JOSH TODD Says 'It's Frustrating At Times' That BUCKCHERRY Isn't 'Bigger'

BUCKCHERRY frontman Josh Todd recently spoke with Australia's Silver Tiger Media. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

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

Josh: "Me and [guitarist] Stevie [D.] labored over the songwriting. We started in November of 2017 and wrote about 30 songs for this record, to break it down to an 11-song record. We just knew it had been three years since our last record. There was lineup changes, [and] we had a lot to prove, so we knew we had to come with the goods. We really are proud of it."

On Stevie's contributions to the album:

Josh: "I'm always working; I'm always songwriting. So is Stevie. We had a lot of practice prior to this. We wrote a little electronic EP out on the road for this clothing line I had called SPRAYGUN WAR, and then we went from that to making the JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT record, which is a more aggressive rock record. That was a lot of fun... so by the time we got to the BUCKCHERRY writing cycle, we had been really working that muscle pretty good. I think it really shows in the songwriting, because by the time we got to the BUCKCHERRY table, Stevie and I had really established our songwriting language. It was a lot of fun. It was a labor of love. Stevie and I have known each other since I was 19, way before he was in BUCKCHERRY. He never got a real chance to be involved in the songwriting because of the politics of the band when he entered, so now, he gets to spread his wings. He's a really talented guy."

On BUCKCHERRY's resiliency:

Josh: "I am very passionate about BUCKCHERRY. It's hard to keep a lineup together for 20 years. It really is. You've got to have five guys that are really focused on the same thing, and that's really hard to do over 20 years. Not a lot of bands can do it. But history shows in this band, whenever we've had lineup changes, the band has only gotten better. Looking back, it's almost the same situation [now as it was] before '15' — we hadn't put a record out in three years; we had a lineup change; we wrote a ton of songs for it. Here we are today, the same kind of thing. I really feel like this is the best record since '15'."

On Mike Plotnikoff, who produced both "15" and "Warpaint":

Josh: "For whatever reasons I won't go into, we didn't go back to him after '15'. We should have, because he's a lovely guy and really talented. It was time to go back and have fun making a record again. It was as if we had just picked up from '15'. It was really weird. We had a really good time, and he's a lovely human being. It was effortless and fun."

On the band's development over the years:

Josh: "We're constantly working and writing songs and developing as artists. We don't ever stop, and we've definitely worn a lot of people out over the years from that mentality. Some people just can't handle it. When I look back and I listen from the first record to this record, I just see how much I've grown. I've grown as a singer with my range [and] as a songwriter with my melodies and my lyric writing. I'm pleased, and I think the only way to do that is to continue to remain teachable and to constantly be moving toward something."

On his approach to performing live:

Josh: "Since I was a kid, as far as the live performance, I just wanted to be unforgettable. That was my whole mentality, and that's my mentality today. I want to go up there and give people an experience that they're not going to forget, songs that they can remember and something where they go, 'You know what? That was, like, the best night of my year,' and maybe inspire somebody. I really think about that — we all think about that as a band. We say a prayer together and we just are so grateful that people are paying to come out and see us play, and that they're fired up about it... that means a lot to me when I step on that stage."

On wanting BUCKCHERRY to be "bigger":

Josh: "I'm very competitive by nature, so I see BUCKCHERRY much bigger than it is. It's frustrating at times, but all's I can do is put my best foot forward and remain teachable and put out the best records that I know how to put out, with everything that I have inside of me. I want to make honest records. I didn't get in this game for somebody else to write my thoughts — I wanted to do it myself, because I feel like I can do a good job at it and it's really liberating for me. Music's the only thing that consistently made me happy in my life, and it's still that way to this day."

On the departures of original guitarist Keith Nelson and longtime drummer Xavier Muriel:

Josh: "Nothing against those guys, but prior to them leaving, BUCKCHERRY hadn't been a real, united front for, like, three years. You could just feel it all coming, and the departure actually kind of resurrected the band and got it back to where it needed to be as far as striving again and excitement and love. I'm grateful for that."

"Warpaint" was released on March 8 via Century Media/RED Music.