BUCKCHERRY Parts Ways With Bassist JIMMY ASHURST

Californian rockers BUCKCHERRY have parted ways with its longtime bassist Jimmy Ashurst.

Says the band in a statement: "With heavy hearts and with great difficulty, we have decided to part ways with our long time bandmate Jimmy Ashhurst. This was not an easy decision, nor was it a rash decision made in haste.

"It's not our desire to air dirty laundry or inner band circumstances that brought about this result. Every band has its issues, and while we have gone to great lengths to minimize them and work through them, this band has had its own issues like any other.

"We in no way wish to put Jimmy in an unfavorable light. Simply put, we felt it was in the best interest of the collective group to find a replacement for Jimmy, for the good of the group as well as the good of Jimmy. This was communicated to him very clearly and with much respect. He was given the opportunity, after many years of freely voicing his extreme level of unhappiness on a daily basis, to step aside. He chose to stay and remain in a situation that not only wasn't working for him, but also was beginning to diminish the collective happiness, creativity, and progress of the band. That, to us, was unacceptable.

"We feel our fans deserve a band in which all five guys you pay your hard-earned money to see actually want to be there and are grateful for the opportunity play music. Regardless of half-assed, sideways social media posts to the contrary, that was no longer the case for Jimmy based solely on his actions and daily conversations with him over the past few years.

"There is no victim here, as we have, individually and collectively, attempted to make this a situation that works for all of us.

"We wish Jimmy the best. He is a great musician. Now, we are moving forward.

"Any delay in getting this news to our fans was simply due to our focus on finding and rehearsing a suitable replacement for our tour of South America.

"Please welcome our friend Kelly LeMieux [FEAR, PAUL GILBERT, MD.45] who will be handling bass duties for the remainder of our 2013 touring schedule."

Eleven Seven Music has set an October 29 release date for "The Best Of Buckcherry".

"The Best Of Buckcherry" is the culmination of 15 years of non-stop hard work that has resulted in unprecedented success and has made BUCKCHERRY the standard for the great American rock band.

Not many bands have been successful in merging punk grit, gutter attitude, honest-to-God storytelling and razor-sharp hooks and see the overwhelming success that BUCKCHERRY has had throughout their careers. Somewhere between reaching gold status with their self-titled debut and achieving the status of an international platinum-selling phenomenon, BUCKCHERRY has also supplanted themselves as pop icons with party radio hits that spread throughout their entire catalog.

The liner notes for "The Best Of Buckcherry" were written by renowed by radio personality and "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk.

"The Best Of Buckcherry" track listing:

01. Lit Up
02. For the Movies
03. Ridin'
04. Sorry
05. Next 2 You
06. Everything
07. Crazy Bitch
08. Rescue Me
09. Rose
10. All Night Long
11. Gluttony
12. Nothing Left But Tears

BUCKCHERRY's sixth studio album, "Confessions", sold 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was produced by guitarist Keith Nelson and Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE) and features eclectic CD artwork by graffiti artist Ewok.

The band's previous CD, "All Night Long", opened with around 28,000 units in August 2010 to debut at No. 10.

BUCKCHERRY's fourth studio effort, titled "Black Butterfly", premiered with around 47,000 copies back in September 2008 to enter the chart at No. 8.