The members of Boston-based funk-rockers Extreme are cruising the publicity circuit in support of their upcoming CD/DVD release Take Us Alive. The Crawler was fortunate enough to land an Extremely candid interview with singer Gary Cherone that covered everything from the band’s heyday and subsequent 13-year hiatus to the time he literally fell head over heels for Valerie Bertinelli-Van Halen. Here’s how it went down:
Nightcrawler: Why now for the Extreme reunion? Was there something specific that made you think it was a good time to dive in again?
Gary Cherone: Really, for us, it was never a question of if, always a question of when. I mean, we’re all friends… brothers, really. So I first sensed an Extreme reunion was in the air around 2005, when I was doing Jesus Christ Superstar. Then Nuno (Bettencourt) was doing some Guitar Hero stuff and hooked up with Perry Farrell. So we had to a wait a little longer. But the second he finished with Perry, “bam,” right back into it.
I watched Take Us Alive, and it must be mind-blowing to hit the road after a hiatus of more than a decade and see fans young and old, night in and night out, still singing every word to every song.
Cherone: Oh, trust me, it is. And there’s not a day that goes by that someone doesn’t tell me “More Than Words” was their prom song or wedding song. During the heyday, there was actually a period where we hated that song, but we’ve certainly matured and learned to appreciate it.
Speaking of maturing… in your lyrics, from “Mutha, Don’t Want To Go To School Today” to politically/religiously charged commentaries like “Peacemaker Die” and “There Is No God,” you’ve really stepped up the rhetoric. Was this a natural progression, or did you realize you had a platform and people were listening, and ask why not use it to its fullest?
Cherone: That’s a great observation, and while the answer is a little of both, I think you could see a thread all along the way that Extreme was always about evolving and growing, musically and lyrically.
That’s not to say you have to evolve, either. Some of my favorite bands, like Van Halen and Kiss, have great catalogues without ever singing about much more than girls, parties and the cars they drove to get to them. They peddle escapism.
Cherone: They do… and that’s like AC/DC for me. I’d never want them to change.
Exactly… and did you notice how I worked Van Halen in there since you did an album with them in 1988?
Cherone: I did [laughs]. What would you like to know?
Anything and everything you’d like to share, of course!
Cherone: Well, look, I don’t consider myself a Van Halen “era,” like Dave [David Lee Roth] or Sammy [Hagar]. I made a record with the guys, and it wasn’t a great one at that. But I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. I had a front row seat for one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you literally have a front row seat for an entire song after rolling down a set of stairs during “Best of Both Worlds”?
Cherone: I did, yes. Our fifth show, in Australia. I actually did trip in the beginning, then I decided to make something of it and kept singing as I slowly tumbled down. The funniest part was afterward, when Valerie Bertinelli-Van Halen came in and saw me with an ice pack. I remember her saying, “Are you okay?” And I said, “Oh yeah, just a bruise.” Then she said, “No, really, are you okay?”—as in, all there! I burst out laughing.
In other news, Easthampton’s legendary arts space, Flywheel, reopens April 15-18. On hand to liven the proceedings will be more than two dozen performing groups, including The Mitchells.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
