Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, drummer Dave Buckner, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luther.
Papa Roach
Vacaville, California, U.S.
1993–present
- Eleven Seven
- DGC
- Interscope
- Geffen
- DreamWorks
- New Noize
- Jacoby Shaddix
- Jerry Horton
- Tobin Esperance
- Tony Palermo
- Dave Buckner
- Ben Luther
- Will James
- Ryan Brown
- Anne Mikolajcik
After two EPs, James left and was replaced by Tobin Esperance. The band independently released two more EPs before signing with DreamWorks Records in 1999, subsequently releasing the triple-platinum Infest in 2000, the gold album Lovehatetragedy in 2002 and the platinum album Getting Away with Murder in 2004. A year after The Paramour Sessions, Buckner left in 2007, and was replaced by Tony Palermo. Papa Roach then made Metamorphosis (2009), Time for Annihilation (2010), The Connection (2012), F.E.A.R. (2015), Crooked Teeth (2017) and Who Do You Trust? (2019). Their eleventh studio album Ego Trip, was released on April 8, 2022.
History[edit]
Early years (1993–1995)[edit]
Papa Roach's formation began in January 1993, when lead singer Jacoby Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner met on the Vacaville High School football field. They were later joined by lead guitarist Jerry Horton from nearby Vanden High School, rhythm guitarist Anne Mikolajcik, trombonist Ben Luther and bassist Will James.[1] They decided to enter the school's talent show, performing a version of Jimi Hendrix's song "Fire". They ultimately ended up losing the talent show. In March 1993, Ben Luther left the band, and Anne Mikolajcik left as well. At this point, Papa Roach was practicing every day and touring, playing every gig they could get. Their first tour van was called Moby Dick, where Shaddix was inspired to come up with his first stage name "Coby Dick". Initially, the band was called "Papa Gato" as suggested by Buckner but Shaddix changed it to Papa Roach, mixing up the nickname of his grandfather from his mother's side —Herbert Fischer "Papa"— and "Roach" coming from his grandfather from his father's side, John "Grandpa" Roatch. Both grandparents were musicians.[2]
In 1994, Papa Roach released their first EP titled Potatoes for Christmas. Drummer Dave Buckner was temporarily replaced by Ryan Brown, as Buckner was spending the year in Seattle studying art. In 1995, they released a demo at Sound Farm Studios titled Caca Bonita. By this time Buckner was back. In 1996, they replaced original bassist Will James with longtime roadie Tobin Esperance, as James' involvement in a church summer camp would limit the band's summer practicing and touring.
Musical style, influences, and legacy[edit]
Papa Roach has been described as alternative rock,[108][109][110][111] nu metal,[112][111][113] alternative metal,[114][115][116] rap metal,[102][117][118] hard rock,[119][120][121] rap rock,[122] punk rock,[105] pop rock,[118] and rapcore.[118] The band also utilizes elements of pop, electronic, and hip hop.[123] The band started as a hardcore punk band.[121] In their early independent releases and on their first two major label albums, Infest and Lovehatetragedy, the band tended to use nu metal and rap metal.[117][124][125] Before Papa Roach released their major label albums, Jacoby Shaddix's singing style was compared to Chino Moreno and Lynn Strait of Snot. Additionally, with their 2009 album, Metamorphosis, as the name expresses, the band felt that their music was going through a transformation to "stuff that's...harder and faster".[126] AllMusic has compared the band's recent work to 1980s glam metal,[114][127] Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "At the close of the 2000s, the quartet has shed the rap and the angst, ditching all the alt-metal accoutrements to become a knowing update of an '80s Sunset Strip sleaze rock outfit."[114] With the release of F.E.A.R., both MetalSucks and Metal Injection noted that the band has acquired some djent influences.[128][129]
In 2004, frontman Jacoby Shaddix said the following in an interview with the Dallas Music Guide regarding the band no longer using rapping in their music: "...the rapping's gone! I don't feel like rapping. I'm just over that...I just want to be a rocker. It's what I wanted to be when I was a kid". Shaddix has added this remark in another interview: "We're a band that tries to walk that line between metal, hardcore, punk rock and pop music, and we do our best at trying to make it all cool".[130]
Prior to the release of The Connection, guitarist Jerry Horton said in an interview by VerdamMnis Magazine that "It's kind of a natural thing for us, we've always been changing throughout the years. Of course, there are some things that stay the same in our sound but we do like to try new things to sort of stretch out a little bit our basis and therefore make it more interesting". He also said that the band was going to explore "electronic sounds for the next record".[51]
The band's influences include Faith No More, Social Distortion, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wu-Tang Clan, Fugees, Refused, Queen, and Led Zeppelin.[131][132][133][134] Jacoby Shaddix acknowledges Faith No More's Mike Patton and Social Distortion's Mike Ness as major influences, stating that "the way that I sing, I definitely was inspired by Mike Patton", "but I like the storytelling that Mike Ness does so I kind of fused both those two guys together at an early age, and it inspired me to become my own thing."[131]
In the beginning, Papa Roach's biggest influence was experimental band Mr. Bungle (fronted by Mike Patton from Faith No More), which was reflected in the adventurousness of their 1994 debut release Potatoes for Christmas.[135]
In a 2021 interview, Jacoby Shaddix reflected about the band's long-held association with the nu metal genre, saying "I love being one of the forefathers of nu metal, that's dope, but we've been able to outlive it and celebrate it at the same time".[136]
Papa Roach is considered one of the bands that defined the nu metal sound. Alternative Press said: "Despite distancing from their distinctive sound in recent years, Papa Roach's early output shaped the side of nü metal that the mainstream welcomed with open arms—riff-laden, radio-friendly (at least, after a few bleeps) singles with dark earworm lyrics to piss off parents. Jacoby Shaddix's in-your-face tones were the introduction to many teenagers' nü-metal awakening, backed by completely singable and seductive guitar lines that made this outfit so instrumental in the genre. So much so that a feature from Shaddix is a seal of approval for any album."[137]
About the band's album "Infest", Kerrang! magazine said: "Straining vocal chords and detonating dancefloors with Last Resort, tugging the heartstrings with Broken Home and earworming their way under our skin with Between Angels And Insects, Jacoby Shaddix's Californian mob didn't just deliver an angst overload – they unleashed every ounce of feeling via arguably the catchiest songwriting nu-metal would ever see. Adolescence never really ends and, even now, these are absolutely essential sounds."[138]
Jacoby Shaddix
Jerry Horton
Tobin Esperance
Tony Palermo
Current members
Former members
Touring members
Former touring members
Timeline
Studio albums