Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach
In between two shows in Canada last week, I had the chance to talk to Papa Roach front man Jacoby Shaddix. Front men past and present, answering the critics, and his love for Minneapolis was just a snippet of where our conversation took us. Read more…
Asif: So dude, where are you right now?
Jacoby: I am in Quebec.
Asif: How are the Canadian fans treatin' ya?
[NOTE: My boy Jacoby saved me on this one. I accidentally said "comedian" instead of "Canadian". He knew what I was saying and didn't call me out on it. Thank you bro!]
Jacoby: Amazing' man. Last night we played in Montreal and it was just out control. It has been a long time since we have been up here, so it has been a long time coming. The fans just went (bleep) crazy. Tonight we are playin' in Quebec. It's sold out. So, I'm really excited. It's going to be a great night.
Asif: Awesome man! You guys have accomplished so much already in your careers. Multiple albums. Multiple hits. Multiple videos. Your music played everywhere from sporting events to being featured in television shows. So far, what has been your largest accomplishment to date?
Jacoby: I'd say just staying together this long. I mean, we've been together for 14 years this month.
Asif: Wow.
Jacoby: So yeah man, I think that is just a massive accomplishment.
Asif: No man, I totally agree. There are so many bands out there right now that switch guitarists – hell, they even switch singers – after an album or two. So it is amazin'.
Jacoby: Yeah man. We're not disposable, you know what I'm saying'? They have to deal with us. All of us have an important part in what we do.
Asif: That being said, what do you want to accomplish in the future with the band – any goals left that you haven't accomplished?
Jacoby: To headline an arena tour across the world.
Asif: Dude, I think you could easily do that right now cause you guys are selling out every single club right now!
Jacoby: Yeah, we're just workin' hard dude. That Minneapolis show was just amazing.
Asif: That was the best rock show I've been to in a long time. When you came into the crowd during "Time Is Running Out" and you put the mic out, that was right in my face. That was me singing part of that chorus.
Jacoby: That's awesome dude! You know what's crazy man? I was talking to my buddy Pablo from the station.
Asif: From 93X?
Jacoby: Yeah. He was a big part in making "Forever" our next single cause that's what the band wanted. He started playing it man. For us, Minneapolis is the first place "Forever" has become a hit. We got nothing but love for Minneapolis man. The show was amazing, the crowd was great.
Asif: Well you have to keep coming through man, Minneapolis loves you too!
Jacoby: Yeah, we will man!
Asif: One of the newest hits "…To Be Loved" is the theme song for WWE Monday Night RAW. Are you a pro wrestling fan yourself?
Jacoby: I used to be a Hulkamaniac to the bone dude, when I was kid.
Asif: (laughs) Do you like anyone now?
Jacoby: I don't really follow too much of the wrestling now. But I think it's a great way for our music to get out to people. One of the cats, Chris Jericho?
Asif: Yeah?
Jacoby: He's a really cool cat dude. I've met him a few times and he's totally a nice guy and he's a rocker too so it's kinda crazy.
Asif: His band Fozzy is really good, I like them.
Jacoby: Yeah, he can sing man. I was really surprised. I was like "(bleep)! This mother (bleep) can sing!"
Asif: I know! A lot of people are like "oh, he's just a wrestler. He's gonna suck". But then when they hear Fozzy, they are like "whoa, Jericho kicks!"
Jacoby: The boy has some skills!
Asif: Alright, so I want to talk about of the critics out there. I've heard a lot of them say that The Paramour Sessions is a more "mature" Papa Roach. I just hate that term "mature". I mean, you guys evolved a bit from album to album. You guys are still rockin' hard – "…To Be Loved" & "Crash" just as examples from the new album of that. Don't you think that evolution in a band is just natural and terming an album as "more mature" or "mature" is just B.S.?
Jacoby: For me, it's like everybody's perception is different, you know what I'm saying? For us, our thing is constantly evolving and pushing things forward. There is some music that definitely has more of a mature edge, but then there's some shit that is just reckless and wild. "Crash", "…To Be Loved", "Alive" are there, you know what I'm saying? I think it's just a balance. People ask me "are you mellowing out?" and I'm like "no dude, I'm crazy than I ever was. It's just different parts of my emotional & personal life that I put into my music."
