PAPA ROACH's JACOBY SHADDIX: 'I've Got A Purpose With This Music, And I Let It All Hang Out'

Greg Prato of Songfacts recently conducted an interview with PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Songfacts: "Last Resort" came from a very impassioned place. What was your mindset when you wrote that song, and were you ever able to return to that place?

Jacoby: That song was a cry for help. That song was about one of my best friends, and then 12-13 years later, that song was about me. I found myself in that place, where I was like, "I can't go on this way. I can't do it anymore." It's awesome when your cry for help gets answered. My band has had my back over these years, and my friends and my family. That song is timeless and it connects with who we are today and what we do today in a major way.

Songfacts: Are you ever concerned about perhaps revealing too much about yourself in your lyrics?

Jacoby: I know I've got a purpose with this music, and I let it all hang out. Sometimes I let a little too much hang out, but it is what it is. I just want to be real, and that's how I do it: through this music. Sometimes I don't like going back and reading interviews because it just takes me through that pain again, and those broken places. Sometimes, the interviews paint a bit of a darker picture than where I am right now. Right now, I'm at a pretty good place, but life keeps on happening, my friend. It's just that constant struggle between that dark and that light inside myself.

Songfacts: Regarding music videos, PAPA ROACH has worked with a variety of directors over the years.

Jacoby: The guy we first started working with, Marcos Siega, he was directing music videos, and we got nominated for a Grammy for "Broken Home", which was amazing. We worked with him, and then he moved on to direct the show "Dexter". Some of these guys move on to bigger and better things. And then, over the course of our career, we worked with tons of different people. A guy named Jesse Davey from the U.K. did "Burn" and "No Matter What", and really set a standard for us. And, ultimately, the budgets for music videos over the years have significantly changed. "She Loves Me Not", we paid 600 grand to make that video. Now, we're making videos for 50 grand. But the funny part is, we're making videos for 50 grand that still look like they cost 600 grand! I think back to those days, like, "Damn, we were getting ripped off." Just high-sighted by these directors, y'know? And also, we reach out to these people and we read these treatments sometimes, and which one inspires us. It's not always the same guy. This time around, with our new video, "Face Everything and Rise", I jumped into the co-director's seat and took a swing at that and loved it. I'm actually directing the next video, for a song called "Gravity". So I'm kind of taking it back into my hands. That's fun. And the band has entrusted me with it and they support it, so it's an awesome way to express myself creatively in a different light.

Read the entire interview at Songfacts.