Athough it was previously reported as being released on June 2nd, Gary Cherone’s (Extreme, Van Halen) Hurtsmile will be releasing their new album, Retrogrenade, on October 7th.
Charone tells Billboard,”If there was [only] one record it would seem like a Gary Cherone project, and this is truly a band.” He formed Hurtsmile with his brother Mark Cherone in 2011 and released the group’s self-titled debut later that year. “We toured the band after that first record, so it felt like a band. Joe (Pessia) the bass player was more involved. We were just looking to top the first record.”
Retrogrenade also takes a different path than its predecessor, according to Cherone. “We went in and it kind of wrote itself,” he explains. “We were in a different place. A lot of these songs are about relationships. It’s a lot more fun record than the first one — the first one was a little angry, more about what I was unhappy about that was going on in the world. This one has a little lighter fare.”
Emblematic of that is Hello I Must Be Going, which Cherone adapted from the Groucho Marx-sung feature in the 1930 film Animal Crackers. Listen to the track exclusively on Billboard here.
Cherone hopes to play some shows with Hurtsmile down the road both in the U.S. and Japan, but he acknowledges Extreme poses a formidable “hurdle.” That group is getting together in Los Angeles this month to work on a new album, a follow-up to 2008’s reunion set Saudades de Rock, and is also planning a Pornograffitti tour to showcase the group’s double-platinum 1990 album just as it did in Europe earlier this year.
“That was a lot of fun, better than I hoped it was going to be” Cherone reports. “It really revitalized the band. The band was so full of piss and vinegar it inspired us to make new music and then go back out there and do what we do. So we’ll definitely have some new music to play next year.”
Read more at Billboard.
source: billboard.com
12 Responses
Hey, if it’s not good this band could be a Darkness tribute band … just saying !
I finally caught The Darkness in concert a couple of years ago and it was the best show I’ve seen in years! Love that band. Foxy Shazam opened and they were pretty cool, too.
Love me some Gary Cherone…best frontman in rock today, nobody comes close.
Glad you like him but this guy was a one hit wonder with more than words. Then he went and stunk up the place with van halen. (Why eddie, why?)
Not exactly a legendary contributer to the rock scene.
The VH thing was a big disappointment, but I wouldn’t quickly dismiss Extreme as a one-hit wonder without really listening to some of their catalog – not to mention they had success with Hole Hearted and Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go To School Today). Pornograffitti and (particularly) III Sides to Every Story contain some incredibly strong and diverse musicianship. If you focus only on hits, you’re risking losing sight of a much bigger landscape. Just because the public doesn’t get it doesn’t mean merit is absent. Dream Theater and Enchant being perfect examples of this.
Brandon,
Actually, if you want to get technical, More Than Words, was their biggest hit. It was like their version of Mr. Big’s To Be With You.
I was never a huge Extreme fan, but I do like them. In my humble opinion, not to take anything away from Cherone, I think Nuno is the star of that band.
D 🙂
Hi, Dana
MTW was their biggest hit, but not their only – I was merely rebutting the statement that they were one-hit wonders. And yes, Nuno was and is absolutely the musical force behind Extreme.
B
Agreed 🙂
D 🙂
you are totally clueless, my God. 111 Sides is a masterpiece, Waiting for the Punchline? Dude you are lost and ignorant.
I’ve had the album for the past couple of months via Pledgemusic. It’s a really good rock album. If you like Cherone’s voice, you’ll love this record.
I’m with Joe Burkel. I got this album through Pledgemusic as well and it’s a really good album. I also heard there’s a bonus track of the old military song called “Over There” that really kicks ass.
Gary got the short end of the stick when it came to fronting VH. “III” had some very good songs on it: “Fire in the Hole”, “One I Want”, “Without You”, Ballot or the Bullet”.
III IS VH’s weakest album musically by the band as a whole. do I need to bring up “How Many Say I” or “Josephina”? Ugh.
“Without You” is a Extreme sounding song, right down to the solo.
And live Gary was the only VH singer that could sing Dave’s AND Sammy’s songs very well.
All I’m saying is that Cherone cannot be blamed solely for the album “III”