Buckcherry: All Lit Up Again

By Therese McKeon

There's nothing quite like waiting for a phone call from the guitar player inthe band whose record you can't seem to take out of your CD player. Itshould be old news by now but I couldn't help but be thrilled to have thechance to interview Keith Nelson from Buckcherry.

If you haven't heard about Buckcherry yet, don't worry. If you're feelingclueless then it's sure not to last for long. I get the feeling that this band isgoing to be a household name and maybe even by the time you get aroundto reading this! I normally don't believe the hype and I normally don't addto it - unless of course I really think I'm on to something. There is somethingabout the conviction that goes with giving one's word. That same somethingthat prevents me from shouting "go out and buy this album" for every band Iinterview. Well, I have something to tell you and you will find it quite rarecoming from me..."Go out and buy this album!" I can only say that becauseI am addicted to this Buckcherry CD.

With that said, I can also say... "If you think the CD rocks just wait until yousee them live!" I did and I will go again and again and again whenever theyplay anywhere near me. I can't explain it any more clearly than that. Iknow, I know, this is an interview and not a CD review or a concert reviewso I will shut up now (but you really need to hear this CD!).

I caught up with Keith Nelson, the guitarist for Buckcherry, on May 22,1999 while the band was on tour in California. I had seen the band at Music Midtown in Atlanta, GA on May 2nd and that same night at The Tabernacle (which I remembered was the House of Blues during the summer Olympics in 1996). On the phone long distance from Sacramento, Keith and I discussed the tour, upcoming plans for the new single, and life ina rock and roll band.

Joshua Todd - lead vocals Keith Nelson - guitar, backing vocalsYogi - guitar, backing vocals J.B. - bass Devon Glenn - drums

JNBC: Where are you Sacramento?

Keith: Yes, Sacramento.

JNBC: And you have the flu?

Keith: Yeah. We played in San Francisco last night and I could kind of feel it and I was like, "Nah, I'm not getting sick." And I tried to wake up this morning and it was all glued together if you know what I mean. <laughter>

JNBC: Oh no! <laughter>

JNBC: Is this the first time you've been sick on this tour?

Keith: Are you kidding me? That's what being on the road is all about.<laughter>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: Breaking bones, and being ill.

JNBC: Sharing your diseases. <laughter>

Keith: Yeah. <laughter> I broke my nose two weeks ago.

JNBC: NO! How did you do that?

Keith: On stage.

JNBC: On stage, you broken your nose? I'm afraid to ask but I have to hearthe story.

Keith: A flying guitar.

JNBC: NO! That's too classic!

Keith: Thank you *very* much. <intense sarcasm>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: It was a bloody mess but we continued on with the show.

JNBC: Oh! Where was this?

Keith: This was in Houston at a place called Trees.

JNBC: Wow!

Keith: I got eight stitches right across the bridge of my nose and I broke it.

JNBC: And whose guitar? This was your own guitar?

Keith: <laughter> Yes, my own. It's kind of hard to explain. I was on my back playing.

JNBC: On the ground?

Keith: Yeah.

JNBC: It must have been a great show. <laughter>

Keith: The people in the front row got a lot more than they bargained for. That's for sure.

JNBC: So, is it all healed now or what?

Keith: It certainly doesn't look like it used to look. But it's a lot better.

JNBC: Well, good.

<Keith and I talk about many things including my interview with Pound theother day (Pound will be the opening act on the Buckcherry/Fuel tour) aswell as JNBC and the wonderful web site that it is!>

JNBC: So I have to tell you… I had heard a lot of rave reviews about thisalbum of yours "Buckcherry". You know, you hear the usual promotion,promotion, promotion. But I usually reserve judgement until I actually hearthe CD. And then I got the album and everything is true! <laughter>

Keith: <laughter>

JNBC: I'm like, "This album kicks ass!"

Keith: Well, thank you *so* much.

JNBC: This is unbelievable. I really love it. You have to tell me and all of ourreaders on the Internet - what is the formula?

Keith: What the formula is? <laughter> Wow. I wish there was a formula. Ifthere was an instruction book for this whole rock and roll thing that wouldhave been so great! But there isn't so you kind of make it up as you goalong.

