Nuno and Gary have both had a lot on their plates since Extreme ruled the charts. Bettencourt always stays busy, from his time in Satellite Party with Parry Farrell to playing his ass off with Rihanna on her world tour. Cherone hasn’t exactly been resting on his laurels either. Among other things he spent a number of years in a little band called Van Halen. Since reuniting Extreme, however, it seems like both have really thrown gasoline on their already impressive creative sparks. Some people are just meant to work together, and that is apparent on the live recordings, with the band’s enthusiasm pouring into the tunes. Even if they never released another recording as Extreme, it’s cool to know that they have really done right by the “extremists” out there and documented something powerful.

I had an enjoyable talk with an affable Gary Cherone about the renewed chemistry, bringin’ it to the fans and his perspective on the whole circus.

MORGAN Y. EVANS: How are you doing today?

GARY CHERONE: I’m doing good.

MYE: The last few years have been big for Extreme. I wondered about the culmination of the recent touring leading up to the last show in Boston. How did it all feel?

GC: It was a whirlwind. By the time we hit that last show and recorded for the DVD we were in the groove. It was fine and we were ready for it, but the two years leading up to it…that was a whirlwind. Yeah, you know, to make a long story short, we knew we were gonna get back together. I remember when Nuno was finishing up the Perry Farrell project, we were already talking about the record and where we wanted to go. It was only a matter of when I was gonna go up to L.A. and do the record with Nuno. Once we got in there, there was no apprehension. It was four guys, four brothers, and we picked up pretty much where we left off. The same quirks, all that stuff. We recorded Saudades De Rock and we really thought performance-wise it was the best record we ever recorded. Ten-thirteen years removed from each other, we thought we were better musicians, better players. It’s subjective whether you think those songs are better than the old catalogue, but we felt those songs were great and we couldn’t wait to play them out on tour. The thing about Extreme is we do have a history, so we can pick up where we left off when it comes to the road. We went to Europe. We went to Japan. We hit places like Indonesia and South Korea for the first time. In the U.S. it was really fitting that we ended in Boston and got to record it.

MYE: Exactly. It’s great for your fans and I love that you guys did stuff from many records, including newer material. It shows the journey and there’s the connection between band and audience, plus your own chemistry is renewed and has added up to this.

GC: Sure. Sure. And I think by the time we did the second leg in the U.S. in Boston, we knew the set was pretty strong. We tried to balance the old and the new. We didn’t want to do too much new material. You lose some of the people that’ve never seen you and only know just the hits from Extreme. You’ve got the people that grew up with you and know your catalogue and maybe some people that just know “More Than Words” and “Get The Funk Out”. Then you have a new generation who grew up listening to Extreme when we weren’t even a band. They discovered “Play With Me” on Guitar Hero or “More Then Words” through a cover song. That was a trip to see, that we could still reach a young audience, which I think we can.

MYE: You had a few hits that were so big everyone knows them, which must feel rewarding as an artist. You’ve also got some classic rock influences. I’ve heard you’re a fan of The Who and looking at this live show, while we are on the subject…I saw The Who’s Superbowl Performance and loved how they nailed it but there was still a live feel to Pete Townsend’s playing. There were little sloppy bits here and there and other bits he nailed, but it was all great playing. You guys have always been such good players as far as technique and that appeals to people who want to learn that and see a real show. You still have the feel of a real band, though. It’s not totally the same way every night. “Decadence Dance” on Take Us Alive really has so much vibe.

GC: Thanks, man. Without a doubt, Extreme never punched in a show in our life. You mention The Who and those bands we grew up on and they were the template. Like you said, when you see Pete Townsend and Daltrey up there doing those songs for the millionth time, you still see the piss and vinegar up there. Not that they have to prove anything, but they still go out there playing like the real thing or it’s their last gig. That’s always been the template, probably to our detriment. Most of the time we go on stage and we’re banged and bruised up. Truly we’re having too much fun and sometimes you get hurt up there. [chuckling]

MYE: [laughing]

GC: I think that’s always been the attraction. The biggest attraction for Extreme is the performance. You always hear every band say, “we’re best live”. In Extreme’s case, I think we make good studio records and try and put as much of ourselves in there, but it’s controlled to a certain extent. I didn’t like that take. I wanna fix that line. When you’re in the studio it’s kind of like the mad scientist in a lab. You try and do it as live as you can but it’s controlled. When it’s live you only get one shot to do “Decadence Dance” and if you screw up, you screw up, so there’s more on the line. I think Extreme comes off like that.

MYE: On that note, too, you mentioned the tour and working with the guys again, but on a personal level, how was it going back to some of this material and seeing how you’ve grown as a person or relating to some of the old lyrics you’d written, bridging the gap with the new material?

