The Power of Papa Roach

Welcome to "The Guest"
Jingle Jangle Jungle’s Guest Blogger Series
Week 37


Today's Guest is: Michelle Kellogg

About Michelle:
I am a happily single co-parent mom, raising two boys with special needs. My oldest has Autism and my youngest has ADHD. I am also in recovery from PTSD. While my blog focuses mostly on raising children with special needs while dealing with my own issues, I write about various interests such as Music, Fitness, my own spirituality, and any other random thoughts that invade my complicated brain. Having recently left my job, I am a new blogger who is also looking to eventually get my own fiction writing out to the public but for now I am feeling my way through the blogging world trying to figure out what my next career move should be. I am honored to be a guest blogger on the Jingle Jangle Jungle blog. If you like my posts, feel free to visit my blog at http://www.rockinrandommom.com

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+

Bloglovin' ~ RockinRandomMom

Take a minute to follow our guest's blog and their social media. It would mean a lot to both of us!

  The Power of Papa Roach

Oh, Papa Roach. The first time I heard these guys, I was in my early twenties and heard them on 99.1, the radio station in Baltimore, MD that played hard rock and alternative music. Last Resort was the song and I absolutely loved it. Just out with their album in 2000, Infest, that hit triple-platinum (they must have done something right), the drum beats and the guitar riffs put me in the I-wanna-drive-really-fast mood but it was the lyrics I fell in love with.

So much anger spewed out as the lead singer, Jacoby Shaddix, sang about how no one would care if he committed suicide. I had a classmate who committed suicide and I had been down that dark road myself when I was a teenager, so the song rang true for me. However, it was their song, Broken Home that made me a fan for life. Having come from a broken home myself, and basically living out my early twenties rebelling from pretty much everything, this song felt as though Jacoby and I were kindred spirits (he was only a year older than me, so we came from the same generation). He spoke the words I had felt my whole life and the video only cemented the feeling.

So, before I go on and on about how Papa Roach impacted my personal life, let’s give a little bit of history. Way back in 1993 (when I was in the tenth grade and listening to Boyz II Men), two other high schoolers on the other side of the country met on Vacaville High School football field. Their names were Jacoby Shaddix (who became the lead singer) and Dave Buckner (who became the drummer). They were later joined by trombonist, Ben Luther and bass guitarist, Will James. These teenagers decided to enter their high school talent show, playing Jimmy Hendrix’s Fire. They didn’t win and Ben Luther was later replaced by lead guitarist, Jerry Horton.

The band practiced every day and even went touring to promote their band. Their band name was inspired by Jacoby’s step-grandfather, William Roatch, who was nicknamed Papa Roach. Throughout the 90’s, the band recorded independent records like, Old Friends from Young Years, 5 Tracks Deep (an EP), and another EP titled, Let 'Em Know. It’s this last one that caught the attention of Warner Music Group who signed them for a five song deal that they later declined because they weren’t happy with the music. Little did the record label know that those five songs, Last Resort, Broken Home, Dead Cell, and She loves Me Not would end up on their triple platinum and gold albums. Bet they regretted not signing them after that.

So they were signed to DreamWorks Records and with their hit debut album, Infest, the band went on to record their gold album, Lovehatetragedy in 2002, which they followed up with their Platinum album, Getting Away with Murder in 2004. When Jacoby’s step-grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he committed suicide, inspiring the band to pay homage with Paramour Sessions, which was released in 2006.

Even with the departure of Drummer, Dave Buchner in 2008, the band went on to record numerous other albums, including Metamorphosis (2009), Time for Annihilation (2010), and The Connection in 2012. Papa Roach finally released another great record this year titled F.E.A.R. I actually think this is their best work yet with some really great songs like Gravity, Love Me Til it Hurts, and my personal favorite, War over Me.

Papa Roach has become one of my all-time favorite bands because their music touches my soul. When I am battling my demons, I listen to Papa Roach. Their songs get my dark side and inspire me to write my stories. I write stories about just that but I use vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Papa Roach seems to fit right in with that world that I have created in my writing. I have so many of their songs on my playlists for each story because they are just that good and so inspirational.

War over Me is hands down, my favorite song from Papa Roach because it is a song about fighting your demons and winning. The best line in the whole song that sums up what I’m trying to say is this:

I will fight

For my life

Turn my darkness to light

This is war

It's a war over me

Give the song a listen and you will see what I mean. If you’ve never heard Papa Roach, check out their music but if you’ve stopped listening to them, give their new album a listen and you might just fall in love with them all over again.

Thank you, Michelle, for being today’s Guest!