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: As far as the songs goes, eleven of the twelve of the songs that areon that record are songs we've been playing live. We're definitely a live act,on the road doing our thing. And way before we thought about getting intothe studio. All those songs have been beat and re-beat and pounded outlive.

JNBC: Had you tried recording them and that's why you got Terry Dateinvolved?

Keith: Yeah, this is how it all came about. We had originally went in anddone like seven songs and were just going to release our own independentEP. We were making our own T-shirts. We were booking our own tours.We were self-managed. At one point, we had done a few gigs in L.A. - nota lot though because we really had a hard time getting shows in L.A. Wehad played everywhere else as far up as like San Francisco. As far South, interms of L.A., as Orange County, San Diego and that kind of thing. And atone point we had gotten the attention of some record labels and a friend ofours said, "You guys ought to get an attorney who can handle this stuff." Sowe got an attorney and we made another demo. He said let's take the bestthree songs off of this - what we were going to release as our independentrecord - and let me see what I can do for you. So we picked three songs.

JNBC: Which three songs?

Keith: You know, I don't even remember. <laughter>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: "Lit Up" was one of them, which is our single now. A song called"Strong Mind" I think. And maybe "Lawless and Lulu"? I'm not certain but Iknow "Lit Up" was on it. So we forewent the opportunity to do our ownrecord and make our own deal and we accepted an offer from Dreamworksand there you have it!

JNBC: Interesting.

Keith: It's funny that you should say that about the record because we hada really hard time. People would see us live and then they would get ourtape and say, "Your live show is so much more powerful." So the numberone priority of this album was capturing our whole vibe of what we are livebecause we have so much more experience playing live then we do makingrecords.

JNBC: Yeah.

Keith: And I think we set out to do that. And I think we did it for the mostpart.

JNBC: I think so.

Keith: <big sneeze>

JNBC: God bless you! My goodness…

Keith: Thank you. Sorry about that.

JNBC: Do you have tissues handy?

Keith: No, I got my sleeve. <laughter>

Keith: It's rock and roll.

JNBC: <laughter>

JNBC: Sleeve and a helluva lot of tattoos!

Keith: Oh, thanks.

JNBC: I actually photographed you guys at Music Midtown.

Keith: Oh, yeah? In Atlanta? That was a great! Josh brought his daughterout at the end of the set.

JNBC: He did? I didn't see the end of your set because I had to go shootthe next band at the other stage.

Keith: At the very end of the set, Josh put his daughter up on his shouldersand brought her out. It was great!

JNBC: I can't believe I missed that! I had to get over to the 99X stage andthe two stages were a good ten minutes walking distance from each other.

Keith: Yeah, I know. We had to go do an interview at 99X right after that.It was the longest golf cart ride of my life.

JNBC: You guys *were* in a golf cart.

Keith: There were FIVE of us in a golf cart! We were piled on there!

JNBC: So Josh has a daughter. I didn't know that. Awww… that's so cute.

Keith: Yeah. He's totally proud of her as he should be.

JNBC: Is he married?

Keith: No.

JNBC: I wish I could have gotten a photo of that one - rock star with hisdaughter… the gentle side of him. <laughter>

JNBC: You know, you guys had a huge, huge line going. You guys weresupposed to do a CD signing.

Keith: At Music Midtown?

JNBC: They had you on the schedule. And I was saying, "I don't think theyknow about it."

Keith: We *totally* didn't know about it because we would have beenthere!

JNBC: Yeah, I thought so.

Keith: I have to say… quite honestly, a lot of those things that reflect upona band, like you have to have label clearance and not showing up for a CDsigning, are things that go on and we're never, ever aware of it.

JNBC: I know!

Keith: And we're on top of it!

JNBC: I know.

Keith: That just blows me away.

JNBC: I wanted to interview you guys in person down at Music Midtownbut the timing didn't work out so I had to settle for the photo opportunity. Idid get to photo at The Tabernacle that night too.

Keith: Did you get some good shots?

JNBC: Yeah, but that darn spotlight! They kept putting this spotlight on youguys which kills the lighting.

Keith: It blows everything out, right?

