Extreme Rejoin Forces for New Album and Tour in 2008

EXTREME are set to return in the spring of 2008 with their first album of all new material in 13 years. The band features original members NUNO BETTENCOURT (guitar), GARY CHERONE (vocals) and PAT BADGER (bass), along with new drummer KEVIN FIGUEIREDO.

In the coming weeks, EXTREME will announce their plans for a world tour in 2008 as well as a release date and label for the as yet untitled album, which is being produced by BETTENCOURT, who says: "It will have all the ingredients of an EXTREME record. The music is always Funkier than most rock bands-and born a Bipolar Bastard child of Mr. Zeppelin and Mrs. Beatles."

The Grammy-nominated EXTREME have released four albums, plus two greatest hits sets-selling over 10 million records worldwide-and completed multiple world tours. They also achieved a #1 hit single, "More Than Words"-from their 1990 multi-platinum album Extreme II: Pornograffitti-on the Billboard Hot 100, which they followed with the Top Five "Hole Hearted." Although these two acoustic hits brought the band great mainstream success, it overshadowed the band's trademark sound: a mix of hard rock funk in the spirit and style of their predecessors Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen and Van Halen-fueled by BETTENCOURT's signature guitar flights and CHERONE's resonant vocals-and matched with a social consciousness in their lyrics. A career highlight came for EXTREME when Queen's Brian May asked them to perform at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert in 1992, which gave the band considerable credibility beyond the hard rock fraternity.

EXTREME have been introduced to a new generation of music fans who are connecting with the band through MySpace as a result of the inclusion of their song "Play With Me" on 2007's "Guitar Hero" video game. Outside of EXTREME, CHERONE joined Van Halen as lead singer in 1998, co-writing the Van Halen III album and touring the world with them. BETTENCOURT joined up with Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell to form the band Satellite Party and co-produce their album Ultra Payloaded. Satellite Party also consisted of drummer KEVIN FIGUIEREDO, whom was previously in a band with BETTENCOURT called Dramagods.

Through the years, BETTENCOURT and CHERONE have remained close and continued to collaborate on occasion. But what exactly inspired them to rejoin forces as EXTREME?

"Rock and Roll Famine.I know it might sound crazy, but there is a massive shortage of rock and roll on this planet," says BETTENCOURT. "It's almost extinct. I mean the true spirit of quality rock and roll-you know, Musicianship, when you would give up every moment of your day to master your instrument and create your own identity and sound so as to respectfully outdo all your past heroes whilst proudly wearing the badge of their influences."

"Passion," says BETTENCOURT, is what drives EXTREME. "To do whatever it takes, with integrity, to bring music to the people, not because of fame.but just cause you simply couldn't wait to share it with them."

"We realized," adds BETTENCOURT, "not only are the people starved for rock and roll...So are we. Let's eat."

Look for the Boston-based group to perform Saturday, December 1 at the Boston Music Awards at the Orpheum Theatre.

Source: their Newsletter

www.myspace.com/extreme
www.extreme-band.com

Craving for Sports

Last week I rented two sports (based on true events) movies. Believe me, you'll want to get to know these people.

Z-boys

The first one was about the legendary Z-boys who revolutionized extreme skateboarding. Lords of Dogtown was a movie written by one of the main characters about three surfer boys from California who turned (kinda permanently) to skateboarding after this kind of wheel type was invented (sorry, I'm lazy today). Stacy Peralta (the writer), Tony Alva and Jay Adams are played by these guys over here, respectively.

I haven't seen this documentary film about them, Dogtown and Z-boys (still by Peralta), but I've heard it's much better than the hollywood version. This photo on your left is Jay Adams, the youngest in the group, and yet the best natural skater according to Peralta. He still skates in drained pools today. You'll find photos on the angelfire website I provided below.

Informative Links:
Official Site
The 1st Z-boys Presence on the Internet - this angelfire site's got updates and loads of photos of the original z-boys.


The Invincible

He is Vince Papale.

