Buckcherry's Josh Todd: 'Rock wasn't in a good place before the pandemic'

Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd has discussed whether he thinks the pandemic will have a detrimental effect on the future of rock bands, including his own.

In conversation with Classic Rock, Todd shares his thoughts that "rock wasn’t in a good place before the pandemic", seeming to side with arguments put forward from the likes of Kiss' Gene Simmons that the genre has been struggling for a while.

Cherry does believe that there's a future for rock, though, he just thinks it might look a little different to what we're used to. Instead, Cherry says that to recover from the pandemic's added weight, "all bands can do now is build our own tiny empire." In other words, cherish the small victories and appreciate success where it comes.

With bands unable to tour and promote their music during the live industry shutdown, Todd explains that artists had to turn to alternative means, such as online marketing, to nurture and build their fanbase.

"I feel that online marketing has become invaluable for bands to promote themselves" he says. "These days people have an attention span of just five
seconds, so it’s easy for your album release to go under the radar, unless you are savvy."

Recently, Buckcherry announced that they will be joining shock rock legend Alice Cooper on his US tour from March through to April. Cooper's run with Buckcherry commences on March 19 in Hanover and comes to an end on April 20. The tour will continue with Ace Frehley as special guest from April 22.

You can read the full interview in the latest issue of Classic Rock, out now. It's an end of year review, looking back on everything from the best albums of the year to the best reissues. It also includes conversations with the artists who ensured that rock kept rolling throughout 2021. Plus, it arrives with two free gifts: a 2022 Rock Icons wall calendar, and a classic rock colouring book featuring Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden and more.

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.