JNBC: Yeah, you like to have some blues, reds, yellows and some darkershades. But they could only put that spotlight on one person at a time so Igot some good shots. They're going to go up in our "On Stage" section.

Keith: Right on.

JNBC: Anyway, I could sit here and talk all day! Let's get back to thealbum. It's very fluid. How did you guys decide on the order of the songs onthe CD?

Keith: As far as the songs go, certainly we try to take the approach tosongwriting where we try to keep it interesting for the people listening to itbut at the same time you have to keep it interesting for the guys who areplaying it. That's something that comes from paying attention to some of ourfavorite songwriters. In terms of the pacing of the record, our favoriterecords have always been nine, ten, twelve songs CDs or records or vinylrecords that have a Side A and a Side B. They're ones you want to listen toand that you want to listen the whole thing. You don't get bored. I thinkthere's way too many people making sixteen song records. They could havestopped at ten or eleven and just put the good ones on.

JNBC: Right! <laughter>

Keith: That's really the philosophy we had behind doing it. I get boredquick. Forty, forty-five minutes and I'm done and it's coming out.

JNBC: Cool.

Keith: We definitely thought about the tone and the pace of the record.

JNBC: Is it a collaboration in the songwriting? Does Josh write the lyrics?

Keith: Josh writes the lyrics. And where the music comes, it just kind ofcomes from all of us. Obviously, the guitar parts come from me.

JNBC: They are kicking on some of these songs!

Keith: Thanks. We all kind of have our departments of what we do best.We take a couple riffs and a couple of ideas and then just get in a roomtogether and just pound it out and make it into a song.

JNBC: Any favorites that you like to play?

Keith: "Dead Again" is probably my favorite song on the record. That and"Dirty Mind". I love "Lit Up". I love "For The Movies". We actually went inand did "For The Movies" after the record was done. We went into thesame studios that we did our demos in the early days. The early days…<laughter>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: You know… *way* back when! <laughter>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: From the earliest incarnation of the band and everything. We wentinto that studio for like five hundred bucks in two days - one of those reallyinexpensive places that a friend owns - and did that song. We just kind ofhad it on a cassette tape riding around in our pockets. Once our guy at thelabel, Michael Goldstone, and our manager heard it they just kind of freakedout about it and said that it had to be on the record. So that's why it's atwelve song record instead of an eleven song record. That's one of myfavorites too.

JNBC: That's the one that goes "a transition in our lives, she's leaving, I'mleaving…"?

Keith: Yeah.

JNBC: I like that song. I love all of them. There's different things I like abouteach one of them. I love "Baby". "I love it when she's physical." I love theway he says "physical".

Keith: <laughter>

JNBC: I'm going to ask you about everybody in the band. I only have youto talk to so you have to give me all the scoop on everyone else! <laughter>

Keith: Of course! <laughter>

JNBC: You and Josh have at the same tattoo artist?

Keith: He's actually one of mine and Josh's closest friends. And you knowhow it is. It's like meeting through any other mutual friend except he just so happened to be the guy who puts all these great tattoos on us.

JNBC: Okay, because I was picturing you at the parlor… the two of you…

Keith: It was kind of represented like that early on in the bio and it reallynauseates us.

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: It sounds like we're two cats who had nothing else to do in their livesbut hang out at a tattoo parlor.

JNBC: <intense laughter> I hate to tell you but that's what I was thinking! Isaid, "Something's wrong there."

Keith: Yeah.

JNBC: Looking at the photos I have to say that the tattoo on Josh's back isamazing. The King of Hearts?

Keith: Yeah, I believe so.

JNBC: I am just amazed that this is a part of his body. And it says "Chaos"across his stomach.

Keith: Josh had that long before I met him. I think it comes from his days ofpunk rock. Outside of that I'll have to leave the rest of the answer to that tohim.

JNBC: And the bandana? He's styling!

Keith: I have no idea! Josh definitely mixes it up as far as the things thatinspire him I believe. He's the guy that can listen to the Sex Pistols, andGBH, and also listen to Prince and Biggie Smalls and be just fine with it.Nothing's out of bounds for him.

JNBC: So what about you? You look like you work out. Do you hit thegym?

Keith: <laughter> No.

