The Nuno Bettencourt Interview

couple months ago I made a video about Nuno bettencourt's guitar solo from the new extreme song called rise here's a little clip pisses me off because you're way more famous than I am right now and it's like it's really annoying in the comments section everybody was saying when are you gonna have Nuno in for an interview so I reached out to Nuno we've known each other for a couple years and I found out he was coming through town so I had him come in the studio more people hit me up about [ __ ] your thing talking about me then even telling me song sounds great it was only great after you [ __ ] did something people were like dude the song's great did you see what biologists did I'm like what you couldn't call me before and say it was a [ __ ] great song now that he says it's a great Soul yeah dude he says it's great so dude congratulations you're [ __ ] great another Hot Topic from the Nuno solo video was whether Nuno was playing this with a delay or not and as you can see from here he doesn't need a delay here's the interview I was told when I was on the Generation X Tour I was trying to I was trying to scope this up because when you're next to you got you and then you got it's like wild and you got Steve Vai and ingvay and tosin Abbasi I was trying to think like does everybody have a first lick they play a go-to when they're dialing and they said do you me no no I do what is it I was like because I was trying to see am I the only nothing is it your own lick or is it yeah it's really egotistical it's really self-centered I always you know what it is though I kind of why wouldn't you play your own lick that only makes sense I know but why not like a great Edward lick or something why does it have to be wrong no but it was this this riff from He-Man Woman hater off of porn graffiti and I think the reason I've always played that first is because it's my way to make sure my amp in the bottom end and the rat pedal and everything is tight we need to talk about the wrap pedal okay let's just let's just we gotta go there oh no okay so Nuno flew in and his he has a rat pedal that he's had forever explain how much this rat pedal is important and what how you use this thing because you don't use it like you would normally use a rap battle yeah it's it's important to the fact that I didn't sleep at all last night because TSA went through my I have this case with both my n4s in it it's a new one I usually carry normal cases but uh it was easier for Tor and there was a compartment to put all your pedals in which I usually carry on my person and instead I'm like oh this is super cool it's all going to just be together and you know okay bye everybody I'll see you in Atlanta and then I got to the hotel room and I opened it and the pedals were gone did it have a card in there saying research by TSA of course it did of course it did my favorite card that I just crumple up and I'm like damn you cheers okay talk about this rap pedal though well the reason the reason it's it's really important and most people probably if I anybody watching or even actually you you got me because you were the only person I've met in 35 40 Years of playing guitar that actually uses a rat pedal for the same reason I use it and it's not for Distortion it's really mostly they made it because it's a distortion pedal you plug into a clean amp Distortion up you got a volume a little filter but I found when I was trying it when I was like 12 or 13 that when I turned off all the distortionate like I don't know let's call it between like you know nine o'clock and the volume up at like you know three o'clock and just in the center like wings perfect little little uh little cross let's get a little religious when I put it on and off and I have anybody play through it nobody heard anything it's like the battery's dead literally people said you gotta change your mind I'm like no and I'll leave it it's working can't you hear they're like no it's doing absolutely nothing I'm like okay and I remember going through this on the Gen X store and I put it on somebody and I said they play it and they go you're out of your [ __ ] mind there's nothing happening here what's wrong with you bet and Courtney you got to go to the see a doctor or now I said now play something percussive play something on the bottom end like chug something or like even for instance like let's say the rise solo since people are talking about that bit at the end could never sound kick drummish Like It Is Right without that red pedal doing nothing because what the rat pedal does it takes any amplifier going from your guitar straight into it it sits on my amp it's always out of my arm and it goes into the head and the second you put it on and you hit that bottom end it's a kick drum is the best way to describe it imagine like a floppy Kick Drum that's a tuning upside you tighten it up and you get that click and you get that thing it churns your attack and your chordal everything chords everything you do and chunkier bigger fatter High faster into the amp and tightens up yourself tightens up the sound and I know it sounds crazy but it when you get used to that as part of your DNA when somebody takes that of course you can do a gig I can do a gig I'm a professional I'll cry through the whole thing without it and I'll complain but uh but yeah I've had my rat pedals stolen off stage you know I usually have two or three of them uh they they found they sound fairly the same uh the 80s versions but yeah I was up all night because we got a gig a couple of days and and I was thinking I can find one right and we were looked online like they're like six 700 bucks gotta ship it from different parts of the globe and I'm like I'm not gonna make it for the show wait what else is on the pedal board other than the what are the important pedals so everything you hear that I've ever played yeah it's there is nothing uh nothing on the guitar yeah zero because I've always felt I've always felt that and by the way I love myself you know a good course for a beautiful song yeah and some delay for the solos but those are those are things that color after the fact for certain tones of the song you're playing your fingers and everything else the second the greatest example is Edward when Edward first was playing and you could you could hear how direct and how his fingers affected the strings when you started splitting when more in the and the Sami era when they started chorus you lose a lot of Edward's DNA and a lot of attack you lose the attack you lose that use the attack you lose where the you don't you don't realize that until you actually got to play Eddie's rig in front of Eddie like I did and I thought I was finally gonna sound like him I think I told you the story and I was so bummed out because I'm like I have his strings I even have his sweat on the strings I have his DNA I got his amp I just watched him rehearse and he's asking me to play his rig I'm gonna finally after [ __ ] Decades of a being VH1 and vh2 to my sound on poker feet I'm finally gonna sound like Edward and I was so [ __ ] disappointed I sounded just like me it was so horrible it was like a horrible nightmare and I realized that what did Eddie say about that was he laughing well no what he did was like well the first thing is is like you know I when I watched weasel when I was doing that records he brought me in to meet him and Edward stopped playing and you know sometimes when you meet your Idols it can go bad right they can go tell you to go [ __ ] yourself or Edward comes over gives you a big big kiss on the lips by the way which I felt really special but then I found out he did it the Kurt Cobain and everybody else so I I wasn't just me he cheated on me with everybody but then I was just dreaming I was like there it is there's the tone a man I was fantasizing like I wish everybody would just [ __ ] leave and let me play this rig they take a break Ed was like come and play my rig I'm like oh you wish just came true but there's only one problem Edward's right there and he goes I just I'm gonna try this I want to try down this new pedal man just just play so what the [ __ ] do you play when Edward's like kneeling down over there and you're like clunk and you plug in I'm like okay I had just I had just got out of the studio I was just doing porn graffiti I'm like oh I came up with this [ __ ] thing I thought was decent where it was tapping but I was like string skipping it was get the funk out solo that this thing that goes up but it's not the typical wandering thing I'm like oh I'm strength skipping with tapping that's that's different let me try that because you know second I go to do that and I start playing it he stops and goes hey hey hey he goes none of that silly [ __ ] here I'm like oh okay and then so your your hero your God and he laughed he actually turned back and said I'm just [ __ ] with you it wasn't an article I had just done a Guitar Player magazine that I said any of us who do tapping any of us ever since 1978 feel silly because it's Edward he owns it so he must have read the [ __ ] thing goes none of that silly [ __ ] so he didn't take it like I said it was silly but so that was the incredible what does it sound like though when you're playing through his words just like you you sound just like me it's I'm telling you I I was literally like you could it sounded like were you disappointed super disappointed I was like I was I was like I'm never gonna sound like Edward ever ever you know what that that kind of Awakening is like that you're never gonna get there and uh but then it made me realize that was the big [ __ ] slap Of All Times where you realize holy [ __ ] it's all about you it's all about your fingers and it's not even just your fingers here it's where you hold the pick and and how much you hold a pick and how much harmonic comes out and where you touch it but you don't think about those things but that's how individual we are when I listen you play on your videos you have a certain sound the way you play when I hear like you know and it's just everybody knows their own sort of Lane and the tone that they are I mean obviously creatively that's not enough you got to still be creative but tone wise I realize that the the least amount of things between your fingers or strings and that amp is gonna be the most you will ever sound like yourself whether you like it or not whether you want to sound like Edward or not and I started to own it you know I started realizing I don't want anything in front of it and um and the rat pedal is the only thing ever I've had between that's basically and you know I was just uh let me drop another name Steve let me pick that up but Steve uh wanted to hear the album he was on tour and he asked before it came out so I went by his Studio amazing Studio that he has and we were just playing it and he was sitting he was sitting in front of his speakers and he said something to me he goes he goes okay we're not going to stop it I'm just going to listen to it from top to bottom and you know treat it like an album he stops it after the first person I'm like you said you weren't gonna stop it are you going to critique it now I can't have Steve icrate he goes no no he goes how did you get the sound of the guitar to be right there I'm like you mean the speaker goes no no no no I'm pointing the speaker but no right here like it's in my ear it's in my eye how did you do that I'm like this because there's nothing do nothing don't do any Reverb don't do anything it's just like in your face clunky gunky and all mistakes all warts whatever it is let it be and he and and the whole album and I've always recorded like that very dry very in your face and to me that's when you know what somebody really sounds like are you using no delay in the rise solo at all you mean not delay to delay delay just just to give it that to give it to to give it no no just give a little bit of a little bit of uh Ambience oh Ambience wise there is maybe maybe a little bit the delay is not your friend on that on that section yeah it messes things up so there isn't somebody was asking me if uh like bumblebee I use a delay to make more it was more of an exercise to create a slapback type thing and uh all the original videos saying that he's definitely doing that on that so I'm like no it's not it's not it's not enough I didn't say that no you didn't say that but but people were accusing me of it you you were accusing me an alternate picking yeah yeah actually it's alternate picking but um you brought up the fact that it's something some of the tapping with the left hand some of it's some it's like it's like a there's a three-way you can't play that stuff slow though right I can't do it I can't do it when I was watching you do it I I was sweating watching you play it slow and well that's good because I can't play Fast if I practiced it a few days later and stuff I'd be able to yeah you could do it but it's actually what if people if somebody knows the pattern and they do it they're gonna go that's why when you're doing it and you were actually slowing at the time I was like once again it was the Eddie Van Halen story all over again I was disappointed with myself like that's it that's all I'm doing it's that it's all about the chords and then I'm hearing like notes doubling up yeah and I'm like which is amazing which is like okay what does that even that's that's what it sounds that's what that's what makes people probably lose their minds but yes and then you brought up the chords underneath which I didn't really notice what they I I was telling Rick I don't other than majors and minors I don't read music I don't um know I do a perverted ninth you know that chord I made that up I do perverted ninth I do that but uh other than you diminished which is really you know I don't really know you always diminished chords yeah yeah I do a lot I do use chords different chords I just don't know what they are yeah I just don't know like until somebody breaks it down I just do stuff that that's listening to Aerosmith and queen and all these bands that used they used all these yeah all these cool chords and I think I also let me see if I say this reverse vocalize a lot of chords meaning I know what I wanted to hear in vocals like the vocals on the rise section right during those harmonies that you're singing yeah that's really yeah behind the guitar solo yeah it makes a sound massive yeah well I wish people would more people would notice that type of stuff we were talking about Edward and I was always saying that somebody would ask hey you know I wanted some advice on uh how do you approach a solo a guitar solo in a song and uh because I was gonna say it's instrumental instrumental like all bets are off you know go go for it but in a song and I I was just telling him it's like do you do you work it out do you not work it out and I was saying man I really believe that the guitar players that I grew up on uh you know Brian May in a band in songs Edward in a band with songs Paige with songs as well like all the guitar plays that are really attracted to like you know Elliot Easton the greatest of all time of playing a solo and a song right uh Neil Sean most memorable Souls LEDs is probably one of the most underrated in that department you can you can you can sing every [ __ ] Elliot Easton song every one of them you can sing it it's a Melody it's memorable and it's the most difficult thing to do it in like 30 seconds perfect for the song and you still want to go back and hear it over and over in his tone everything about it is perfection yeah I just anybody's probably the cars just go listen to every [ __ ] track and so but that's what I strive for so when somebody says in a Solo to me it's just like you have to if you're gonna do a piece by yourself like an eruption are you gonna do bumblebee you're gonna do Midnight Express like I do you know you can mess around and you go for it because it's a soul it's a solo piece but when somebody says take a solo and a song I think you as a guitar player you make two choices one is you're gonna be like it's my time to shine [ __ ] like look out here I go and I'm gonna show you what I can do more like an Olympics I call it the guitar Olympics where people are gonna put up it's a nine it's an eight but I believe that there's a I believe that there's a world I believe that there's a world like I never wanted to be part of the guitar Olympics ever even though some people consider but you are because of technically what you do but this is where the importance of soloing in a song really defines a guitar player for me you have a choice you're gonna be go for the Olympics or you're going to let this amazing song that you that you love that's going on your album guide you and talk to you and show you where to go and listen to it and feed off it and that that means the Riff that means the groove especially for me that means the energy is it a fast song is it play with me off the first album and then you go there is it is it is it a beautiful piece there's a song Maybe when you hear it on the album the song called hurricane it's Acoustic Song in the album and it's a song it's a very somber song beautiful but it was about a friend of mine one of my best friends who passed away uh and and right before the pandemic or the motorcycle accident I