Papa Roach Make The Girls Cry... With Joy

10/25/04 3:00pm

by Matt Semansky (CHARTattack)

Papa Roach wants to get you high.

"That's how I feel after a show," says drummer Dave Buckner.

Buckner is calling from Barcelona, where the band wound down the European leg of their tour in support of their latest release, Getting Away With Murder. Music fans are known to supply their own means of inducing altered states, of course, but Buckner insists that Papa Roach's hard-rock anthems can do the trick without any chemical assistance.

"I talked to this one girl after a show," Buckner says. "She said she used to cry every time she listened to 'Broken Home' [the smash single off Infest, the band's breakthrough 2000 album]. But after seeing us play it live, she said she felt this great sense of joy."

Buckner was clearly blown away by the fan's emotional reaction.

"I thanked her. I mean, what could I say to that?"

Buckner hopes for several repeats of this conversation in the next few weeks. The tour is an important one for Papa Roach, as they introduce an updated sound that deviates from the nu-metal grind of their earlier records. Getting Away With Murder is as heavy as anything the band have produced, but also features more fully-developed melodies and more optimistic (though still abrasive) lyrics from singer Jacoby Shaddix.

According to Buckner, the band's European fans have embraced the new material.

"The response has been overwhelmingly positive — more than we expected."

The drummer feels that the musical growth represented on Getting Away With Murder, and the touring experience the band gained supporting Infest and 2002's lovehatetragedy, have given Papa Roach the confidence to become consummate live performers.

"The shows have really taken on new life," he explains. "With three albums behind us, we feel like we can put together the best possible set. We can take the crowd through different mindsets and emotions."

It's not a one-way street, though. Papa Roach's music is nothing if not passionate and Buckner acknowledges that he and his bandmates rely on the jacked-up vibe of their fans to get motivated night after night.

"On the road, it's a different kind of energy. It's about the interaction between us and the audience."

Buckner and his band will be getting American audiences high for the next few weeks, as they embark on an extensive U.S. tour. Canadian fans, on the other hand, will have to wait until late November for Papa Roach to pass north of the border.

Papa Roach Canadian tour dates:
November 30 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
December 1 Toronto, ON @ Opera House