Papa Roach is gearing up for a big 2022, on the eve of its 30th anniversary as a band.
The two-time Grammy-nominated alternative rock band is planning to release a new album, recorded during quarantine, this year; as well as tour extensively on the “Kill the Noise” tour.
The band makes its debut at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana’s Hard Rock Live venue in Gary March 12. The show starts at 5:30 p.m. with Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves opening.
Papa Roach formed in 1993 in Vacaville, California, and are known for albums like “Infest” with the hit single “Last Resort.”
They’ve recently recorded a new album and have released four singles, including “Stand Up,” “Dying to Believe,” “Kill the Noise” and “Swerve,” featuring Jason Aalon Butler (Fever 333) and Sueco.
“We’re excited. This is going to be great because we’re doing a show in Gary, Indiana, and I don’t think we’ve done a show there that I can recall,” said bass player Tobin Esperance. “And this is a brand-new venue, the Hard Rock Live, and we’re about to bring the hard rock live. It’s been a long time coming. We haven’t been able to tour for so long and we’ve got new music that we’re really excited about. We’re going to be jumping out of our skin when we get there.”
The new music captures the essence of “what life has been like the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s more on the heavier, classic Papa Roach side.”
Gary audiences will hear some of those new songs.
“We plan on putting a bunch of news songs in the set list, especially the ones we’ve already released,” he said.
Esperance is proud the band was able to make a new record, which wasn’t something they had initially set out to do.
“We literally were just going in the studio writing songs and we turned around and had 20 songs and they were all great,” he said. “We had to narrow it down.”
That excitement will translate into a high-energy show with great production and visuals too, he said.
“We’ve got some great bands coming with us as well,” he said. “As far as our set list goes, you’re going to get all the hit songs that people know and love the most. You’re going to get your ‘Last Resort,’ your ‘Scars;’ we’re even playing some other fan favorites that we haven’t played in a long time. We actually did a poll on our social media about what songs fans want to hear that we haven’t played in a while. And we paid attention to the answers. I think the fans are really going to dig this one.”
Papa Roach is very active on the socials; you can find them all over TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, he said.
“We’re our own label now, so we’re officially independent and running everything ourselves,” Esperance said. “Being able to stay connected with our fans and create new ones by staying active on social media has been great for us.”
Although connecting with fans on a personal level is much easier on than it used to be thanks to social media, keeping up with technology and new trends is another story.
“Everything is completely different now, but one of the things that has given us our longevity and our success is that we are constantly learning, taking notes and adapting,” he said. “We’ve really learned to embrace it and have fun with it. We’re the type of band that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to have fun and be goofy. So it’s a perfect platform for us to totally be ourselves.”
They’re aren’t afraid to learn from the youngsters, either.
“A lot of it too is we’re trading off inspiration. We made a lot of friends with people who are new, up and coming artists who started in that TikTok world,” he said. “They’re inspiring us and teaching us things and in return we’re doing the same. That’s really what it’s all about when it comes down to this thing called art. You have to create that environment so that people are constantly inspired.”
Esperance is thrilled fans are embracing the new material Papa Roach is putting out.
“I think that people really accepting our new music and loving it just as much as the classic songs … that takes us away from being some kind of legacy band that relies on all of our old music,” he said. “People are really loving the new stuff that we’re dropping and we still have this energy and intensity that’s unmatched.”
Papa Roach
When: 5:30 p.m. March 12
Where: Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, 5400 West 29th Ave., Gary
Tickets: $59-$199
Information: 219-228-2383; hardrockcasinonorthernindiana.com
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
