"It’s not important to be sober. It’s just important to not be fucked up all the time. You just need to be able to show up and kick ass at your job."

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Personally, it was never a thought that BUCKCHERRY could be a spoonerism of Chuck Berry (mind blown). As it turns out, the name was actually derived from an acquaintance of the band, a drag queen named Buck Cherry. Formed in 1995, the band has garnered much commercial success through the years with eight studio albums out to date. The latest, a much anticipated release that took over three years to produce just hit in March of 2019, titled Warpaint.

Guitarist Stevie D recently chatted with me about the new release, guitars, amps and photography. A big congratulations to BUCKCHERRY for their latest release!

KNAC.COM: Hi Steve! It’s Krishta with KNAC.COM.

STEVIE D: KNAC? It’s so crazy hearing that. I grew up with KNAC being on the radio. I grew up in Chicago, but when I moved to [Los Angeles], KNAC was in full swing on the radio and the biggest thing in Southern California. So, very cool!

KNAC.COM: We’re still around! Web based now, but, still here! Your new album is out today!

STEVIE D: Yeah, Happy Warpaint release day! It’s out March 8th. It was available on itunes, and a lot of people were getting in the mail this morning. Vinyls, cds, and virtual copies in mailboxes. It’s a very exciting time. It’s three years in the making.

KNAC.COM: Congratulations! Any songs that stand out for you, that you think might be a big hit?

STEVIE D: Well, I’m really close to it. "Vent" is doing really well at radio. Personally, I like songs like "No Regrets", and "Back Down". As far as what’s going to be a hit, I never know. I didn’t think "Crazy Bitch" was going to be a hit, and look what happened. (Laughing)

KNAC.COM: Ha! I’m not sure how that happened either.

STEVIE D: Don’t ask me, I’m not the one to ask.

KNAC.COM: Listen, you throw some profanities in there, it’s going to be a hit. That’s my theory on how it happens [laughing].

STEVIE D: If that were true, then I’m putting profanity on everything.

KNAC.COM: Listen, get a good hook, and throw Crazy Bitch somewhere in there, and it’ll take off. Bam. (Although in post edit, I realized that that BUCKCHERRY has an EP titled simply, Fuck with the word ‘fuck’ in each of the titles. Theory blown.)

STEVIE D: I’ll have to sit with Josh and see what we can come up with.

KNAC.COM: It’s got to be the cool colloquialism though. There are songs written that use it just to be using it and it’s cheesy, but sometimes a great song with that one profane word can pack a punch. But it’s got to have a hook.

STEVIE D: I think hooks, profanity or not, that’s what works for us. We did put an album out with all the ‘Fucks’ on it, and it wasn’t as successful as some of our other stuff. It’s all about the big fishing tackle box, it’s got to have a lot of hooks.

KNAC.COM: I totally agree with you. I saw an interview with you recently where you were talking about vibrato with the guitar, and how beautiful that is compared to technicality. To me, feel is so much more important than just a bunch of technical ability.

STEVIE D: As a guitar player, and a student of the game for years, I’m still as excited about guitars as I was when I was a teenager. That said, technical ability is always an eyecatcher, a head-turner. People will always go, ‘Whoa, that guy is fucking amazing.’ Where I feel like you keep the people, is in the soul in your playing, and that really lives in your vibrato. There’s soul singers that don’t have the gymnastic ability that some do, but guys like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Prince will live on forever. That’s not to say that there’s not a place for say, the Geoff Tate’s of the world. I just prefer personally, when there’s more soul there’s going to be more music and there’s going to be more passion.

KNAC.COM: I agree. You can play one soulful note and bring someone to their knees, as opposed to playing twenty notes, that may be awesome to witness, but, did it move the audience? Are you mainly a Gibson guy?

