Papa Roach

Gig review/ Jacoby Shaddix Interview
Manchester Academy One
Thursday, April 16

NOW I know what you’re thinking. You’re reading this interview so you can whinge to your friends about the state of the new metal / pop metal genre – well get over yourself.

I chatted to Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach’s groin wielding front man) before the band’s first headline gig in a year and a half at Manchester Academy – and we weren’t just talking shop.

We covered everything from Kerry Katona, to the credit crunch, to nude photos of his wife. So give this a read, “show us your horns” (I discovered that’s what rock bands say to the audience to make them do the devil sign – very exciting) and embrace the tongue in cheek theatre that is ROCK!!!

Papa Roach hit the road in UK in April to promote their fifth album ‘Metamorphosis’ at three sell out dates in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

As I walked to meet Jacoby I noticed queues of hair sprayed teens (breaking the world record for the most amount of different coloured finger nails in one place no doubt) lurking in line outside Manchester Academy buzzing with anticipation at the show that awaited them.

Mr Shaddix was also off his tits on adrenaline and couldn’t wait to take centre stage once more saying: “I’m dead excited about this tour. It was really great putting together new material and getting ready to display it.”

The Californian quartet love to mix it up sound-wise and member-wise between albums – giving them the opportunity to “explore themselves” as musicians – and this is why the current album has been titled ‘Metamorphosis’.

Jacoby explained: “This record is a reflection of my life and the bands lives and we’ve been through a lot of changes.

“We fired our management, and we’ve got a new drummer which was fucking huge for us as I’ve been playing music with Dave Buckner for 15 years of my life – he went to rehab to take care of his own life and I believe he’s doing a lot better.

“Bringing in (ex-Unwritten Law’s drummer) Tony Palermo was part of our evolution and change which was great because when we went to Paramour (world famous recording studio) to write again it wasn’t about four guys trying to work out their issues.”

Part of ‘Metamorphosis’ was written while Papa Roach were performing on Motley Cru’s Crufest and the album has in been produced by James Michael singer of Sixx Am (Mickey Sixx’s side project) and Mick Mars also collaborated with Papa Roach one of the songs from the album, ‘Into the Light’.

The first single to come from the album is ‘Hollywood Whore’, a ferocious track attacking the media savvy sluts of this world. I quizzed Shaddix about this single, and unearthed something rather strange.

The wizened rocker slid a heavily tattooed hand into the pocket of his tight black jeans and said to me “Who’s this bitch” he presented me with a bit of paper on which were written ‘Kerry Katona’.

I proceeded to explain to him about Kerry’s rise to fame as a girl band member and her weight issues, her televised breast surgery and her alleged drug misuse. I didn’t ask why he had Kerry’s name written on a bit of paper that he carries around with him.

Jacoby said: “She’s exactly the kind of Paris Hilton bitch I refer to in my song.”

I added that Kerry may not be as well put together as Paris and the rocker remarked “she still sounds like a fucking cunt”.

Life Line, the second single to come from Roach’s ‘Metamorphosis’ has just hit number one in the rock charts in the US which the band are “absolutely fucking stoked about”.

In the song, Jacoby considers the economic crisis and how it is hitting Sacramento, the town where he grew up in the states. He addresses issues of homelessness – something he can feel “compassion” for as his own family was homeless for a short while when he was younger.

Talking about the album Shaddix said: “This is a more socially conscious record.

“I was inspired by the world around me and I tried to educate myself by reading the newspapers.

“But on the other hand we do have a song on the album which is called ‘I Almost Told You That I Love You’ which is a straight forward sex romp.”

Before he went on stage, I asked the singer about the labels that have been attached to Papa Roach in their time- including new metal, prog, alternative rock and rap mental and which label he felt applied to the band most. My reply was: “We’re a fucking rock band. We don’t play tape; we don’t have a backing track. We’re just four mother fuckers ripping it up.”

After the interview I went for a pizza and returned to the Academy just in time to see them take centre stage.

It was impressive show. I’ve never seen the venue as full in my life and the crowd had a real passion for the music, something that has left the indie and electro music scenes- of which I’m member.

I told friends that I would be doing this article, none of them expressed any interest in Papa roach, and some even laughed but the band have sold 10 million albums worldwide and operate the theatre of rock perfectly.

The crowd hung on Jacoby’s every word as hairy bloodied crowd surfers flew into the bouncers at the front and ‘horns’ filled the air at his command- It doesn’t hurt to buy into a bit of rock metal comedy from time to time.

The band will be at this years Download festival if you wish to check them out.

 Will Astbury
photo by Alan Hall