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-- Jon Wiederhorn, with additional reporting by Iann Robinson
As beams of summertime sun washed the outside deck of a Midtown New York skyscraper, the members of Papa Roach leaned against a seventh-floor railing and took in the oceans of neon and throngs of people in Times Square below. The day was nearly perfect — great weather, gorgeous view. All they needed were killer tunes.
Almost on cue, MTV News correspondent Iann Robinson conjured up a boombox and inserted a CD to screen a song for the band. When he hit play, the opening chords of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" pierced the air. It seemed like a perfect choice for a warm Friday afternoon. Then, like a storm ruining a good barbecue, the vocals from Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" mingled with the rock: "Kelly! Michelle! Beyoncé! I don't think they can handle this."
Frontman Jacoby Shaddix reeled in disgust at the remix. He shoved a finger down his throat, and his bandmates laughed. Then Shaddix vigorously twirled the digit around the back of his throat and began to gag. The smiles disappeared. Everyone stepped back. Goopy saliva dribbled down Shaddix's chin, and he spat. He repeated the act, retched harder and drooled some more.
"I just wish I had something in my stomach to throw up," he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
As surprising as it is to see a musician trying to blow chunks, for Shaddix (formerly Coby Dick), purging aggression via impulsive, extreme behavior makes as much sense as venting demons through cathartic music. He's often forced himself to puke onstage, and during last year's Ozzfest he regularly bashed himself in the forehead with his microphone until blood trickled down his face.
"I was just frustrated from playing in front of rows of chairs every night with 40-year-old guys with their arms crossed going, 'We want Ozzy, we want Ozzy,' " Shaddix explained. "There was one show where I was so sick of the crowd it made me want to just destroy them. So I pulled my pants down, took a sh-- on a towel and threw it in the crowd because that's how I felt about the show."
Yes, when Shaddix is unhappy about something, he lets you know. On Papa Roach's April 2000 debut, Infest, the singer railed about his parents' divorce, his dysfunctional upbringing and self-abusive friends. The pained, confessional songs struck a nerve with disenfranchised listeners who were tired of the waves of directionless aggression spewing from the mouths of other rap-rockers. They found kinship in Papa Roach songs like "Broken Home" and "Last Resort," and Infest went on to sell over 3 million copies.
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Photo: DreamWorks
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