PAPA ROACH's JACOBY SHADDIX: 'I Love The Pushback From Rock Culture Against' A.I. In Music

In a new interview with LA Lloyd, the nationally syndicated radio host for the "LA Lloyd Rock 30", PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix was asked if there was ever a time when he and his bandmates thought, "We've gotta adapt" to the changes in the music industry "or we're outta here." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think when CD sales went away, that was a really bleak moment for the music business. I was seeing a lot of the record companies just fall apart and crumble and bands getting dropped, and I'm, like, 'Oh, what's happening?' And the thing that gave me hope was my band and my brothers in this music and the creation process and then stepping on that stage and playing in front of fans. And, yeah, it was almost like the dark ages of PAPA ROACH because when we were out on tour, some nights we were playing in front of just 500, 800 people. That was after selling millions of records worldwide. And we leaned into the music and we leaned into the people that believed in us, and we just kept pressing on.

"I think now, at this point, we're at another kind of strange time in music where this A.I. element is coming through, and it can be frightening, I think, for a lot of people, for a lot of young artists maybe," Jacoby continued. "But then there's this hopeful element in it that I feel. Will.i.am from the BLACK EYED PEAS was trying to explain it, and I think he kind of hit the nail in the head in a way of, like, when you go to the grocery store, you can get the organic or you can get the GMO. What do you want? So if you want music, do you want fake music or do you want the music that's coming from a human being? And we have a choice.

"A.I. is really essentially studying us. It's a study of us," Shaddix explained. "And how does it regurgitate us back at us in a generic way? And that's where it's at right now. And it will be interesting to see how this plays out. But I love the pushback from rock culture against it. I think that a lot of people in rock culture can smell it. They can hear it in the song, they can see it in the art, and they're, like, 'Ah, that ain't it.' And I love collaborating with people. I love the humanness of it. I love the push and pull in the relationship of creating with another person and having to have a conversation in a room, creating a song. And sometimes my idea isn't the best idea in the room, and it gets shot down. And then sometimes my idea is the idea that sticks, whereas this other one is, 'I have a prompt. Let me press a button.' It's just lazy, man. I think the people in the rock culture and in the rock space, we could smell it a mile away. There's room for the human in that."

Jacoby went on to say that A.I.'s increased presence in the music business has "prompted us, when we go into the studio, to kind of dial back some of the tech and the overproduction of things. [Our latest single] 'Wake Up Calling' being one of those. There's no samples on the drums in that song. It's just raw drums. It's just a recording of a drummer playing drums. And I think that that element is coming back into the play.

"Technology's been a fun thing for us to experiment with, but I feel like it's gotten us to a point where things started to feel a bit more homogenized," Jacoby admitted. "And I'm, like, 'Okay, cool. How do we make this thing sound original, fun and off the chain again?' And so I love this experiment that we have in art and music, and it's a continual, like I said, experiment. And we just want it to be authentic and real and believable, and I think that we're hitting that mark right now."

"Wake Up Calling" was made available in late January via New Noize Records/ADA. It was produced by Colin Brittain (LINKIN PARK, ALL TIME LOW, A DAY TO REMEMBER) and explored themes of connection, self-reckoning, and emotional dependence. The release followed PAPA ROACH's successes of 2025 with "Even If It Kills Me" and "Braindead" (featuring Toby Morse),and career–best touring results, performing to over one million fans on the band's "Rise Of The Roach" tour.

PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music. PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health and have been doing so since the seminal release of their first hit single "Last Resort". Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, including "Ego Trip".

Photo credit: Bryson Roatch