Xavier Muriel plays drums in reunited Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry.



When Buckcherry parted ways in 2002 after the demise of DreamWorks Records, the band took the time to reassess their future direction. Singer Josh Todd and co-writer/guitarist Keith Nelson reunited to play a benefit for the late drummer Randy Castillo, after which they were recruited by Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum to play in the now infamous Guns n' Roses project that eventually evolved into Velvet Revolver.



April 2006 saw the release of Buckcherry's first studio album in four years, "Fifteen".



Biograhpy:

Hailing from Austin, Texas Xavier Muriel grew up in a multicultural music home whether listening to Tito Puente with his parents or ZZ Top with his brother there was always music in the Muriel home. Recalls Xavier Muriel: "I knew exactly what I wanted to do from the age of thirteen. I tried my hand at motocross and some other sports, but watching MTV one day it hit me like a bolt of lightning. From that point on music has been the driving force in my life. I associate it with periods in my life, the good and not so good. It has always been there for me."



By 1987, while still in high school, Xavier had already been in more than ten local rock acts. Most notable at the time was the female-fronted band Onyxx. He and former Onyxx guitarist Julian Mandrake (Blue October, Canvas) have maintained a friendship to this day.



Shortly after Onyxx disbanded, Xavier moved to Los Angeles where he landed his first notable drumming gig with American Man, a Tommy Thayer (KISS, Black N' Blue) project that was being managed by the legendary Gene Simmons of KISS. Subsequently, he performed on the the album Harlow with members of American Man and also the album DORO which was Doro Pesch's debut solo album post-Warlock.



After several stints with various bands in the L.A. area, Xavier eventually made his way back to Texas to appear in such groups as Saucer with Bruce Castleberry of Vallejo and Cadillac Voodoo Choir. It was during this time that Xavier's Austin and LA lives seemed to merge as friends he made in LA were touring through Austin and they would arrange for Xavier's current project to open for them.



In 2005, one of those connections paid off when Keith Nelson of Buckcherry called Xavier and offered him the drumming gig for Buckcherry's return to the rock arena. Within days, Xavier was in LA as part of the new Buckcherry line-up and began recording a new album. Over 2006, after a year of touring and supporting the album 15, the song Crazy Bitch from the album garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance.