Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt recently spoke with Australia's May The Rock Be With You about the success of their new album, SIX, plans for new music, Van Halen, that solo ("Rise"), and more.
Bettencourt: "I've always believed that rock and roll is not complex. Rock, pop, reggae, all of it's been the same arrangements since I can remember. It's a verse, it's a chorus, another verse, a chorus, a bridge, we do a solo and then we go home, and there's an out chorus. But what separated all the artists from each other was that even those arrangements were simple, the songs were pretty simple, the melodies were pretty simple, but when you went back and listened to it, there were complex layers in there that defined a Queen from a Zeppelin that you could peel back.
Even within the simplicity of it, there was lyrics that were complex, some harmonies that were complex, a guitar solo, a rhythm player that was… but yet they were all doing it within a pop sort of place. And I think that's really difficult.
I think it's easier to write a pop song, but to do a complex version of it that you can go in that can live for decades and people can go back and rediscover sounds and discover things they missed the first time, that's the art, I think, that's been missing a little bit, in the sense that I think maybe struck a chord with people, for real."
Extreme - Gary Cherone (vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Pat Badger (bass), and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) - have released a static video for "Here's To The Losers", a track from their new album, SIX, out now via earMusic. Check it out below:
SIX was recorded at Nuno Bettencourt’s home studio in Los Angeles. The album 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"
"X Out":
"Hurricane":
"Save Me":
"The Mask:
"Small Town Beautiful":
“Other Side Of The Rainbow” video:
"Banshee" video:
"#Rebel" video:
"Rise" video:
Extreme's headlining “Thicker Than Blood” world tour is underway. It will be 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 also 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:
September
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