went to play that solo and I'm like I'm gonna do a solo and then once I got lost in the song and I went to play solo I literally hit one note and I couldn't play anymore emotionally and then I started playing again I stopped playing because of what the song did to me emotionally lyrically mood wise and I left it as it is and as as much as a guitar player you know the olympiads are gonna go wow that's not his best work or or you know that's not his job dropping as rise that could be the best compliment I could ever hear it happened already with the new song banchers like yeah it's a good solo it's just not we're waiting it wasn't as jaw dropping and and you know we didn't put up the tens on on like we did on Rise that's a compliment to me seriously because that means that as much as I already you already have the tools you have you already have the speed that you've built up you have all these utility belt things that you do you have your go-to you have your Taps you you know all that stuff muted palm muting all this stuff it's there those are technical things you learn but just like any other artist that paints or anything else you would hope that when they get to the song when they get to that solo that they don't think about I gotta go and press somebody you have to just let the song guide you let your Rhythm Section Guide You the lyrics even guide you what is the song talking about what does it make you feel is the song shot shot shot shot shot you know is it a drinking song is it is it Van Halen is it a party like you know Hot for Teacher or or is it you know we have all the good times gone and it's a little bit more sombering and so my point being is the perfect example is is when you go in you you try to create something a song within the song you have an opportunity here still to be technical because you already have that you have the ability to be Soulful but the main thing for me is the emotion has to be there if this [ __ ] solo does not touch you or raise the hairs on your arms for many different reasons whether it is the speed of it whether it is you know because the speed can be great in an energetic song right you know you don't the the that that [ __ ] myth that people say that oh when you play with feel you've got to be David Gilmore David Gilmore plays with feel because it's slow and it's beautiful you can play with feel and Shred the [ __ ] out of somebody you can have a pocket and feel and make that thing pump even in the The Rise bit since we're on it at the end if you really really pay attention to that there is something happening there and when you noticed it when you broke it down there's a pump going on it's not dude there's something still going that you can hear what I was feeling when I was doing it you know the breathing the physicality of it and I think that's what excites people I really believe that's what excites me because as far as playing fast come on online right now the guitar players that we see on Instagram right now and you've had some some of them here on you know the polyphia guys and all those guys they're doing [ __ ] that I can't even please technically it leaves me and you and everybody else in the dust because it's such a different bar of like technicality that's great and I love it and I'm impressed like you know I tell Mateus out to all these guys they're all incredible but he plays with feel as well and he but all of a sudden he can go like okay I'm just [ __ ] with you I can do this as well so but my point is it's like if you when people are watching The Rise solo I was kind of pulling back and I was seeing like wow the song was just released 24 hours ago why am I why is my phone blowing up why is this happening why is even why is Brian may even like hit me up why is why is Ricky Auto who I admire why is he even featuring the solo and Luca there's texting me like like you said like people are hitting you up your peers yeah people are hitting me up about yourself but that's my point so so then and then when you have like family and people need to go okay what really is going on here and I I kind of noticed something I'm like look Solo's decent it's a decent guitar song is a decent song I don't even think it's the best solo on the album I don't even think it's the best song on the album but what I did notice is this is a first off I think people are [ __ ] starved starved starved for [ __ ] guitar within a song Yes where somebody you bro I didn't want to say it out loud because I never want anybody to be offended by what I'm about to say but you [ __ ] you tried to be polite at the end of it you said you were like yeah 80 [ __ ] that 100 of people are sitting down in a room we're following them and they're blowing our minds they're playing stuff and we're seeing them on Instagram we're like and we're like [ __ ] you that's amazing but there's something there it's technical it's them sitting and they're showing us something I don't know that we're feeling a lot we're just going like as guitar the guitar player in US is gone I [ __ ] love that what is that that's amazing all of a sudden I don't give a [ __ ] if it's extreme or Nuno or anybody else you see a video like that and what do you see it's what you see and what you hear equals what you feel meaning you're watching if you're being reminded you're being minded that there's a physicality and an emotionality a fire and a want and a passion to an instrument and you're seeing it and you're going oh my God like it was like almost like seeing something like I think the video was just as important if not more important than the solo itself because they needed to see the spirit and the joy right the the what to want to be there and play that [ __ ] thing that's what we used to see in Eddie Eddie brought the joy into guitar playing he brought the fire the passion that's what Paige did that's why and by no means am I even [ __ ] putting myself in in their conversation I'm just saying where I got it from it wasn't just the playing it was like how it made me feel it made me want to be in a rock band it made me want to get on a stage not sit in a chair it made me want to like it would maybe want to suffer and struggle in a [ __ ] garage in a bed for five years and eat nothing and sleep in a rehearsal space with extreme when rats I thought the higher I'd climbed put the cases out where I slept that night that the rats weren't going to get me I didn't realize they could climb but but my point is is you you suffered for it because you couldn't wait till your next [ __ ] gig why couldn't you wait to your next gig because you were gonna not playing guitar you were going to be on a stage and you were gonna share that with somebody you're gonna share your energy the danger of doing it once the excitement of doing it once and getting it like [ __ ] but blacking out and I'm telling you I've done drugs I've toured with people who've done drugs and I'm convinced that the majority of musicians that do drugs that get [ __ ] up and end up even going places that they shouldn't is because they've experienced the greatest drug of all and the greatest drug of all is being on that [ __ ] stage and playing a song for an audience and having that reaction and singing with you or them just [ __ ] like it's it's an Escape for everybody people come to see you play to escape their [ __ ] and you're there doing that for them and with them and they're coming with you I used to think I was entertaining people I'm not they're coming there to go with you they go I want to hang with you for a minute take me [ __ ] with you you know what I mean I used to think like we'd have to try hard and jump around and play the song and I forgot no wait a second the physicality and the passion comes from what I'm doing they want to see what I'm doing they don't want to be like you know we're not at a circus just getting entertained by somebody on the thing they like take me for my [ __ ] and take me on that Journey with your lyrics your Melodies your guitar solos your grooves your show you set everything so when I finish I'm like [ __ ] all right I can go back to work tomorrow okay so I want I know I just went all over the place I'm so sorry I want to know now I'm thinking about the Olympiad thing what are the Olympiad solos first time you hear an eruption what did you think just while I was Pro I just said wow just trying to think of what I said but I think it was just confusion like what is this right what is this but the funny thing is is that I was already what is this from running with the devil just the rhythm play I'm like what is this I'm like you have no idea what's coming we had no idea what's coming to you changing chords playing Parts with quartz I mean what the [ __ ] like he brought the thing that Edward did I mean Edward alone if you want to talk about the Olympia out of all olympiads is that he decided at some point because I truly believe because he was a drummer first he decided wait a second well everybody else was playing riffs like Sabbath and even Paige and then we'd have a solo for you he's like [ __ ] that I'm not waiting till I get there he's like I'm gonna play some rhythm and then when there's Transitions and turnarounds play some [ __ ] fills yeah put some drunk fills where the drunk feels here even if he's doing even if Alex would do even better if he's doing it with me because that we're brothers but he brought that joy and that Pizzazz and that [ __ ] creativity to the other three minutes of a song wow like what the [ __ ] that that alone that I I know we can go into a rupture we can go into we haven't gone into the solos yet but that alone [ __ ] me up for the rest of my life that was it that was like oh my God like this is the instrument this is the instrument to get creative this is the instrument to portal things for me creative uh You Know chords can be not just chords you don't have to just play chords you can chords with movements chords with things going on and I think I think Edward really did that um you know he did that he changed the game and and those Olympiad Souls obviously the thing about Edward that's really [ __ ] cool though and I I think that shouldn't be overlooked is is I was thinking about this the other day was that even though he blew your mind even though he did things that made you go like what the [ __ ] and even though he did things that you had thought like my God I wish I could play that they were still attainable they were still just reachable for The Mortals right you know what I mean he did it no it's like it's like it's like the best pop version of rock guitar you could find meaning what meaning like it was so creative the best way I can describe it I I I've been having trouble describing things and I had to make up I'm a high school dropout so forget forget my education but I made up a word called simplexity I had to I had to I had to figure I was like what is a pop song what is something why why are we even as adults so obsessed with like three and a half minutes song that and at the end of the day the only difference between that and a nursery rhyme is for adults the lyrics for adults it still Rhymes it's still sing-along on the chorus what's the difference between London Bridge and [ __ ] ain't talking about love not much but what's the difference is great guitar tone great guitar tone absolutely the London Bridge man if Brian did that but but my point being is like it's a simple song they're all simple so we've been doing the same arrangement in rock and roll and pop that everybody's been doing for how many is 60 70 100 years Verse Chorus first chorus bridge if solo out chorus getting limo go home you know what I mean like that's it but then that's the simple part but then it can be complex lyrically if you wanted to it can be poetic but you gotta like go in and pull back layers a solo a guitar part that's the complexity of it so that's why simplexity is the is when you know something is genius because come on if somebody wants to play through a whole song and rip I think that's kind of easy to me you have to maintain control and within a song entertain people with guitar while lyrics are going on hooks and everything as a guitar player and orchestrate that and kind of juxtapose and make it where you go back and you go oh [ __ ] what was that but you still sing in the song and you're still doing anything and you're not you're not talking over everybody that's what Edward did so well and that to me is what really how he changed the game I I think that simplexity that he had set the bar for me anyways it's at the bar where it's like if I can get anywhere close to that where I can play for the song like that and be creative like that that to me is like that's the that's what I mean by like Edward having the balls to do eruption and then go to ain't talking about the thing that I love about your playing that is similar to Eddie's is the you're such a great Rhythm player for the same reasons for playing drums right your Rhythm playing is so tight so it's so rhythmic the pocket to it is so great and that is the thing about Eddie and people know this about him The Swinging is playing that so many guitar players lack is that that type of feel and to be able to do that and be able to play leads when I heard the first Van Halen record I'm listening through to it and it's just blowing my mind and then I heard ice cream man the break on ice cream man and I was like what who comes up with stuff like that yeah he was swinging he and who else who else swung like that I don't think anybody's ever so by the way a band what are they [ __ ] from the 1920s and roaring the 30s no other band really did it you might have heard a track or two from ZZ Top maybe that's where they get that influence from you nobody did Shuffle nobody did shuffles like this and these guys were doing it on [ __ ] steroids like right what the [ __ ] is going on like oh this missing was the big bad really and they were taking care of that with they were doing it with vocals they were doing it with with drums but you're right it's it's the one thing is when even when I play with the drummer I tell them why do we even have a beat in a swamp like what's the purpose why did somebody go boom it's the dance it's to move it's to get locked into something and to me that's You Gotta Dance I know that might sound a little uncomfortable for most people but you gotta dance even on the guitar it's always a dance it's always going to act it and I always I always say whatever the tempo is whatever the tempo is whatever that is there's all those eighths and 16th notes and 30 second notes that are always a tambourine in my head see what I'm saying so even I think for Edward as well so even if it's like [Music] you're still in your head that I always hear that and feel that in my whole body so that gives you places to go instead of just somebody keeping time for you they're keeping time but you have so many variables to go to within that scope so to me something about sitting down as well you got to try to stand up as much as you can when you play or at least when you perform because I also think physically that brings something else to the table absolutely I think that brings some movement and brings something in your you know your shoulder shrugging or whatever it is that that's a swag that you hear that goes from here to here if you're just like this and I know we all we all do it we all do it it's by the way it's easier to play like this a lot easier to play with but we all do it and we and we practice like that and that's fine but if you really really really want to know Rhythm you have to you have to yes let me ask you this Newton do you sit down when you play solos if you're in the studio and you play you stand up and play rhythm no I stand up for all of it I have to stand up for all of it and one of the reasons is for that reason yeah it's just like when I sit down and play it and I've done it and I'll do it sometimes I'm just old and tired and that's tough and play it but I see like I'm like oh wow I nailed it I don't feel anything but I nailed it it's exactly what it's supposed to be that's the problem you have to that's that's the Olympiad versus versus the the messy guy right right you have to somewhere some eat in the Middle where you don't think about it and where you're okay in the rise solo when you went for the first Bend nobody knows that they're going to go oh that's a cool sound the first Bend of the [ __ ] rifle I missed two strings completely I literally was supposed to go and it went it was supposed to be one note and three strings came out it sounded like a car accident with a horn and something else and I literally went oh my God that was [ __ ] amazing that turned me on I could never replicate I'm trying to do it now at the hotel trying to replicate that sound I never will why because it was the danger right of Letting Go and insane let's see what the [ __ ] happens instead of going calculating it and going like I want this to happen how do I make it happen I go like this I go and I get I got it okay great I nailed it we've all done that before and we'll probably do it again but I can guarantee you that the reaction of the ride solo I I bet my every I don't have a lot of money but I bet my children's lives everybody on it that it's the emotion of it that people aren't seeing but are