Posted 3/10/2009 by TeamIGA
"There was a succubus there, because weird sexual demons would come in at night," says Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance. The band recently spent one month at the Paramour Mansion, once home to silent film star Antonio Moreno and wife Daisy, who tragically died in a car crash in 1933. The band recorded their fourth album, The Paramour Sessions, at the sometimes haunted estate where artists like HIM, Gwen Stefani and My Chemical Romance (MCR) have also recorded (MCR singer Gerard Way was even inspired to write the song Sleep after experiencing feelings of strangulation and other obscure happenings in the house.) Mythical she-demons aside, vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton and Esperance returned to write, jam and get to know new drummer Tony Palermo.
This band bonding time was also significant, because this year marks the 10th anniversary since Papa Roach was signed, something they are celebrating with fans during an upcoming intimate show at New York's Blender Theater this Tuesday.
Prior to getting signed to Dreamworks Records in 1999, the band played the Troubador in Los Angeles, the bantam club where bands like Guns n' Roses, Korn and System of the Down floated through during their ascent. The band was committed, and that commitment often had the four members driving each of their cars full of equipment from their town Vacaville, Calif., near Sacramento, down south to the city of angels before a van entered the picture. "We'd be driving down like a four-car beat all the way up I-5, just with our gear in the back," says Esperance.
Even if the year playing at the Troubador was a trudge at times, the band owes everything to the early shows, and the tough LA audience for helping build them up in character and popularity. To show their appreciation, they returned this past Wednesday to a packed house at the Troubadour. "It was like 1999 all over again," says Esperance. "Just playing this really small, confined space with drums on the floor and no big rock lights--just totally like it used to be--being that close to the kids and having them be able to touch your feet while you're playing. It was very cool."
The Troubador was also where they first met their current drummer Tony Palermo, who recently replaced longtime drummer Dave Bruckner last year. Palermo worked as the club's lighting technician for years. The band jokes that his light shows helped them get signed, and they are paying him back now by letting him join the band.
Los Angeles fans are one thing, but New York also holds special memories for the band. When they played their first show in the city, they didn't know what to expect, but as they pulled up in their van in front of the late CBGBs, they were amazed at how many fans they had on the other side of the country. "We made it all the way across the country and were like oh my God, we have all these fans," remembers Esperance. "It was awesome. New York is one of our best crowds. We always have the best times when we're in New York."
This Tuesday, the band promises not to disappoint east coast fans with a set list of favorites like "Last Resort," "Scars," "Broken Home," longtime WWE theme song, "To Be Loved," and "Forever." They'll also throw in three new songs, "Lifeline," "Hollywood Whore" and "Change or Die," off of their fifth studio album, Metamorphosis (March 24), which was produced by Jay Baumgardner, who also worked on their debut record Infest (2000).
Everything down to the price of tickets--a cool $19.99--will be special and a homage to their lucky year.
A decade is a long time, but the band is already thinking about the next one ahead. They recently discussed the future and all were in agreement that they'll be doing the same thing 10 years from now. "We've been through a lot--a lot of ultimate highs, a lot of ultimate lows," reflects Esperance. "At the same time, we feel like vets. We're not grasshoppers anymore. We've done it all. We've played around the world a dozen times. We've played to hundreds of thousands of people. But at the same time, we're still fresh. We're still hungry. We're passionate about what we do, and we have kind of this rebirth. This is our lifeline."
» www.examiner.com
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