Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd revealed in a new interview with Radioactive Mike that he believes rock essentially died in the mainstream after the 90’s, and he views late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley as the last great rock star, with his 2002 death marking a sad day in rock and roll.
He was asked to name his favorite out of the ‘Flannel 5,’ which consists of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains. Ultimate-Guitar transcribed his comments.
“I was talking about this in the press recently: the last decade of rock stars is really the ’90s. All those bands you’ve mentioned have just incredible frontmen, really great singers, and that has been lost in rock music.
“I really feel like that’s the big problem with rock music, that’s why hip hop is thriving – just all these characters in hip-hop, there’s just none of that going on anymore in rock music.”
“That being said, as far as the vocalist and the cool factor and singing-wise, out of all those, it has to be Alice In Chains. I think Layne Stayley is one of the most amazing rock singers of the ’90s, for sure.”
He later said, “Some of these new school rock bands, they’re really trying to get that old-school feel.”
“But you can tell they’re not really listening to the right music to get that. You really got to have soul; all of those older rock bands, they all listened to African American artists, and that’s really where it’s at, that needs to be brought back to rock music. …
“You got to have a colorful past; it definitely helps, to have some sort of tragic story there in your childhood or whatever. Through every decade, there’s only a handful of artists that are like that, and they are going to have a lot of longevity for sure.”