feeling they don't they're not going to verbalize it they're just going to go oh wow that section you play oh wow it's a thing what they're doing is they're feeling something I can see it in their faces I've seen the Facebook they're not just watching a guitar player going like wow that's a cool look wow wow look at they're more like they're they're they're they're they're vacant almost because it's all sense all senses are going into overload and it's watching the video it's watching the band go all and it's watching me going for blood it's watching the mythology of rock and roll right the mythology is what's missing that's what I think everybody's freaking out about we grew up on the the the mythology of watching a Van Halen on stage watching [ __ ] Madison Square Garden Jimmy Page with his Les Paul that part of it is is when have we seen that and we didn't do it on purpose we just shot a video and we just shot him another few videos that's what we do live so I think all of a sudden maybe hopefully when people start saying wait a second we can go all in emotionally again we're allowed to like we're allowed to feel something and not just play and not just make sure we're perfect because everybody's talking about AI now ai oh my God the world's gonna end AI on music it's this is whatever I go I'm sorry but AI has been here in music for the last three decades yes it's been here people I don't give a [ __ ] if it's 90 of it eighty percent of it or fifty percent of it turn on the radio turn on the top 10 hits right now I don't give up you can call it AI you can call it [ __ ] auto-tune you can call it whatever the [ __ ] you want I said that I said I tell people there's no difference between something that's heavily auto-tuned in AI they can't tell the difference but so it's not going to matter it's not going to matter what's everybody's going oh my God it's going to be out of my great let it be more AI because then we'll stick out even more the guys who are playing like [ __ ] and the guys who are missing strings all right so I'm gonna get I'm gonna try and pin you down here Nuno give me some of the Olympiad guitar solos first of all from your favorite players what's a Brian May Brian May guitar solo I'm always horrible at this because I'm that guy that afterwards I get to my hotel and I'm like [ __ ] why didn't I think of this why didn't I think that I mean for Brian May I know you love Brian May talk about Brian's tone and his yeah look bro Brian was it good company the the track that he did with he did that little Dixieland band and he did all these arrangements and he sang the song and you have to hear it because his his arranging and his tones and everything else but for me with him he was the Bender for me he was the guy that would bend a note and I'm still you know the reason I keep bringing up the rise solo is because the rice was a great epitome of like three or four influences that I have in in the soup or the ingredients and whenever you go for these bands not pre-bands Brian didn't bend pretty when Brian hit a note it sounded like the house was gonna cave in you don't know what the [ __ ] was in the front end you don't know what extra noise was shaking in the rooms like crayons like this [ __ ] of course was a coin and it was and it was the [ __ ] Vox and there was I don't know it was just big there was more bottom end in it sometimes in the [ __ ] whole song he'd come in like on Death on Two Legs the beginning the the first three notes of death on two legs off of off of night at the Opera I know everybody knows it for Bohemian Rhapsody but go listen to death on two legs and listen to what he first I don't even think he's playing the song yet he's trying to start the solo and there's so much like you're like what the [ __ ] is going on in that room is there an elephant in the room it's his [ __ ] monstrosity of like him just when he hit a note it went through you it just went through you and it was so everything that I tried to tell everybody that it was emotional and it was like you you'd make your head turn away it was a physical element to it that made you just like it was too much to handle that you know and and then you know I I'm so sorry I can't think of specific Souls but it's just like it was everything I was never like that guy that I can go buy albums but I I was never a guy that went into one song and I was like oh my God oh my God I would I would dive into albums from top to bottom and I'd live those albums I'd have an affair with the album you know for for months and months and months and uh what are the albums that that really were your first big influences you're an arrow okay well I mean look to stay on Queen okay people don't talk about this album this is the album that connected me and Gary me and Gary would have never been in a band if it wasn't for this album because we we met in a club after it was closed with a friend of ours both of us at this club the club was closed and it was a club owner and he said told me to come by for a drink I was like 20 19 1920 I didn't know Gary's gonna be there I knew Gary was in this other band and we literally started talking and like you know we suck you know talking about this guy said hey let's do a Halloween let's get different different art different musicians from different bands in Boston but you get together and do your favorite band for Halloween you can't be in the same band I'm like yeah you go you should do an Irishman like oh we do a queen and Gary was like what the [ __ ] you know about Queen you know enough [ __ ] about cred I'm like what the [ __ ] do you know about [ __ ] Queen I was like oh yeah I'll [ __ ] school you on because he's like no I'll [ __ ] school you on Queen I'm like okay so we did this really you know Step Brothers movie type thing where it's like you know all right at the same time on the count of three best [ __ ] Queen album of all time I'm like yeah go ahead like one two three Queen two came out of our mouths both of us both of us nobody I've met since then or before that brings up they'll bring up night at the Opera day at the races Jazz you know all great albums they're all [ __ ] amazing but Queen two was not a side asib it was a there's a black side and a white side the black side started with ogre battle ogre battle from all the way down the cover of Queen two is one of the most iconic pictures they even recreated it in yes in in Bohemian Rhapsody yeah yeah yeah that picture Nick Rock so that picture is so so I think of Queen I think of the cover of that album that's it let me see how how psychotic are we as Queen fans well Mick Rock who shot that we hired him to shoot the shot in porno graffiti and we're like can you get something like that when sitting down in Shadows we're not like this with our heads but you know it's a shot in there but yeah Queen two oh start orgo battle away from the top just all go bad alone they started all backwards we're trying to speak the whole band plays it the whole thing's going backwards the wrist and then somehow I don't know back in the 1900s when we didn't have the technology all of a sudden it it meshes into going forward and it's one of the heaviest riffs it's insane and then the vote goes the whole thing that changed everything from me that was it and obviously for Gary too but I I sang the whole black side from top to bottom in a van Brian May was stuck with me in a van in Japan in Tokyo I went to see him extreme is the time we went to see a show I had a few drinks and he was you know how the Vans like he's happy you have to face each other like you are me and I'm like Queen two he's like yeah what about it and I started we sang the whole all the vocals from Top the black side all the way to the end and he was just looking at me like who the [ __ ] are you out of your [ __ ] mind how do you know this [ __ ] I'm like I'm telling you it was it's it's we we know it we love it and and that was the album though an ogre battle and fairy fell as massive stroke seven C's awry March of the black queen oh yeah all that stuff on there was was probably what really you know it's like you know you love all the other stuff and you listen to the other stuff and it also emotionally and guitar wise messed you up but when you're young you know when you get divergenized if you will by certain things it would be like Van Halen won Queen two Aerosmith for me was get your wings that was it I used to stare at the photo of them I had a Blog it's a same old song of dance same old song and dance season a wizard oh my God last child all like oh my God just soaps amazing amazing dark album cover too yeah dark album covers what is it the same right it was the queen tuber you're just you just made it right I'm thinking I'm looking at the album cover and something that's what it was though that was a big part of it remember what I just said about the rise video I mean the Van Halen one is a very dark album oh my God they're all the same cover what are we [ __ ] Illuminati what is happening here but it was you're right Get Your Wings was the one for me Moody Shadows right Queen two Moody Shadows Van Halen one cool [ __ ] you know the poses and the shadows and everything yeah but yeah those are the albums that and once like I said the mythology of it don't [ __ ] you're not you cannot tell me that staring at that [ __ ] cover whilst listening to Roth and looking at that photo of him bending back or Edward the [ __ ] you know the drums all blurred like they were on fire you're not gonna tell me that that didn't play a huge role in the mythology of why you love that band and why they changed your life the visuals were so important what do you think about the fact that you didn't know anything about like you didn't see the band other than the album cover when Van Halen came out unless you saw them live it's not like today where you can get on Instagram or YouTube or wherever you can see videos of the band you didn't know anything about them except the album cover yeah that's it there's there's this whole mythology mythology about I'm telling you that's unfortunately or fortunately that's what's missing right now because the more that technology moved forward and the pressures of social media and everything else the more we're forced to give up ourselves and unfortunately not everything about us is rock and roll do you know what I mean like we we I I don't want to see Jimmy Page making pasta I just don't right I don't want to see that I can't unsee that yeah I don't I don't want to know is there a video of Jimmy Page I'm sure there is somewhere there's not a beast there is not a video of Jimmy Page making pasta that's fine to Google that [ __ ] let's go I know we can find it Jimmy Page would never make pasta on camera okay well let me let me put it this way maybe it was squid ink pasta because it was Jimmy Page I don't know but but I'll say this for instance we were when we were on tour this is the stuff I don't want to see I don't mind seeing it but I got to see it firsthand but I don't it would have changed the way I looked at the who so we're playing extremes kind of breaking at this point uh in the 90s early 90s and we're doing uh we're opening for I want to say Brian Adams please forgive me if I'm wrong with Wembley Stadium like oh my God whatever for Brian Adams great but all of a sudden Roger adultery had come to see extreme at a show that Brian I mean this is crazy this is our heroes I can't even believe in these I've never told this story saying it out loud but we're playing at Wembley Arena it was our first Arena headlining tour and Brian came up with the Italian mother down with us which we swapped guitars on stage at one point because I thought oh my God he's gonna let me play his guitar and it was the biggest nightmare ever had because his guitar is unplayable that's a whole other story I went down in flames but that's okay but but uh so Roger Daltrey comes to the show with his kids his kids are extreme fans great we meet Roger invites us the next day on a day off to like one of the [ __ ] manners some medieval [ __ ] wherever he lived in the up in the hills kind of where you live right here whatever the [ __ ] this is we get to it we walk through this like it was right out of like a great Zeppelin [ __ ] you know mythological [ __ ] clip it's like a castle and we're on the Rolling Hills walking through but then when we get to the backyard I see something I don't want to see I see Raj adultery in tight little shorts and he's standing there and he's like and he's standing there and he's hovering over a bunch of parts of a barbecue he's trying to put together that he can't work out and I'm like I don't want to see this you don't you don't did you tell him that I said you don't assemble your world's adultery use I went to see you swinging the [ __ ] swinging something out in the microphone swinging the pork chops around or whatever and I was just like dude you don't have you don't have like a a you don't have like somebody a night somebody to build this [ __ ] for you or like like somebody with a give me something you know something with a sword yeah yeah like like if you know the fire pit where we're gonna like have a pig spinning in the middle like no he's he's like the guys are coming I gotta I gotta barbecue for them oh my god um but uh so yeah so I think you know that's the funny part but almost in a way what we go back to is that the mythology of rock and roll in anything it depends on people being that unattainable are you not knowing anything about them well there's an excitement you know what this the problem is let me think about it rick so Van Halen one comes out you got the album in your hands you're looking at this what is the first thing you're gonna do after you hear the album 300 000 times you're gonna find out when they're coming to town right and then what are you gonna do the whole [ __ ] time after you buy that ticket you just be oh my God oh my God we're going we're going we're going and then you're in the crowd and you're like I can't believe we're walking in and then they come out and those [ __ ] lights go down and the Roar the crowds and Van Halen and you just it's religion it's it's it's it's something you will never forget in your whole life what do we do now wait wait what do we do now hold on hold on hold on and then the show's over and you go back and then you never see him you don't know anything it's not like there's their internet or anything but you don't need to know anything you don't need what else do you need to know do you know why because that was yours right that was yours to keep I was there 19 [ __ ] you know what I mean like how many times we hear those stories I was the national Zeppelin you have it with you for the word it's a gift it's something that nobody can take away as far as you concerned you're the only one in the crowd and they were playing for you right period they're your best friends they know you you know them you know the lyrics you know what they mean so you think you do you think you know how to play the song you don't but it's it's your experience and they're they're the soundtrack to your [ __ ] life and that's it how much more can you ask for than somebody than that you want you want more and people now is like we got to give them more we got to give them this if I did I'm not even gonna tell you the other version of that but the other version is like okay the album comes out we watch it before it even came out there was 12 teasers there was there was this there was that there was that you know then what happens you gotta go buy a ticket no you know what you're gonna do they're opening in Houston I'll just watch it tonight and not only I'm gonna watch it tonight and not even in person with the volume and the excitement in the suspicion I'm gonna watch into a shitty [ __ ] iPhone [ __ ] microphone with the [ __ ] worst thing with distorted microphone and I'm gonna go ah I'm not feeling it I wonder why when you go home back then you don't hear anything else about them you talk with your friends about this experience you had together yeah and you wait for the next record to come out you wait for them to come back or you hopefully see them in a magazine or something and just some still pictures exactly and I know anything about exactly and what will you do you'd buy the mask when the first time I heard Eddie Van Halen's speak I was like that's what Eddie Van Halen for yes I was disappointed were you disappointed yes I was like I cannot hear that now right I don't want him to see sounded like somebody's grandmother from [ __ ] from bro from from Long Island yeah we're gonna do this like no no now I know why Dave was a genius Dave was like everybody shut the [ __ ] up and let me do the talking Dave was like let me beat him up school my friends all said have you heard any Van Halen that was great that was as big as hearing eruption it's like have you heard that you can talk like no we don't want to hear Edward talk but that's but honestly David I remember back that David was running that [ __ ] it was like let me be the [ __ ] clown let me do the talking let me see I'm gonna go down there and [ __ ] your girlfriend dude like let me do and that's the mythology once again the strengths of what we have don't talk Edward you know and and but but what I was going to say was like Rye