Papa Roach
Questions Answered By Jerry (Guitar), Dave (Drums), Jacoby (Vocals), Tobin (Bass).
October 1999
Interviewed by wookubus
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Related Links:
Official Website
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PRP: You guys have been around since 1993 being around that long have you noticed alot of changes in the scene?
Jerry: I think like you know we've seen a lot of bands come and go as far as bands in Vacaville and Sacramento but the scene overall as far as types of music hasn't really changed that much I mean there's always variations and different styles of shit but the music scene as a whole hasn't really changed.
Dave: We've seen a lot of bands come and go and my breath really smells like Doritos.
PRP: What music do you guys listen to currently and what music would you say inspired you
musically back in the day?
Dave: Can I say currently? Refused, Slipknot... Refused and Slipknot.
Jerry: Uh, Refused, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, which is pretty much a staple. Back in the day I listened to Primus, Godflesh, Skinny Puppy, Metallica.
Dave: Back in the day I listened to Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, um Beastie Boys, NIN, Jane's Addiction, Fugazi, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana, oh I don't know all the popular bands of the era.
PRP: Is it true that bands that are now signed to major labels like Snot and Incubus once opened for you guys?
Jerry: That would be true.
Dave: That is true also.
PRP: Crunchy peanutbutter or smooth?
Jerry: Crunchy.
Dave: Crunchy.
PRP: Of your three available releases, which would you consider your favorite?
Dave: ...LET 'EM KNOW"!!!
Jerry: Of the three? yea, "...Let 'Em Know"
PRP: On "Old Friends From Young Years" and "5 Tracks Deep" there was a bit of a playful element with various outtakes and misc. items thrown in, Yet you get more down to business on "...Let 'Em Know", was this just the recording conditions i.e.. demoing for a label or a more serious aspect
evolving in the band?
Dave: With "Old Friends From Young Years" we planed that to be an album from the start, from the conception, it was planned, everything that went into that was kinda thought out before hand and the same with "5 Tracks Deep", but with let em know we had just recorded those songs as a demo for some industry, and we really weren't planning on releasing them until, a lot of kids were asking us "hey when are you going to release those songs?" and "we heard you recorded" and "when can we get a copy of those new songs?" So many kids were just asking about it we just said fuck it we might as well release it and that's how "...Let 'Em Know" came out.
PRP: What's your favorite song to play live?
Dave: Favorite song? fuck man, probably "Thrown Away", but I like every song cause I have fun live.
Jerry: "Legacy".
PRP: Rumor has it that the band doesn't play "Peewagon" live anymore is this true? And if so why?
Dave: We don't play it live because we fucking hate that song.
Jerry: I think that's pretty much a consensus of the whole band.
PRP: If you had to pick lubrication would it be Ky-Jelly or Vaseline?
Dave: Fuck that Asstro Glide.
Jerry: No comment.
PRP: When listening to "...Let 'Em Know" the band has a more distinct individual sound, a tighter groove almost reminiscent of Helmet and other bands. Do you see this as the direction that Papa Roach is going in?
Jerry: On "...Let 'Em Know" we kind of expanded our directions a little bit to see where we could go, now we're kinda focusing in the middle of "...Let 'Em Know" and "5 Tracks" but were keeping the melodies and harmonies and everything, there still hard songs, they're just more melodic than the older songs.
Dave: I would have to agree with that.
PRP: Any favorites of the many local area indie bands that you've played with?
Jerry: All the local bands to Vacaville and Sacramento and San Jose.
Dave: One of my favorite local bands would have to be Sorry About The Fire from Vacaville.
PRP: With mp3's being as popular as they are at the moment and bands such as Juice and Nuclear Rabbit using them to promote their music on mp3.com do you see yourselves adopting a similar approach any time in the near future?
Dave: I think mp3's are a great idea as far as promoting music, I'm not quite sure how they'll pan out in the whole entire music picture, what effect they'll have on the music industry but as far as what goes on right now I think they're a great tool for promoting bands and we'll obviously have to work something out, a plan with our label to be able to utilize that tool, they realize that too that it's a very effective promotion tool, to get the music out there.
PRP: Are there any plans to release previously recorded material on upcoming major label debut?
Dave: Yea I have a feeling that some of the songs from "5 Tracks Deep" and ...Let 'Em Know" will definitely be showing up on the record, that's what we want to do with our release, "Old Friends From Young Years", since we're gonna have some songs left over from "5 Tracks Deep", cause once we've recorded for our major label album we can't release it independently any more as "5 Tracks Deep", so we'll probably combine the songs left over from "5 Tracks Deep" the whole album of "Old Friends From Young Years" and maybe a couple of our old really rare demos and we might put it out on a CD later on in the future as a one package, one stop one shop CD that kind of encapsulates the growth of the band over the years.
PRP: If you had only one choice of swimming apparel and they were a thong and a pair of Speedo Italian cut shorts which would you choose?
Dave: I have some Speedo trunks, not like Speedo underwear.
Jerry: They're talking about the underwear kind.
Dave: Oh that kind? Fuck, I might as well go naked or something, shit, I prefer naked.
Jerry: Thongs.
PRP: There's a definite evolution in lyrics when judging from "Old Friends From Young Years" to "...Let
'Em Know". Do you feel the band is trying to send more of a vocal message in current releases?
Jacoby: Yes definitely I want people to connect to my music and not be like scatterbrained lyrics like our first album, a little more straight to the point, a little more heartfelt, a little more relatable to children, people.
PRP: Ever considered relocating from Vacaville to a larger town?
Jacoby: Yea I did, I live in Sacramento now.
Dave: I live in downtown Sacramento also, I've been living there for the last year.
Jacoby: Papa roach is from Vacaville and always will be from Vacaville and I just live in Sacramento because that's where I fucking reside.
Jerry: I actually moved to a smaller town called.... Dickskin.
Jacoby: Dickskin California!
PRP: Is there anyone in the band that can't spell racecar backwards?
Jacoby: Tobin!
Jerry: Tobin!
Dave: Tobin!
PRP: With Dreamworks now in the picture what should we expect on the new record?
Dave: New stuff and old stuff and stuff in between.
Jacoby: Nah, a lot better recording recording quality, good songs a couple old ones, a couple new ones, more new ones than old ones, a badass layout in the art and the lyrics all written inside and stuff plus a better website.
Dave: Also we want to put a CD extra on the CD too of like maybe some live stuff and whatever so maybe some recording studio shots if we can do it.
PRP: Well that should be just about it any shout outs or props you'd like to give?
Jacoby: Hell No! ... no I'm just kidding, just all the fucking fans dude, everybody who's doing the fucking punk rock fan zines, who's doing the independent websites, who's coming to the shows, who's buying the shirts, the fucking kids dude cause that's who's gonna read this article.
Dave: I'd like to thank you who did the interview, what's his name? Wilk? Wook? thank you Wook for the opportunity to put this on your fan zine and stuff like that. Jerry? Jerry are you asleep? wake up!
Jacoby: Wake up!
Jerry: Huh? what?
Dave: Anyone other than wook you'd like to thank?
Jerry: No, think that about covers it.
Tobin: Hey man, I'm about to fall asleep real quick and uh.........
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