BUCKCHERRY Guitarist: 'I Just Want To Make The Most Sincere, Honest Record We Can'

Mandy Feingold of FMQB recently conducted an interview with BUCKCHERRY guitarist Keith Nelson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

FMQB: Tell us about your new single, "All Night Long". Is there a story behind the writing of that song?

Keith: It's just a simple rock and roll song by a simple band. We toured so much with arena bands that we've admired for so long that this song just seemed like the next logical step in our evolution. The song came together very quickly, and I think it just embodies what it's like to be at a show of ours.

FMQB: Did you try to do anything differently with this album that you haven't tried before?

Keith: Not really. Every record's always about trying to make the record sound like the band. We took a little bit longer. It took us about three months to finish the record, which was longer than we've ever taken. Usually we do a record in two or three weeks, but I think we just took our time a little bit more. We didn't pressure ourselves with time constraints and all the drama that can create. We just went in and wrote and recorded, and then stopped recording and wrote some more, and then recorded some more. That was a much different approach, but the mind set was still the same: making a great record from beginning to end.

FMQB: Did taking more time give you the opportunity to tweak things or perfect things in the studio?

Keith: It wasn't so much about that. We would usually go in and write about 30 songs and make demos of them, and then take those 30 and pick the best 17 and then record them and pick 11 or 12 for the record. In the past, when we wrote a song, usually we would stop and just move on from it because it wasn't quite doing it for us. But this time we would stop and examine what we liked about it and keep that and then change what we didn't like about it, and keep working the existing ideas. That was a little bit different for us.

FMQB: BUCKCHERRY is obviously a party band, but once in a while [singer] Josh Todd will touch on something more serious in his lyrics. Are there any serious songs on this album?

Keith: I don't think it's as serious as "Black Butterfly" was. "Black Butterfly" had some really heavy moments on it. If you look at all the records that we've made, in all five records there have always been moments of out-and-out hedonism, and then there have been moments of introspection and a little bit of a softer side. This record is no different than that, but I do think that Josh is growing as a lyricist and as a songwriter, and I think his lyrics are more concise and refined. He's getting much better at getting out what's in his head. And the band is better, so everyone took a step forward on this record.

FMQB: After the huge comeback you had with the album "15" a few years ago, and the unstoppable success of "Crazy Bitch", do you feel pressure to live up to that again every time you go in the studio?

Keith: Not at all, but I'll tell you what it does do — it gives you confidence. Making "15" was all about believing in what we were doing and going with our gut. Nobody else was really believing in what we were doing except us. We followed our heart and we followed our gut and we did what we wanted to do, so having success like that basically says to all of us that when we're satisfied with what we're doing, then it's good. That was the lesson we learned from that. I never go back and say, "I need to write 'Lit Up'" or "I need to write 'Crazy Bitch' again," because we've already done that. That's moving backwards. I just want to make the most sincere, honest record we can. It's about believing in yourself regardless of what other people are giving you from the outside.

Read the entire interview from FMQB.