GC: Y’know, that’s a tightrope. You’ve gotta remove yourself and put yourself in the fans shoes. There’s people out there that’ve maybe never seen you. Their favorite song might be some song like “Kid Ego”. I just use that as an example, I still like “Kid Ego”. [laughing] But some songs have fallen by the wayside. It’s been thirteen years but we really came in fresh. My concern and Nuno’s were that we stay balanced. Let’s not lean too heavy. Of course more songs came from Pornograffitti. Those were the more familiar songs out’ve some of the other records. For us, the three old guys, we had Kevin Figueiredo, the new drummer who’s a little younger than us…Kevin grew up on Extreme and used to see us in the club. He’s an East Coast guy. When Kevin came into the band he wanted to do this song or that song. We’re scratchin’ our heads goin’, “Ok. Lemme go home and listen to that song again.” [laughing]

MYE: [laughing] Yeah, yeah. As far as the writing process of newer stuff like “Comfortably Dumb” or something like that, when you were putting Saudades De Rock together, of course you are thinking how it’ll work in the live setting, but especially with this being a “reunion record” or whatever you want to call it…what did you want to convey to the fans? I mean, you wanna have a little bit of the older Extreme sound but you wanna show how you’ve grown as well.

GC: Yeah. Again, not too much emphasis on direction. Me and Nuno inspire each other. We had stuff we wanted to bring to the bag. “Hey, I’ve got this riff.” “Hey, I’ve got these lyrics”. Nuno is truly so prolific as a writer. If you leave the room to go to the bathroom and come back he’s tuning up his guitar and writing another song. For me it was almost tough to keep up with that. For this record, by the time we finished it we went, “Wow’! The song “King Of The Ladies” could’ve been on the first record. “Ghost” could’ve been on III Sides To Every Story. “Comfortably Dumb” could’ve been on Waiting For The Punchline. “Take Us Alive” could’ve been on Pornograffitti. We found this record really had a piece of the whole history of the band. We thought we grew as writers and extended the spectrum of Extreme with something like “Last Hour”, a strong ballad that y’know, had a bluesy feel almost. It’s some stuff we’ve never done before. We’re real proud of it and couldn’t wait to play live. The one thing I’d like to say was, sure it was a reunion record, but it wasn’t a reunion tour. We didn’t go out there and just play the hits. Without a doubt the goal was to do a tour, even though we’ve done one-offs throughout the years. It was important to us to have new material. We didn’t want to be perceived as cashing in, playing “More Than Words” and the hits and selling merchandise, put on the old clothes. We wanted and think that Extreme still has something to offer.

MYE: And you have the die hards who appreciate the effort and are just happy to have you back whatever you’re playing.

GC: Sure, sure. You know, you go and see one of your favorite bands like U2, you do wanna hear the familiar songs. You bought the new record and you wanna hear some of that, too. I relate it to my time in Van Halen. Those guys asked me, “hey, what do you wanna do”? Of course, they have a huge catalogue.

MYE: Oh yes.

GC: Me, I looked at it and whether I was in the band for twenty years or the new singer, there’s so much material you wanna give the audience. They are coming to see “Mean Street”, the song that changed your life. Especially Van Halen is a good example. Some of those songs did change people’s lives.

MYE: Absolutely. Definitely. And also, on that note too, again, you’ve really chosen a good variety. Also, with the range of fans ages from newer to older, I was wondering, as you’ve matured, not that you’re an old fart, but I’m sure you’ve learned certain techniques. You were always an accomplished singer vocally, but I was wondering if there was any advice for people or anything you’ve learned to keep up the level of execution of the performance over the years?

GC: Thanks again. I look back at some old live clips on YouTube or some old recordings and you’d hope I’ve grown as a singer over the years. There’s no substitute for playing live. It’s either sink or swim. I’ve had those nights, and still will have those nights in the future, where you’re not 100%. There’s tricks to the trade, I always say. [laughing] I always say to myself that the nights you couldn’t sing…climb a rafter.

MYE: [laughing] I hear that. I’m a singer, too, and I have a birthday show in a few days and my throat is shot. I gotta get some slippery elm.

GC: You know, being on the road or even playing one-offs, you’ve got to hydrate and rest and have good monitors. Even if you’re in the best shape of your life and feel good vocally you are at the mercy of the club or arena or theatre, unless you use in-ears. I don’t like to use in-ears. A lot of people do but you feel removed from the band and audience and are kind of in your own little head. I grew up joining a rock band because of the noise and excitement on stage. But for me, I don’t do anything too crazy during the first four songs. I’m not trying to go crazy and reach notes and impress anybody. I’m just trying to get my legs under me and see where my voice is at. You can warm up all you want in the dressing room, but until you’re out there, there are so many variables. You could be excited and over-extend yourself too early and end up blowing your voice. Trust me! I’ve done it. It comes with age that you feel it out. For me on the road it is water and resting it.

MYE: Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans who’ve supported you through this whole process or anything you’d like to tell them about Take Us Alive?

GC: First and foremost, I’m surprised Extreme hasn’t put out a live DVD. We were gone for thirteen years but this is our first. We’re coming out with the live double CD with it. This is Extreme. The band was on all cylinders. I’m excited. This adds to the catalogue of Extreme. I grew up on live records. For me it was Kiss’ ALIVE II and Aerosmith’s LIVE! Bootleg. Even Rush. I would only compare by saying this is the official record of our band now instead of all the bootlegs that have been out over the years.

MYE: Yeah, that’s a huge thing!

GC: Yeah, it is. Also, I think…you mentioned some of the old material off the first couple of records. I think they are better versions than the studio. We play ‘em better. They’ve got a couple of years on them and Kevin kicks ass on them. So this is exciting.