PAPA ROACH Frontman Says Upcoming Album Was Influenced By North Hollywood's 'Street Vibe'

PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix was interviewed on the August 22 edition of "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie. You can now listen to the chat using the widget below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the making of PAPA ROACH's forthcoming ninth studio album, due in early 2017:

Jacoby: "We worked with these two guys, Ras and Colin ['Doc' Brittain], on a track called 'Medication'. We were just, like, these guys are new, young, up-and-coming fresh guys, and they kind of sit in the world of rock, but then also punk and hip-hop and electro. And those are all elements that we stir up into our music, and so we just wanted to freshen things up. And we jumped into the studio and started writing tracks. And as the record kind of started to rear its head, it was just, like, 'All right. Cool. I love that element.' And they kind of brought out of us a little more of that old-school stuff. And, to be honest, the producer's, like, 'I don't wanna work with you unless you're rapping on some of this record.' And I'm, like, 'All right. Cool. Let's go.' I was kind of waiting for somebody to push me over the edge on that, to be honest, 'cause I'd hesitated to do it for quite some time. I'd dabble in it, put a track on the record with rapping on it. And, you know, from the beginning of our career, that was a huge staple to our sound, and then we walked away from it for a long time. I wanted to prove myself as a valid rock singer and whatnot. And now it's, like fast-forward sixteen years later from the first big release, and I'm, like, 'It's time to switch it up.'"

On whether there is anything left for PAPA ROACH to prove with each new album:

Jacoby: "Oh, totally. I totally feel like there's so much more to prove for us as a band, 'cause we see this whole new wave of young bands coming through. And I'm, like, 'Okay, here's the next competition.' I'm, like, sizing these punks up. Like, 'What's up? What you got? What's your sound? You got it?' We actually just did the AP Awards, and there was a bunch of those younger bands out there, and being able to see some of them live… I saw the kids in OF MICE & MEN… They're not kids. Those guys are men now. What am I talking about? But the guys in OF MICE & MEN, and they were bringing it; they bring some fire to the table. And I'm excited to see that. But it's, like, we always wanna… When it comes to the stage, we've got something to prove. And also when we make records, 'cause there's a whole new generation of rock fans growing up right now that are discovering PAPA ROACH for the first time, and then they realize, 'Oh, snap! They've got a history of eight records, nine records deep that I don't even know about.' And so there's always that fire and that passion."

On how he channels his personal life into PAPA ROACH's music:

Jacoby: "Oh, man. I mean, there's no secret I'm an open book when it comes to the music and what I write about. And it really just interconnects me to people. I think that that's what a lot of us are looking for in life — to be connected and to be understood and to feel part of, and that's what music does for me; it makes me feel part of something greater than just myself. There's no doubt that I've got issues, and I always get to put it into the music. But on this record, to be honest, on the record we're about to release — well, release next year — there's a lot of other people's lives on this record. I sing it from first person, but I sing about a lot of people around me's lives and stuff like that. So these are songs for my friends and for fans and for people that I've met."

On working at a Los Angeles studio on PAPA ROACH's follow-up to 2015's "F.E.A.R.":

Jacoby: "This time around, L.A. brought a whole different kind of gnarly, rugged street vibe out of our band. I think that's kind of the thing that we lost over the course of our records. We'd always just try to write the best song and the best hook and the best… And it was cool, and it's fun, but then it's, like, 'Go back and rediscover your struggle, homie. Rediscover what people are going through out on the street.' I do a lot of work out in the community back home, helping people in need and stuff like that, and I see that the struggle is real. We're in North Hollywood, so it's, like, gunshots are going off, and we're, like, hanging outside the studio. Helicopters are flying over. And I'm, like, 'This is where I need to be making a record instead of some…' And we made it in this grimy little studio too — Steakhouse — down there, man, and it was a great time doing it. And I think that being up in North Hollywood, just that street vibe, brought out a whole different edge of our music… It's different every time, too, 'cause I come with a different perspective every time. 'Cause, I mean, two years of touring on the road will change you, for better or for worse."

"Whiplash" airs every Monday night from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on the Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS. The show can be heard on the KLOS web site at 955klos.com or you can listen in on the KLOS channel on iHeartRadio. Full Metal Jackie also hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, which can be heard all over the country.

To see a full list of stations carrying Full Metal Jackie's show and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com.

Interview (audio):