The Cultural Significance of Buckcherry’s Clothing Style
Fashion and appearance have played truly an integral role in the genre of rock music. Since rock and roll’s origins in the 1950s, particular clothing styles have emphasized the core tenets of this genre. Rock is often rebellious, encourages non-conformity, and speaks out against the establishment. These facets of the genre, along with the edginess of rock culture, manifest themselves in the clothing worn by famous rockers and rock fans alike. Beginning with Elvis Presley in the 1950s, and evolving with major rock bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, Ramones and The Sex Pistols (to name a few), fashion has always been a key aspect of rock and roll (Mental Itch). Styles of rock music may have shifted over the years, and bands’ appearances may have changed, but the edginess and rebelliousness of rock and roll have remained prevalent in rock culture. Buckcherry, a rock band emerging out of the 2000s, exemplify what it means to exude the edginess and rebelliousness of rock and roll. Through particular fashion choices, which include tight leather pants, black bandannas, leather boots and long hair, Buckcherry strongly illustrate the notion that appearance is truly a fundamental aspect of rock and roll.
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, Buckcherry performed for 600 rock fans, playing a variety of their songs during an online livestream. Their performance was explosive, lively and intense, interspersed with screaming guitar solos and bombastic drum fills. In terms of the music itself, Buckcherry truly evoked the power and majesty of classic rock. But it wasn’t just the live performance which contributed to their hard rock aesthetic. The band’s clothing style and appearance was also key in perpetuating their edgy and rebellious personas. Both their musical style and clothing choices contributed to Buckcherry’s ability to channel the core tenets of rock and roll, harkening back to a time when famous bands headlined massive arenas.
Buckcherry’s stylistic decisions, centered around appearance and performance style, are intentional. When they first formed, Buckcherry purposefully defied the norms of modern 2000s rock, as they sought to evoke the sound and style of 80s hard rock. They presented themselves as rock throwbacks, modeling after bands such as the Motley Crue, as opposed to Limp Bizkit (Ankeny). During their livestream performance it quickly became apparent that Buckcherry continues to perpetuate this stylistic decision. The lead singer, even after 21 years of performing onstage, multiple band member changes, and several studio albums under his belt, still chooses to craft the band’s image around classic rock influences. The fact that Buckcherry strongly adheres to key aspects of classic rock isn’t surprising though, especially when considering the legendary rock bands they’ve opened for. In 2000 Buckcherry toured with AC/DC, and in 2009 they toured with Kiss, opening for several of the legendary band’s shows (Ankeny).
After taking all of this into account, one thing becomes abundantly clear; Buckcherry ooze the sleaze of 80s hard rock. Everything they do harkens back to the days when rock music reigned supreme. Their music, their appearance and their song lyrics honor those who came before them, as opposed to delving into new territory. So when considering Buckcherry’s particular clothing style, it comes as no surprise that they wear tight leather, ripped shirts, platform boots and other edgy apparel. All of these things are deeply ingrained in the culture of rock and roll.
Buckcherry’s edginess, demonstrated in their clothing style, stems all the way back to rock’s origins. In the 1950s, as rock and roll quickly gained in popularity, a new fashion trend emerged. This trend, which was quite prevalent among young adults, involved wearing leather jackets, tight pants, sneakers and sporting thickly greased hair. Rock contributed to this clothing style, especially through the influence of Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley not only captured the attention of millions with his music, but also through the way he dressed (Mental Itch). Despite the fact that Buckcherry mainly draw inspiration from 80s hard rock, their clothing style still echoes the spirit of early rock and roll culture, beginning with Elvis in the 1950s. Just like Elvis and his young rebellious followers, most of the Buckcherry band members wore leather jackets during their performance, sporting tight pants and plain T-shirts. These cultural elements of their performance have remained a crucial part of rock and roll for decades. But more than anything, Buckcherry channels the core ideals of rock through their clothing style. These ideals were coaxed into the mainstream youths’ consciousness in the 1950s, by both James Dean, in his film “Rebel Without a Cause,” and Elvis Presley. Teenagers began to dress in the edgy style of Elvis Presley and James Dean, and as a result, adults began to see this style as embodying the ideas of rebellion and non-conformity (Mental Itch). This was a purposeful decision though, as young adults sought to embrace the idea of rebellion; by wearing tight blue jeans and white T-shirts. This “greaser” look was the epitome of rebelliousness in rock and roll (Fashion Encyclopedia). Ideals of rebelliousness seep through not only the music, but the appearance of rockers as well. So in the same vein as Elvis, Buckcherry communicate the core value of rebelliousness. Their clothing certainly isn’t significantly similar to Elvis, but similar enough to evoke what rock and roll is all about (edginess, rebelliousness, fighting cultural norms).
Aspects of the original rock and roll clothing style continued to prevail into the 1980s. These clothing choices were long standing, having been around for many years. Leather jackets, skintight jeans and tight fitting T-shirts became prevalent during this hard rock era (Jeff). As previously discussed, Buckcherry initially presented themselves as a throwback to the rock bands of the 1980s. Their whole musical style was modeled after bands such as the Motley Crue (Ankeny). When taking these facts into consideration, it becomes clear that Buckcherry would strive to dress and appear as if they were 80s rockers as well. This was quite apparent during their online livestream. Buckcherry’s attempts to come across as an 80s throwback band were blatantly obvious. Even as someone who isn’t very knowledgeable on 80s culture and music, I could easily tell that the band’s appearance was carefully crafted, effectively evoking classic rock culture and sensibilities. The lead singer, Josh Todd, swung around wildly onstage, shirtless with tight leather pants and platform boots. His leather pants closely resembled those worn by rockers in the 1980s. Josh Todd’s stylistic choices echoed not only 1980s rock culture, but 1970s rock culture as well. In the 1970s, similar to Josh Todd, some lead singers would perform onstage half-naked, wearing only jeans and a necklace (Mental Itch). But shirtless performances weren’t solely relegated to 70s hard rock. The 1980s also saw a similar trend of bare-chested front men. Singers like Jon Bon Jovi commonly performed shirtless in front of audiences (Daly).
