He’s free, yes he’s free, and he’s just in time for tea (or at least an interview) with Rise N Shine contributor, Danielle Gabriel.  Nuno talked to her while on tour in the States, about his new career, and among other things, a rumour he’d find ‘extremely helpful’!

Interview by Danielle Gabriel

Few musicians can claim to have achieved in ten years what guitarist/songwriter/ singer/producer Nuno Bettencourt has.

In addition to the past successes he’s shared with former band Extreme, spawning a #1 single with 1991’s ‘More Than Words’ and four incredibly powerful, though sinfully underrated, albums, and several production stints with Extreme, singer Robert Palmer, his brother’s old band Flesh, and his wife’s quartet Baby Animals, the Portuguese-born artist - who goes by his first name only - can now add “solo artist” to his list of musical accomplishments.

Written over a span of 3½ years, Schizophonic, his full-length solo debut, offers an eclectic mix of rock, funk, soul and electronic sounds that at first leave the listener questioning where the inspiration for the songs stems from, but by conclusion, boldly proclaim inimitable guitar work, beautiful orchestral arrangements, polished melodies and technical experimentation that undoubtedly boast Nuno’s sole contribution to their creation.

Currently on tour in support of Schizo, Nuno and his bandmates made recent stops at intimate clubs such as The Birch Hill in New Jersey, offering a slightly less than two hour set that featured the Indian-flavoured ‘Fallen Angels’, ‘Fine By Me’, industrial sounding ‘Karmalaa’, raspy and angry ‘2 Weeks In Dizkneelande’, and gems ‘Confrontation’ and ‘Got To Have You’.

With a modest “Hello,” Nuno, from a hotel room in San Antonio, TX, picked up the phone on it’s second ring, ready to offer insight into his music, his fans and his future endeavours.


How did you come up with the album title, Schizophonic?
Nuno: In a normal situation, you would have about nine months to a year and you would write the record within that time period when you’re on tour. With this record, having written it through a 3½ to four year period, I turned in the songs and sequenced it, realising it was a bit moody; let’s just say it was stylistically diverse. Hearing that back from people, I kept hearing the word “schizo-phrenic”. So I just turned it into an audio term, playing with the word ‘stereophonic’. I thought it might be cool. It’s like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup! [laughs]

As far as the songs on the record, there seems to be much inspiration from your marriage [to Suze DeMarchi], the birth of your daughter, major events that happened in your life. Had they not occurred, do you think the solo album would’ve been released?
N: Yeah, this stuff was written years ago. And I had already planned it, and everybody was pretty much aware that I was doing a solo record, regardless if I had stayed in the band [Extreme] or not.

You recorded every instrument and all vocals on this record by yourself. I know that was pretty much what you did while writing for Extreme, but was this different from recording an actual Extreme record?
N: Definitely. Even though I had recorded a bunch of stuff on my own, when I demoed the stuff for Extreme, it was pretty much that the band played on the record. So for me to do the whole record on my own, it was different. It wasn’t very different, but it was different because when you hear the album, its all me. The performance is going to be different sounding and obviously the vocals will be the most different.

Gary wrote and handled the lyrical aspect of Extreme songs. Was it a challenge for you to write the lyrics, or did they come just as naturally as the music?
N: I wouldn’t say it was a challenge, but its not as easy for me as music is at this point. I had been writing lyrics a long time but I’d never really felt that I had anything, never felt that I was there yet until recently when I started writing some new stuff. And I think when you write things that reflect on yourself or are a bit more personal, it’s a lot easier than writing fiction.

I just saw you about three weeks ago at The Birch Hill, and the setlist included most of Schizo, less three songs. Being that you have limited material, how do you choose the setlist? Does it go according to each night?
N: We just want it to flow. When I put a setlist together, even with Extreme, it has to just flow for the whole show. It’s not really what songs, where and save some for later. It’s really whatever works, from song to song, to keep the vibe up a bit, to keep it going.

I don’t know if you remember, but the crowd really sucked that night. They didn’t seem to be interested in the band.
N: I actually enjoyed it, but I think what’s happening is there’s a difference... in the crowds because a lot of people don’t have my record yet and they’re coming to see what’s going on. With Extreme, you had Extreme fans show up, they already had the record. I’ve actually been enjoying the fact that they just come and they just listen. Nobody’s leaving , or anything. They’re trying to take it in and I think it’s pretty cool; it’s going to happen for a while. But by the time we got out to the midwest, it really changed. All the people had the record and we were doing lots of more sold-out shows. And it was such a different vibe, but it’s going to take some time.