solo what do you think I was asked before the single came out by the record company by management everybody please go in your studio give him a tease play The Rise solo that would have been end of it right done I would have been dead in the water nobody would have given a [ __ ] this video would come out why because yeah I could have played it even better probably by myself sitting there at the speed with a click truck or just by myself and doing it but they would have been like nobody would have been like have you heard the new Nuno solo they don't even like did you see this clip of noodle oh like everybody else sitting in their [ __ ] chair in the studio playing playing the new solo and yeah think about that think about that it would have changed the game you think it would have got two million two point two and a half million views at this point right now within a month and a half never never I'm telling you it wouldn't have happened it would have that would have been it it's not meant to be shared that way if I'm in a band it's meant to be in a band if I'm doing that for a living then it's meant to be doing that for a living I'm not trust me I'm not being snobbish about anybody who's [ __ ] who I follow 20 of them who's teaching me [ __ ] that I need to know I'm not that's I'm not being snobbish about that I'm just saying I'm calculating and trying to analyze I'm a Virgo I get to do that why things I always ask why why what's the why about this why am I doing this why are people responding why because that's what matters to me and if I had done that how many you know all the isolated tracks that have come out over the last 10 15 years right it's great for us because that shit's already been out so we're hearing Queen things we're hearing Def Leppard stuff we're hearing uh I mean everything Steely Dan [ __ ] Marvin everything Marvin Gaye because because they gave the Masters a few interns and Studios to to save and everybody's like you know boom slide it over take it home and put it up but I can't tell you how many times I've heard solos even Edwards Beat It solo I listened to it and it sounds human and to me it's still Edward I'm not like talking down to it but what a difference for me as to why I feel upset that those things were done because they were never supposed to be heard that way it's exciting and I'll listen to them all day but I feel like it's a little unfair for the artist because everything that you do in between your notes you lay off because the drummer is doing things or the band's doing even noises even pauses even way so when you hear it you you almost think you're hearing mistakes you think you're hearing like wow that didn't throw me that like like like it did when I heard it the first time or I thought it was going to be excited to hear that Solo or this solo it loses a lot you know I'll always keep going back to what we talked about earlier which is it's it's the the the sum of its parts right the band is always going to be more powerful than just one band member it's always going to be the case I don't give a [ __ ] how many times people are chanting Edward and while the lights were off that's all they chanted they never chanted Van Halen it's always adword and it pissed Roth off it pissed you know a lot of people off because he's he was the star of it I get it but I'm telling you you cannot have an Edward without a Roth you can't right you cannot throw that party without separate the guitar players and the singers from these bands Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry you can't you're right there's a one-time punch it's a one there's a reason why that worked and then the Rhythm Section is a whole other ball game that you can't separate either for the greatest bands you pull out a zap you gotta fire one guy to Zeppelin who's it gonna be uh oh holy [ __ ] like what the [ __ ] no it's the who out of [ __ ] Van Halen even even the thing with with Michael Anthony not being in the band as long as he hasn't been I'm sorry but just not the same right no offense to Wolfie wasn't nothing to do with Wolfie his dad wanted him to ban he's playing the band he's a [ __ ] kid he doesn't know what's going on but it hurt me it hurt me to see and if the art if the musician didn't want to be there that's one thing but first of all Michael Anthony's one of the sweetest people on the [ __ ] planet he's got one of the best [ __ ] background vocal voices that he could be a lead singer if he wanted but his [ __ ] DNA and his tone was part of that Van Halen sound as much as anything else in that band was and the other thing that people forget is that you know his limitations and Eddie did start playing a bit of bass later a little bit I could tell because when he started hearing vibrato on a base you're like uh oh and I don't want to hear that to be honest I don't want to hear that I want the bass player to be limited to a bass player because that's what so his limitations on the base are what made and the genius what do you want [ __ ] him while out playing Edward no lay the foundation so this guy can shine it's like a hockey team that has Gretzky not everybody's going to be Gretzky but Gretzky cannot do it without people checking and passing and feeding him and that stuff it works as a it's people need to know that chemistry is so [ __ ] important for these bands and any band up come band you know guitar players that's why I always say people I don't really see myself as a guitar player see myself as I'm in a band the [ __ ] guitar player in a band uh you know when you know people talk about guitar heroes or stuff like that I'm like I mean if you want to pull me out of it okay I get it celebrate it it feels nice it feels nice to be recognized even be sitting here with you I wouldn't be sitting here with you if I wasn't a decent guitar player you know and and and going over stuff but at the same time I actually sat here with bad guitar players wait is this is this the is this the uh the Pod is this the version of it we're doing bad guitar top 10 top 10 worst guitar players in rock history Rick viato but I wasn't a good idea oh my God that's a good idea I wasn't told but you know like honestly like after you did you know you have a lot of influence on on what's Happening and you know it used to be we were all coming up I mean being on a cover of Guitar Player magazine one day are you [ __ ] kidding me just to dream about that like to even be considered anything like that like your Heroes were but what I was getting to and a lot of these interviews that I'm doing for these covers the same thing keeps coming up they're like yo man so you're you're the heir of the throne you're the heir of the Van Halen throne and I'm like are you [ __ ] kidding me not even close no one is the heir to Van Halen's Throne nobody nobody will sit in that [ __ ] Throne it's going to sit there like [ __ ] Game of Thrones with his guitars sticking out in his music forever right he could [ __ ] he could have he could have stopped after 1984 and he would still have the [ __ ] Throne right it didn't even matter what he did maybe even after video and two he could have stopped let's be serious for real for real okay Van Halen won seriously that's how good how game-changing the shot heard around the [ __ ] world period so I'm not gonna [ __ ] get that Throne Steve is not going to get the throne Paige is not even going to get that Throne Paige's got his own Throne everybody's building their own sort of Thrones Edward is [ __ ] Edward so don't even think that that's what I even think or or the fact that I threw on a phase 90 on Rise after he passed away because I wanted to kind of just nod to him a little bit that's different the best that I'm doing is carrying that torch you know it for for my heroes like him and Edward that maybe you know he's just when rice came out he's just looking down and going you know what you're done good kid that's about it you know you're done good and uh and nobody I'm you know don't even nobody say that ever again there's nobody's taking that Throne especially not me and uh he I wouldn't even be I wouldn't be sitting here with you if it wasn't for him so you can't take somebody's Throne who actually is a big part of your DNA and change your life that way that was very well put hey you know it's it's it's the reality of it and the the irony the the weird thing is is the day that you were doing rise and you were talking about it I was flashing back to my studio and um when I record anything I've never had an assistant or anybody in the room because I really if somebody even says you want a cup of coffee while you're getting that place I told you I like to really get to that place I'm like what and then I just I get out of it so I really stay within the song and I play the song and nobody knows that more than my band I like when he doesn't [ __ ] doing this [ __ ] leave the studio go jet ski and do whatever you got to do but don't go in there because I'm flying like you know hit you in the neck and take you out but here I am up in the studio and this is 2019 and I we're working on Rise Gary was Gary just flown in he was going to cut vocals at 2PM I said give me like give me like a couple hours I wanted I want to attack the solo because we finished all the Rhythm stuff I just want to [ __ ] get into his own I go up there and I'm playing I'm just you know just jamming a little bit just warming up a little bit and then uh I start playing the solo and I'm this and I didn't know this until only a couple of a couple of weeks ago that it was this day so I'm up there doing this and while I'm playing my phone starts [ __ ] vibrating like crazy and I'm thinking okay something's wrong I'm looking into [ __ ] Gary's like yo what are you doing I'm like what do you know what the [ __ ] I'm doing you know what I'm doing I'm recording it hits me up again what are you doing you got to come down you got to come outside I'm like I'm like I'm getting I didn't I'm like no I'm flipping the phone over now he's calling me Gary called me more in 30 seconds than he did in the last 20 years like he's calling me like what the [ __ ] I thought something was really wrong so I'm like [ __ ] I'm in the middle of this where I solo I just that [ __ ] little fast part thing I just did a take where it came out the first time I'm like oh my God [ __ ] you Gary I hate you all right I'm gonna go upstairs I walk downstairs it takes a while from you know to get down the street open the door and Edward was out there and I was like this is a good reason to come down so first thing that happens is it was literally like a flashback when I first met him come over a big hug you know big kiss and a hug he seemed to be in really good spirits usually all right and then as we're hugging it out a car comes around the corner and it's very narrow roads up in the Hollywood house comes around the corner flying [ __ ] comes by is starts getting around the corner the guy almost slams into a wall this door flies open while the car's still running I think the car was even like going backwards a little bit and going into the he comes over and he just goes and he bows down he couldn't believe he saw I it's Edward he goes no no Edward but it was Edward I would do the same thing if I was flying behind the car about it but French kid just like gets down and he bows down and he's like goes back and this car and takes off that's for no photo as for nothing doesn't even say hello what are you guys up to just like he gets back into car and he takes off so that was really bizarre that's a bizarre part of the story to me and Edward are laughing after he's like okay great back back to Earth Edward is went to lunch he went to lunch with Gary okay windows open he's playing Wolfie's new album showing us some new tracks uh proud papa you know like showing the stuff which was really exciting and then you know I asked him what he was up to and he said you know we we're thinking of uh we're actually not thinking so keep it between us we're coming back like the original cast with Michael uh Wolfie even reached out and stuff like we're gonna go out the way we came in with the original band I'm like how amazing is that that that's that's long overdue right and then he's like so you're recording huh and I'm like yeah yeah up there recording he's like yeah I want to hear some stuff you know and and I'm like what I'm like you here well me wanted me to play I was I went into that mode I'm like well because you know it's not done like I'm not I mean he's like you know I was like no what if you can you come back and listen to some stuff he's like oh okay which was the stupidest thing I ever [ __ ] did in my entire life for obvious reasons and uh instead of him coming up and maybe playing some of the songs ahead or maybe listening it wasn't meant to be at the end of the day but uh we didn't realize how sick he was at the time because he seemed so okay you know it's almost like the best I'd seen him in a long time and uh he goes all right I'll come back he goes I'll come back and just let me know when you guys are wrapping up an eye on he left and he got in the car he drove off and um we went back up and I didn't realize until I was telling that story to somebody I didn't realize it was the rise solo you know which was so so I don't know what the word is like so obvious in a weird way you know what I mean that all of a sudden that this song comes out and it's getting the attention it's getting and uh I don't know is that the last time you saw him that's the last time you saw him yeah because uh I remember when we finished we were mastering and we finished different stuff we were working on and had gotten the news we had gotten the news that yeah he had passed and uh Gary didn't know he was he was that leaning that way either but um yeah but you know so what a gift though you know what I mean like having him uh come by and say hello and say you know get Nuno down here and and uh you know the fact that he even wanted to hear the stuff in a way I'm kind of glad what if he ripped it apart and said it was terrible said that's the biggest Hunger shitbank Court I've ever heard in my life you're [ __ ] ripped me off there that's my [ __ ] take that five phase 90 and turn it off what the [ __ ] you think you are me go [ __ ] yourself but uh yeah that that was uh that was a great day but speaking of the phase 90 there was no phase 90 on that solo I I was telling Rick I was telling you in the car before I came in that I'd never used a phase 90 before not in the studio I own like three or four of them and I've played with them but I've never used them in the studio live because you know second you turn it on it's like if you're already at 70 Van Halen pushes you over the edge everybody goes come on dude really I mean come on you're gonna wear are you gonna wear the knickers now and the [ __ ] strike you're gonna wear the Raggedy you know the Raggedy enough but after he passed the the right shoulder was already done by the way people were saying like those these things are saying like you know Bettencourt does a tribute this is Extreme attributed Van Halen like no the album was the album was done the souls are pretty much there but what I did do is I didn't want to re-record the right soul because I was excited about it but when he passed I'm like [ __ ] I I literally went online and I tried to Google like a plug-in that was a phase 90 plug-in to see if somebody nailed it you know and there was nothing except for this one company it came up really like the bottom of the barrel and it was just free free plug-in phase 90 I forget that I don't know the exact name of it now I'd like to give him a plug but it was free I downloaded that [ __ ] I put it on there it blew my mind but I left it I left it on there you hear it in the song subtly in there in the song and that's probably what makes the tremolo picking sound even more like eruption and what makes even but you know what's really interesting that I noticed that was my little nod there and I used it on three songs I ended up using it uh and then I then I actually played one through first song on the album called other side of the rainbow which is my favorite solo on the album uh it's it's uh that's the one where Brian May was on the phone wanting his tone and everything back but uh and and uh hashtag rebel I used uh a phase 90 but that was I think that was the only songs but I've never used them before and uh yeah so I put it on there just just as a just just as kind of a nod to him and uh a thank you you know so Ken is is a massive fan of yours oh yeah he's been my he and I've been working together since two I swear dude I was getting like a vibe from you like you I was annoying you or something I'm kidding him he's been my engineer I'm kidding Brother since 2000 and uh that's cool man wow yeah we've been working together forever that's almost like oh I have a couple new no questions I want to ask and I said that I want I want you to ask I know you I discovered you through play with me like the song play with me that was on the villain said yes yeah that's how I heard of you and that's how I heard of extreme so I picked up the album I loved it that led to pornographiti which I bought on the day it came out wow amazing so you were the guy yeah you were the one that bought it on that day because