At the age of 30, he made it to the Philadelphia Eagles making him the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL to play without the benefit of college football experience (source: Wikipedia).

The movie Invincible was inspired by his story. It starred Mark Wahlberg as Papale.


David Ferrer

I watch football (aka soccer). I like that sport, in fact I root for a team and a country. My team: S.L. Benfica, my country: Portugal (though I'm from the Philippines. But if one day the Philippine team faces the Portuguese, I'll stay with my very own. But that would be a feat, if you think about it.). Wherever Nuno Gomes goes, I go.

Now last week, as I changed channels, I came upon a tennis match in a cable channel that shouldn't be in my tv because I don't have cable. I couldn't remember who played in that game, but the next I wanted to see. It was the Masters Cup held in Shanghai and the next game would be Nadal against a fellow Spaniard named David Ferrer. I realized I'm not yet a fan of any tennis player, and I want to be. Rafael Nadal is famous so I'd like to see him play. I let my mother watch with me since she used to play tennis (and mind you, she's good at it. She almost beat a college tennis varsity player when she was in her forties.)

Before the game started, I let her choose who she's rooting for. It's not good to watch a game if you're not a fan of any side. I observed Nadal. He moves a lot. The other one was quiet. My mother chose Ferrer. Alright, I said, me too.

David Ferrer. He's really quiet, but he's got a temper. You'll eventually know from this game that he doesn't like to lose. But I like how he plays (especially his service). The young Nadal is very good, no doubt about that. The game was very tight that my mother couldn't sleep. It lasted for almost three hours. Ferrer won.

The next few days there was no more of that channel, so I couldn't watch, but I updated myself from the net. Ferrer started at World rank number 6 during this competition, and ended at number 5. His last game was in the finals against Roger Federer. Of course, Federer won.

I found this great article about Ferrer at ATPtennis.com.


Euro 2008 Qualifying Teams

Yes, the final teams competing for UEFA Euro 2008 are complete. Portugal and Turkey are in! England is out! woohoo!!!

Euro 2008 Qualifying at Wikipedia

Smoke

Last time we had a black out, I tried to take photographs of smoke. We had two candles ready, one would be the source of light and the other the source of smoke. My sister had this theory that we had to let a candle burn long first before we blow it, so the smoke would be thick. I assigned her this task of just burning, blowing and holding the candles.

This photo here is a cropped and enhanced version. The original photo includes the other candle, the burning one, just beside the blown candle. I had other good smoke shots, however, the burning candle overlapped them. My sister couldn’t understand first that she has to position the burning candle so as not to overlap with the smoke. Anyway, it was a learning experience for both my sister and me, and candle smoke is beautiful. I don’t know if an incense candle makes better results. I have yet to try.

Failing an exam

The November 2007 ECE Board Exam results just came out this week. Once my brother heard that it was released online, we googled. We found it and slowly excitement turned to dread. We first checked if his classmates passed. A lot of bad news there, till we finally had the guts to find his name. We didn't.

It was still awful, although we kind of half-expected it. But I'll never really know what it's like to fail a big exam (like Entrance, Board and Professional exams) because we don't have Board exams in my course and I passed all entrance and professional exams I took, unless you consider a company's exam for job seekers. Yes, I failed this exam for an IT company I've applied for, but I have alibis for that (lol). There were two sets of questions so the alternating chairs would have different questionnaires and there would be no chance of cheating. I got the more difficult one (haha). And I was very, very hungry at that time (again, lol, so those are my alibis).

My brother and I checked again today for the complete results document to see the percentages of each school. And in the University of Mindanao, there are four conditionals. That means there are four who only need to retake one subject. I hope my brother's one of those.

Stardust

Thank goodness it was extended for another week (on its third week now)!!! I thought I would not be able to see it. I have a rule on fantasy movies: watch them in cinemas.

