Extreme live...

[G.I.Jim]

I just watched their show live on AXS, and it was awesome!! I've seen Gary when he played with VH, but never with Extreme. I knew "More Than Words", and "Hole Hearted", but not much else. These guys are one of the tightest bands I've ever seen, and their guitarist kicks ASS!!! The dude is a musical genius in the vein of Eddie VH. Not only a smoking guitarist, but a keyboard virtuoso as well. GENIUS!!! I'm on a mission now to buy a few of their albums and get the Funk Out!!

[slucero]

Pornografitti is a great album...

[JRNYMAN]

I just watched their show live on AXS, and it was awesome!! I've seen Gary when he played with VH, but never with Extreme. I knew "More Than Words", and "Hole Hearted", but not much else. These guys are one of the tightest bands I've ever seen, and their guitarist kicks ASS!!! The dude is a musical genius in the vein of Eddie VH. Not only a smoking guitarist, but a keyboard virtuoso as well. GENIUS!!! I'm on a mission now to buy a few of their albums and get the Funk Out!!

Is Nuno still the guitarist? If so... yeah, he's a seriously underrated guitarist. Very talented guy.

[JRNYMAN]

Here's some rare footage of them doing More Than Words live at the Hard Rock with Paul Gilbert sitting in and wearing a flight suit with a bombardier helmet for some reason (not really, they're just headphones actually)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLxJXBWOlL8

[brywool]

I remember just after III Sides (a masterpiece) came out. Gary and Nuno visited a local radio station and I have a friend that used to work there. He calls me up and goes "Get down here right now, Gary and Nuno are being interviewed". I made the 20 mile drive and they were taping an interview, so it wasn't live. Anyway, I walk into the little studio and they're still getting ready for the interview and just yakking. Nuno is JAMMING in the corner with his washburn through an amp that the station brought in for the interview. I get to hear Nuno just play guitar for about 20 minutes. Way amazing. The guy was unreal. Then everything was setup and they got to do the interview. I think they played "Stop the World" (just Gary and Nuno) and answered a bunch of questions. I got to talk with Gary afterwards about singing and stuff (even then I was into singing technique, etc.) and he signed my Pornograffiti cassette (remember those?). Gary was way cool and way down to Earth. He was talking about how Freddie was one of his favorites and this was (I think) before Freddie passed away. The amp that the station brought in for Nuno I believe was a little Fender or maybe Crate amp 15 watt. It kept buzzing and it was driving Nuno nuts. Anyway, he signed it and I remember the station was going to auction it off for charity. Nuno didn't say much to anybody other than the interviewers, but Cherone, was way cool. I was always bummed when III Sides just didn't sell like hot cakes, and then they followed it up with the "Waiting for the Punchline" album, which to me was everything III Sides wasn't. It was like they were trying to be a grunge band. No harmonies to speak of and just dark. I tried to like it but just couldn't get into it. Then the whole VH thing happened and I didn't dig that either. "Saudades De Rock" however, was a cool album. Anyway, that's my Extreme story.

[G.I.Jim]

I remember just after III Sides (a masterpiece) came out. Gary and Nuno visited a local radio station and I have a friend that used to work there. He calls me up and goes "Get down here right now, Gary and Nuno are being interviewed". I made the 20 mile drive and they were taping an interview, so it wasn't live. Anyway, I walk into the little studio and they're still getting ready for the interview and just yakking. Nuno is JAMMING in the corner with his washburn through an amp that the station brought in for the interview. I get to hear Nuno just play guitar for about 20 minutes. Way amazing. The guy was unreal. Then everything was setup and they got to do the interview. I think they played "Stop the World" (just Gary and Nuno) and answered a bunch of questions. I got to talk with Gary afterwards about singing and stuff (even then I was into singing technique, etc.) and he signed my Pornograffiti cassette (remember those?). Gary was way cool and way down to Earth. He was talking about how Freddie was one of his favorites and this was (I think) before Freddie passed away. The amp that the station brought in for Nuno I believe was a little Fender or maybe Crate amp 15 watt. It kept buzzing and it was driving Nuno nuts. Anyway, he signed it and I remember the station was going to auction it off for charity. Nuno didn't say much to anybody other than the interviewers, but Cherone, was way cool. I was always bummed when III Sides just didn't sell like hot cakes, and then they followed it up with the "Waiting for the Punchline" album, which to me was everything III Sides wasn't. It was like they were trying to be a grunge band. No harmonies to speak of and just dark. I tried to like it but just couldn't get into it. Then the whole VH thing happened and I didn't dig that either. "Saudades De Rock" however, was a cool album. Anyway, that's my Extreme story.

VERY cool story Bryan! Thanks for sharing that. I saw Gary with Van Halen, and I think he did a great job. He caught a lot of flack for their album, but I lay that blame on Eddie. He was trying too hard to fit in on that album, and it's the worst VH album to date. I remember Gary busted his ASS on stage when I swa them. He jumped up on a huge speaker and fell behind it. A couple of seconds later, we saw a big thumbs up from behind the speaker and he finished the rest of the show. True showmanship right there!

[brywool]

yeah, I don't blame Gary for the VH deal either. It's pretty obvious that that band is extremely dysfunctional and that album just had ZERO hooks.

Did we ever find out the reason they cancelled their tour this last time (vh I mean)?

[texafana]

Yah..it's really amazing how bad Gary looks/acts/sounds in VH but in Extreme....it all somehow works flawlessly. This is a very good show and the band is indeed so tight I kept listening for a click track. lol...

[jrnyman28]

Saw Extreme on a small headlining tour for Pornograffitti before it took off. Absolutely brilliant show! Gary was non-stop energy. But Paul (? the drummer) amazed me the most. For the encore performance of "Hole Hearted" they brought out a minimal drum set. It started to collapse during the song. But Paul never missed a beat. And that song has a very solid, constant backbeat....

[jestor92]

I saw them in Lancaster, PA about 3 years ago on the Saudes de Rock tour. It was probably and still is in my top 3 concerts that I've seen. They were insanely tight and dripping with charisma. Cherone was a beast that night as he sounded wonderful and was under the weather. Nuno is an underrated fucking beast.

As an aside am I the only one who loves Nuno's work with Mourning Widows and Dramagods?

[JRNYMAN]

A few replies have included the word "tight" to describe their performances and with good reason. They were/are extremely polished at their craft. Here's an example of their "tight-ness" playing a Queen medley at the Freddy Mercury Tribute at Wembley back in '92. Damn fine job they did!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatabGP7SXs

[brywool]

A few replies have included the word "tight" to describe their performances and with good reason. They were/are extremely polished at their craft. Here's an example of their "tight-ness" playing a Queen medley at the Freddy Mercury Tribute at Wembley back in '92. Damn fine job they did!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatabGP7SXs

While the band was tight, Cherone was waaaaay flat on a lot of tunes. I remember being disappointed in his live vocals.
Of course, Freddie was also flat a lot of the time live too.