we didn't have any hits yet so you know a few weeks ago I'm it was probably more than that it's probably a few months ago that I'm watching social media and then I see all these kids doing covers of your solo to play with me so and it's and I know for example you you are you've said it already like you know how your Heroes influence you but you don't feel like a Guitar Hero or you know an influence to other people but man I mean it really is and seeing all these people covering that song was really amazing so I guess I was curious about how that came out came about could you is that something that you created as far as the contest was that you know I mean this is the perfect example of what we were talking about right it's like you know engage engage engage engage I think it had to do a lot with stranger things stranger things obviously it was an opportunity that as opposed to just doing any sort of challenge like a lot of people do which I've never done it was an opportunity to reach a bit of a younger audience uh and and kind of you know bring them into this world a little bit uh not that it had to be younger people but but I figured because of stranger things and it was it was part of not only the song was on Stranger Things it was when they came up with the hellfire club it was in the it was in the first episode of the new season which I remembered we have have to always approve those things and I remember approving it but I forgot that you proved it so far in advance when they're shooting this stuff so all of a sudden everybody's like yo you're on the you're on the [ __ ] you're on the episode and I'm like how and I remember they always send you a little synopsis of what it is your song is going to be used this long during a scene that does this this and that so you have to approve all that stuff like for instance More Than Words was just on a show called The Boys yes yeah and I know why you're laughing because I I'm sorry that you saw that but I I usually with more than words I'm real I'm with any song I usually don't just go much to my financial detriment I'm sure Gary would be like Gary's like yeah yeah I'm like no no no no no I'm like it's got to be something cool come on man I don't want to be a [ __ ] it out but this was so [ __ ] wild I was reading it was like more than words for because it was on handmaid's tale as well but I was like for the boys which is a Sci-Fi show so here's the scene woman comes in the bedroom More Than Words is playing in the background I'm like okay this is cool this makes sense she gets into the bed and then when they're about to kind of start having sex he reaches over and he pulls out a live op to puss Y and then they have a three-way with an octopus and I was like hell yeah put more than words in that [ __ ] scene that that was I was like what the [ __ ] is happening here I was like that was crazy but that sorry about the play with the thing but but because it was the uh how far I think they said we we thought me and uh management and primary web they were like man you should do like a like a challenge because Metallica had done something as well with the actual uh with the character and and that that played guitar in the in the series Eddie Eddie yes so so it was kind of like a challenge to see you know uh just a challenge just a very very humble sort of you know and you know we got to send so many of them but I have to tell you man that really my managers everybody's watching going like oh this guy sucks whatever and everybody that played I just had the biggest smile on my face because they were just playing my song You Know playing my solo and and everybody brought something different to it and even the people that weren't you know it's like I said that weren't technically as like capable of doing it didn't give a [ __ ] they were still going for blood and that actually touched me more than the guys were like I got this with one hand and I can flip it upside down play it like you know whatever I was just like you know but it was seeing some of the younger kids as well discovering it and um I think that's really important you know I think that's what's really important what I love about what's happening with Ryan's as well because of it because I think there is I'm seeing a lot of reaction videos with parents with their kids as well that are young guitarists and stuff and they're watching it and I've I've seen a lot of younger people trying to do the solos and I think look the future of rock and roll right if if AI is coming in it's a perfect time for rock and roll to to get a bit of a rebirth and take over so uh I always I always tell every every every person that's in when I do those those seminars those classes first you know that I did for Steve I uh the SEC I opened up with always saying man just so you know you are the future of rock and roll everybody's sitting in here you are the future of rock and roll I said I'm an immigrant I was born in Azores Portugal I came over when I was four Hudson Mass if a Portuguese kid from Hudson Mass can be on a stage with his Heroes and VI and those guys the people that he admired than anybody can trust me you know you speak Portuguese with your siblings same father tradition yeah I'm the youngest of 10. youngest of 10 kids six boys four girls everybody's a musician and my first real first Guitar Hero ever I always say like you know get you wings you know Queen all that stuff but it was my brother my brother Louie Louie Bettencourt is one of the best how much older is Lily than you Louie's 10 years older than I am okay so he was the guy that I was going into the bedroom after everybody left and when they were listening to all you know the Joe Cocker and the Beatles and Van Halen and Zeppelin all stuff I'd wait to really record collection on going and I'd I'd sneak sneak in and listen to everything but he's he's still one of the most insane guitar plays he lives in the Azores but he's that guy that like he's the one that shaped me the most stylistically wow uh stylistically uh emotionally and just his fire and everything else he was the guy that got me started playing and um it wasn't even so much in lessons it was just being around him and watching him and you know he sneaked me in the clubs and my brothers my brother was a bass player Robert they were all in bands together so I'd go into these clubs and I'm not supposed to be like at the paradise and places that I'm like 14 13 12 and I'd just be like watching watching them perform and uh it's once in a while now you'll you can Google some jams and stuff we do this some jams with family and thing like that and I'll be trading with him and every time I'm doing that my friends look at me and they're like disgusting like you stole all that from him they look at me like you betrayed him but yeah they can see the influence man he he had a huge influence on me so you know I always sometimes you know we're always so talking about the The Bigs the big guns that you know I think everybody's got that guy in their life that local guy he doesn't have to be a brother but a guy they saw in a club or played in high school or something or in your neighborhood that you were like what the [ __ ] that it's first made it impossible for you to actually wait it's possible to be like one of those guys um so yeah Louis was that guy for me for sure you know you always have these kind of moments like when I lived in Hudson in Hudson Massachusetts I lived on Main Street and it was downtown Main Street and then you'd walk a little ways out wait where's Hudson is this south of Boston yeah uh no it's uh you got Boston it's it's it's uh uh West okay so I I lived in Boston for a few years but Boston if you start heading out until like you know Waltham well I lived in Wallace okay so you got Waltham you got here Hudson's right here so if you went to if you went to like uh if you went to like Concord yeah and that thing Acton Hudson is next to the mall okay Margarita Marlboro yeah of course on the way to Worcester it's in between Boston and Worcester so uh uh it took me everything to not say Worcester when I just said that yeah it is and I remember I'm like you know living in a four family kind of home you know and and we were always we were all on welfare we you know I had food stamps the whole thing you know big family but I remember walking there was Hudson Catholic High School was a block for me before you got downtown and these little things really shape you and I was walking to go down town to to hang with a friend of mine at the Hudson voice Club played basketball I was a big jock and the doors to the gym that go onto Main Street to the Hudson Catholic were open and music was coming out rock music live rock music that like 7 P.M it was it was literally something out of a bad like Twisted Sister movie or something I'm just like and I'm looking up nobody else around empty I'm like what the [ __ ] is going on let me see sound checking or something right I go up these stairs it's like really intimacy it's a Catholic School it's you know very imposing looking facility doors are open and I go in and I'm walking in this open gym and there's a stage that's kind of doubles as an auditorium in a gym and there's a bad full cool ass [ __ ] rock band with Les Paul's and bell bottoms and [ __ ] jamming and singing there's like three people in the crowd I think two of them work for the band and that's what we used to call those Roadie conventions when we were on tour we didn't have an audience we'd asked the Roadies to go out so they can pretend to be an audience we could play for somebody and there I was like just I didn't know if it was real and I was just watching this and I was this kid with like a Chachi bowl haircut watching this band play and there's a song they play that really [ __ ] me up it was a very aerosmithy it was called passport to pleasure and I remember I still remember the ref there's a it was like everybody about a while it was so [ __ ] cool it's like Aerosmith it was like I was watching Tyler know what's going on so then I go over and they finish I just stayed there I stayed there till they finished there was nostalgic they're just they were playing a gig nobody came there was a little stand with 45s Albatross the song was on it the one that I liked or the B side they gave me one signed it for me and I was just like I walked back home and I just [ __ ] played this thing for like weeks and I was like and and later wow I realized that it it was I stole it to play the Riff of decadence dance not on purpose but I'm talking 20 years later like that that's how and I even thanked them in interviews I'm sorry I I owe Albatross the band there's I don't even know if they're together and then I found that they might still be together but they're all much older but that really remember what I said about Scene It was the first concert I'd ever seen right in an empty gym I wasn't Madison Square Garden it wasn't Led Zeppelin it was Albatross and I was just like thank you Albatross thank you you guys no but seriously can you imagine like those little moments really are important to recognize when you are young you know that and when a chick stuck her tongue down your throat for the first time they that's a whole lot that's a whole that's another that's another episode ever since the first album we stopped doing uh demos for anything I haven't done a demo for a song in 30 something years right because no demoitis no demoitis and it's never as good emotionally right it's better technically it's better performance wise it's perfect it's everything else but I never can get back what we put down and that happened with cold hearted it started with wholehearted which ended up being like you know top five single globally and and that was recorded how that was recorded I didn't have anything to record I was writing the song I got my first 12 string ever and you know what does any human being do when I get excited when they get something they have to go to the toilet so I went to the toilet and I took the 12th Street I know this is too much information so I apologize for the kids at home but I literally was sitting on the toilet and I just wanted to play this I never hold the 12 string I never owned a tall string acoustic I've always loved it in so many different ways and super [ __ ] and every everybody that played it right so all of a sudden I'm sitting and I'm telling you wrote the whole song on the toilet 10 minutes done the ideas just came pouring out amongst amongst other things where your legs are sleeping yeah they were they were a little bit there was a big Mark right here from the guitar but I was like I got out I definitely made sure to take care of myself first then I got out excited I told Gary get this [ __ ] tune you gotta this is this is the melody this is what it is we do it and we wrote it like boom boom boom boom boom but then I was like oh [ __ ] I need to put this down I have really bad short-term memory everything is voice notes and [ __ ] but then it was micro cassettes like I had [ __ ] tons of them carrying around and you had to go find ideas it was horrible but I can't remember like if me and you jammed right now and and I and I said to you man that's an incredible riff you're like cool yeah five minutes later you asked me to play to sing it gone I have no short-term memory so I was like had my little four track recorder and I I needed a microphone for the for the 12 string so Gary had this horrible Burger King headset mic you know the Janet Jackson Model right so so I'm like it's just it's hanging there so you got duct tape I duct tape it to my knee I duct tape it to my knee put the mic there record the dinner I put a tambourine in there I'm like great because I was I was thinking about Zep three with it again I was like oh let's step three let's do this took the whole Groove out of zip three I actually got to tell Paige I apologize for that but I did it threw it down to the base we did some harmonies I couldn't do Pat's Harmony too high so I pitched it down so I could do it and I hit the harmony just a demo I'm telling you the thing took an hour maybe here we are now we're in in LA Recording porno graffiti and two inch tape [ __ ] two thousand dollar a day Studio you know let's spend a quarter of a million dollars making an album we're cutting it and we're doing it and I'm just like what the [ __ ] it's got no energy it's got no Mojo it's got nothing and everybody's like no it sounds great it sounds amazing I'm like so I just I [ __ ] called home and asked somebody ship me the [ __ ] machine and then when nobody was in the studio I just transferred all the tracks to two inch with me so that guitar the the you tell me the 12 string part on that was recording with the headset mic the original I swear to God in my channel no way of my children that's amazing all of it all of it is the demo all of it and it just goes to show you it went top it was a hit right it doesn't matter how good if it's chocolate covered [ __ ] it's chocolate covered [ __ ] the song still got to be good no matter how important it sounds but if you go back and listen to it now it's not the greatest sounding song ever recorded but I didn't care even even the 12 strings kind of like little it's a little brittle it's not like the beefy stuff that I used to do but I'm like and I have the neutral string I mean the recording was so perfect and so amazing but but it just goes to show you that and then when I put it onto the two inch the power of suggestion everybody okay look check this out everything's like oh [ __ ] yeah this is way better did you get you didn't use Gary's vocal from that though right from the demo or did you did you maybe oh my God my point being is that we stopped making demos because every time we recorded it the first time so in front of graffiti the rest of the songs everything was recorded when the label gave us pre-production money to go in and write songs we were like [ __ ] it we went into a studio we took that money and we recorded the album so all of pornography to get the funk out decadence Dance all that stuff we recorded it with my with Bob St John our engineer no producer and we did it and then we sent it to the label and they were like wow this is amazing who did this I'm like well we did you know and noon was like oh okay well we got to get a producer like they loved it until they said it was I know that's all why why is why did they always do that because they had to have some say in the record right they have to have some say in the record and they're also going to go we're not about to give a [ __ ] 20 21 year old even though it sounds great production like be the producer to deliver this right from top to bottom everything else and I but I had been doing that my whole life I just didn't know I was a producer it's just what you did right so we they said we got to get a producer I said okay well I do like the way Michael Wagner makes things sound at the time he had some cool guitar sounds with skid row and some things just I wasn't listening more selfishly and even the drum sounds I thought it would cool whatever the reason we ended up working with Michael who is super talented and and he knows his story so I don't want to you know he's probably gonna hear this but when they when ahead of an hour called called me back and I said because we