STEVIE D: No. I was a Gibson guy for a long time. I met a guy named Sully (www.sullyguitars.com) through Nikki Sixx. Nikki called me one day and he was like, “I got this new guitar and you need to check it out.” He sent me a picture of it, and it was a Raven, and I was like, oh that’s cool. I went over there and played it and it was just ripping. He had this other model there from the same guy, and it was called the ‘71 Trella. Oddly enough, Sully sent it to Nikki for me to try. Nikki was like, “Dude, take this home, see how you like it.” And I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. I took it around the world with me. Consequently he made me my own signature model. Turns out we’re both from Chicago, and he made me another one that had the Chicago flag on it, and then he made me my own signature guitar. (‘71 SD Stevie D Signature Model) https://www.sullyguitars.com/sully71 They’re beautiful guitars. I mean the necks are second to none. He’s made me several different types, aside from the Trella and the SD Conspiracy Series, he also made me a ‘92 model. I highly recommend checking them out.

KNAC.COM: Have you checked out any of Steven McSwain’s guitars? They’re beautiful as well. (https://www.mcswainguitars.com/) Your bass player Kelly LeMieux plays with him during his off time in Portland, Oregon in an AC/DC tribute called THE DCs. (https://www.facebook.com/bonscottrules/)

STEVIE D: Steven is a great guy! Do you know Kelly and Steven?

KNAC.COM: Yeah! Steven actually plays with my husband in Portland as well in a CULT Tribute called SONIC TEMPLE. (https://www.facebook.com/sonictemplepdx/) Kelly has gotten up and played with SONIC TEMPLE as well. We’re all connected. (laughing) I’ve known Kelly for a while now. He’s such a great guy. I was going to ask you, or I guess I’m supposed to ask you what it’s like playing with the best bass player in the world?

STEVIE D: (Laughing) I’m one of Kelly’s biggest fans. He definitely is the best bass player in rock. Hands down. You’re not going to get any arguments from me. I challenge anyone out there to tell me otherwise.

KNAC.COM: I’m not going to challenge that!

STEVIE D: He’s the man. I mean, now when you get him talking about UFOs and Sasquatch. I still love him, even when he’s doing that. [laughs]

KNAC.COM: So, you guys did NIN’s "Head Like a Hole". What was the thought process on covering that one?

STEVIE D: Not as much went into it as people think. We were entertaining a lot of different covers. There’s a lot of artists that have influenced us through the years. As time goes on, we just play some riffs. Getting warmed up in the studio. We were playing "Head Like a Hole", and Mike Plotnicoff, our producer hit record, and I just think we sounded really comfortable and natural playing it as opposed to some of the others we were trying. We just layered on top of that song, and that’s what you hear on Warpaint. We’re huge fans of Trent Reznor.

KNAC.COM: You guys just added Francis Ruiz, one of the sweetest guys I know to replace Sean Winchester on drums.

STEVIE D: He’s one of the nicest human beings on the planet. Aside from being an insanely great drummer, he’s such a beautiful human being. He’s an absolute pleasure to have in the band.

KNAC.COM: I love that he is now in a band, in front of the audience as opposed to being a drum tech behind the scenes. So deserved!

STEVIE D: Absolutely! That’s where he belongs.

KNAC.COM: Are you guys still using Marshall Amps?

STEVIE D: No. We use Orange exclusively. Hello? Where have you been? [laughs] Kevin (Roentgen) has been using [Orange] for years. Last year I switched over from Marshall to Orange. Not only because they make amazing amps, but they offer more support worldwide. It’s better for a touring band like us. Alex Auxier is an amazing dude and has had our backs since day one. I love them.

KNAC.COM: You and Josh also did SPRAYGUN WAR a couple of years ago, which was kind of a Electro-rap thing?

STEVIE D: We did it for a skate company. We did that with Tommy Lee. We also had another band called JOSH TODD AND THE CONFLICT with this guy Greg Cash, and it was a lot of fun, a lot of hard work. We also got together with Eric [Kretz] from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS. It was a wonderful experience. It’s just a shame that there was a label shakeup right as we were coming out of the gate. So it didn’t get the exposure that we had hoped for. But that’s okay, because we’re doing BUCKCHERRY again. We’ll revisit the CONFLICT again in a couple more years. I mean, BUCKCHERRY is our firstborn. But, there comes a time where you gotta stop touring and give it a rest. Let it create the demand again. We were just touring so much, because records don’t sell anymore, so our only income was playing live. We just played everywhere too much. We had to go away for three years.

