Extreme

EXTREME was founded in Boston in 1985 and released their eponymous debut album in 1989. Among many other highlights, the song ‘Play With Me’ not only graced the soundtrack of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, but also the opening of season 4 of ‘Stranger Things’. With the album ‘EXTREME II: Pornograffitti’, the band made it into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and eventually received a double platinum award. The songs ‘Hole Hearted’ (number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100) and the generational hit ‘More Than Words’ were particularly successful. The latter entered the ‘Hot 100’ at number 1 and is still one of the most popular rock songs of all time with over half a billion streams and 633 million YouTube views. The song was used in the blockbuster comedy ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ and Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black covered it on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ (and reinterpreted the iconic video).

Other cover versions range from The Piano Guys to Frankie J. The album III Sides To Every Story, which went gold, brought the band back into the top 10 of the Billboard 200. After ‘Waiting for the Punchline’ (1995) and ‘Saudades de Rock’ (2008), the musicians wowed the crowds on tour. They received public praise from Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Brian May of Queen and John Mayer. They also opened for Aerosmith in front of a sold-out crowd at Fenway Park. Gary was the lead singer with Van Halen (‘Van Halen III’) and has recorded and performed with Joe Perry. Nuno, on the other hand, has performed with Steven Tyler and Rihanna.

Photo Credit: Jesse Lirola