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Xavier Muriel
Born in San Antonio and raised primarily in Austin, Texas, the young Xavier had dreams of pursuing a career as a professional tennis player. But at the age of thirteen, he saw Motley Crue's "Looks That Kill" video. "That video changed my life," says Xavier. "I knew that rock drumming was what I wanted to do from then on. Tommy Lee became a major influence on me. I practiced to all of the Crue's big hits, trying to figure out how Tommy played them." Tommy Lee wasn't Xavier's only influence, however. His own family provided plenty of inspiration. "I grew up in a Latin household", he says. "My folks listened to Latin jazz, blues, and ethnic music—everything from Tito Puente to Etta James to The Gipsy Kings. My older brother was into hard rock, so I also heard Van Halen, ZZ Top, and Judas Priest. My mom had been a drummer in high school, my father had been a singer, and my brother was always in bands. "Once I got into drumming, that changed everything," Xavier continues. "But along the way I also became a ridiculously dedicated motorcycle guy. I worked at a Harley dealership for a couple of years, and then I ventured into the custom world: fabrication, welding, design, and working with customers. I did that with my best friend of twenty-five years, Terry—who's also my drum tech and is out on the road with me. That was a labor of love, just like drumming is. I was really blessed because I could build bikes during the day and play rock 'n' roll at night. It was the best of both worlds." Xavier's world got even better when he was asked by his friend (and Buckcherry founding guitarist) Keith Nelson to join the LA-based group in 2005. From that point, things took off very quickly. To begin with, Xavier contributed his drumming talents to Buckcherry's 2006 release 15, which included the balls-to-the-wall hit single "Crazy Bitch." That cut skyrocketed to the top of the charts and earned the band a Grammy nomination for best hard rock performance. As Buckcherry's popularity increased, so did demand for their live performances. They toured virtually non-stop for the next two years, including a high-profile spot on Motley Crue's Cruefest tour in the summer of 2008—giving Xavier the opportunity to work with Tommy Lee, the very person who inspired him to become a drummer. "Tommy is an incredible human being first and foremost," says Xavier, "as well as being one of the most influential drummers of the past three decades. And it's wild to think that a thirteen-year-old kid who saw a video that changed his life would grow up to tour with the guy who made that video. After emulating Tommy for so many years, it was incredible to be playing on stage and to look back and see him behind me, dancing to 'Crazy Bitch.'" Just before hitting the road on Cruefest, Buckcherry went back into the studio to record their next album, Black Butterfly. Ranging from fast-paced rock tracks to melodic, mid-tempo tunes—and one downright funky joint—Black Butterfly was released in the fall of 2008 to critical and popular acclaim. The album's success put Buckcherry right back on the road. Xavier describes the past year and a half in one word. "Unbelievable," he exclaims. "In 2008 I got a cover story in Modern Drummer, Buckcherry had a platinum record, and I got to tour with my biggest influence, who turned out to be a really great guy. Over the years I've met a few of my influences who turned out not to be such great guys. And that's made me all the more determined to stick to the ground, in hopes that if I influence younger players in the future, I'll be the person they hoped I'd be when they meet me, and not some sort of pompous rock star. Maybe there's a thirteen-year-old kid out there who's just like I was at that age, who's looking at me and saying, 'I can do that.' I want to be the guy who says, 'Yes, you can!' "Look at me", Xavier continues. "I'm doing the things that I worked and dreamed the better part of twenty-five years to accomplish. Some people think I'm an overnight success, because Buckcherry's first two albums hit big. I tell them, 'Dude, I'm forty years old. I busted my butt to get where I am. And I'm still busting my butt. It's not over ... it's just begun. But getting up there and doing what I do isn't a job—it's fun. I'll take it." When asked what brought him to Toca Percussion, Xavier replies, "First, let me say that the reason I endorse any product is because I believe in that product, not because I get it for free. Second, I grew up in a Latin household that was full of music, so I'm familiar with bongos, congas, timbales, and all the Latin instruments. "I was introduced to Toca by Toca artist Hannah Ford, who's an incredible young independent drummer and clinician. After Hannah told me about Toca, I asked my friend and Toca artist Shannon Larkin, who's the drummer for Godsmack, what he thought about it. He raved about the quality and the durability of the gear, and he assured me that it would hold up to the way I play. He also said that the company is very supportive of their artists, which is important to me. So I called Toca's product manager, Victor Filonovich, and he arranged a meeting to let me check everything out. I told him what I was looking for in a company and he told me what they were looking for in an artist. Our ideas meshed, so I signed with Toca. I'm very excited." Xavier already has plans to incorporate Toca Percussion into Buckcherry's music in the future. "I'll definitely be using percussion in the studio," he says. "We're going to be recording an acoustic record soon, so I'm looking forward to using a lot of different percussion colors on that. And on our next tour I'll have some timbales as part of my kit, which will be cool for some breakdowns. A couple of the guys in the band have some drum corps experience, so I want to get them involved as well. That'll let us put something different into our live show. Give the audience a little something to dance to!"
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Had
it not been for a music video, Xavier Muriel might very well not have
been a drummer.