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Guitar virtuoso
Nuno Bettencourt made his name with the eclectic pop-metal outfit Extreme
during the height of the guitar-shredder era, and embarked on a solo
career after the band's breakup. As a soloist, Bettencourt's most immediately
recognizable influence was Eddie Van Halen, but as a songwriter, he
might draw from Queen, the Beatles, Prince, and anything in between.
The youngest of ten children in a musical family, Bettencourt was born
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt in the town of Praia da Vitoria,
on the island of Terceira in the Azores (an archipelago governed by
Portugal) on September 20, 1966. His family moved to Boston when he
was four and he began playing music as a teenager, trying out drums,
bass, and keyboards, but settling on guitar.
Bettencourt played in several area bands, sometimes with his brothers,
and joined Extreme in 1985; after becoming quite popular locally, the
group signed with A&M and released their debut album in 1989. Three
more albums followed, plus a number one pop single in the acoustic ballad
"More Than Words," before the band called it quits in 1996. In addition,
Bettencourt produced and guested on the second album by Australian hard
rockers Baby Animals in 1993; the following year, he married the group's
lead singer, Suze DeMarchi.
Bettencourt had been rumored to have a solo project in the works for
some time, and after Extreme's demise, he threw himself into the idea
in earnest. In fact, he played all the instruments on his 1997 solo
debut, Schizophonic (released by longtime label A&M). While the album
did take the alternative rock revolution into account, it failed to
sell very well; feeling constrained, Bettencourt left A&M and in 1998
put together a permanent backing unit featuring nephew Donovan Bettencourt
(who'd played on the supporting tour for Schizophonic) on bass and former
Extreme bandmate Mike Mangini on drums. Mangini didn't stay long, however,
and was replaced by Jeff Consi in January 1999. Bettencourt dubbed the
group the Mourning Widows, and they signed with Polydor's Japanese division;
their debut, Mourning Widows, was released overseas in 1998, blending
hard rock and funk-rock with bits of alternative and psychedelia. The
follow-up, Furnished Souls for Rent, was released in 2000. Bettencourt
took two years to follow up Furnished Souls for Rent with a self titled
debut from his new group, Population One.
This
bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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