Buckcherry-known for "Crazy Bitch and "Sorry" which exploded onto the charts and radio stations when the album "15" was released in 2006-will bring their rock and roll music to Lakes Jam fans next week.
Lakes Jam, a three-day music fest, that takes over a good portion of Brainerd International Raceway, begins June 22; Buckcherry will perform at 6 p.m. June 23 on rock night, followed by Bret Michaels from Poison and then the headliner Skillet, a Christian rock band.
Josh Todd, lead singer of Buckcherry, in a telephone interview in May, said Lakes Jam fans can expect a "Great rock and roll show. We have seven records, a lot of touring under our belts and it'll be a great show that we put together. It will be a lot of fun right now. We have a great band.
"Buckcherry is high energy rock and roll. We came out with our first record in 1999. We have been the black sheep of rock and roll for a long time. We've had a quiet success for many years based on our reputation of our live show. We love to go out and entertain and have fun."
Buckcherry consists of Todd, who writes all the songs and does lyrics; Stevie Nelson on guitar; Xavier Muriel on drums; and Kelly LeMieux on bass. The band is based in California.
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Todd said Buckcherry is proud of all of their music and have had a lot of successes, which include seven albums, an extended play record, grammy nominations, two gold records and a platinum record. Smashes include "Lit Up," off their 1999 self-titled debut album and "Sorry" and "Crazy Bitch" from its third album "15." "Crazy Bitch" hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the band received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th annual Grammy Awards for the single.
Todd said he grew up in southern California and his first dream was that he wanted to be a professional surfer. He said he also had a large music collection and one of his friend's was a drummer and they needed a singer.
"I wasn't a singer, but I came down to the garage, picked up the microphone and started screaming," Todd said. "It was a punk rock band. At that point in time something went off inside me and I said let's write an original song. I told the guitar player to play a rift ... and I just got on my knees and starting writing lyrics. It just happened naturally for me. There was a lot going on at home for me at the time, a lot of dysfunction. I felt like I found my calling. I was done with surfing and I concentrated on music from that day on.
"I had a knack for writing, but the voice came later ... I was searching for that one thing to master and I just started working hard ... It was not easy. That first song wasn't great, but it was great to me and was all I needed."
Todd said he came up with the song "Crazy Bitch" while driving in his truck, which came about during the same time the Paris Hilton sex tapes were released
"I just started singing this melody (of the song) and recorded it, the song really wrote itself," Todd said. "It wasn't about her (Hilton). It sparked the idea. I just started reminiscing about girls from my past ... who were not great girlfriends."
Todd said "Sorry" was written during a time when he was doing a lot of touring and he was away from home and it caused adversity in his marriage. He said the song was written in three chords.
In 2014, Buckcherry released their own EP, which included a hit single that was inspired off Icona Pop's "I Love It" single. The EP included 10 tracks of rock and roll and was produced by Nelson. In 2015, they released their seventh album "Rock 'n Roll."
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Todd said, "We wanted to call the new album 'Rock 'n' Roll,' because this is what we've been doing our whole lives. We focused on making a record that encompasses all of what we are. You get every flavor of Buckcherry."
If You Go
• Lakes Jam 2017
• When: June 22-24
• Where: Brainerd International Raceway
• June 22: Dylan Jakobsen, 2 p.m.; 32 Below, 4 p.m.; Chris Hawkey, 6 p.m.; Locash, 8 p.m.; and Chris Janson, 10:30 p.m.
• June 23: Fabulous Armadillos, 4 p.m.; Buckcherry, 6 p.m.; Bret Michaels, 8 p.m.; and Skillet, 10:30 p.m. On the secondary stage will be Analog Drifters at noon; and Fookey at 2 p.m.; Kat Perkins at 11:30 p.m.
• June 24: Maiden Dixie, 4 p.m.; Montgomery Gentry, 6 p.m.; Trace Adkins, 8 p.m.; and Jake Owen, 10:30 p.m. On the secondary stage will be Steele River Band, time to be determined; and Chris Hawkey at 11:30 p.m.
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