PAPA ROACH's Live Shows Are 'Unpredictable' And 'Spontanenous,' Says Bassist TOBIN ESPERANCE

PAPA ROACH bassist Tobin Esperance was interviewed on a recent edition of "The Classic Metal Show", which is heard live on Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST at TheClassicMetalShow.com. You can now listen to the chat using the Spreaker widget below.

Speaking about PAPA ROACH's musical evolution, Tobin said: "I think if you were to listen to [PAPA ROACH's 2000 debut album] 'Infest', when we were very young and naïve about making records and songwriting, [and full of] youthful energy, even when we made that record, and even records before that that nobody really knows about, we were always kind of on that same trip. I mean, everyone knows PAPA ROACH is kind of, like, that melting-pot band, where we have hip-hop influences, we have punk rock influence, we have pop sensibilities to our music, we have metal riffs… We have all those things going on, and we always try to travel around exploring different things for every song, and not every song comes out sounding the same."

He continued: "We grew up totally influenced by bands like FAITH NO MORE and bands like DEFTONES or the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, earlier on, or JANE'S ADDICTION… stuff like that. Those bands never played music, kind of, like AC/DC. I love AC/DC, but when you've heard a couple of AC/DC songs, you've heard most of them. And I think, too, since our songwriting has just become better, we do kind of consciously say, 'Hey, you know what?! We kind of did a progression like this on the last album. What if we flipped it up and did something a little bit different?' And that's just how we are. It's conscious, but it's also a natural thing too."

Tobin also talked about PAPA ROACH's reputation as a fierce live act, with many fans commenting that the band's performances possess a certain energy that has not yet been reproduced on the group's albums.

"It's so funny, 'cause I hear that a lot," he said. "It almost makes me wonder, like, 'Hmmm. What is it? Do our records suck?' [Laughs] Or is it just that we're so good-looking that when you see us live, you just love us that much more. I don't know. I can't figure it out."

He continued: "For real, I think it's just the honesty and the passion and the way we perform and the way we come off live. We're at the edge of the stage, man. We're trying to get as close to the people in the front row and the crowd. We feed off the energy. We're super-aggressive and 'in your face' live, and I think people can just see it. It's just a real thing. We're not phoning it in. It's not like we're just standing there shoegazing; we're getting into it."

Tobin added: "[Our live show is] unpredictable, and it's spontanenous, and the energy is there. We'll make you laugh, we'll make you cry, we'll make you wanna fight, we'll make you wanna fuck, we'll make you shit your pants… I mean, I don't know… I've seen it all at PAPA ROACH shows."

PAPA ROACH's eighth full-length album, "F.E.A.R.", will be released on January 27 via Eleven Seven Music).

PAPA ROACH and SEETHER have teamed up for a co-headlining North American tour that kicked off on January 9 in Orlando, Florida and will wind down on February 7 in Las Vegas.