spoke to Michael played in the demos and then I go what do you think he goes sounds amazing but what do they meet for and I went hire him right because to me a good producer and you're a producer you already know this a good producer is a producer that knows when he has to step in and do 80 of everything to get things across the line to help people play their part to do this sometimes even maybe play something do whatever it's got to take as long it's all good and sometimes the best producers is just to get the [ __ ] out of the way and let it [ __ ] happen and do one percent or maybe just mix it and Michael just says all I want to do is mix this with you I'm like I love you and we went out to the big studio and he came he pretended to come in every day and then he'd leave and then he'd leave us to our [ __ ] he'd let the inmates run the Asylum and he came in and the [ __ ] was done that was it and and uh and he mixed uh he mixed and with me at his side and uh it worked you know there you go and uh but I think you know it's did you did you ever talk to Butch Vig I did yeah did he I think it was I'm not sure if it was uh uh because I I saw recently an ad for it I didn't get to watch it yet but I I thought I heard him saying maybe you can you can double down on this if he did talk to you about this but it was a long time ago that I saw a quick snippet of him on MTV or something when he said that he was going to produce the Nirvana album and they sent him something like on a cassette yeah he said they sent the demos of the their whole all the songs on a cassette just disturbing a set yeah and he was just he was panicked because said how the [ __ ] am I going to capture that and you know like it's almost like this that producer going like instead of the the producer that pisses on everything because he wants to like make it his that's a certain kind of producer but the good producers are the ones that can adapt from artist to artists and go like you know Glenn Johns when uh Pete Townsend sent him the demo to Baba O'Riley he's like how can I improve on this which ended up being a lot what they they actually did re-record it I believe but uh he said it sounded so good yeah that it's amazing right yeah I mean that's why like you got Pete Townsend going into a studio and doing [ __ ] like that it's like to me the word that comes to mind and maybe you agree is a producer's job is to protect it it's just to protect it it's like it's it's how many times I have to tell an artist it's like this is great vocalists that want to re-cut this [ __ ] over and over and over and I'm just like and I'm just like you can record it all you want but that first or second take you did or whatever is here whatever they're like he might have cracked he might have done this but the emotion of it you know even with the cream album with Gary's vocal this time around I really pushed him and wanted him to like I I feel for me and this is just coming from the extreme side that this is Gary's album for me this is the best he's ever sung this is the this is the most emotional he's ever sung different characters different voices different tones and we pushed we pushed a lot lyrically and and melodically and performance wise because Gary's we're at the point now it's like okay okay rise here we go does it take with the lyrics and like you nailed it it's perfect but I don't believe you like let's go let's go back to that place now where those lyrics are what they mean and unless [ __ ] go let's go in and like you know and I think there's an element that if you're not kind of hating your producer a lot by the end of the project then he isn't doing his job in a way you know what I mean I think a producer has to pull things out of people that they kind of don't want to deal with you know [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's a bridge yeah you know what's crazy I wasn't until my first concert I ever saw was super [ __ ] okay it was super tram The Breakfast in America Tour oh yeah I was obsessed with that album those kind of chords and uh how about uh yeah and so give a little bit it wasn't yeah so let's get a little bit and it wasn't until uh the end so whole heart is out yeah you know bridges down here oh [Music] so Oh I thought that was a whole song then somebody says to me and I was in Europe so when they go like man you're really influenced by Supertramp you realize that on how hard did you actually you're playing a part right off of give a little bit and I'm like I was kind of offended I was like I was eating a Snickers bar so I almost threw it as the guy I'm like what do you mean he's telling me I stole it he goes oh yeah I'm like where he goes play your Bridge play play a pre-chorus I'm like yeah stop singing now he goes isn't that the whole isn't that the ending of the actual um talking about man there you go [Music] [Applause] so there's an ending of the super terms that goes right right right yeah [Applause] literally I stole the ending of the [ __ ] song and I had no idea I mean talk about how something influences you and I'm like playing it because I did it in a as well the same sort of phrasing it was just a part to me but he goes no if you literally play it you played the song and I'm like oh my God I'm so sorry and I didn't get sued but yeah but that this was recorded this was just literally like if you want we can go into the toilet I can show you exactly what happened what happened recreate it recreate the whole thing yeah I'll go eat some we got we got a mic we can probably take tape to you that we won't use again yeah use it again but that's what it was it was like you know excited for some reason one of the things that are really magic how do you wait how do you play that on the toilet though that's that grooving thing well you definitely can't do this and you don't but uh I think the only problem I had I think I played a different because I couldn't get to the wall because it had kidding the toilet paper so I had to kind of play forward but but sometimes I don't know if this ever happened to you but this is a rare rare occasion you know that [ __ ] like this happens I mean I mean actual not that [ __ ] but like this [ __ ] I'm like man I'm like this is not good toilet anything I say sounds like I'm taking a [ __ ] when this [ __ ] when this happens when you get in you get a new instrument or I don't know you sit on the piano or something you pick up somebody's guitar you start it happened with more than words and it happened with this one huh wow two hits ironically enough where you actually the first thing you play is the thing that you're creating and you don't stop right it's just it's like as if that's why we wrote a song years ago called the music isn't mine meaning like we feel like when that happens uh other than stealing it's super [ __ ] uh but that that all these things just happen as if they were imprinted what I mean by that is not just the Riff like I didn't just go like oh I'm just jamming not gonna bluest and going [Music] so you know you're playing that but then you know you literally go and you're like you finish and you go [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] it all finishes each one and I'm telling you that all came in order in between a few toilet wipes yes that all came sorry I can't get out of there so more more than words then you wrote that I wrote that in the shower the first time that you uh were playing a particular guitar yeah it was it was an acoustic it was in I was at Gary's Place uh I'll call it Garrison don't tell me that that's the demo too no we never did a demo okay good guitar what guitar was that that you played on I had it I had a an acoustic it was an acoustic it was obviously pre-pre-washburn we actually wrote that during the first album not porno and uh but nobody wanted to put it on the on the first album Gary's mom's place she lived upstairs they had a boys had an apartment downstairs I used to sleep on the couch and I used to just like [ __ ] throw like cassette ideas off my four track into Gary's room so I went out on the porch and the porch and I was sitting out in Malden Massachusetts and 12th Street in the place on 12C More Than Words remix grab my uh Grandma Gibson in there in here um and and uh see only you can rip on a 12 string here this is my 57 Gibson that I've had for about oh my 57. this is my own my favorite guitar that uh oh my God yeah this is like the only guitar I would save if I if I needed to pick one guitar in here [Music] wow it's beautiful I'm gonna Wanda [Music] foreign [Music] I just got lost playing that it's also good wow so [ __ ] cool but yeah it was honestly you know the the interesting thing about More Than Words that I didn't realize and this has to be from a drummer perspective is after More Than Words was a hit I would run into like I'd be in a studio somewhere and there'd be r b sessions and stuff going on people come over like a preschool hey man do you know that More Than Words John you did like you know we we we're taking that style from it like like what style goes you know you the the tapping thing that you do and I'm like what's up I'm a tap I tap yeah just that I didn't know that back then that it wasn't like a thing that people [Music] so all this I'm not saying the tambourine on your right hand all this is all I'm hearing the whole time but when people a lot of people play they go see the difference [Music] now instead of the sexiness of [Music] so what I mean by dancing and moving like it's not when you when you get physical whatever you're doing [Music] whatever but it's the uh but this was like one of those moments out in the porch at Gary's house it was just like no traffic 11 A.M just kind of waking up and just I don't even know that I've ever done that before like consciously it was just like I would think it was just like sitting out there and just feeling this thing just doing and the reason and the reason that the label didn't want to put this out as a hit or as a single should I say or think it wasn't a hit is because it had no course if you listen to the song all the ballads back then were power ballads there was not one Acoustic Song out of the time we're talking 89.90 all the big ballads whether it was Def Leppard or whatever was going on you know all the 80s stuff was like big [ __ ] drums and like you know I don't know who I love is the old massive [ __ ] to do an acoustic to sit on a stool like Circa 1975 or James you know James James taylor-ish right they were like no we there's no way to put this nobody wanted to release it as a single labels like there's no format to play it in nobody's going to play it how were we going to put this in between what whoever was out at the time or even you know what was happening with uh uh it was the album that come out on a m as well was um had sound garden and Pearl Jam Temple of the Dog that project was out and everybody's like that's all people want to hear they want to hear the heavy [ __ ] and well it's like you know the word is man 90s it's leaning you know the Seattle sound that that what came out of there was kind of cultivated and discovered and brought to the mainstream by Brian hutenhower who was at a m he's the one that pulled the Temple of the Dog album and they had signed Soundgarden there we were on there and so everyone was there that's right so as Soundgarden's like doing the really heavy [ __ ] you know Black Sabbath driven stuff I'm like and they're like uh no no man come on what are you doing I'm like what do you mean what am I doing I'm sitting on the porch writing a song I'm a Beatles fan of you know James Taylor's fan you know it's like you know I don't even know what this is to be you know what I'm doing here but and and uh so we were on tour and it was just with Allison Chains and once again that's what was happening and I think for two dollars you could see extreme and Allison Chains it played in empty rooms all over the United States we were all started touring together and it's you know that thing that I told you about that thing that I told you about about the performance uh about the an audience coming to to see you play in escaping uh you know where I actually that came that came was crystallized and it came to fruition was with Alice in Chains when I used to watch Lane Staley on stage we opened the first opening night it was an iguanas in uh in Tijuana over the border into Mexico where you opened the tour I'm like great and I remember seeing them at soundcheck and I came out to him for the first time nobody knew who they were Alice in Chains and I seen Jerry play and they had a really different sound and Lane was just like eyes closed standing there singing a [ __ ] and I was just like okay and I remember some of my band members would be like yeah they're kind of boring you know like they were and then came out to do the show it was the same way he was like yeah but this is Sanjay came out closed his eyes he was like uh and he's doing his thing and I couldn't stop watching him I had chills watching him and it taught me that he was so compelling and it wasn't you didn't have to run around like he was wearing concrete shoes most of the time and but it made me think like where the [ __ ] is he going and the audience he was taking the audience with him not worrying about what they [ __ ] cared about him or trying to impress them they did what they did and that taught me a lot it taught me a lot about like man you just got to be you be yourself do whatever it is you do whether you stand there the whole night or whether you run around doesn't make you a better performer you know or or whether you you're showing off it matters that your culture and where you are and your personality if you [ __ ] live and die by that he would taken them away and that's that that stayed up here with me and that affected me and that's why a lot of people saying like man when you watch you play Live you don't even seem to like you know you don't stop you don't really there's not like you're there but you're you're in you're you're in a world you're in your own world I'm like I don't even remember the set by the end of the set I'm just like was saying good night I'm like did that happen like I was just like I always all in go and let the music [ __ ] you know take you take you there but you had a a a little thing you did recently based on talking about current hits and what's going on in La there's a big he knows big writing sessions that go on our way I get asked to be a part of them all the time problem with a writing session is they're going into right hits right you can't write that's all they right because they don't care about anything else it's the only thing that makes money but you can't write hits you don't go into right hits real Evergreen classic songs are never written set down as writing hits you write songs and you write beautiful songs and great songs and you hope and you hope it wouldn't be great if enough people connected that that it was a hit or that they loved it or connected with them but if they would just stop writing hits and write songs we would have so much more incredible music and we would have the same amount of hits somebody's got to fill the top 40 spots right so it's not going to go away so you know how many other artists didn't go to their label president that's that's the moral of the story isn't it and and do that think about that that's the story so if I don't get on the plane or if we don't push for that like what happens and you know until this day I do interviews now and they still go hey you know we know that extremes of rock band and 80 of every album 90 is is rock or Rock Funk or whatever it is and would do are more than words we do our when I first kissed you that I was playing the piano that he noticed and whatever it is we always have those because we're nothing like Queen but we're philosophically like Queen in the sense that we do whatever the [ __ ] we want we don't [ __ ] go on like you know wow the last album sound like this so we need to do this or rewrite them more than words or do whatever More Than Words is written on the ports and one on a toilet and that's the story and that's it and the other ones will be written in a car on a plane or wherever it is and if it's a hit [ __ ] great if it it isn't all I give a [ __ ] about is I put my head on the pillow at night and I released what I'm proud of and what I love that's what's exciting about rise rise is just a bonus when somebody loves a song isn't it great like people going you guys did it the marketing the videos I'm like marketing I go we directed those videos because I just wanted to capture the band like the tone of the song marketing I'm not marketing anything it's just do what you love build it and they will come and if they don't it's okay too because there's nothing worse than going to sleep at night thinking like I didn't even do what I wanted to do or I did something that I didn't want to do and I'm embarrassed by it I don't give a [ __ ] about that I want to [ __ ] I want to live my life knowing that like every album we put out or every song you know not everybody's gonna love it some people are going to hate it somebody I was I was in a [ __ ] Steve I think with a guy in the back was like I have a question I really love like I loved your music I'm porno but God I hate that you used horns it's so bad why did you use horns like on get the funk and I'm like I love you for saying that because you don't like horns but he loved you know like the torn section right not these horns but but you know but it's like it's not for everybody but the second you try to please everybody rise came out everybody's like genius modern it's [ __ ] genius man it doesn't really sound like extreme really you know it's very metallic and if I go it is it is yeah great great idea with modern we're going we'll cross over and no idea we're in a [ __ ] bubble you know it's it's like you said you fight for the things you're in your small little world and Pete Townsend was on the radio once I was in Massachusetts they were coming back for their third farewell tour whatever it was and and and the DJ says to Pete Townsend it was two in the morning I was driving home from the studio and he said to Pete so man I I I had had a great interview with adultery adultery said like you know you guys are coming back and for the fans you know you're going to do this tour for the fans and there's a couple of new tunes for the fans and Pete Thompson goes you [ __ ] kidding me because we do nothing for the fans he's lying any artist who tells you they do anything for the fans or for anything other themselves is a liar and not only that if that isn't true then I don't want to hear that artist wow and I at first when I heard that I was like oh my God this guy's just angry and he's bitter and whatever and it sounds mean and it [ __ ] hit me so hard a little bit later like I saw the Matrix like he's so right fans don't want you to do what they want they they coming to see you they're coming to hear what you got coming to expect the unexpected they don't want you to just to do something phony or do something for them they're coming to leave their shitty jobs and their reality to escape with you you're the soundtrack and he said it he nailed it he's like we're in our own [ __ ] bubble and we're selfish and we're proud of what we're doing and we can't wait to share it with you that's when we're ready somebody said why did 15 years why did it take so long to do an album in 15 years you think I took 15 years to make a [ __ ] album I had four albums done already I had an album done in 2012. 