Are you seeing anyone?
That’s very private. Yes, I’m seeing actually a few people. . .
Really!
No! I’m not giving you a straight answer.
Aha! What’s her name?
NO! No!
Ok, so. . . We’ll move on and you can tell me privately all about your lady friends. Okay, so, um, how’s your mom? And, by the way, are you guys really doing this reunion for your moms?
Who said that?
I’m saying that. Cuz I just feel like your mothers must be so excited.
She is very excited. Um…well we’re doing…I told her I was doing “Mother Don’t Wanna Go to School” for her.
Awesome.
She’s very excited. The kick for me is there were a lot of Extreme fans out there who were too young to see Extreme. I guess we had some young fans in ’95, so they were too young to ever see the band and now they’re, whatever, in their twenties. So I think there’s gonna be a lot of young fans. And you know, the nieces and the nephews that never could see the band because they were one or two years old, are now old enough to go see their uncle act the fool.
What magazines do you subscribe to?
What magazines? I read a little news, watch a little TV. I do read a lot.
So what books are you reading?
Philosophy books.
Really. Like Kant and Emmanuel?
Well, actually, Ravi – R-A-V-I – Zacharies – Z-A-C-H-A-R-I-E-S.
Do you think of yourself as a philosopher?
I think everybody by default is one. . . I guess that’s a philosophical statement. Don’t you think so?
Sure, except its not. . . it’s a default statement. I don’t know if you’re really answering my question. I don’t know if you’re willing to commit to the idea of you being a philosopher.
Well, I’m a novice
A novice philosopher.
Yeah.
I like that. Do you have a MySpace?
Yes, it’s. . . what is it. . . myspace slash gary cherone or whatever. . . It’s focused on my the solo material, which is a departure from all the other stuff – a departure from the rock stuff. It’s kind of a pop soul thing. I’m kind of embarrassed to say all this stuff
What stuff?
I feel like I’m self-promoting.
Gary, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing. You’re in a band, and your band is getting back together. I’m just trying to antagonize you, that’s all. Does Extreme have a MySpace?
No, there’s an unofficial one. . .
You gotta go make one.
I know.
So is your solo MySpace all pimped out? Do you have like all the stripes and colors on it and stuff?
No, its your basic four food groups, I’m gonna belt here, what am I doing
Do you personally oversee it – your unpimped MySpace page?
I only answer the good- looking comments.
Where was your last vacation?
I don’t take vacations.
Really? Is that true?
That’s true. I guess my last vacation was, uh, after the Van Halen tours, but I was supposed to spend a week in Hawaii. We finished up around there and I couldn’t relax. I came home like four days later. That was in ’96. So vacations. I don’t do vacations. Playing’s a vacation for me
Yeah. And it seems like your idea of relaxing is like swinging a hammer or digging a ditch outside your house . . .
Yep.
Or putting up drywall . . .
No, I’m not that much of a handyman.
So what are you doing, besides dealing with your endless house re-modeling dramas? What do you do in your spare time? Do you do yoga, do you still shoot pool?
Do I sit in my pool?
No, no, no, do you play pool?
Oh! I guess… I’ve been workin’ on the solo material but it doesn’t . . . I don’t dig the solo stuff. So I wanted to play because I’m doin’ all this writing but it’s just extremely boring, and I don’t have the axis I used to have for playing. I’ve always been driven to perform. That would, I guess, be my hobby.
Do you have any non-musical hobbies?
No.
Really?
Well, family . . . Family can be all-consuming
Do you have an iPod and iTunes and all that?
I have an ipod. I’m a reluctant convert to the new technology.