Buckcherry is a Grammy-nominated hard
rock band from Los Angeles, California
formed in 1995. The band released two
albums,
Buckcherry
(1999) and
Time
Bomb (2001), before dissolving in the summer of 2002. In
2005, lead vocalist
Josh Todd and lead
guitarist
Keith Nelson formed a new
band using the Buckcherry moniker and released a new album on April
16, 2006. Titled
15
(2006), it contained Buckcherry's biggest crossover hit to date,
"
Crazy Bitch", and the band's first
Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit,
"
Sorry". Their fourth album,
Black Butterfly (2008), was released
in September 2008.
Band history
Formation and early years
Buckcherry was formed after lead vocalist
Josh
Todd met lead guitarist
Keith
Nelson through their tattoo artist after discovering a common
love of
AC/DC. The duo made a few demos before
being joined by bassist Jonathan Brightman and drummer Devon Glenn,
calling themselves Sparrow. Sparrow began performing around the
Hollywood club scene, receiving a strong, local following due to
their old school
rock and roll vibe,
and were signed to
DreamWorks
Records shortly after. The group changed its name to Buckcherry
after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a record label
called Sparrow, with Buckcherry being a
spoonerism of
Chuck
Berry, however, the group said it was inspired by a drag queen
acquaintance of theirs named Buck Cherry. The band released its
self-titled debut in 1999 to
critical praise and certified gold sales. The album, produced by
Terry Date (
Soundgarden/
Mother
Love Bone/
Pantera/
Steve Jones), included three modern
rock chart hits in "
Lit Up", "
For the Movies", and "
Check Your Head".
Commercial success
After adding rhythm guitarist Yogi Lonich to the lineup in 1999,
Buckcherry toured nonstop in support of the debut album, including
opening for
Lenny Kravitz on his
Freedom Tour (1999), before going back into the studio in 2000 to
work on a follow-up,
Time Bomb (2001). The
second album was considered a disappointment by many critics, and
it didn't fare as well on the charts.
Allmusic noted that "For a second record, it's
surprising how jaded and
nihilistic they
are already.Buckcherry performed opening dates for
AC/DC in the spring 2000. In August 2001 after tension
over the musical direction started to set in, Jonathan Brightman,
Yogi Lonich, and Devon Glenn each
successively left Buckcherry. However, Josh Todd and Keith Nelson
planned to continue Buckcherry, and even began the writing process
for a third album. It was during those sessions that Josh Todd
unexpectedly left the band in July 2002, seemingly leading to
Buckcherry's demise.
Later years
Josh Todd and Keith Nelson did perform together along with
ex-
Guns N' Roses members
Slash,
Duff
McKagan, and
Matt Sorum (also of
The Cult) at the
Randy Castillo tribute concert. Speculation
ensued that Josh Todd would become the lead vocalist of the Project
headed up by Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum. Josh Todd spent a
month in the studio, reportedly completing 10 songs, but was
abruptly dropped from the project by Slash. Todd was quoted as
saying, "It was amazing, the band was slamming, and then Slash just
came in one day and just shit-canned the whole thing."
Scott Weiland of the
Stone Temple Pilots was eventually
chosen to helm the band that would become known as
Velvet Revolver. Keith Nelson was given a
songwriting credit on Velvet Revolver's track "
Dirty Little Thing". Nelson then went on
to write and produce on various records including Capitol Records
artist Huck Johns single "Oh Yeah" on Huck released in 2006.
Recent events
Back on September 11, 2006, another lawsuit had been filed against
the band, their current record label, and other related companies
on behalf of a sixteen-year-old girl who claimed she was coerced
into appearing topless and in various sexual scenarios at a concert
while the band was playing a sexually-related song. According to
sources, however, all participants in the video had to show proof
that they were over eighteen years old and sign a release form
further reaffirming their age. Band attorney Skip Miller is quoted
in several news stories as stating, "This woman filled out a
release form with false information. And once it was determined
this woman was underage, the video was removed."
On April 15, 2008, Buckcherry announced they would be touring as
part of
Mötley Crüe's
Crüe Fest, along with
Papa Roach,
Sixx:A.M.,
and
Trapt.
The tour began July 1, 2008, in West Palm Beach,
Florida
.
On September 16, 2008, the band released their fourth album,
Black Butterfly, which
debuted at number 8 on the top 200 charts. It was the number one
rock album that week.
In May 2009
Kiss announced that
Buckcherry will be the opening band in their 2009/10 US and
Canadian tour. Here is a recent interview
http://app.synclive.com?show/29396 with the band from May 2009 at
Rock on the Range. On July 30 2009, Buckcherry featured in the
Kerrang! Week Of Rock Tour with
The 69
Eyes and Dear Superstar at the HMV Forum in London. Other bands
in the Week Of Rock included
Limp
Bizkit, Youandmeatsix, and
Lacuna
Coil.
DragonForce were also supposed
to play during the Week Of Rock but pulled out.
On September 29, 2009, Buckcherry released their first live album,
"
Live & Loud 2009", which
they played some of their biggest songs such as "Sorry," "Lit Up,"
"Talk To Me," and much more.
The album was recorded in May 2009 during
their Canadian tour in Edmonton
, Calgary
, and
Medicine
Hat
.
Other projects
In April 2008, Buckcherry founding member Jonathan Brightman
entered the studio to record a new record with producer Dave Cobb
(
Shooter Jennings,
Waylon Jennings,
Michael Johns), former Buckcherry members
Devon Glenn and Yogi Lonich and Detroit singer Huck Johns. Using
the name Black Robot, it features tracks written & performed by
JB, Devon, Yogi, Dave, and Huck. Executive produced by JB, Black
Robot blends musical influences from
AC/DC,
The Black Crowes, and
Led Zeppelin. In mid 2008, the band recruited
Georgia guitarist Chris Glenn. Glenn left the band in March 2009
and was later replaced by Swedish born guitarist Andy Andersson.
Guitarist Eli Wulfmeier and drummer Daxx Nielsen, son of guitar
legend
Rick Nielsen, were also added to
the live band line-up.The first Black Robot record, featuring the
singles "Baddass", "I'm In Love", and a cover of the
Eric Clapton/
JJ Cale
classic "Cocaine", was released independently on May 5, 2009 via
Amazon.com and iTunes. The band returned to the studio in November
of 2009 to record bonus tracks to add to the record which will be
re-released in the first quarter of 2010 through
Red Distribution.
Band members
Current
Former
- Yogi Lonich – second guitar, backing vocals
(1999–2002)
- Jonathan Brightman – bass guitar, backing vocals
(1995–2002)
- Devon Glenn – drums, percussion (1995–2002)
Discography
References
- allmusic ((( Time Bomb > Overview )))
- Buckcherry :: Fifteen :: All Access Magazine ::
It's All About The Music
- Buckcherry | Music Artist | Videos, News, Photos
& Ringtones | MTV
- Labels Sued Over Sexy Video of Minor - Los Angeles
Times
- 2 Music Geeks' Podcast 19: Controversial Songs---
Featuring Jimmy Two Fingers Ashhurst of Buckcherry
- Concert Announcement: Cruefest with Motley
Crue, STLtoday.com
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