2014 and 2018. but that little voice in me that goes back to the kid walking down the street to see albatross where if you don't pick up a guitar and you play something and you go like oh [ __ ] and you get this this butterflies something that you created where you're like you know it's something when you call your brother and you say hey can I play something you can check this out and then maybe you ban that you little band in the garage being like what do you guys think when you get that brave to show somebody a song you wrote or a solo and it doesn't change now at 57 in a month it doesn't change it's the same little feeling that if I have the balls to put myself on the line to show the people that really gonna tell me the truth that I'm actually proud to show them and get kind of like giggly and like the fact that I called and I said hey Morello hey VI hey you guys want to come down to Studio down Sunset I want to play something me I've never played something I don't know how long they know me I wouldn't do this like I want to play some stuff if I'm that ready to show three or four people like that then I'm ready to show three or four million people but that feeling of that little giddiness of that 12 year old that maybe thinks he created a cool Solo or a cool piece like Midnight Express that feeling that you get that really innocent feeling it wasn't a hit it wasn't because I wanted to change the world it wasn't because I was doing it for the fans it was just like I'm excited I'm excited to share this with you I'm excited to show you a song show you a video or even I even emailed you remember it's like I just want to show you the album for me to do that it takes a lot I I I haven't done it in 15 years and and that's I told Gary a long time ago when we were [ __ ] kids I said I never want to release anything that I'm not just excited about and turned on because if we're not turned on they're not going to be turned on they're going to see through the [ __ ] which goes full circle to where we started the rise video they see that we're excited they see that we're all in they're going to want to be they want to hang with us I want to be a part of that I want to watch that I I love this it makes me feel good and I think if a band and is authentically that way I don't give a [ __ ] what genre it is I've had people tell me that [ __ ] Cece DeVille they think he's the worst guitar player of all time I call [ __ ] because CeCe DeVille is the best guitar player in Poison ever had because CeCe DeVille has his Lane and his [ __ ] Lane is I've watched that show and they throw a [ __ ] party and a half I'd rather watch them more than some of the most talented [ __ ] bands in the world that everybody thinks is the greatest musicians ever I [ __ ] had a ball I watched it he loves it he's all in he plays what he plays and that's that I get more out of that than somebody's [ __ ] you know I don't know playing circles around him and saying that he's a joke he's not a joke music it doesn't matter how limited because if that's the case then AC DC suck really at the end of the day if this is about playing and this is about tech tech you know how good you are technically everything and then [ __ ] Angus Young should have retired a long time and AC DC plays the same first position of a all open chords is the first chord and it's so good and it's so [ __ ] good it's brilliant it's genius they are the quintessential the best or they are Arena Rock the first and last ever of all [ __ ] time why because in arenas it's supposed to be that it's supposed to be God got out because that's how big it sounds in the arena they're one of the greatest bands of all time but why are people so [ __ ] still stuck on like making fun of artists and making fun of guitar people like again like it's in Olympics it's not a [ __ ] Olympics you have to really appreciate the culture that somebody's in it's okay if you don't like it I don't mind if somebody says I don't like poison I don't like CC deville's guitar playing but when I see somebody say like he's the [ __ ] worst guitar player is this whatever it really hurts me it hurts me and and I can understand I we consider and take it apart and say like okay maybe he's not the most he doesn't have the prowess and everything else but they're missing everything else about that ban and about what it was it's culture there's a reason why they're doing a [ __ ] Arena there's a reason why they have hits they're connecting with somebody yeah and that's all we hope for so when somebody asks me even till this day with more than words they say hey it was more than words a blessing or a curse for you guys and I go why and they but they have they have a good they have a good explanation well you guys as fans sometimes or as journalists we feel that you guys were known for something you weren't and something that they thought you were was it a curse for you to have that excuse me break you or not and I'm like let me see More Than Words is a hit on one hand more people listen to the rest of our stuff we get to do more albums Tour the World be all over the radio more singles have a career maybe have more hits keep going More Than Words isn't a hit and I'm working at Burger King you know that's that's an amazing that's that's really an amazing story you know what it is it's belief you know I I was on the radio at KLOS the other day and it came out of my mouth and sometimes I surprised myself even until this day you always learn more about what you do and who you are as you go you know you you never done learning and you never done doing decent guitar solos apparently you've never done writing songs it's ageless rock and roll is a fountain of youth and it should be that way but I was saying it out loud and I said that I believe that's it it's you just you believed what are you doing here what are you doing in this [ __ ] world really at the end of the day what are you fooling everybody are you doing it because it's for the money you're doing as a job people can see through that [ __ ] they can see the love and the passion that you have and that's why they watch you that's why you have the view that's why I want to be here I don't want to [ __ ] be here you know I I reached out to you by the way everybody at home he didn't reach out to me the first time I I you know why I reached out to this prick right here for the first time is I was following him and I was yeah all the stuff he was doing was great but I literally dm'd him asking him uh all these little [ __ ] you know what do you call it one minute lessons what do you call them the quick question quick lessons so every time a quick lesson came up I was like yeah that's great but do you hear what you're playing do you hear that there's a song there like what the [ __ ] are you doing you can't throw that away like I want to write that song with you like what do you do all these amazing chord progressions or something like what's didn't I just go do you write what do you do with those you throw them in the trash like what are you doing I I want to write songs like because I'm always after the next greatest song and you're like spitting him out like [ __ ] nothing you [ __ ] like yeah this is just a little quick little lesson I'm like no but but seriously but you you Encompass you have your this is your culture I came into your world this is your culture this is your home this is your studio this is this is not 2023 this is you going back to when you were a kid you're a kid sitting in that chair always always and and that's what rock and roll is rock and roll is you can people can make fun of Bon Jovi having trouble with his voice live people who can make fun of even McCartney Right Now somebody's McCartney is what 304 years old doing a four-hour show and somebody goes yeah I saw him his voice wasn't quite well I'm like are you [ __ ] kidding me the guy's 82 and he's still doing a three-hour show and we're still treating it like an Olympics he doesn't have enough catalog to be dismissed to not have a good oh my golly we have to stop this we have to start supporting supporting the the people that are still doing it and and The Rock and Roll is still going on people like yourself and stuff like that that are passionate about what they're doing and um you know it's it's it's it's at the end of the day it's it's it's just like when somebody says to me like about The Throne of Eddie's thing I say look when I do this I may sound humble most of the time because I am but if you really want to test me and like if somebody says you suck I'm like I don't I didn't do the rise Solo or I don't go in and play this stuff to hope that Eddie likes me I go to take him down oh I take the [ __ ] down I want to take Brian down I want to take [ __ ] Paige down I want to take them all down I have to believe that I have to believe that to be able for you to have me in this [ __ ] chair you know what I mean it's like if that if I didn't believe that I'm not doing it I hope he likes it in whatever it is I want I wanted to come up in that room so I can go what do you think [ __ ] come on what do you think huh come on you know of course I think it's pretty good you know yeah but I re I respect him I respect him and he's my he's a God to me but if we don't believe that we can actually take go after our Idols then what the [ __ ] are we doing here right what the [ __ ] are we doing it's always what if I don't think I can ever write a who the [ __ ] is gonna believe they can write another song After the Beatles any Beatles record it's impossible but when you did write it more than words and you do end up having three days with Paul McCartney because you're doing the Grammys with him and he does bring it up to you quietly and peacefully I mean what else is there you're doing it because you know you know when I was doing the doing the Grammys with him and and four or five seconds that song I get to do three rehearsal days with him for just that song I had so many amazing conversations with Paul and we even for a second I think I told you the story wrote a song together for a split second oh yeah yeah that was that was and and you know if there's anybody to close this on it's it's the great Paul McCartney because that's where it all begins right but it was I got called in I wasn't doing the Rihanna tours anymore she had done a tour and and I I was just finishing the last show of the extreme in Detroit blizzard on the runway and Jay Brown manager calls me goes hey do you want I want you to come come back and do do a do something with us we ran I'm like dude it's like the mafia though they call you back in like I'm like no man I'm out I'm back to rock and roll I gotta I love it I love ree I love all that stuff but he goes okay it's a shame because it's like I I wanted you because we're doing a secret Grammy performance Nobody Knows the Performing it's not advertised but it's with Rihanna Kanye and then he said Paul McCartney and I'm like what did you just say no offense to Kanye love him no offense to Marie of course love her to death and she incredible artists like did you just say Paul McCartney how did my schedule just open up I I don't know I mean it's incredible so can you be in LA in two weeks and I was like of course I will hijack this [ __ ] plane [ __ ] you TSA I will hijack this [ __ ] plane right now and go straight there and all I could think about of course can you imagine now he's like okay well rehearsal start whatever and I'm like close to three days of rehearsal how do you performing the Grammys with whatever I was like three days with McCartney so I'm like I don't know what it's gonna be like could you be an [ __ ] could it be a good whatever and and you can't tell anybody it's like you know have to sign [ __ ] because it's it's not announced all this [ __ ] show up at rehearsal I'm there early of course because it's Paul McCartney day National Paul McCartney day for me and and I go up and I'm setting up my stuff and nobody's there yet no other artisan and walks Paul early like 20 minutes after me and I got my guitar in my hand I got my N4 and I'm just plugging my amp and he comes in and he's like he's just walking into every the guy mopping the floor hey I do it man what's going on man nice to see you whatever it goes comes right over to me because me how you doing brother what's going on because what second thing out of his mouth let's play Let's Play and I'm like you're [ __ ] 82 and you got more Drive you're like he's like a teenager walking into a garage going Let's Jam that's all he wanted to do who the [ __ ] wants me and you can't pick up a guitar for six months and this dude is like let's play Man I couldn't believe it he's like grabs his guitar and he's like he comes in with just the driver and whatever it is kind of comes in later with 13 people you know everybody walks in with their Entourage and Paul's like I don't give a [ __ ] and he's Paul right he's I'm sure his driver's got a strapped I would imagine but still he's coming let's play and he's just like starts playing Left you know it's crazy and he's right next to me and right here he's like so how does the song go I go you wrote the [ __ ] thing goes well I thought I because I thought I wrote it was him but they sampled it resampled it shifted it looped it did whatever it was just something that he had that four or five seconds and that's all that he did he goes so I'm now showing Paul how to play a song which was already trippy enough and I'm just saying to myself stay in there just hang in there Paul McCartney's right in front of you right now just pretend it's not Paul McCartney just pretend you're not supposed to be here I know but just you know and he was so wonderful and he was so giving and he was just he was he he made me look old he made me feel old he was like a child that's why he's doing it so what I just said to you the child in you the child in you has to be in there because that's why we played music in the first place if we lose that and this dude has not he's gone even further back I think it seems you know he's just so excited and he comes in playing the song was showing him the chords and showing them everything else and I'm just doing a support line to his acoustic I'm actually playing an electric doing so there's like a baseline electric thing I'm like great I'm playing bass for Paul McCartney by the way with an octave pedal okay on guitar doing that it's great those guys come in we start rehearsing the song we do everything everything's good it goes great and then um we have a few conversations that were really cool you know because I said to him I go you don't really collaborate with many people I know you did like Elvis Costello Michael Jackson like you know here today goes yeah man it was cool I kind of reached out want to do something like I thought it was like why not so really dope you know a different type of genre so he did it and then because I said you know he goes because and then he starts bringing up you know because when I wrote with John you know like it was like he was the guy you know