Rise N Shine interviews Nuno Bettencourt's Schizo co-genius

Anthony J. Resta could be described as the man who does not rest. From co-producing Nuno, and songwriting with Suze, to working with Letters To Cleo, and promoting his own solo CD -- 32 year old Anthony J. is a busy, busy man. Having being involved with Duran's new album Medazzaland, and hence being the focus of interviews for mags such as'Firedancer', it was extremely generous for AJR to offer his time for Rise N Shine mag. So, read on my friends, and get 'behind the scenes' of Schizo...

HEY, WANT TO GO TO AUSTRALIA AND MAKE A RECORD?
Anthony, describe for the readers exactly what your job was on Schizophonic.
"I co-produced a lot of the record, did quite a bit of groove programming, percussion, keys, and mixing with Nuno and Bob St. John."
How did you meet up with Nuno?
"Bob had played some of my work to him and he had me play percussion with Extreme at the Kiss concert around 1993."
Did he contact you especially to work on Schizophonic, or was it under other circumstances?
"He called me up and said 'Hey, want to go to Australia and make a record?'"
What was your experience of working with him?
"He's a very intense person. He lives and breathes his music, he can work on a song for 18 hours straight then go back to the hotel and play it on a stereo for another hour trying to make up his mind about what needs to be done."
What's he like in the studio?
"He likes to experiment but at the same time knows what he wants and wants it to happen quite fast. He has patience when things take longer than he wants, but he is detail oriented beyond belief - often he would have Bob edit together many versions to make a master, sometimes taking a bar or two from here or there. Lots of things I can't even hear... but he needs it to be right in his own way. He has trouble making himself content with anything - he's his own worst critic... always wanting to improve something - even adding a vocal or guitar part at mastering!"
You co-wrote many of my favourite Schizophonic tracks, like 'Fallen Angels' and 'Severed' -what was your part in those?
"Once you hear the work I've done with Duran Duran and other artists it becomes more apparent; on 'Fallen Angels', all the synth, bass, drums, organ, table top, samples etc, came right from my demo of the music on those tunes. Nuno then created new arrangements using my 2 track digital master printed on two inch tape, writing melodies and adding guitar and other stuff on top. [On] 'Severed' I recorded the grooves and string arrangements this way and he added the new chorus and vocal melodies guitar etc."

NUNO IS THE HUMAN GUITAR CLICK TRACK... HIS HEART BEATS IN TIME.
How did Nuno approach his songwriting for this album?
It was different for every song. Some songs were completed in a demo stage, [and] others evolved from one thing to another. 'Gravity' was written around two or three of my drum grooves in about two hours - it was the last song we worked on. It was originally some ideas I had for improving a song 'Paint The Town Red' - I think that was the title, not sure though - anyway, he stopped me dead in my tracks and said "Wait... I have a new song for that..."
What was your impression of the other Bettencourt family members? I understand Paulo has joined Nuno's band, so, how do you think he's fitting in without doing lead vocals? He is a good vocalist, and many fans miss his role as Flesh frontman.
"He sings great and when him and Nuno do unison, it sounds just like the double tracked Lennon-style vocals Nuno does on the record... I think it works great live."
Donnie Bettencourt is something of a new person to most Extreme fans. What can you tell us about him?
"He's a really nice guy all around, very talented bass player, young good-looking lady killer [smiling]! He wails - one night he Nuno and I jammed on that Blur tune 'Song 2', and we were blowing up the building... so much fun. I was going to do some dates as a drummer, but between a sore shoulder and commitments up coming with Duran Duran and some other things, we couldn't work it out. I was disappointed 'cause they are so much fun to play with - Nuno is the human guitar click track... if you listen to him, you can't go off the groove... his heart beats in time" [smiling].
And the Gary Cherone fans will kill me if I don't ask you this... describe for us, your experience of working with Gary Cherone...
"I know Gary socially, but I wasn't there for any of the stuff they did together in the early stages of the album... Gary is a real down-to-earth, honest, and sweet guy. He's been very supportive of a trip hop group I produce and play keys and samples with - Jawn P and the Pawnshop."

I AM THE PEACEMAKER
What, to you, was the most difficult aspect of working on Schizo?
"Well, to be honest, Bob and I have been doing stuff together for about 9 years, and I give Bob lots of space as an engineer because I believe in his sonic approach - which is very much a mad science. Nuno on the other hand has gotten more and more into the engineering aspects of things, and pretty much goes on gut instincts he trusts completely, taking away a lot of decisions Bob is used to making. This created some apathy on Bob's part, and sort of put me in the middle - and I just want everyone to be happy, that's just me, I am the peacemaker - but when Bob left the project early and left Nuno and I to go on and do 'Swollen Princess', 'Karmalaa', and 'Garbage' and 'Confrontation' alone, I didn't understand and said 'Wow, how could he leave...'. This really upset Bob when it got back to him through his manager how I felt. But I told him to his face it was the wrong thing to do, but Bob was feeling completely uninvolved in the mixing, and felt he just didn't want to continue as things dragged out longer and longer.
"I think we ended up with something unique, mixing the lo-fi approach with our usual slicker more glossy style; it ended up being very cool, but there were times I was scared. Nuno takes chances and has a vision in his head - nothing will change this. So many reviews raved about the record. I just wish it had gotten more support on the radio - that's what it takes to break a record. We didn't get that."
What was the most positive aspect of working on Schizo?
"You always learn from working with a musical wizard like Nuno. He has been a positive influence in my sonic palatte and musical instincts."

SUZE LIKES MY QUIRKY BITS
You've told me that you were writing with Suze. Can you tell us the name and style of the song?
"Actually we started one song and never finished it. Her and Nuno have two more that they have given me on ADAT to work in some of my ideas on... it's really great stuff. Suze likes some of my quirky bits that I put together and I am hoping some will eventually make it into tracks. The first track we started might have been a bit too sci fi - I tend to lean towards Bjork, Tori Amos, Lamb, Laika, etc, with my taste so you have to be careful when working with artists more known for rock and roll. It's easy to go off on a tangent - but thats what I live for... off on a tangent. My solo CD is off on many, and doing quite well despite its self-indulgence."
What sort of direction are the Baby Animals now taking?
"It's still developing, but I hear some really cool Elastica influence. I think it will be really modern and cool."
So will you be working on their comeback album?
"I think there is a good chance I will be on some level."
The tour you'd told me you were going to do with Nuno, from 6-17 August - what happened with that?
"... It never got off the ground. I had to play some dates with the HORDE festival here with a band I produced called Mudhens, and after those dates, TAP (Air Portugal ) went on strike. I was going to go over and jam but never made it."
And finally, Anthony - an important question for us all... What is the secret of the universe?
"This is a question no one can answer and it tortures me daily... 'from the protons and electrons to the raisins in my cereal, to the infinite galaxies of burning stars for light years, we're just particles in space - that's one big cosmic pie in the face'!"*

* (from AJR's song 'Just Particles)'

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