During their livestream performance, Buckcherry’s other band members also closely followed the style of 70s and 80s rock culture. The drummer, Xavier Muriel, had his hair tied up in a black bandanna, and was wearing fingerless biker gloves, a large leather jacket, a ripped T-shirt and tight leather pants. Every one of these clothing choices was commonly worn by 1980s rockers. The fashion of 80s rock culture was seen by many people as outrageous and ridiculous; long hair, mullets, mohawks, spandex, bandannas, sequined gloves, fingerless biker gloves, tight leather pants, ripped clothing, leather jackets and padded-shouldered blazers abounded during this time period (Mental Itch). Xavier Muriel was wearing many of these clothing items, channeling the spirit of rock culture through his stylistic choices. The main guitarist, Stevie D., dressed in the same vein, sporting locks of long black hair and wearing a tight leather jacket, which was ripped at the seams. This main guitarist was also closely adhering to the band’s 1980s hard rock image.
While successfully evoking a 1980s hard rock image, aspects of Buckcherry’s appearance are very uncharacteristic of classic rock culture. A common theme, which emerged during their performance, was the prevalence of tattoos among the band members. This aspect of their appearance created friction against the hard rock image they were attempting to convey. But when taking America’s history of tattoos into account, this stylistic decision comes as no surprise. For many years in the United States, tattoos were seen only on particular individuals: bikers, soldiers, criminals and gang members. During the 1970s punk and counterculture movements, tattoos became increasingly popular among American citizens, but were strongly interlinked with rebelliousness and anarchy. Despite an increase in overall popularity during this time period, tattoos didn’t significantly catch on in mainstream culture until the 2000s (Boutwell). With Buckcherry emerging out of the early 2000s, it makes sense why tattoos are so prevalent in this band. They came together during a time when the tattoo industry was booming, and increasing numbers of Americans were getting their arms inked. In fact, the two founding members of the band, Josh Todd and Keith Nelson, met through a mutual tattoo artist (Ankeny). During the livestream performance, most of the band members’ arms were covered in an array of designs and symbols. Nowhere was this trend more accentuated than by the lead singer himself. Josh Todd’s shirtless chest was completely covered in tattoos, all the way up to his neck. It was as if his whole upper body had been dipped in a large vat of ink. While adhering strongly to the clothing style of 80s hard rock, Josh Todd contradicted this image through his numerous tattoos. The same can be said for the lead guitarist, Stevie D., with arms covered in an array of inked designs. The drummer, Xavier Muriel, had noticeably less tattoos, but they were still easy to spot. The prevalence of tattoos in Buckcherry is a reflection of the time period in which they emerged, as opposed to a homage to the classic rockers who came before them. But just because their tattoos don’t reflect the dominant culture of classic rock, that doesn’t mean this stylistic choice doesn’t reflect important rock and roll core values. As previously discussed, rebelliousness and edginess are ideals which have abounded in the rock genre since its very beginnings. These values are closely intertwined with rock and roll. Josh Todd, Xavier Muriel and Stevie D. channel a raw edginess and rebelliousness, through the numerous tattoos covering much of their arms and chests. They don’t directly reflect the sensibilities of classic rock by deciding to do this, but they certainly evoke the core values of the genre, which began with Elvis Presley in the 1950s, and continued onward with various rock bands throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Buckcherry, with their tight leather pants, black bandannas, platform boots, bare chests, oversized leather jackets and fingerless gloves, evoke the spirit of classic rock through their appearance. Their clothing style reveals values embedded deeply in the rock and roll genre, honoring those who came before them. Their fashion choices and appearances say more about the genre of rock and roll than the band probably realizes. But in some sense, Buckcherry is aware of their stylistic decisions, and how these choices impact the band’s image. One thing is for certain. For a band who purposefully models their musical style on classic rock, Buckcherry are wildly successful at conveying the cultural image of road hardened rockers, weary from years of partying and raucous performances, so much that they might as well have time traveled from the 1980s Sunset Strip.
Works Cited:
1) “Classic Rock Dress and Fashion.” Mental Itch, mentalitch.com/classic-rock-dress-and-fashion/.
2) Ankeny, Jason. “Buckcherry: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/buckcherry-mn0000533551/biography.
3) “Rock 'n' Roll Style.” Fashion Encyclopedia, www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Modern-World-1946-1960/Rock-n-Roll-Style.html.
4) Jeff. “How Rock n Roll Influenced Fashion.” Rock Revolution, 14 Oct. 2020, rockrevolution.co.uk/how-rock-n-roll-influenced-fashion/.
5) Daly, John. “How Rock 'n Roll Has Influenced Fashion Throughout the Ages.” California Rocker, 26 Sept. 2018, californiarocker.com/2018/09/26/how-rock-n-roll-has-influenced-fashion-through-the-ages/.
6) Boutwell, Hannah, et al. “A Short History Of The American Tattoo Tradition.” The Odyssey Online, 16 Oct. 2019, www.theodysseyonline.com/short-history-of-the-american-tattoo-tradition.