Buckcherry

Band: Buckcherry

Members: Josh Todd, vocals; Keith Nelson, guitar; Stevie D., guitar; Xavier Muriel, drums; Jimmy Ashhurst, bass

Who we talked to: Nelson

How has touring with Hinder and Papa Roach been going? Phenomenal. Fantastic. We're all good buddies and we are living up to the name of the tour every night after the show. It's been crazy.

Do you guys have any rituals before you take the stage at a concert? Lately, we've been watching the "AC/DC: Family Jewels" DVD box set.

Can you give us an idea of what to expect at your show Wednesday? I can just tell you that you got a bunch of great bands. Live entertainment is something that you can't download; you can't replicate it. You've got to be there in the moment to see it go down. Every night on this tour has been great. The bands are performing incredibly. It's definitely something that if I wasn't on stage doing it, I'd be in the crowd watching it.

You guys have been nominated for two Grammys. Did you ever think you would make it that far? It's really like being rewarded for bad behavior. The first time we were nominated was for "Lit Up," which is a song about cocaine. The second nomination was for "Crazy Bitch" and it's really, really funny to me that the mainstream embraces that. It's pretty cool actually.

You guys opened for AC/DC before. What was that like? Playing with those guys and watching their show was incredible. They are some of my idols and a lot of the times you're really disappointed. . .but the guys in AC/DC couldn't be nicer. It really was a good lesson into how to treat people as well.

What was the first concert you ever saw? The first real concert I ever saw was Van Halen with David Lee Roth and I was way too young to get in to that, but I went anyway and it was a blast. The whole thing was intoxicating.

What would you change about the music industry if you could? I would love to see artists a little bit more taken care of. We see a lot of guys that used to be in bands and made record labels a lot of money and they're just kind of put out to pasture later and no one really takes care of them. A lot of these guys have families and homes to take care of.

Are there any bands on the radio that you guys really like? I love My Chemical Romance. Those guys are phenomenal.

What is your favorite type of guitar to play? I own a lot of guitars. My main guitar right now is a Zemaitis guitar. They're hand engraved. They're works of art.

What is coming up in the future for you? We're going to finish this tour. We're going to go back to where we live, which is L.A., and start working on a new record . . . hopefully recording by the end of the year.

- ERIN McCRACKEN, FLIPSIDE STAFF