Extreme singer Gary Cherone spoke with The Washington Times about the 25th anniversary of Pornograffitti and his memories from the ill-fated Van Halen stint.

Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Q: Did you know “More Than Words” was going to be a hit?

A: “We looked at as just another song. I remember Nuno and I writing it. We thought it was a good one. But it was just a track. It wasn’t like we said, ‘Let’s put the ballad on.’ And ‘More Than Words’ came out in the era of power ballads. But it wasn’t truly a power ballad. I think it was the combination of it being an anomaly. Stripped down with guitar and two vocals. The video being in black and white. That was unique at that time. All that made the song explode. Looking back, I think, ‘Would we be celebrating the 25th anniversary of a rock record if that song didn’t explode?’ I wonder.”

Q: How did it happen that you ended up lead singer of Van Halen?

A: “I don’t know if it was the stars aligned or I was at the right place at the right time. Our manager was also managing Van Halen. I got a tryout. I flew to L.A. thinking to myself, ‘I’m gonna spend the weekend singing Van Halen songs with the band. Then coming back home to Boston with a great Van Halen story to tell.’ That’s how I approached it. I remember on the flight, Nuno saying, ‘Why not you? Go for it.’ I didn’t have any expectations. By the second day me and Eddie hit it off and wrote ‘Without You’, the first track on the record (Van Halen 3). I was then asked to join the band.”

Q: Why do you think it didn’t work?

A: “Looking back, if I was to do it all over again, I would have liked to tour with the band before I made the record. I think the record had some good songs on it but fell a little short production-wise. But they treated me great. It ran its course. The record didn’t live up to expectations. We were starting to write the second record and things got a little dysfunctional.”

Read more at the The Washington Times.