JNBC: Just nature physique?

Keith: Just natural. Just got luckily I guess. Or unlucky depending upon howyou look at it!

JNBC: Breaking your own nose with your guitar, huh?

Keith: It's definitely full contact rock and roll for me.

JNBC: <laughter>

JNBC: So tell me about Yogi. Where did he get that name and why does heonly go by one name?

Keith: He goes by Yogi because he used to be in a monastery in Tibet.

JNBC: Are you serious?

Keith: No. <laughter>

JNBC: That would be too much!

Keith: It would make a really interesting press story though! <laughter> Idon't know. Yogi is just Yogi. He joined the band after we finished therecord. We had been looking to add a second guitar player for a while.When it came time to make the record and we hadn't found the right guy weall agreed just to go in. We had been playing as a four piece for a quite awhile.

JNBC: Oh!

Keith: So we decided "let's go in and do it and we'll add someone later".You know, you have the luxury of putting down more than one guitar partwhen you record. We certainly wanted to represent that. Plus, all myfavorites bands are two guitars - Aerosmith...

JNBC: First I saw Josh, and then I heard him and I thought "Aerosmith".When I heard "Lit Up" on the radio I thought it was Aerosmith.

Keith: As far as influences go, I know that Josh is a fan but I don't know ifthey're actually a band that he calls an influence. I can't speak for him on thatone.

JNBC: Okay.

Keith: Devon, our drummer, was the first drummer we played with and itreally came together. Then JB heard us through the rehearsal room door.He's into bands like Lynard Skynard, and Ragging Slab, and he also lovesMotown stuff... like all bass players should. All of our influences are reallydiverse and it kind of all comes together and meets in the middle.

JNBC: What kind of guitars do you play?

Keith: I play lots of Les Pauls. Imagine that. That's a new one, huh?

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: Anything that sounds good. I like the older stuff. I have a fewfavorites but that's about it.

JNBC: Yogi plays this blue guitar. What's that?

Keith: I think that's a Washburn guitar but I don't know much about it. Heplays it on a couple of numbers and he really likes it.

JNBC: So, you guys have this video for "Lit Up".

Keith: Uh-huh.

JNBC: I really liked the song when I heard it on the radio. Then I saw thevideo on MTV and I said, "This is not Aerosmith!" That video justROCKS! Talk about capturing your live act! You guys did a really, reallygood job. Where was that filmed?

Keith: That was shot at a club in Hollywood called Hollywood Moguls. Itwas directed by a guy named Mark Racco. He also did "Smells Like TeenSpirit" (Nirvana), "The Gift" by Jane's Addiction, and I think he did the lastLimp Bizkit video.

JNBC: Really?

Keith: Yeah. He had the vision for it.

JNBC: How did you hook up with him?

Keith: Any time you're shooting a video people submit reels. You go fishingfor directors. We had also seen his stuff so that was one of the names thatwe had thrown in. We said, "Let's talk to him." We talked to him and he gotit. We felt he understood what we wanted to get across. Much like workingwith Terry Date (producer on "Buckcherry").

JNBC: Are you guys working on getting a second single out?

Keith: The second single is going to be "Check Your Head". We'reworking also on getting things ready for the next video for that too.

JNBC: Really? Good to hear. I love that song too. Speaking of videos, Iknow on the web site for you guys at Dreamworks Records(http://www.dreamworksrecords.com) - great web site by the way - there isa video clip for "Dead Again". Do you get on the Internet at all?

Keith: Yes, at least to check the web site anyway. What happened wasbefore the record came out we were doing a residency tour where the bandactually moved to North Carolina. We played for six weeks at variousclubs. What we would do is play the same club every Tuesday for sixweeks, the same club every Wednesday and we did that six nights a weekfor six weeks. At one point a woman named Modi, I don't know if you'veever heard of her, but she's done a lot of the Henry Rollins stuff and she'sdone all kinds of videos for all kinds of people. She basically got in the vanwith the band with the camera. She just rolled for a week and got all kindsof footage of us playing live, backstage stuff, waking up in the morning andthere she was with the camera. She was one of the guys for a week. Shewas really cool and we really enjoyed having her around. She just shot atwill and she put that together for us. It looks amazing. She does amazingwork.

