EXTREME guitarist / vocalist Nuno Bettencourt recently discussed the band's new live DVD, Take Us Alive, in a new interview. An excerpt from the story is available below.

As comebacks go Extreme’s has been about as low key as it gets. Having called it quits in 1996 in the interest of working on other projects, the band got back to business in 2004 without much more than a footnote to say they were hitting the touring trail. Frontman Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt babystepped it for the next few years, welcoming back original bassist Pat Badger along the way, eventually releasing the long awaited reunion album Saudades de Rock in 2008. A sign that the second honeymoon was over and Extreme was in for the long haul. Again. More touring followed, which led to the decision to film the band’s Boston hometown on August 8th, 2009 for a live DVD; the first official live retrospective of their career. Entitled Take Us Alive, the package celebrates everything Extreme became known for when they broke big in 1990 with their second record, Pornograffitti. No rust or dust to be seen or heard, for many diehard fans it feels as if the band was never gone.

“The tour was great. Actually, I think it was one of our better tours,” Bettencourt admits. “I think we appreciated everything a little bit more. When you’re in the midst of huge success like we had and you’re doing so much touring, I think you start taking it for granted a little bit. Crowds everywhere you go, all that ‘star’ kind of stuff, you kind of expect it’s always going to be there. Then, when you do what I did and leave the band to do other things, you realize how much you miss everyone; the other guys in the band, the crew, the fans. I think that when we go on stage now we really appreciate every moment and every drop of sweat.”
“Doing the Saudades album,” he adds, “it was never going to be about money or nostalgia or ‘Gee, everybody else is getting back together, we should too.’ If we didn’t have anything to offer, why do it? I don’t want to be in an Extreme tribute band.”

Bettencourt reveals there were no concrete plans for a live DVD or album to cap off the tour when they hit the road for Saudades de Rock.

“It just came up, which is the reason we don’t have more DVDs or live albums out. My feeling is that it’s very hard to capture a band. Every night is different; some nights are better than others, some crowds are better than others, the interaction between the band and the crowd is better on some nights than others, so each show is unique. I was never a big fan of live DVDs because they always seem to lack something, whether it’s the volume or the energy. It’s hard to capture a band that way.”

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The official video for 'King Of Ladies', taken from the DVD Take Us Alive (released on Frontiers Records on April 23rd), can be viewed below. 'King Of The Ladies' is lifted from the new Extreme studio album, Saudades De Rock, released August 1st, 2008 on Frontiers.