Buckcherry\’s Keith Nelson gives his Confessions

Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson doesn’t spend much time looking back. With the recent release of their latest record, Confessions, and one of the busiest year’s of the band’s career- one that sees them traveling the world into 2014, who would have time for nostalgia? “I’m sure there’s gonna be a time for that but it’s really about the task at hand and moving forward,” Nelson explains. “I don’t really spend a lot of time looking back at past accomplishments or spend a lot of time with nostalgia.” Confessions, released February 9 in the U.S., is the band’s first concept record and is based on the Seven Deadly Sins. Originally, though, the record wasn’t really planned to be a concept record and happened by accident, according to Nelson. “We had talked about doing a themed record early on and then over the course of the writing and discussing and everything, it kinda turned into a full-blown full-length record,” says Nelson. “We started writing songs early on and Josh and I had the idea of doing something based on the Seven Deadly Sins and as we started to write the songs the lyrical quality of everything really took on a cinematic quality. So when an album is taking on a cinematic quality, as Nelson says, ideas for videos will often start spinning. Buckcherry took things into their own hands when it came to this. Rather than hiring an outside director, they did things in-house. “I was having conversations with Stevie, our other guitar player, and I was speaking to the idea of us directing our own video instead of [hiring another director] and with Josh leading the way on that since he’s done some acting,” says Nelson, “and that turned into ‘why doesn’t Josh just write a screenplay to go along with the record’ “One thing led to another and we ended up with a story and basically a soundtrack for that story and all the while wanted to make sure the record could stand on its own without the help of any knowledge of a back story,” continues Nelson. “So we wanted to make sure all the moving parts were actually working on their own. With many bands doing concept records lately, a lot of fans are looking for something different and fresh. One thing people connect with best in rock is when a band writes an album that’s based on their real experiences and themselves. When it comes from the heart, fans appreciate it more. That’s exactly what Buckchery did with Confessions. “I can’t speak to what other people are doing because I’ve been so focused on what we’ve been up to,” begins Nelson. “But I can tell you that the story is unique in that the story itself is based on actual events in Josh’s life from when he was a younger man so it’s loosely based on that and tied into the Seven Deadly Sins.” When Buckcherry released 15, they had just returned from a hiatus. It didn’t take long before they were right back at the top. Confessions continues their path of success, adding yet another impressive, highly-regarded and critically acclaimed record to their arsenal. Many bands take years to get back to where they were before an extended hiatus. Buckcherry, however, came back and reclaimed what they’d already accomplished, kicked it in the ass and went even higher. “That speaks to the tenacity of the whole outfit,” explains Nelson. “From the band to our road crew to our managers and agents and just the whole team of people that surround us just being committed and working really hard. “The band is such a tight unit so you can sense we’re all really committed to what we’re doing and we really had to have that view before there was any kind of success. You just add fuel to it and keep moving on.” -Reggie Edwards Buckcherry interview with Keith Nelson Buckchery