JOSH TODD Believes 'Warpaint' Is 'Probably The Best BUCKCHERRY Record Since '15''

BUCKCHERRY vocalist Josh Todd recently spoke with United Rock Nations. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the group's new album, "Warpaint":

Josh: "I feel like it's probably the best BUCKCHERRY record since [2005's] '15', for sure. Song to song to song, it's really great. We spent a lot of time on it, and it really paid off. We went through a lot of change, and the change was really good. We dealt with a lot of stuff over the last three years, and it just made for really great songwriting."

On whether the album title is intended to be political:

Josh: "Absolutely not. It kind of goes back to the Indians. I was always really fascinated with the Indians and how they would paint their bodies and go into war and face situations like that. Then I got really fascinated with heavily tattooed people when I was a kid. Then I got my own warpaint. I just like the symbolism in the word — I like what it means on your body, and we wanted something that was kind of iconic. I just think it's a great word."

On guitarist Stevie D.'s role in the album's creation:

Josh: "I've known Stevie for a long time. I met when I was 19. We were roommates. We were longtime friends before we ever got in a band together. I've known him over 20 years, so that being said, he didn't [originally] get to do a lot of songwriting in BUCKCHERRY. He's been in BUCKCHERRY about 14 years, [and] he didn't really get to contribute a lot to the songwriting because of the dynamics in the band prior to his arrival. We wrote a record in 2017 — JOSH TODD AND THE CONFLICT, 'Year Of The Tiger'. We got to write that record together, and we had a lot of fun. We had a lot of practice getting our songwriting skills together, so when we got down to writing the BUCKCHERRY record, it was a lot of fun."

On his writing process:

Josh: "Songs come to me [in] all different kinds of ways. Sometimes I'll write a whole song with my voice and lyrics and just get the lyrics and melodies. For instance, 'Radio Song' just came to me in the shower, and I recorded the melody on my phone and then I went downstairs and wrote all the lyrics. Then I came to Stevie the next day and sang the song. I told him that I wanted it to be our 'Purple Rain', so he came up with great music to it. Sometimes, Stevie will just give me music and I'll write lyrics and melodies over the music. It just happens all kinds of ways."

On the motivation to cover NINE INCH NAILS' "Head Like A Hole":

Josh: "It came time to do a cover song, and we threw around a lot of ideas as far as a song to do. I think when a rock band does a rock song, it's just not that interesting. I always liked the 'Pretty Hate Machine' record. I thought it was great. I think Trent Reznor has always been honest with his approach, and I love his lyrics. I love his voice. It's kind of similar to mine as far as the range and everything. We were in the studio, and we were all set up to record. We were going through ideas and jamming songs, and I said, 'Let's try 'Head Like A Hole'.' We just jammed it out real quick. It was a lot of fun, and we didn't know that our producer at the time was recording us. He was like, 'Hey, you guys — come in here and listen to this.' We went in and listened, and it was just awesome. We just thought, 'This has got to be on the record. It sounds like a BUCKCHERRY song.'"

On guitarist Kevin Roentgen, who joined BUCKCHERRY in 2017:

Josh: "We've known him for years, me and Stevie. Kevin's a really great singer as well, and he was in a band called SOUL back in L.A. when we were coming up when we were young. We really loved that band. When it came time to add another guitar player, he wanted to do it. We were really excited to have him in the band. He's really talented. That was an easy fit."

On new drummer Francis Ruiz:

Josh: "He played a little bit in MOTÖRHEAD, and he's worked with a lot of bands on the technical side of things. [He's] just a really great drummer, and he's from our generation — just a really nice guy, and we needed that. It was a great fit as well."

On whether the group has any plans to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its self-titled debut album this year:

Josh: "No. We're concentrating on 'Warpaint', and the whole scope of the BUCKCHERRY career. But yeah, 20 years in the game. I'm so grateful to be still doing it. I look back... I've been really kind reminiscing about my whole career, because it is 20 years. It's hard to have longevity in the rock game, and I'm very grateful."

"Warpaint" was released on March 8 via Century Media/RED Music. The 12-song discwas produced by Mike Plotnikoff, whose last collaboration with the band was the platinum-certified album "15". The album art was created by Aaron Marsh.