Buckcherry

A throwback to the sleazy hard rock hedonism that poured from LA's Sunset Strip in the late 1980s, Anaheim, California’s Buckcherry brought biker swagger and grunting confidence back to a scene that had been taken over by introverted grunge bands. Front man Josh Todd originally met guitarist Keith Nelson through his tattoo artist, and the duo were making demo recordings when bass player Jonathan Brightman heard them playing through the walls of their rehearsal studio and was convinced to join the band. Drummer Devon Glenn completed the first line-up in 1995 and, after taking their name from a drag queen friend, they slogged away in local dive bars and rock clubs, before landing a record deal with Dreamworks and recruiting Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones to co-produce their self-titled debut album in 1999. They toured with Lenny Kravitz and AC/DC and their giant grizzly riffs and explosive, rock & roll nihilism helped their second album Time Bomb earn comparisons to the likes of KISS, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen. After a short break-up, Todd reformed Buckcherry in 2005 with Nelson and new members Stevie D, Jimmy Ashhurst and Xavier Muriel, releasing the rip-roaring Grammy-nominated hit “Crazy Bitch”. Comeback album 15 reached platinum status in 2006, while the tearjerking, confessional ballad “Sorry” reached number 9, their first single to crack the top 40 on the pop chart. Follow-up albums Black Butterfly in 2008 and All Night Long in 2010 both went on to make the US top 10, and over the years they remained loyal to the raw, strutting rock showmanship that first inspired them. Buckcherry returned, without original member Nelson, on eighth studio album Warpaint in 2019. After swapping out lead guitarist Kevin Roentgen for Billy Rowe, the band released Hellbound in 2021, continuing to gain traction with 2023 singles "Good Time", "Let's Get Wild" and "Shine Your Light" from their tenth album, Vol. 10 released on June 2 that year.