I remember the first time that I saw Extreme at the Meadowlands when you opened up for ZZ Top. There was no hope of getting a good seat at all. And it was so great when I finally saw you play at the Beacon Theatre (NYC), The Academy (NYC), and then the Birch Hill. And even though the band’s popularity was getting lesser, it was just so great being able to be in that front row, having the eye contact, pulling down Gary’s pants; it was incredible. Do you like playing the smaller venues?
N: It’s exciting to play big venues, but the fact is, no matter how you slice it, as great as it is to play stadiums and arenas, theatres are probably the best medium because they’re big enough and small enough. Clubs obviously have the real energy. The people are there and that can be real energy. With arenas and stadiums, you get a bit lost. You lose the crowd a bit, as big as it is. And you would think the opposite, but it gets so washed out that even when the band played, it’s not as tight. It’s all great to do, but I think clubs and theatres are the best as far as musically and the overall vibe.

Schizo debuted at #3 in Japan, if I have the figures correct. What do you think is the difference between the audience in Japan as opposed to here in America?
N: Well, one of them is they speak a different language [laughs]. It’s just different cultures, different marketing things, what they’re connected to and what people here are connected to. We’ve always had a big success there and so, for me to come out with a record, there’s a lot more awareness. Over here, there’s a lot of shit going on and a lot of new stuff. In America, even with Extreme, it’s always going to take some time; it always has, it always will.

You spend your time between Boston and Australia. Is there a different musical climate in Australia? Are they into your album?
N: It’s different; I don’t even know how well it’s going to do there. You know what? The bottom line is that if you have a hit on the radio, everybody listens to your record. If the radio is playing it, they listen to it, basically.

I’ve been a fan of yours since the beginning, but when I first heard the record, I’ll be honest with you, my first thought was, What the hell is this? I didnt want another Extreme record, but I didn’t know that this was going to stray so far from one. As I kept listening, however, I thought, Wait a second, this does have both elements. It explores both what your fans have been used to hearing you record and then not. Was there a certain range from which you wanted this record to stray from sounding like Extreme?
N: No. As I said, these are just songs that I kept for years, so they were already written while I was with Extreme. It wasn’t that I did it on purpose, or tried to stray from it at all. It’s pretty much just what I was writing.

I really listened to Schizo with a critical ear, and many of the songs are reminiscent of music past and present. ‘I Wonder reminds me of a ‘Stairway To Heaven’-type epic; ‘2 Weeks In Dizkneelande’ is a little Nirvana/Kurt Cobain-ish, and in ‘Crave’, you sound a little bit like Paul McCartney. Were there any influences there?
N: Definitely. I’m a big fan of a lot of new stuff. It’s hard not to be influenced by Nirvana or get inspired by them stylistically; they’re a great band. So, like you said, there’s a lot of newer stuff and a lot of older stuff; it will always be there.

How do you write and record? Do you sit with a composition sheet and a pen and write down every single note? Or does it just flow right onto tape?
N: I don’t read or write music, so I just do it by ear. I have a little microcassette deck that I carry with me, so whenever I have a good section, I just record.

Two songs on the record, ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ and ‘You’, were co-written by Gary. Would they have been Extreme songs or were they just intended to be on your solo record?
N: I don’t know. We always write a lot of stuff and we never really decide what it’s going to be for.

You’ve mentioned in past interviews that you weren’t too confident about your singing voice. But it really held up very strongly at the Birch Hill, as well as on the record.
N: I don’t think it was so much about not being confident about my voice itself. I’ve always loved to sing, I know I can sing, but I’ve never been a big fan of the tone of my voice, I guess is what I always said. I just like to sing, so that’s why I do it.

How did you go about choosing the members of your band? Your brother, Paul, and nephew, Donovan are it in. What of the others?
N: They’re just people I’ve known that I wanted. I didn’t want to go through auditions and things. The other two guys are friends, people that I knew could play, could sing, and could do the job.

You recently cancelled a show because of a bout with the flu. Are you feeling any better?
N: Well, I mean I still have the cold. But there was one gig when there was just no way that I could’ve done it.

Due to the cancellation of that show, many fans were very pissed off because they thought that it was a personal thing. They figured that it was not necessarily an attitude problem of yours, but that you just didn’t want to be out there.
N: Yeah, right. That’s why I’m out here, because I don’t want to be out here. Are you kidding me? That’s crazy.

You do seem, as always, very impressive on stage.
N: I’m having a blast.

More fun now than with Extreme?
N: Absolutely.

This question is a little bit more on the personal end. There were some vicious rumours a few months ago alluding to your drug use and that you were in rehab. Is any of that true?
N: [laughs] Wow! Actually, spread that around, will ya? I need to sell some records. I am so fucking boring!

The only reason that I’m asking is out of concern, because you scared a lot of us. But that was something that circulated wildly and heavily.
N: Yeah, keep that one going; I could use that.

What, then, are your plans from here?
N: Just tour and get this record happening, really. We’ll tour Europe, Japan, and then we’ll probably come back to the States once more.

Is it possible, way down the road, that Extreme will one day tour, or really record, again?
N: At this point, no - because this is a new start for me. I have a lot of work to do.

Any more solo albums? Is that what you’re hoping to keep up?
N: That’s what I’m planning on.