and I was just like yeah tell me more you know it was like what was that what was that that's getting set at live when when Chris Farley was like yeah you Paul McCartney like that's all I was feeling the whole time he's like tell me more you start talking about John a little bit and writing with him and two days go by greatest day yet is to come we're finishing up we're going to Staples Center rehearse tomorrow we're packing up but before we run the last time they have a meeting a creative meeting about the stage at the Grammys whatever nothing to do with me so I have this idea I had this exactly [Music] foreign [Music] I'm playing this exactly this I played it earlier when I first picked up the guitar I'm like oh damn I want to throw this it was actually wasn't that field but it was something else course so I'm like uh I want to throw this down on my on my iPhone so I pick it up I put it on my amp as I'm playing it my amp stops vibrating so I put it in my pocket recording I'm playing the chords of my back turn to them quietly Allison I hear come Voice come right goes what's that you're playing I have to do the accent even though it's bad because it it doesn't make sense to not do Paul McCartney without a bad liver puddly an accident because what's that you're playing I was doing and then he goes I like that it sounds expensive it sounds expensive and and uh and he go and I and I I'm sweating now he's he's talking to me and I'm sweating and I'm like it goes he goes what do you got for the chorus because I said oh it's just a little Versa because what do you get for the chorus I'm like don't tell me I'm writing a [ __ ] song right now Paul McCartney please don't tell me that Saturday and he goes and I said you know what I said [ __ ] this I go what would you do for the course he says oh so because I had this I had this thing it was this it was that was that part of the [Music] I was doing something because I like it I like it is and he's just just singing he starts singing like [Music] falsetto Paul McCartney falsetto and I'm like oh my God this is incredible and I'm writing and then Kanye comes over and and interrupts us and he stops and it was literally like because he heard us writing was your recorder going so everybody's wrapping up now they're saying okay ready we'll see you tomorrow at Staples Center everything else so I'm like I'm just like in shock I'm standing there and my brother Robert is my oldest he's the oldest in the family he's the reason why the Beatles are in their family he was in a band in the Azores called sombrush which is shadows and they played on the islands on my island in the Israel there was an American base so he played all the American music with three other Portuguese guys with the mop tops and everything and he would entertain the American troops at bars and stuff like that after you know while they're on the base he played on the base has photos of it it's all black and white they look like the beat but they played Beatles they played all the [ __ ] from that era but he's the one he was the McCartney guy and it Christmas with 10 of us was in Christmas songs it was the Beatles book the the the [ __ ] full booklet we would just go through every one of them every Christmas jams with the whole family four guitars that's all we did so Robert had just seen him at Fenway Park as well sorry Fenway Park he's just just seen him and so I'm like I can't tell anybody but I'm like [ __ ] this I gotta tell Robert he's not even gonna believe it I just spent three days with McCartney I I'm gonna risk it so I'm like where the [ __ ] is my phone Runway still recording and it was going for all that time so I stopped it and I emailed it to myself 12 times literally I'm not even joking of course I just emailed you I didn't know what it sounded like it was in the pocket yeah but there is something there this is something there and but then I'm like okay everybody's saying goodbye good this is a good time to call Robert nice Paul's leaving he's like we'll see everybody tomorrow he's gone I turn over and I'm like I'm gonna call my brother I'm like no [ __ ] This I Gotta See my brother's face when I tell him so I'm like I get on rubber I go yeah I can [ __ ] believe where I am right now and go I'm here in a [ __ ] rehearsal and then as I'm saying it Paul's walking by me he came back in to go to his Tech he goes to ask him a question I'm [ __ ] I'm not supposed to be FaceTiming anybody or anything I'm like I'm like go Robert hold on a second and I lean over and I'm like just give me one second who are you talking to Paul comes over who are you talking to I'm like oh I'm just talking to my brother Robert grabs the phone puts his arm around me goes hey Robert how you doing man first of all my brother Robin I didn't get to tell him what was happening yeah right so the next thing he sees is me and Paul McCarty Paul's like I'm here with your little brother Robin he's doing good he's doing good no we're doing good how are you Matt and Robert's just like and I'm like and it's silent and I'm just like you know Robert's in the 70s I'm like Robert you say hi say hi say hi Paul McCartney he goes we couldn't get Paul out of it he couldn't I've never seen him stuttered he's never started his whole life so he was like hi Paul whatever and he's like okay I gotta go okay see you later he's like I'll see you tomorrow I mean how awesome can Paul McCartney be full circle I would never be probably playing music if it's my brother Robert be started with the Beatles and to come and give a moment back to my brother like that and Paul being that giving to just jump on the phone instead of being like you know I think two days ago at the Chateau my mom somebody was asking for a selfie with like one of the young artists I'm like sorry no I don't do selfies and here's Paul McCartney who's saying give me the [ __ ] phone he did it to me on stage at the Grammys as well I was like I never asked him for one photo and before he left he probably noticed I never asked him for a [ __ ] photo he grabbed me he goes where's your phone and then I'll show it to you and he's just like he puts it up he's holding it he's just like right before we did the performance like what who is this guy you know I mean he's Paul McCartney he's not even real he's a God you know I remember Tyler once Tyler saw that Steven Tyler saw the thing he was recording in Nashville he was like he texted me how dare you bet in court I'm over here recording a country record you're you're drinking from the nectar of the Gods that was his quote and he's right he's like you [ __ ] drinking with the nectares of God you [ __ ] those moments the chance that I got to do that and many other things that I've gotten to do you know played the Nobel Peace Prize concert with McCartney and do dream about all these things I believe have to do with everything we talked about today okay now comes the guitar playing part when I pick Nuno up at his hotel he comes out without a guitar and I thought I guess we're not playing guitar Nuno gets in the car and tells me well he never plays guitar in interviews so I thought okay after two hours or so I start handing Nuno one guitar after the next hey check this out check this out and then he started playing and we're just talking so I thought I'll just leave all this in we're just having a freewheeling conversation check it out oh my God I'm good there right thank you [Music] [Applause] but you know what I mean even like the what I was saying about like making stuff open and close yeah from like so it feels like it's pulsating whatever so you know [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] I thought I'd hear Angus play that riff I got an elf to it dude [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] still swampy it's got my buddy Dave that sets up my guitar the action this is like the action that I'm always striving for but I never get I never get with the with my guitar yeah because I sometimes I see like sometimes you know there's some guys like even on on Instagram and stuff that I watch that they could literally effortlessly play without even like picking a [ __ ] note and doing all this stuff and I'm like I can't do that on my guitar I have to earn every [ __ ] note that I play yeah which is kind of cool in a way but there's a problem that's like I'm tired of working so [ __ ] hard to get something to happen I'd love to I'd love it I should give you give him my guitar to set up see what he would do oh yeah oh [Laughter] [Music] yeah only an amp will do that too [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so it's fun to play that type of stuff on there [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] [Applause] surprised without the rat I'll take the box [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow it's cool did you hear some modded rat though no and so it's just a regular one right so [Applause] I thought he was doing all that doing it at that speed and I'm like [ __ ] and then I see him he's like movies [Music] [Applause] everybody you can hit it you can really hear the pic like that you know that sounds nice [Applause] wow I just can't believe how like even all the way through like I haven't played any audio guitars you've handed me have all been like looking down a [ __ ] like a football field me I'm like all right this is easy it's gonna get harder it's getting harder you know like these these aren't stacked right no wow [Applause] [Music] you know I used to always try to figure out like because everybody thought he played up here but he was like why does it sound like it's only two strings because he opened it you know but you know the first time being in a car and [ __ ] I mean this is where you talk about what songs I caught for Teacher came on I remember like being young and half a teacher came on the radio for the first this is the first new thing I [ __ ] was it Diver Down no it was 1984 1984 and and and you know hearing the drums all that stuff and then he comes wait a second what uh Ted templeman Greg Bissonnet was here right and he called Ted templeman and because we were talking about uh about the beginning of Opera teacher so so Ted's like oh let me call Ted templeman he gets him on the phone because you heard it was Eddie's Lamborghini the beginning of offer teacher everyone thought that maybe it was him tapping on boxes or whatever that they they miked it up and turns out it's it's Eddie's Ferrari okay first four seconds and then it molds into the it holds into the road you got Greg missing that was here he's a good friend of mine he was playing on my drum set and he's like uh well let's just call Ted templeman and he calls him up he gets him on speakerphone and he and he said yeah you said yeah that's awesome good freaking car it's amazing that's crazy yeah I actually played that drunk that on drums once with steel panther wow he did the [ __ ] song I knew that more than that you know I mean I think I remember [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you look at that crazy swing [Applause] [Music] that's good what a great solo Oh my God although from here to here back down to here to here is like he knew how to [ __ ] like where was that coming from but think about it with that [ __ ] Groove who writes a solo to that [ __ ] group thing I was like and it's like all right go and as clean as this he was clean that's the thing that nobody I don't know nobody that's the thing that he subtly did which was really [ __ ] bizarre that nobody ever talks about is you know when you heard all the stuff that he was doing you know the uh was it the uh [Applause] [Music] yeah whatever [Music] all that stuff is heavy it was a lot more saturated but every album it got cleaner by the time you got to [ __ ] 19 you like Diver Down you know the [Music] it's it seems heavy but it was cleaner by the time you got to [ __ ] 1984 and you hear that you literally you hear the isolated tracks or anything with those like you know it's cleaner than this it is cleaner that's right I can clean it just got cleaner yeah and cleaner and cleaner as it got later and people don't do that it's usually the other way it's usually the other way around because you need more help but this dude is like getting you he's getting more into Helen Holdsworth and all that area he was doing so everything was getting a lot cleaner and just clean but uh in my head it was awesome but it's not this it's like it's almost like a clean it was like a clean Distortion not like I don't even know how to describe it it seems like it's going backwards like from clean to Distortion not not like taking saturation off of something it's like a cleaner amp which is really impressive because all that stuff is really it was really um I don't know the word it's like that's not easy to do with that with that [ __ ] but you hear a lot more of the almost Strat style you almost hear more of like a strategy sort of [Music] guitars well I thought they were stacked yeah even when I'm doing [Applause] single points that's single coil [Music] I forget what pickups those are they're like uh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] if guitar set up like this you just wanna you can't stop playing because they're just like it's like play me more no wonder I hate my owner I see you don't see my guitar for six months yeah [Music] maybe nines are on that I think I think it feels like a nine maybe I think it's a nine yeah [Applause] the best [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's cool that's awesome [Applause] all right so when do we start the interview I mean did you learn that from somebody or is that just your style that you're muting am I even muting was I just muting it sounds like you I don't even know oh it's always there but I think part I think the main muting thing came from controlling the guitar yeah yeah you're meeting this other streams yeah I'm always like I'm always muting I'm always reading whatever when I I don't know why I think that's an Edward thing it sounds like maybe you know like whatever he no matter what he did he wasn't like yeah Everything feels but I don't know that I did it because of him or anything it just it just sounded that way so you're always playing you know no matter what you're not playing you're muting and then you just add more on what you're playing I guess if you want I don't know when rise came out and that muted thing happened some dude was really pissed off he's like because people are like oh my God this is crazy like oh I'm sorry haven't you guys been listening to him like 93 on Peacemaker die whatever like there's a thing like he goes and he said he goes he said this I don't know if this is true or not but he goes what you know what tapping is for Eddie that's what muting is for Nuno he said he goes That's like his thing that he just does that we know that that's why why he sounds like he does I was like oh wow why is tapping way more sexier than muting though but that's a whole other stuff Peacemaker does have that whole section though yeah yeah where yeah there's a part where it's like [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] like that foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] remember and then it comes out of it oh yeah [Music] every time [Applause] oh the Martin Luther King speech Yes I had a dream speeches and then okay wow you [ __ ] blow my mind yeah I remember there was that I can't remember though like where it went to different places I don't know I'm having a [ __ ] all I'm hearing is rising that that would have been a [ __ ] for anybody to learn though like like trying to pick the number the thing that's most deceiving is like there's not as much going on in this side and there's a lot of up people I think well all of it is that's right because you're hammering you're hammering in your your big hand upbeats but I know when I did that was more open and that's a different picking thing but yeah but yeah I I've always done it even in the middle of a solo you know whatever it's I guess I think I don't know I don't know if that's from like the Aldo Meola stuff I don't know but it was a big album meal like the electric Rendezvous album was my favorite like one of my favorite albums the stuff that he does on there that's like so [ __ ] cool you know thank you so much hey thanks for having me man this is this is this is this means a lot to me thank you so much brother appreciate it all right wait I'm not gonna play electric now you're going to play one cut that's it no Now You're Gonna Play Electric no no no no no

Channel: Rick Beato

Views: 1,255,849

Keywords: rick beato, everything music, rick, beato, music, music theory, music production, education, more than words, nuno bettencourt lesson, nuno bettencourt flight of the wounded bumblebee, nuno bettencourt rise, nuno bettencourt guitar solo, nuno bettencourt rise solo, eddie van halen, brian may

Id: sYpKg6HR1z8

Length: 137min 12sec (8232 seconds)

Published: Mon May 29 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/flyers25]

A great watch if you have a spare two hours.

[u/truck8595]

He wrote the guitar part for Hole Hearted whilst on the crapper. God tier.

[u/jesusfatso]

It's mindboggling that Nuno doesn't read music. Genius-tier and under-rated.

[u/mr_leemur]

I’m only part way through but it’s a great watch so far.