Buckcherry formed in 1995 due to singer Josh Todd and original guitarist Keith Nelson’s collective love of AC/DC. The band has marched on to develop a large, loyal global audience and have sold over 4 million albums, have more than 2 million monthly listeners on streaming platforms and have had over 300 million streams. They also boast over 100 million video views and 2 million+ followers on social media. They have toured with their heroes and rock heavy-weights Kiss, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe in addition to Nickelback and Kid Rock.
Outside of Buckcherry’s world, political correctness has run rampant ever since they formed but for the band it seems that time has stood still, they’re still the same hard rocking band, singing the same high octane bad boy lyrics they always have and their fans can’t get enough.
Lit Up from 1999 Self-titled album
“And yes I’m all lit up again
On the couch, in my bed
And yes I’m all lit up again, flying”
and ‘Let’s Get Wild’ off current album Vol 10.
“I think everybody wants to get wild
I’ll tell you what I’m gonna gain
A wild child coming to play”
The spirit of the band has clearly remained unchanged. In fact the band has been touring consistently this year, playing to packed houses of hard core fans celebrating 25 years since that milestone 1999 album and delivering killer versions of new material from their current album Vol. 10, including a powerful cover of Bryan Adam’s hit “Summer Of 69”
In September, Buckcherry will bring their fiery brand of rock n roll to Australia in an explosive double bill featuring Australian rock icons Rose Tattoo. Kicking off on September 24 at the Rosemount Hotel in Perth, the band will then head to Melbourne and Sydney, wrapping the tour in Brisbane at The Triffid on September 28.
AM spoke to Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd about the upcoming tour and more.
On touring with Rose Tattoo
“How amazing is that? That’s going to be great.”
We put it to Josh that while Rose Tattoo never charted high in the States, they did make their mark on a lot of American musicians, particularly in Los Angeles.
“Yeah, for sure. Especially Guns N Roses. That’s where I heard one of their great covers. And then we got to meet the guys when we were there last time and Billy’s a huge fan too, and we’re just so super excited. I just think that the two of us over there, it’s going to be a show that’s going to be one to remember for sure.”
Does Josh enjoy the camaraderie of having another band on tour with Buckcherry?
“Yeah, typically when we come over to Australia, it’s gruelling as far as the travel is concerned because we’re flying everywhere. We’re normally used to getting on a bus but they have these weird laws over in Australia as far as you can’t sleep on a moving vehicle there or something. You can’t have buses and it’s so widespread that you’ve got to fly everywhere. So anyways, that being said, I wish we had more time to spend with the bands, but most of the time we’re travelling and we’re exhausted and we’re trying to get some sleep before soundcheck or whatever and then get on stage and then we’re up in the morning and going to the next location. So usually the only time we get to hang, it’s like when we’re eating at catering or we see each other on the plane, but on the plane, we’re so tired, everybody’s sleeping, trying to, so hopefully we’ll get to do some stuff.”
What were the goals for Buckcherry when the band first formed?
“We just wanted to be happy. Honestly, that was our goal, just to be happy. We’d already kind of taken our hard knocks with the other bands in LA and it was just about first and foremost the songs. And if we were happy with that, then the rest would follow and that was it. And we worked hard. Of course we self-managed ourselves all the way up to the record deal and all that, but that was the goal at that point in time.”
Inspirational front guys?
“Oh man, so many. I’m a fan of music, not just rock music along the way. So some of the first guys I was into, I thought Rod Stewart was cool. My mom used to play Rod Stewart Records and I thought he was really cool and my sister listened to a lot of Prince and I just thought Prince was amazing. And then when I was a teenager, I had my own record collection. It was all independent punk rock records. I grew up in Orange County, California, and so I listened to Seven Seconds and the Subhumans and GBH and Black Flag and Minor Threat. And so the big front man I liked was Ian Mackay from Minor Threat. There’s this guy Olga from the Toy Dolls I really liked. The list goes on. When I got into major label rock records, it was Ian Astbury and I loved Robert Plant and Bon Scott, Brian Johnson. I still think AC DC is the best hard rock band ever, ever. So that’s what I was into.”
On Touring with AC/DC and what did he learn from the experience?
