Buckcherry, on tour with latest single, to ‘Roar Like Thunder’ at Spokane Tribe Casino
Buckcherry is riding high off the release of their latest single as they roll into Spokane and await the release of their 11th studio album.
“Roar Like Thunder,” released in January, began to take shape like the initial formation of many Buckcherry songs – while on the road.
The track all stems from a riff that guitarist Stevie Dacanay (“Stevie D”) came up with while in a motel room last year. He took the riff to their Nashville-based producer Marti Frederiksen to piece the song together and instrumentally establish each verse, the chorus and the bridge.
From there, the track was taken to lead singer and frontman Josh Todd to see if he connects with the song lyrically. With “Roar Like Thunder,” finding this connection didn’t take long.
“That one came together pretty quickly,” Dacanay said. “It was pretty effortless. Some we have to beat into shape, others we kind of tap into that frequency.”
The song is the lead single and the title track, as well. The 11-song record is set to be released June 13 and acts as a call-back to the older Buckcherry sound, even if unintentional.
The band never collectively agreed upon what to “go for” sonically, but by the end of production “Roar Like Thunder” simply sounded more classic with strong old-school guitars, less reverb, memorable melodies and a compacted sound. This contrasts relatively heavily with the more open-air sound of verbose guitar, drums and heavy reverb on more recent Buckcherry records.
“We just kind of start writing and let it dictate where it’s going to go instead of forcing songs to sound a certain way,” Dacanay said.
Although there are Buckcherry albums with a more consistent theme involved, that’s not the case with “Roar Like Thunder.” Dacanay said Todd tends to write about his own experiences, but Buckcherry usually strays from diving too deep into political issues or topics too divisive.
“I think Buckcherry is more of a band to escape to,” Dacanay said. “And I think people get that … It’s more about the energy and vibes than making any kind of statement.”
Specifically on Dacanay’s end as the guitarist, he took a slightly laid-back approach to recording in comparison to other Buckcherry projects. Within the last record, 2023’s “Vol. 10,” Dacanay found himself trying to make “big statements” with wild, intense, shredding solos. On “Roar Like Thunder,” he instead made the effort to let the song, holistically, do most of the talking.
“With this one, I sat back in the pocket more and played for the song,” Dacanay said.
Before the record is released later this year, Buckcherry will be bringing the Northern Exposure Tour to the Spokane Tribe Casino on Sunday.
As Dacanay mentioned earlier, much of the music of Buckcherry is all about escapism for the listener, and their shows are no different. He recommends concertgoers simply come on out, try to forget about the day-to-day for about an hour and a half, and have a good time.
As for Dacanay himself, even after about two decades of life on the road, he finds himself lost in the moment time after time. He makes the effort to remain grateful for the opportunity to not only play the instrument he loves for a living, but to be a part of the fans’ experience as well, he said.
“The road is long and difficult,” Dacanay said. “I’ve said before that they don’t pay me for that hour and a half, they pay me to do all that travel. During that 90 minutes, I look for the God moments.”