That brings up another question. When I told people I was interviewing you, everybody asked about the VH1 Reuniting the Band show because you guys were one of the only bands who refused to do it. The perception was that it was Nuno — like everybody else seemed down for it and Nuno was not . . .
They never tell the story like it really was. I think they showed me being interviewed first and I wasn’t first. Pat was first. They ambushed me. I was a little taken aback. I thought I was being “Punked,” and the first thing I said to those guys is, “It’s not gonna happen.” And they said, “Would you do the interview?” I said, “Come on . . . I’m building a house.” So we went up there and spoke about everything. So then they said “Well, we’re gonna interview Paul.” But I said, “It’s not gonna happen.” It wasn’t because we weren’t gonna do it: we were already talking about doing our own reunion at the time. So we were already planning on doing something and, not to get too much into some of the sensitive laundry, but we were dealing with that thing that was simmering . . . things having to do with publishing. It was just bad timing on VH1’s part. I remember Nuno saying to me that as far as VH1, he didn’t do the interview because they ambushed him . . . and, you know, I’m not gonna put my band together on their time.
So you were already talking about a reunion? [In the fall of 2004, a version of the band did a show in Boston.]
Yeah, that had been goin’ on. Plus, me, Nuno, and Paul went out to the Azores [in the summer of 2005] and did a little reunion there. Or, no, it wasn’t Paul, it was Mike Mangini [the drummer who joined Extreme after Geary left]. And, you know, every time I was in LA, I would jam with Nuno and vice versa.
I assume that this is the first time you guys have written together in 10 years?
Yeah, after Van Halen we wrote a couple songs that were hopefully going to see a soundtrack. But this is the first time we’ve actually spent more, you know . . . the other times we were just hanging out and writing.
This is more serious?
Yeah. This is the first time we’ve actually sat down and got to business.
Is it like riding a bike, or is it something you have to work at again and relearn? Do you guys just have like a shorthand that makes it easy?
Yeah it is a shorthand. And it’s better than it was because I think that we’re both better writers.
Are you going to be playing any new songs?
Ummm [laughter] . . . if the dynamics come together . . . but, uh, no, not this time around. This is only three shows. I think if it expanded then . . . I dunno if I could tour just doing the nostalgia stuff and neither could Nuno or the other guys. But for three shows, we’re just gonna do songs from the catalogue.