Asif: Oh man, you are the craziest on stage! You are hands down the best
front man in rock n' roll right now man. You are just amazing on stage.
Jacoby: Thanks man! Billy Joe of Green Day is another guy is one of the better front men of the music biz right now too you know. There are cats out there that can really front it, and then there are a lot of front men that just suck.
Asif: (laughs) I know that STP was an influence, so I'm assuming that the presence Scott Weiland had on stage was a huge impact on you. But who was it growing up that you saw that finally set something off in your mind and you were like "whoa, I want to be rock the stage like that dude!"
Jacoby: I always thought David Lee Roth was an amazing front man. I always thought Axl Rose was an amazing front man. Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots I always thought was killer. Freddie Mercury from Queen. There were definitely some heavy hitters out there.
Asif: Speaking of STP, have you heard of Army of Anyone?
Jacoby: Yeah, you know Ray the drummer?
Asif: Yeah?
Jacoby: He came out to our show that night in Minneapolis. They were playing the next night.
Asif: Sweet man! Well, last month, I interviewed Richard Patrick from Army of Anyone and asked him what his thoughts were on the current state of rock n' roll. We discussed that emo-rock or alternative were huge right now and that rap & R&B will always be strong but agreed that the current state of rock pretty much is pathetic. What are your thoughts on the current state of rock n' roll?
Jacoby: I'm not a huge emo fan, you know what I'm saying? So I just like floor-to-the-floor savage, nasty, ill rock n' roll. I like to see bands like Army of Anyone, like Velvet Revolver, like Green Day, like My Chemical Romance. I think My Chemical Romance they totally broke out of that emo thing I think. Shit, what else is out there? Bands like The Bronx. Bands like Rise Against. Bands from the punk rock scene are carrying the flag too. Not whiney, and moaning, and wah wah wah.
Asif: (laughs)
Jacoby: It's balls, you know?
Asif: Oh, I hear ya. Have you ever had those moments where you felt like the band wasn't on or the crowd just wasn't there, and you walked off stage and were like "what the hell was that!?"
Jacoby: Oh yeah, there are some nights like that. We are our biggest critics. We live this every day, day in and day out. We know when a show is magic and a show is just average. For instance, we played last night in Montreal. From the moment we stepped on stage to the moment we left stage, it was just out of control. The crowd was just amazing. So was the First Ave show. There was just an energy in that room that we connected with and we took it to the next level.
Then there are nights where we walk off stage and we're like "damn, we had to work hard to get that crowd into a frenzy." But if every night was magic dude, nothing would be magic.
Asif: Really good point bro. Ok, what is your favorite late night snack when you're out on the road?
Jacoby: (laughs) I'll sneak into my tour manager's bunk and steal his chocolate covered pretzels.
Asif: (laughs) Solid! So you just recorded the album…and now you are touring, touring, and more touring. So you don't have any free time! But let's say you did have free time. When you aren't touring or tied up in a studio, what do you like to do to lay back and have a good time?
Jacoby: When I'm at home, I like to go see live comedy. That is something I'm really into. Also, we actually bought a recording studio in Sacramento. So we're gonna go home after this tour and we're gonna put some of our own elbow grease into it and we're gonna renovate the studio. So we're gonna put some work into that. Also, I got this opportunity that I'm hosting a show for MTV called Scarred so I'm going to be taping some episodes of that while I'm at home. You know, just spending time with my family, watching movies, reading books, and…getting home to my wife.
Asif: Alright man, thank you very much for your time. Come back to Minneapolis, we love you.
Jacoby: Oh yeah, definitely, we'll be back for sure man!
Asif: Cool. Thanks!
Jacoby: Take care my brother! Peace!
NOTE: MTV's show Scarred is a series about the stories behind people's scars. The show uses Papa Roach's song "Alive" from The Paramour Sessions as its theme song.
PHOTOS: Asif
