Being in Extreme is like being married to three people at the same time: Nuno Bettencourt

Every time American rock band Extreme plays a concert, they try to gauge how many of their fans are new. Every concert, the answer is the same: “70-80% of the audience are all new fans.”
“We love the fans that have been with us forever, but it’s great to see a lot of younger faces in the audience everywhere,” says Nuno Bettencourt, the guitar virtuoso from Extreme, which also comprises vocalist Gary Cherone, bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo.Ahead of their show in Bengaluru, Nino sat down virtually with for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:


Life goes by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were starting out. The biggest lesson I've learned is that you make mistakes, but you also grow. As you get older, you start to appreciate more of what you do and what it means to you and to your fans. We just released our sixth new album and it has reminded me of the power of music to connect with people


In the band, I've always been the one who pushes everyone a little bit in terms of the band's sound. So, it's always about me and Gary when it comes to the creative side and how we get along. We've had our moments of disagreement, but we're usually on the same page. But I think it’s as we got older and as we got more creative – I was doing more solo stuff and writing lyrics and doing different things – I think that's when we started sometimes having issues with songs and creativity.
But being in Extreme is like being married to three people at the same time. Being married to one person is hard enough, but being married to three people is very hard to navigate. You've got to be very careful and you gotta be very diplomatic. It's also that kind of thing where you love each other and hate each other at times.


When people ask if I'm worried about AI in music, I say the more AI, the better for rock and roll, because rock and roll is something that can't be artificially redone. There's an art to imperfection and emotion in rock and roll, and as things become more homogenised and more mechanical, I think people will turn to rock and roll for something that gives them a feeling, rather than just something that sounds good. AI can manipulate things and make them sound like something else, but it can't make you feel it. That's where we have the advantage.

Our songwriting process hasn't changed. It starts with an idea, a melody, a song, or a riff. It's not complicated. We usually follow a three-and-a-half-form structure. In a song, you get two chances to tell a story - in two verses. That's why I think songwriting is one of the most complicated art forms. You don't have much time to tell a story through a song, unlike a longer format like an episode or a book. You have a really short time to connect with someone melodically, emotionally, spiritually, and lyrically, so when that does happen, it's a great.

There are probably multiple times a week when I start to type something about my opinion on a political or current event on social media, but then I delete it – because I know it could damage my career and split our fans in half. The great thing about social media and technology is how it brings people together – but it’s also very limited. I think it's limited our capacity and our ability to agree and disagree and to learn from each other. Everyone thinks they're right, and no one wants to learn from each other anymore. They just want to win the argument. I've learned that it's caused me more trouble than it's helped. I have found that, although we have a lot of great fans, all it takes is one or two people to turn something you say into something else. Like for instance when I said something about Slash, and it got completely misconstrued. It’s like people cannot wait to find a reason to dislike you or to show that you're wrong, to say, ‘See, I knew it, there is something wrong with him.’


The second you realise that you don’t want to be a banker or you don't want to sit in traffic all day going to a job at a site, or doing whatever society says is the norm – the second you reject all that and choose a ‘different’ life – you're already in trouble. Because once you accept that you’re also accepting everything that comes with it – the fans, the fame, the lack of privacy. It's never going to be like, ‘Oh my God, poor me, it’s horrible. All these people love me and won’t leave me alone’. I think people who say that are full of s**t. It's part of the deal. You lost those privileges the day you said you want to become a musician and join a band and sign a record deal. You instantly turn your card and your identification and a little part of you that was is gone. To be honest with you, it can be tiring sometimes, especially in the early days when you're first breaking as a band – not as much anymore.


I think the only way you can be a true artist is if, for instance, you’re a guitar player, and you play for the love of playing. That's a true artist. One who doesn't need somebody to love him or somebody to clap for him. That’s an artist in the purest form. The day you want to hear that applause, you have already sold yourself out. You know, a lot of artists say, ‘I'm not a sellout’. Yeah, you are. You actually sell things. You sell music, you sell T-shirts, you sell yourself. And that's okay, that's fine. You can still be an artist, but at the same time, you have now become something outside of just being an artist, so you shouldn't be complaining about what you actually put yourself into. It's like, you know, if you're gonna stick your hand in the fire, you can't complain that you're getting burned.

(Extreme is set to perform at Bandland 2024 in Bengaluru this November. Tickets are available at BookMyShow.)