Buckcherry’s Josh Todd Says He’s Not Chasing Success or Hit Songs

“I’m not trying to chase success or hit songs, you know?”

Buckcherry‘s Josh Todd joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (June 26) to celebrate his band’s latest album, Roar Like Thunder, and reflect on making music for nearly 30 years. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I want to write a song that’s great to listen to from beginning to end, you know,” he told host Chuck Armstrong.

“I know if that works for me and the people I’m writing songs with that by the time it gets to the public, it’s going to be great. And if I can get 10 of those together — it’s just challenging and it’s not easy.”

Roar Like Thunder marks Buckcherry’s 11th studio album and Todd said he thinks the band is getting better and better as they release more records.

“We’ve stayed consistent in my opinion,” he shared.

“I couldn’t imagine not writing songs for years and years and years and then going, ‘Hey, we need to put out a record.’ For me, it’s not easy putting out a great record. You’ve got to be really working that muscle, that songwriting muscle and we are always doing that. I’m always putting little hooks and ideas into my phone.”

Todd explained that he never wants to get to a place where he feels comfortable or complacent — and that’s not always an easy thing to do. But the thing that keeps pushing him forward is his desire to make something new with each song.

“I like to create. I got into this because I’m very passionate about writing and performing and I want to continue to learn more and more about songwriting and more and more about my voice.”

Josh Todd Says Buckcherry Have Never Fit Into Mainstream Music

As Todd spent time reflecting on Buckcherry’s career, he admitted that it’s never been easy for the band to break through to audiences. For him, though, that’s something that seems to be a constant driving force.

“We have never been part of mainstream rock music since 1999,” he said.

“We came out and it was rap rock and shoegazer rock and nothing sounded like Buckcherry. And to this day, it doesn’t.”

As the genre evolved into more of an “active rock” sound, Todd said he never felt like Buckcherry fit in.

“We didn’t fit in with any of those bands, but we could mold into anything,” he said.

“We can go play with ’80s rock bands and ’90s rock bands. We have the songs to do all of that.”

Todd said he knew the key to Buckcherry’s success would be to stay true to who they always were, which comes through loud and clear on Roar Like Thunder.

READ MORE: Bush’s Gavin Rossdale Reflects on His Love of Making Music

“I knew, just stay in the game, stay steady, just continue to put out great records and work the road and put out great records and work the road and pretty much all the dinosaurs will start fading away and Buckcherry will be one of these bands that is becoming the piece of the rock genre that people really need … And that’s exactly what’s happening.”

What Else Did Buckcherry’s Josh Todd Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he didn’t grow up listening to bands like Black Sabbath: “All of my first rock records were independent punk rock records. I listened to bands like the Toy Dolls, the Ramones, 7 Seconds, Black Flag, GBH, SNFU, BL’AST, stuff like that. My first show was the Ramones at Fender’s Ballroom in Long Beach. I didn’t really start listening to rock records until I was like 17, you know?”
• The first time he heard Black Sabbath: “[My buddy] had a VW bug. I didn’t have a car at that point. It was a shitbox Bug, but he put an incredible stereo system in it. There were these giant speakers in the back seat and I’m sitting in the back seat and we just smoked a joint after we surfed all morning. I’m high as fuck and all of a sudden he puts on ‘War Pigs’ and it’s super loud … I’d never heard it before. I was an instant fan.”
• His callout to Bush‘s Gavin Rossdale: “I hear he’s a really tremendous tennis player. I play a lot of tennis now. So if he’s listening, let’s play some tennis. Let’s play a match. I would love to hit with you. Hit me up.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Josh Todd joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, June 26; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.