“Rock and roll fantasy come true! (You learn) How to be humble and really cool and those guys are, they were very humble and sweet and answered all our questions. Let us have full sound on their PA, which doesn’t happen… mostly headliners only give you so much sound, so that when they come out they sound bigger. AC/DC was like, you can have full PA, do whatever you want. They were very gracious and cool and that’s what we wanted to be. So that’s what I learned. I got to sit on a couch and drink tea with Angus and talk about his career and Brian Johnson was walking around the room telling jokes and I was like, wow, this is like fucking so amazing. Because sometimes you meet musicians and I give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Not everybody is in a great head space every day. You have to give people, so sometimes people can be a little bit not what you thought they were going to be, and you got to give them a second, and maybe next time it’ll be different. And I always do that with everybody. But when we met those guys, they were the same all the time. And that’s what I loved about them.”
A LITTLE BUCKCHERRY Vs CHUCK BERRY Vs AC/DC HISTORY
Which records were more likely to offend?
BUCKCHERRY: In 2014 BuckCherry released an EP titled Fuck, in which all six tracks featured the word fuck in the title.
CHUCK BERRY: In 1958 Chuck Berry released an EP titled Sweet Little Sixteen. The title track includes the following lyrics:
She’s got the grown-up blues
Tight dresses and lipstick
She sportin’ high heeled shoes
Oh, but tomorrow morning
She’ll have to change her trend
And be sweet sixteen
And back in class again
Way out in St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen
AC/DC: Pick any AC/DC album and you’re sure to find a track that would make your conservative neighbours blush … Big Balls, She’s Got Balls, The Jack, Love At First Feel, Go Down.
AC/DC, Chuck Berry and Buckcherry. Three degrees of Separation
In 1986 AC/DC’s Angus Young told Guitar World magazine,
“Chuck Berry was never a caring person. He didn’t care whether he was playing his tune, out of tune, or someone else’s tune. Whenever he plays guitar, he has a big grin from ear to ear. Everyone always used to rave about Clapton when I was growing up, saying he was a guitar genius and stuff like that. Well, even on a bad night, Chuck Berry is a lot better than Clapton will ever be.”
Buckcherry was formed after Josh Todd met guitarist Keith Nelson through their tattoo artist after discovering a common love of AC/DC. Buckcherry opened for AC/DC in 2001.
In 2021 Josh Todd told Louder magazine
“I was delivering pizza and my manager was a big metalhead. He turned me on to it. And later I saw some video footage and I thought Angus Young was the coming of the Antichrist.”
Speaking about being support act for AC/DC and meeting the band, this is what Josh Todd told Australian Musician this week.
“… they were very humble and sweet and answered all our questions… I got to sit on a couch and drink tea with Angus and talk about his career “
When Chuck Berry died, Twitter announced that there was a spike in Google searches for Buckcherry. Here are a few posts from the time.
“weird fucking day to be a dyslexic buckcherry fan”
“oh my god. oh my GOD. buckcherry was a spoonerism the whole time”
“it took chuck berry’s passing for me to realize the origin of the band name ‘buckcherry’ which feels massively cruel.”
“RIP buckcherry”
They all fought the law
In his younger days, Josh Todd was arrested for drunk driving, and had to start attending AA meetings as part of his DUI program. After meeting several people and hearing their stories, he decided to give up the drugs and booze. He’s been clean now for 30 years
Chuck Berry has been incarcerated on three occasions. From 1947-1950, he served two and a half years for armed robbery. It was an interstate spree, with the 19-year-old Berry hijacking a car at gunpoint, then sticking up a gas station and a convenience store. In 1979, he did three months for tax evasion. His most notorious stint however, was from February 1962-October 1963, for violation of the Mann Act (“transporting an underage female across state lines for immoral purposes”).
In 2015 longtime AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd was sentenced to eight months’ home detention in a New Zealand court after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and possession of drugs.
Buckcherry are:
Josh Todd (Vocals)
Stevie D (Guitar)
Kelly Lemieux (Bass)
Francis Ruiz (Drums)
Billy Row (Guitar)
BUCKCHERRY NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2024 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS ROSE TATTOO
Tuesday 24 September, Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA
Thursday 26 September, Prince Bandroom, St Kilda, VIC
Friday 27 September, Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Saturday 28 September, The Triffid, Brisbane, QLD
For tickets and further information head to buckcherry.com