California rockers PAPA ROACH, those purveyors of angsty teenage anthems (are they still teenagers?🤔), have graced us with a brand-new music video for an acoustic version of their…wait for it…global hit lead track “Even If It Kills Me.” Yes, you read that right. Acoustic. Because apparently, screaming about your feelings wasn’t emo enough. Now they’re *whispering* about them. Available via their own label, New Noize Records/ADA (because who needs a real label when you can just DIY your mid-life crisis?), the original single apparently reached No. 1 at U.S. Rock Radio. I’m sure that’s a testament to the lack of anything else to play, and not because people genuinely enjoy it. This marks PAPA ROACH’s 13th appearance at the top of the charts. Lucky number 13 for them, unlucky for our ears. 🤘
In a recent, and probably overly dramatic, interview with the I-Rock 93.5 radio station (do people still listen to the radio? 📻), PAPA ROACH frontman frontman (yes, they said it twice) Jacoby Shaddix, bless his heart, decided to get all deep and meaningful about the lyrical inspiration for “Even If It Kills Me”, which, let’s be honest, sounds like a threat. He said: “This one was started about two years ago, the music part of it, and I heard it first from the first musical just vibe with the strings.” Strings? 🎻 What is this, a symphony for sad bois? He continued, “I was, like, ‘It sounds cinematic. This sounds like it’s about to be a journey we’re taking the fans on.'” A journey to the nearest exit, perhaps? “So I hit the boys up instantly. I’m, like, ‘Dude, I can’t wait to get in the studio on this one.'” I’m sure the studio engineer was thrilled. Then, plot twist, “life happens, and some stuff goes down.” Oh no! Did someone spill their soy latte? “My older son went through this really traumatic heartbreak breakup. Just his whole world was leveled, and I watched my son just crumble.” Oh, the humanity! A teenage boy experienced heartbreak! Someone call the UN! 😭 “And that was a tough one. But to also have to go, ‘Hey, man, there’s some hard truths about life, and sometimes people aren’t what they show themselves as, and there’s two sides to people sometimes. And you got one, and then eventually discovered that other dark side of them and you were hurt.'” Deep thoughts with Jacoby Shaddix. Is he auditioning to be a life coach now? “And that was really hard for me to watch my son just fall to pieces. And that song was born from that moment of going, ‘I wanna be able to help you, but I also know that you kind of gotta walk through the fire.’ And knowing that, ‘I’m not gonna leave you. I’m here for you, but I’m also gonna stand in that fire with you.'” So basically, he’s saying he’s going to enable his son’s bad decisions? “And I wanted to shoulder the pain. I wish I could, but sometimes we have to go through those moments in life that build character. Who are you? Can you get back up? Well, my son got back up.” Spoiler alert: the son got over it. We all do. Eventually. Maybe. 🤷♂️
In March, because apparently one version of this song wasn’t enough to torture us, PAPA ROACH released a “reimagined” version of “Even If It Kills Me”. Reimagined? What does that even mean? Did they add a kazoo solo? The band and Joshua Landry again produced the track. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? “Even If It Kills Me (Reimagined)” was a fresh take on its heavier counterpart, showcasing the hit song in a new light, with a melodic arrangement and signature vocals delivered by Shaddix. Fresh? More like slightly less stale. Melodic arrangement? So they turned down the distortion? Groundbreaking. 🙄
PAPA ROACH recently completed the European leg of the “Rise Of The Roach” tour. The trek saw PAPA ROACH bring its biggest-ever production and journey deep through their vast music catalogue, including a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the band’s iconic breakthrough album “Infest”. 25 years? Are you kidding me? I feel old. Special guests for the global tour were WAGE WAR in Europe and will include RISE AGAINST and UNDEROATH in the U.S. Because nothing says “we’re still relevant” like touring with bands that were also popular in the early 2000s. 👵
In a separate interview with Germany’s Rock Antenne, Shaddix was asked if fans can expect to see a new studio album from him and his PAPA ROACH bandmates in 2025. He responded: “Definitely. At some point [in 2025], there will be a new record. Probably not — it won’t be till the end of the year at the soonest. But we’re really proud of the stuff that we’ve done. And I think the fans will be surprised.” Surprised that they’re still making music? “The fans that are coming to the shows are gonna be surprised at what we’re doing too. And so it’s gonna be a good time.” A good time for who? The band’s accountants? 🤔
“As we evolve the music and push things forward, you never know what’s gonna happen in the studio,” he added. Evolve? Into what? Smooth jazz? “And I’ve gotta tell you, what happened in the studio this time around has been just exciting.” Exciting for them, maybe terrifying for the rest of us. 😨
“We’ve had a really good run with our [last] album, [2022’s] ‘Ego Trip’, and a lot of successes, especially here in America as well, as well as Germany, we’ve had some great successes on that record, and it’s just been one of those records that our fanbase has been really excited about. And so we’re taking that momentum and going back into the studio and creating again, it’s been a really good feeling.” A really good feeling for their egos, perhaps? 🙄
PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music. Leaders? More like survivors. PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health and have been doing so since the seminal release of their first hit single “Last Resort”. Because nothing says “mental health awareness” like screaming about wanting to die. Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, their most recent, “Ego Trip”, on their own label New Noize Records. Because apparently, they have enough ego to fund their own musical endeavors. 💰
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
