A couple of us from the Van Halen News Desk just had the fortune of seeing Extreme perform in last week in Phoenix. Their show was absolutely killer! They’re an unbelievably talented band and one of the top rock acts around. They put on a really fun show.
David Carr at KNAC.com recently interviewed Gary Cherone to discuss Extreme’s latest album, Saudades de Rock, and Summer 2009 tour. Here’s the entire Van Halen segment of the interview:
KNAC: What did you learn or take away from your experience, with regards to being in Van Halen?
CHERONE: Well looking back on the three years I spent with Van Halen I guess, if I had to do it all over again I think I would have preferred to tour with them and then put out a record…it would have been a better idea to establish myself first and then hit the studio with the band. At the time it may have looked odd on paper but it actually worked live! I made a concerted effort to do the old Van Halen tunes that Sammy was not doing. I wanted to do the deep cuts…as a live act we did songs their fans had not heard in years! I don’t however; think we made a great record. I think their were some great ideas and some little gems but it was not a great record. I had fun but at times it was like being a stranger in a strange land.
KNAC: How intimidating was it to be in the band?
CHERONE: It was very intimidating. Most of the time the criticism just rolled off my back, but if I had a bad night or my throat hurt…sometimes it would get to me but what are you gonna do? I will say, each night when we came into town I would hear the radio djs take their shots at me and the band but at the end of most of the shows the same djs would be back stage and almost apologize to me or at the very least admit that the show was way better than they had originally thought.
Read the full interview at KNAC.com.