I expected a different movie. As I've seen from trailers, I thought it would be a serious fantasy wannabe, but it wasn't THAT serious. And it's definitely not a wannabe. I thought I'd be sitting there with my face all somber and watch all action and adventure, but I've never had great laughs from a movie in such a long time. Original, funny, dramatic, fantastic! I wondered what the IMDB ratings and comments were. And there it was in the top 250! I imagined the comments would mention the Princess Bride. And so they did, several times actually. Though I have yet to see it.

Stardust is not like any other I've seen. It's a bit like Ella Enchanted, but with a more serious plot and goal. It is a fairy tale love story that has everything from drama, action and special effects that were just right. Everything wasn't overly done, especially the funny parts. It was not a Robinhood: Men in Tights kind of comedy. The dialogues were witty.

The cast was amazing (Actually, that's one of the reasons I have to watch the movie). Though I've only seen Charlie Cox in Casanova, he did a great job. In fact, Claire Danes didn't quite shine (as her character did in the movie) without Charlie with her on screen, but I still liked her. Michelle Pfeiffer was beautiful and Robert De Niro was hilarious. I loved the supporting roles especially the ghost princes. They were very unforgettable. And who could miss Ian McKellen as the narrator?

All in all, it's a 9 out of 10! If you want a lighthearted kind of fantasy/adventure, watch it in the big screen while it's still showing.

Patriarchy vs. Matriarchy

I was brought up and am still living in a Patriarchal society. Men rule in my family, in my church, in my government (though the President is a woman). I've heard about societies in which the women are the ones who dominate (historically speaking) just like the indigenous people in my country. Basically, Matriarchy is the complete opposite of Patriarchy until I stumbled upon Russell Mean's Comments on Patriarchy vis-à-vis Matriarchy.

I never thought the American Indians practiced matriarchy. I guess now that's mostly the case in native peoples everywhere in the world. Means says Patriarchy is a society based on fear. It's a distorted form of society and to prove this he stated that in history, Patriarchal societies around the world made the same mistakes over and over.

Now Matriarchy, he says, is complex, though I understood clearly what he wanted to say. It is an ancient form, but complex. After I read this, I immediately talked to my father who was just right somewhere near me. He, too, understood... and agreed. A matriarchal society is one that is nurturing, as a mother. It is balanced, respectful of others and every living creature. I can say a society is matriarchal if its approach to everything is matriarchal. It is not that women rule. It is not that.

Now what about us Christians? Just think that Jesus was gentle and kind. He loved and listened to His mother.

Then I talked to my brother and he says a woman was the cause of sin. Well did that really happen?

"When a man fears the forest, he will want to control the forest, and what he can’t control, he will want to destroy." - Luther Standing Bear

Did you notice that native people live in small communities where they share everything? If man, in nature, is good, then a society, in nature, is matriarchal. That's just what I think. It's an untainted communist society.

Ebony and Ivory (Bisaya version)

I was singing "Ebony and Ivory" because my mom and I had a Beatles morning, although it's not exactly a Beatles song. Then she suddenly sang "Imo ni ug ako ni... Tagsa-tagsa ta'g piano..." to the tune. I was so excited to hear it and I asked her to continue. To my disappointment, she said it ended there.

Ilaha ra daw tung binuang tung-una. Pero kung naa may mas taas na version ato, gusto gihapon ko makadungog. Naa bay kahinumdom? Palihog pagsaba-saba pod... =)

Remember your childhood

Remember what you loved then. It’s where your purest dreams and wishes are, even if you don’t acknowledge them… anymore.

Whenever I try to ask myself what I’m supposed to do here, what I’m really meant to do, I always end up remembering what it was like when I was little. I really loved drawing, making up stories, singing and watching movies. I also liked Math, especially at the time when I was already in school.

Then I started looking for jobs, looking for a way to earn money. I didn’t like it when I couldn’t do those things anymore. But I found a way. My mother, my classmates, even my mother’s co-workers always told me to look for a regular job. It’s more promising, they say, in the long run. But I don’t want to always think of security or stability as money. In the end, what matters to me is what and whom I love.