They’re Back

They say that the only living things that would survive a nuclear war are the cockroaches. Well, the cockroaches and the lawyers, really. And though comparing the current state of the music industry to a nuclear holocaust may be unfair to the holocaust, it illustrates the point that NorCal rockers Papa Roach are trying to make. With a slightly evolved sound that still encompasses all of the aggression and melodic sensibility that captivated such a large audience almost instantly with the release of 2000’s Infest, and with a new record label backing them (Geffen), the quartet is ready to prove to the world that they’re here to stay.
“Everything is going good right now,” said the band’s bassist, Tobin Esperance, while relaxing in their tour bus before a show in Houston, TX. “We’re just making our way across the United States to let everyone know that we’ve got a new record coming out August 31st called Getting Away With Murder. We’re trying to get intimate with the fans and play some small clubs so we can get all crazy and sweaty and showcase some of the new material. We’re basically getting ourselves warmed up for the big stuff right now.”
With the massive success of their major label debut, Infest, and a sophomore effort that didn’t perform quite as well, you would think that Papa Roach would be feeling the pressure right now. But according to Tobin, that’s simply not the case.
“None of us feel pressure, really. We’re at our best physically and mentally. We’ve never sounded this good, and we’ve never looked this good before. We went through a lot of shit in these last couple of years and we learned a lot. Now we’re more focused and sounding better than ever. So, pressure? No. It’s more like we just want to go out and prove this record to people and let them know that we’re going to be around.
“We definitely had a more focused approach on this album, “ he continued. “I think that a lot of that had a lot to do with the fact that we took our time and we wanted to do this one right. We just wanted to write memorable rock anthems. I think that Coby [frontman Jacoby Shaddix] especially stepped it up a lot. [This album] has heartfelt shit, but it’s also got some wild rock attitude.”
So, what allowed the band to focus so much and create exactly what they were hoping to this time? “Actually, while we were in the process of making this record, DreamWorks got bought out, so we really had no record label over our shoulder while we were recording, and that gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted,” said Tobin, obviously pleased with the results. “After the record was done, Geffen heard it and loved it and they’ve really been backing us, so we’re really excited about working with them. The vibe that we’ve been getting from the people we’ve been working with is much greater than anything we’ve ever felt before.”
From there, the conversation turned to the band’s high-energy and often unpredictable live show, which included Shaddix defecating in a towel and tossing it into the crowd on one particular occasion. Why would he do this? “Well, the crowd was shitty that night, so Coby let them know,” explained Tobin. “He’s done a lot of crazy things and so have all of us. If you come to our shows you’ll see that. There’s always something unexpected bound to happen, though now we’ve got a tighter grip on what’s going on around us and we’re not quite as self-destructive. Basically, instead of acting like a bunch of immature idiots, we’ve cleaned up our act.” It was just about then that Shaddix could be heard in the background yelling, “I’m pressing my dick against the phone right now! You want my dick on your ear?” There was a short pause and then Tobin added, “But we’ll still be the same wild-ass rock ‘n’ roll motherfuckers.”
In that spirit, Papa Roach’s live show is also evolving. “We’ve taken a lot of time to work on our set,” Tobin said. “Instead of just getting on stage and blasting through nine songs, we’ve made it more of a show. We’ve got an intro and we play songs from all of our albums, from the heaviest ones to the mellower ones. You’ll hear some jams and some hip-hop breaks that we’ll fill in.”
And plans for the future? “We’re just going to ride this fucker out as long as we can,” he laughed. “We’re going to tour our ass off all around the country because we believe in this record. This is the best record that we’ve ever written. It’s just rock ‘n’ roll to the bone.”

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