KNAC.COM: I totally get that. So back to our earlier conversation regarding colloquialisms in music, and now that we’re all, uh-hem, older, and many of us with kids, do you play songs like "Crazy Bitch" and "I Love Cocaine" around them?

STEVIE D: You know, these are all past experiences from years ago before we got sober. You know what I mean? I think it’s good to be aware of some of the tendencies and pitfalls of certain lifestyles. So hopefully your kids don’t follow in those footsteps. I’m not the type of parent that would want to keep things from my kid. I’d want him to know as much as he can so he can make his own educated decision about whatever it may be. I mean, it’s not like a song that I’d play in the car while we’re driving. My son is only 4. He likes Disney, and Christmas songs, and movie songs. But Josh’s kids are a little bit older, and that’s just his day job, and what happens at work. It’s not who he is when he comes home.

KNAC.COM: I know sobriety is a big part of your life. Is it an important thing for this band to all be together on the same level of sobriety?

STEVIE D: It’s not important to be sober. It’s just important to not be fucked up all the time. You just need to be able to show up and kick ass at your job. If you drink or get high or whatever, if you can still show up and give us 110%, do what you want. I don’t give a fuck. But most guys that get really loaded have a hard time showing up. At least that’s been my experience. There might be others out there that can function at a high level. You know, the older we get, it’s just too taxing to have that kind of lifestyle. You’re not as resilient as you were as a teenager or in your early twenties. I mean, I could break a leg at twenty and be walking on it the next day.

KNAC.COM: Well, we’re not all Dave Grohl, right? Something’s wrong with him though. He’s a freak of nature. [laughing]. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs? I mean, I’m going to admit it. I love the BEE GEES.

STEVIE D: Oh man! I love the BEE GEES. It’s not even a guilty pleasure. I don’t give a fuck if people think that’s not cool. There’s a lot of poppy music I like. I mean, good music is good music.

KNAC.COM: Aside from music, you’re also a photographer.

STEVIE D: Yeah. The last two years a lot less because I’ve been writing and producing a lot. Just recently I started shooting a lot more. I’ve got a couple of books out. I’ve had a few gallery showings. At the end of this tour, I’ll probably have another book about the Warpaint Tour.

KNAC.COM: Do you try to shoot while you’re out on the road? Are you an architecture guy, or more into people?

STEVIE D: I’m a street photography, candid, lifestyle kind of guy. That’s not to say I won’t do landscapes when there’s something cool around. Or portraits. I used to shoot editorial. I stopped that. A lot of the editors hired me in the beginning because I had a certain style, and later were asking me to shoot something else. I was doing it because I loved shooting. I already had a job and didn’t need that.

KNAC.COM: Are you a Nikon or Canon guy?

STEVIE D: Neither. I started as a Nikon guy, and I became a Leica guy for years. Then I did a left turn and went back into film. I shoot medium format as well as several Rangefinders.

KNAC.COM: As a photographer myself, I fought tooth and nail giving up my film and moving into the digital world. There’s still something that’s really special about it.

STEVIE D: I like the look better. Again, I was talking to Nikki Sixx about getting a digital rig for this tour. I might go over and get one of his cameras and check it out. Digital is definitely cool. It’s got its place. I just like the way it looks.

KNAC.COM: I totally agree. The convenience of being able to shoot a thousand pictures without changing a roll of film is nice, but it’s the outcome that’s important. Hey, thanks so much for your time tonight. Hoping you guys have something fun planned for your release?

STEVIE D: We’re at the Hard Rock in Vancouver, BC tonight, so it’s going to go off! I think we’re going to play "Radio Song" (off of Warpaint) for the first time ever! I’m very excited.

KNAC.COM: I’ll look forward to seeing you guys soon! Congratulations again on your release!

You can order a copy of Warpaint HERE