Consider with me, if you will, that vilest of all creatures, the lowly cockroach. Universally despised, the cockroach first appeared some 350 million years ago and is hardy enough to inherit the earth in the event of global annihilation. Although Papa Roach don’t take their name from the bug (the band is actually named for frontman Jacoby Shaddix’s step-grandfather, whose last name is Roatch), they embrace the cockroach as a symbol of longevity and have featured it on the cover of their 2000 debut album, Infest. Says Shaddix, "We wanna have longevity, and by putting that idea in the cosmos - it's sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy." But mysticism will only take you so far in the realm of rock ‘n’ roll. Longevity isn’t just something Papa Roach hope for, but is what they have worked hard toward for well over a decade now.
Papa Roach began as a nu metal band in 1993 when lead vocalist Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner started talking music on the Vacaville High School football field during a match. The duo recruited fellow high school students Ben Luther on lead guitar and Will James on bass, and the band promptly entered the school’s talent show. Although they didn’t win, they knew they were onto something. The group ousted Luther for guitarist Jerry Horton, and in 1994, released their first EP, Potatoes for Christmas. A second EP, Caca Bonita, was released the following year.
Papa Roach remained committed. They practiced, recorded and toured heavily, piling into a van to get to gigs as they worked to expand their fan base all along the West Coast while holding down day jobs. Their sound evolved from nu metal to alternative/hard rock, and they were soon being billed as a support act nationally. By the time the band signed with DreamWorks Records in 1999, bassist Will James had been replaced by Tobin Esperance. Papa Roach released four albums for DreamWorks with this lineup including their breakthrough record, Infest. Lovehatetragedy (2002), Getting Away with Murder (2004), and The Paramour Sessions (2006) followed. Then in early 2008, citing personal reasons, Buckner left the band and was replaced by current drummer, Tony Palermo, formerly with the punk rock band Pulley.
With the March ‘09 release of their fifth album, Metamorphosis, which debuted at #8 on The Billboard 200 chart, Papa Roach aimed for a harder sound than their past records. The group have been performing songs from Metamorphosis since last summer as part of the Crue Fest lineup and more recently, while on tour with Nickelback, priming nearly a million fans before the album’s release. The record’s lyrical themes are as dark as ever, ranging from the scathing criticism of “Hollywood Whore”, to the isolation of “Lifeline”, to the cat’s-pawing of “I Almost Told You That I Loved You.” Also included is “Into the Light”, a collaboration with Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars.
As a live act, Papa Roach have a synergistic relationship with their audience, affectionately referring to them as “mixed nuts” in their diversity. The flamboyant Shaddix, who admits to having dressed up as Liberace for Halloween when he was 12, is possessed of a manic energy that can’t be contained by the stage as he frequently leaps into the crowd, microphone in hand, and makes his way around the arena, high-fiving fans along the way, elated to have come from that Vacaville football field to this.
Papa Roach have worked themselves up to bigger and bigger venues over the years and are on track to headline arenas in the States. In the offing is an unplugged album. They’ve already recorded acoustic versions of some of the songs on Metamorphosis and plan to record some of their older material as well. The band is currently playing Europe and returns to the States in July to resume their tour with Nickelback.
