nagoya, JP - Shimin Kaikan Hall
26 - Osaka, JP - Zepp Namba
November
27 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall #
28 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy #
30 - Manchester, UK - O2 Academy #
December
1 - Wolverhampton, UK - Civic Hall #
3 - Bristol, UK - O2 Academy #
4 - London, UK - O2 Forum #
8 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 Konzertfabrik *
10 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys *
11 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall *
12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max *
14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix *
16 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz *
# with Living Colour
* with The Last Internationale