JNBC: I have to go back and check that out again.

Keith: I know she's done a bunch of videos and all the Henry Rollins stuff.The "Spoken Word" stuff, she shot all of that and all these short little clips.

JNBC: Oh, did I hear this right? Did you guys really open for K.I.S.S.?!

Keith: Yeah, we did 21 dates with K.I.S.S. in a month in Europe - 12countries.

JNBC: Wow! There are not many bands that can say that.

Keith: It was a great time. I can tell you that.

JNBC: Was it a dream come true for you guys?

Keith: Yeah. K.I.S.S. is totally one of those bands that inspired us to dowhat we do. I can remember taking the album "Rock and Roll Over" intokindergarten for show and tell. That was my thing. Other kids brought inEtch-A-Sketch and I had "Rock and Roll Over".

JNBC: <intense laughter>

Keith: I mean, it definitely goes deep with us.

JNBC: <laughter> And so the story goes! Any good road stories from yourtime with them?

Keith: Those guys are off the hook. They've been at it for 25 years. There'sso many road stories. Let's just say… it was a good learning experience forus. How's that?

JNBC: I like that answer. <laughter> Speaking of those kind of answers,I'm sure you guys are getting a lot of flack for the lyrics in "Lit Up" in relationto the sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle. Are people still giving you lipabout that? The press hasn't been too bad about it.

Keith: We don't have parents' groups protesting our shows or any bullshitlike that. MTV has their own way around it. They just take the word out ofthe video. They did some selective editing there. But when we did that song,we never really thought it would be embraced the way it has by radio and ithas. We didn't shoot the video thinking "let's get this on MTV". We just shotas an accurate representation of our live show. It was really cheap for us todo. We did it in a day. We just set up our amps and drums and just played.

JNBC: Which is unheard of when you're making a video? They're usuallyvery, very expensive.

Keith: Totally! I bet you we did it for a mere fraction - a tenth of what otherpeople shoot their videos for. We just wanted to keep it really raw andreally just represent what we're about. As far as getting flack about "Lit Up",we've gotten way more exposure from and way more of a positive responseto it than we ever thought we'd get.

JNBC: I think you're saying what a lot of people are afraid to admit. It's outthere and people are still doing it. People are hot on the issue of Satanworshippers and Marilyn Mason…

Keith: You know what, I don't think anyone is worshipping Satan becauseof Marilyn Manson. And I don't think anyone's going out and doing cocainebecause of Buckcherry.

JNBC: Right.

Keith: I think kids today are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.The fact that they try to pawn that off on artists is really ridiculous. It'sinsulting to the youth of America and the youth of the world for that matter.

JNBC: In terms of the live show, do you guys have any rituals before you doa show?

Keith: Yes! Our ritual is "Highway To Hell" in the dressing room before theshow.

JNBC: No! <laughter>

Keith: And we have to listen to the whole disc. We always pick an hourbefore the show and we all get together whether it be the dressing room orwherever and kind of get our heads on and get warmed up and listen to"Highway To Hell".

JNBC: Wow.

Keith: Summon the demons of rock and roll. Just looking for an excuse tolet off some energy.

JNBC: Right. Channel! <laughter>

Keith: And we try to break as much stuff as possible.

JNBC: <laughter> Uh-huh. Including noses!

Keith: Nothing is sacred.

JNBC: So, I guess I am amazed by the quality of the album. There are a lotof harder albums that you can't sing to. I can sing along to every song. Ithink you did a fantastic job. You guys are going to have a successful careerahead of you.

Keith: Well, thank you very much for saying so. We're just happy thatwe're able to make some music that people are diggin'. Whatever theNah-sayers want to say is fine because, you know what? Every night we'vebeen playing for really cool clubs of people that are really into it and theyknow the words to the songs. They're having a good time with us. Andreally, that's our only agenda, just to make music that we dig and have agood time. Not take ourselves so seriously. We're not going to tell you howto vote. We don't you to hug a whale or kiss a tree… just don't hurt no one,have a good time!

