When we finally find someone with the right pass (which takes a while!) we head down to the dressing rooms to catch up with Buckcherry drummer Xavier Muriel, fresh from his performance on the main stage at Download Festival.
R13: So what was it like playing Download?
long pause
X: I'm sure for everybody, including myself, it was absolutely amazing! When you're a young musician watching all your idols on American TV, it's one of the pinnacle shows that you aspire to play, so to be able to come over here and play one of the shows you've watched on TV for years is absolutely astounding. We were very excited to be asked and grateful just to be able to get p there and share a stage with so many great acts.
R13: Were you quite nervous about it and the reaction you might get?
X: Yeah a little, you know I think with a lot of bands there's still a bit of nervousness. Anyone that tells you that they're never nervous anymore is probably not telling you the truth! There's always a little bit because you want to perform to the best of your ability and to give the crowd as much of yourself as you can and that's a little scary but they were phenomenal, a great crowd, very receptive and very cordial. We walked off stage thinking "wow, that was an amazing gig"! I'm not sure how many people were there when we played, I know it wasn't full to capacity but I know there was a lot of buzz on the websites about it. For a little southern Californian band to be able to come all the way across the pond and play to such an amazing crowd is just a great thing.
R13: You've been to the UK three times before so how do you find it in general when you tour over here?
X: You know, everybody over here is very generous, they're very straight forward, they don't pull any punches like copying any kind of attitudes. Everybody has a really good time, they're appreciative and we're appreciative that they're having a good time, it's give and take, we want to give as much back to them as they give to us whether it's 200 capacity or 30,000!
R13: You've got a pretty heavy touring schedule after this for the rest of the summer, do you still enjoy touring or does it get hard to stay motivated after a couple of months?
X: I think the first six months is exciting, it really is, you're full of energy and your body is ready but we're going on for 19 months! It doesn't get boring but the body starts to get a little tired because of the travelling. In terms of staying motivated it's not a problem because we always try to play every show like it's going to be the last, we don't take anything for granted. I'm sure around the two year mark, if you ask me again I'll be ready for a break! We have the motto though of if there's electricity then we're playing, period.
R13: Although you've only been with the band since 2005, the reaction to the second album ('Time Bomb') was quite mixed with quite a bit of negativity ...
X: You know I was a fan of the band before I was in it, I think most of it had to do with the turmoil around record labels and management and sophomore efforts as far as records are concerned. I love the album personally, three of my favourite songs from the Buckcherry catalogue are on that album but it's hard to know on the outside what's going on on the inside. I actually saw that tour in the States and thought it was phenomenal!
R13: Well what I was going to get at was that it must be nice, given the negativity around 'Time Bomb', to have turned that around with '15'?
X: Yeah, the thing about that was that nobody wanted to have anything to do with us! Nobody wanted to know, we were really lucky that tenth street management came along and believed in us because to everyone else we were too old, too rock and roll, we're not this or that but we just stuck to our guns. We knew what we could accomplish and believed in it and then all we had to do was get the right people on board that felt the same way and I think the biggest thing about us is that our live show speaks for itself; you cannot go to our show and come away saying that was boring! We give everything we have on stage, that's what I wanted to see when I was a kid and that's what I want other people to see when I play. It's actually nice to not point the finger but look back and say "I told you".
R13: 'Crazy Bitch' got nominated for a Grammy so that must have been like a real vindication as well?
X: Yeah, to have a song nominated for a Grammy that has the word 'bitch' in it is insane! Again that's another highlight in this whole process, there's so many times that people didn't believe but we just kept doing it. We were going to do what we were going to do and if we failed then we failed our way, not by somebody else way.
R13: Did you get the 'congratulations but you haven't won' certificate?
X: Oh yeah, they send you the certificate, the medals and a thing you can put on a plaque. You know at that point in time it wasn't about winning or losing, we were just excited to be there. To come back and do what we did and then get nominated for a Grammy was a pretty monumental thing and just to be there and share the red carpet with Christine Aguilera, Shakira and all those people was really good.
R13: With your heavy touring schedule is it going to be a long wait for a new album?
X: No
R13: Is it already in the can?
X: No not really, we're not the kind of band that writes a lot on the road, we like to get together and just jam.
R13: So you've set aside time for recording already?
X: Yeah. When this tour finishes we'll probably take a month and a half off so that everyone can get there stamina back and then come back and just go and do it. We have some songs from the prior album that we didn't use that are still on the back catalogue so I don't foresee it being too far along, maybe some time around February/March.
R13: There was a bit of history with Josh and Velvet Revolver and of course they're on the bill today as well, is everything cool with those guys?
X: Yeah, Keith and Josh were in the first incarnation of VR and things were going along quite well and then someone decided that it wasn't the right thing so Keith and Josh did what they do, they backed up, looked at the situation and here we are on the same bill with them. It's not the first time but both bands are very cordial to each other, we do what we do, they do what they do and it's not any better or any different, we all have mutual respect. Those guys are what I call musical heavyweights you know? They watch us, we watch them and it's all good.
R13: You've all been involved in various other projects over the years and given that Buckcherry had it's hiatus a few years ago does it now feel like this is the band that you want to see go forward more than any other project?
X: Oh absolutely. You know being in a band is kinda like being married to four other guys and not having sex! When you've been on a tour bus with these guys and our crew for as long as we have and still really enjoy each others company and still hang out on days off, then that says more than anything else. We respect each other as human beings, certainly as musicians and with that you can accomplish anything! That's why you have the Aerosmiths and the Stones, it's one of those things man, we still get along very well and we're going to do this thing until the wheels fall off or something happens.
R13: Are you checking out any other bands today?
X: I'd love to, I'm hoping that I can but we have to leave early because we have to fly to the US tonight to play Kansas City tomorrow. It's insane but we have to do it, strike whilst the iron's hot!
R13: So when can UK fans expect to see you back over here?
X: We'll probably do a tour in the UK before we do something in the States so it'll probably be early next year. I just found out that the album is going to be re-released in a different format, it's going to be black and gold instead of white and black, which is very exciting.
R13: Is it going to have any extras on it?
X: No I don't think so
R13: So it's just a different cover?
X: Yeah I think it's just because it didn't have the push then that it has now.
R13: OK well thanks for your time
X: No problem man.