Papa Roach stick to basic black

By REBECCA BARRY

Jacoby Shaddix likes to have a laugh at his own expense. The Papa Roach frontman, who recently reverted from his stage name Coby Dick to his birth name, and who in the past dallied with the alias Manuel Relieve, is now calling himself Jonny Vodka.

It's an acerbic sobriquet considering his struggle with alcohol, but like most things in his life, inevitably the yin seems to balance out the yang.

Today for instance, Shaddix is anything but the characteristically excitable singer.

Waking up during the interview (it's 11am), he more closely resembles the depressed individual his brooding lyrics suggest.

"Without music I'd probably be very, very unhappy," he says on the line from a Hamburg hotel. "I get to express my dark side through music. It's my vent."

He's just finished scribbling notes on a song titled The Heart of Darkness, written from what he imagines is the perspective of a mass murderer.

"But if you knew me outside of the band, I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky, nice guy, generous, y'know, fun," he says through yawns. "I just want to have a good time."

Even that isn't easy when you're Shaddix.

See Papa Roach live and you'll discover that he suffers from an unusual gag reflex condition which causes him to vomit when he heats up.

Nonetheless, he says he and band members Tobin Esperance (bass), David Buckner (drums) and Jerry Horton (guitar) are excited about playing New Zealand as the opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and to promote their second album, Lovehatetragedy.

It's a straight-up, punky, high-energy rock affair: gone is much of the rapping that conveniently lumped Infest, their multi-platinum-selling debut, into the same basket as Limp Bizkit and Korn.

"We're not a band that is all about rhyming nookie and cookie," he scoffs. "To open yourself up and to be like, really really brutally honest about how you're feeling and what you're going through and then some [expletive] can just turn around and go, 'Okay, this is just another [expletive] band trying to market rage,' I just wanna go to his house and [expletive] strangle him and beat the [expletive] living daylights out of him. That's what I've come to terms with. One third of the world is going to love you, one third is going to hate you and one third aint going to give a [expletive]."

Likewise, the album title sums up Shaddix nicely. Listen to virtually any Papa Roach song and it's easy to understand why the three themes have been fused into one word.

On first single She Loves Me Not, Shaddix exposes the ups and downs of his relationship with his wife of five years, Kelly.

Ironically, it's one of her favourite songs on the album.

"I think if it's too easy for me, it would be boring," he says of their relationship. "It's not really fighting, it's just that we feel strongly about our opinions, so sometimes we'll abuse each other's opinions."

Despite the numerous temptations on the road, Shaddix says he's determined to be a responsible family man.

"I've watched all the VH1 specials and seen all the rock stars make their mistakes. I'm trying not to make the same mistakes, like do too much drugs or ruin your personal life through it. I'm trying to keep more of a balance."

His desire to maintain a stable home life also stems from his own unhappy childhood, briefly touched on in the Infest songs Last Resort and Broken Home. Shaddix's father, a Vietnam vet, came away from the war with a debilitating heroin and coke addiction which consequently destroyed his marriage. Today though, Shaddix enjoys a healthy relationship with his dad, part of the reason for him going back to his family name.

These days he has more than enough money to put a decent roof over his family's head, but if he seems scowling and ungrateful for his wealth, think again. Inspired by the Johnny Cash song, Man In Black, Papa Roach only wear black while performing and Shaddix says he wears the same thing every day.

"I've got about 10 pairs of the same pants and about 20 black T-shirts and one pair of shoes. I just don't have enough time or the desire to really concern myself with trying to keep up with fashion. Maybe I'm just too lazy. We just want people to focus on the music and not what [expletive] hip new jeans we're wearing."

* Papa Roach play at Western Springs stadium on Sunday with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.