BUCKCHERRY's JOSH TODD Reflects On Split With Original Guitarist KEITH NELSON

In a new interview with the Tulsa Music Stream, BUCKCHERRY singer Josh Todd spoke about the 2017 departure of the band's original guitarist Keith Nelson. Asked about fan speculation that BUCKCHERRY's heavy touring schedule contributed to Keith's decision to leave the band, Josh said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A lot of people dropped the 'overtouring' line with us; it wasn't just Keith. And then we would stop touring. And they had this great plan to elevate our whole career and do all these things, and they never did it. And we went back to touring heavily, because that's what we do."

Regarding why Nelson left BUCKCHERRY, Josh said: "I can't answer that for him. Alls I know is that we had a good run for a little while, and it just stopped working for a long time before he actually exited the band. And it is what it is.

"We made a lot of lineup changes prior to him leaving over the years, and it's always brought us to a new level and kind of made this band better," Todd added. "And I feel like [BUCKCHERRY's most recent two albums] 'Hellbound' and 'Vol. 10' are definitely an example of that. So we just made some adjustments, and BUCKCHERRY lives on. That's all you can do."

Nelson's departure from BUCKCHERRY was announced in May 2017. At the time, no reason was given for his split with the group. He was initially replaced by Kevin Roentgen, who had previously played with AMERICAN PEARL and SOUL.

During an appearance on a December 2019 episode of "Trunk Nation: L.A. Invasion" on SiriusXM, Nelson was asked if he was still at peace with his decision to leave BUCKCHERRY. He responded: "All good. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

Pressed about whether the "main reason" he left BUCKCHERRY was "the grind of it," Keith said: "Uhm, no. I never actually spoke of my reasons, 'cause it wasn't just one."

Asked if there is anything he would like to say about his departure from BUCHCKERRY now, Nelson said: "I'm really focused on moving forward and what I'm doing now. I'm really proud of what I did. We achieved a lot — way more than we thought we could — and I have no hard feelings. I'm just moving forward."

Asked if he regrets the decision to leave BUCKCHERRY, Keith said: "No. I'm good with it."

A few years ago, Josh told the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast about the circumstances that led to the departures of Nelson and drummer Xavier Muriel: "It got really weird, the last three years before the split. It just wasn't a band anymore. We weren't aligned; we weren't all focused on the same things; we didn't all want the same things. Everything happens for a reason, and it's been nothing but great things for all of us. I can't speak for Keith or Xavier, but I just hope that they are really happy in their lives. That's all I care about, really, because at the end of the day, that's all you want for people. I can't harbor resentment or anger towards anybody. At the time, there was a lot of stuff that rubbed me the wrong way, but since then, I've really worked through it a lot, and now, looking back, it just needed to happen. Now, everything's really amazing. With every lineup change in BUCKCHERRY's history, it's always gotten better, so I had that to kind of reflect on when all this was going down, so I was just optimistic about the whole thing."

In March 2019, Todd said that he had yet to rekindle his friendship with Nelson, despite the vocalist's attempt to bury the hatchet. "I can tell you this. I really gave him an opportunity to set himself up for that, and he didn't take that opportunity," Todd told "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon". "I can only personally tell you that I've done a lot of work on the subject and I can say this that I hope he's happy, and that's it. And I hope everybody who's had any kind of issue with [BUCKCHERRY] and had to leave is happy, 'cause that's all that matters at the end of the day. I don't hate him and I don't hate anybody."

"Vol. 10" will be released on June 2. The 11-song LP features 10 new BUCKCHERRY originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of 69". The album was produced by Marti Frederiksen and recorded at Sienna Studios in Nashville. The album will be released in North America by Round Hill Records, in Japan by Sony Japan, and by Earache Records for the rest of the world.