JNBC: Do you feel like you guys are right now at a point of taking it to thenext level? I mean, are you saying "we're signed, we got the album out, let'spush it". Is anything changing? Have your friends started treating youdifferently? People calling to borrow money? <laughter> Have you seen anydifferences in your life?

Keith: The biggest difference is getting out of a van and into a bus. That'sbeen the biggest difference.

JNBC: What about your diet? Eating any better?

Keith: There's a lot more beer! <laughter> As far as people changing, Ithink your friends are always your friends. Unfortunately sometimes, I guesswhen you go through something like this you find out who they are and whothey're not.

JNBC: Good way to put it!

JNBC: So where can people catch you on tour. I know you're going on tourwith Fuel. You're playing the Viper Room this week?

Keith: Yeah, we're doing a show at The Viper Room on the 25th. We'redoing a show at the Whisky on the 26th. We're going to do a couple ofradio festivals.

JNBC: Where are those?

Keith: Minneapolis, Baltimore, and Boston.

JNBC: That's right - you're at HFStival on the 29th.

Keith: We're doing three gigs in two days. We're doing Minneapolis andBaltimore in the same day.

JNBC: Are you kidding me?

Keith: No. It's a long walk!

JNBC: How are you going to do that? You must be going on really early.

Keith: We're going on early one place and late on the other. And I'm on aplane with cocaine in between, you know? <laughter>

JNBC: <laughter> In your private jet with women on both arms?

Keith: I wish! <laughter>

Keith: So we're starting with that. Then we're going out with Fuel startingJune 2nd and we're going to do that through July. Then we go out withLenny Kravitz sometime around the beginning of August.

JNBC: Really? Are you looking forward to that?

Keith: Absolutely. Lenny rocks!

JNBC: Wow!

Keith: You know, all these people want to say that rock is dead andeverything. There's so many really good examples of rock music but peoplejust haven't called it rock. They've called it something else. Lenny Kravitz isa great example. If Lenny Kravitz ain't rock there ain't no rock.Soundgarden, you know? That's a great rock band. I said before, ifSoundgarden isn't rock and roll then there's no such thing. It's just a bunchof guys making music - guitars, bass, drums, and a singer - let's go. All kindsof bands - Black Crowes, Stone Temple Pilots. Rock's always been there.Just critics or whoever have called it alternative or grunge or whatever -Nirvana, Pearl Jam - great rock bands. Rock ain't dead!

JNBC: They don't know what to label it.

Keith: Yeah.

JNBC: So, you're coming back to New York!

Keith: We're starting the tour in Syracuse, NY on June 2nd.

JNBC: How have you guys been received on the East Coast? Has this beena West Coast thing?

Keith: Actually we've done way more shows on the East Coast then we'vedone on the West Coast. We've only done a handful of shows in L.A. Weplayed more in Atlanta then we played in L.A.

JNBC: Really?

Keith: Yes, we did the six weeks residency thing there and then we've goneback there three times since then. Up until the time we got signed we did atotal of six shows in Los Angeles. We've only done two more since then.We did a lot of Orange County shows, shows in Monterey, San Francisco,and San Diego, in the valley and places like that. We certainly weren't inL.A. - a Hollywood band playing only Hollywood clubs. It wasn't that easyfor us to book then. It's a little different now! <laughter>

JNBC: <laughter> I'll say! They'll all want you now!

JNBC: Any last words on "Buckcherry", the album?

Keith: I think people should pick it up if they just want to have music thatisn't over thought. That isn't some kind of whining, self-indulgent,self-absorbed, self-loathing bullshit. It's really simple and it's not overthought. Simple music from simple people like us. <laughter>

JNBC: <laughter>

Keith: And make sure you put that I laughed after that! <laughter> Alright?

JNBC: I will! (see Keith?) <laughter>

Keith: Irony doesn't read in print.

JNBC: I know!

Keith: Thanks.

JNBC: I usually print exactly how the conversation went. I think people liketo feel like they're sitting here talking to you instead of me so I try to givethem my perspective.

Keith: Right on.

JNBC: I will see you at HFStival in Baltimore and hopefully at The Chancein Poughkeepsie on June 3rd!

Keith: Be sure to introduce yourself.

JNBC: I will! Have a good tour and feel better.

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