PAPA ROACH's TOBIN ESPERANCE: 'We Don't Like To Repeat Ourselves'

Todd Newton of BigMusicGeek.com recently conducted an interview with PAPA ROACH bassist Tobin Esperance. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

BigMusicGeek.com: How much of the material featured on "F.E.A.R." was written prior to the group entering the studio? How prepared was everyone? I've heard different rumors regarding how the group changed their process on "F.E.A.R."

Tobin: Actually, that was probably the most different thing about recording this record. We came into the writing process with nothing really pre-written as a band. The band didn't get together and work out songs and have anything done before we entered the studio. We went directly into the studio with a producer that we had only met a couple of weeks before. We spoke on the phone a little bit here and there in preparation, but it was pretty much, like, "Hey, let's just go in and not pressure ourselves and worry about having all these ideas pre-written. Let's just see what happens." We showed up with the one chorus idea and turned that into a song. Once we finished that one song and we listened to it back, we were, like, "Okay, we're getting somewhere. Let's just do that twelve more times." When we were finished with the first idea musically, then Jacoby [Shaddix, vocals] would work on it lyrically. And then, while he was working on that first song, we would be on to the next song musically, so it was just a snowball effect after that. Once we realized that, we knew what we were doing. We've made a lot of records and we had a confidence and a focus that wasn't there on previous records, so that's definitely helped it.

BigMusicGeek.com: How difficult is it for you to focus the creativity on an "on-demand" basis? I would imagine it as stressful...

Tobin: It's not hard at all. For me, that's the time when we have to shut yourself off of the outside world, lock yourself in, and just be, like, "It's time to get creative." For me, that's the fun part of being in a band. The songwriting process, the arrangement and adding all the different layers and dimensions of sound and sonic elements. For me, it's fun. The creative challenge is the best part for me. Sometimes being on tour is just one amazing because you're playing for your fans and you're handing those songs over to the crowd. and feeding off the energy. But at the same time, you're doing the same thing every night. When you're actually creating something and then you get to hear the outcome at the end. That, to me, is the best part. That's my favorite part.

BigMusicGeek.com: Throughout the course of your career, how has the songwriting dynamic changed within the group? Does everyone still collaborate in a similar manner or has time and technologies changed how you all create together?

Tobin: It's changed a little bit. Back in the day, we used to work more together as a band because we would always be in the rehearsal spot jamming it out and figuring out how to write songs. We didn't really know how to do it in a technical way, which is great, because if you look at a song like "Last Resort", which is one of our most loved and successful songs, we didn't know what we were doing. People just gravitated toward that song and related to it. I always think it's funny how we really started with the hook on that one, because it starts with the vocal, comes right in with the riff and just gets right to it right away. We've never written a song like that again. People always say, "Why don't you write another song like that?" I don't know why, really. We don't like to repeat ourselves, but we probably should. With all the technology now, a lot of us write ideas and then bring them in later with demos. I'll make a whole demo and I'll have everything pre-written before and then I'll bring it in and show it to the guys and we get a "yay" or "nay" on the song as a whole or on certain parts and then build off that. So, it's a lot of different ways. And then there's also that element of spontaneous jamming that we like to do where I'll get in a room and I'll just be playing stuff and someone will be, like, "Hey, I really like that riff," or, "That chorus or verse idea that you just played could be a great song," and then we just build off that.

Read the entire interview at BigMusicGeek.com.