In a new interview with Montreal Rocks, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix talked about his work with a campaign for suicide prevention, his own personal struggles, and how his mother taught him to leave the world a better place than he found it.
Asked what he thinks the biggest misconception is about mental health, Jacoby said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “ I would say one of the biggest misconceptions around it is that people don’t wanna hear about it or your problems or your struggle. ‘I don’t wanna inconvenience them with what I’m going through.’ Nine times out of 10, if you’ve got somebody around you that that really cares for you and loves you, they’re gonna sit and listen and walk this thing out.
“In my lifetime, I’ve had quite a few friends die by suicide, I’ve had family members die by suicide,” Shaddix revealed. “It’s something that has been screaming in my face since I was in my teen years. And now it is at a fever pitch. And that’s really why I’m sitting here rapping with you about it, is because we need to talk about it. I think that’s when the darkness starts to lose hold, is when you start to communicate about your darkness, because when you bring that darkness, if you shed some light on it, there’s no competition to that.
“I’ve had to allow myself to be vulnerable and to be helped, and I think that’s a scary thing,” Jacoby added. “I know it’s a scary thing to go, ‘I’m not well.’ And I’ve come to that point a few times over in my life. And fortunately, I’ve had people around me that are, like, ‘We’re gonna get through this, Cobe. Let’s talk about it.’ And a big thing for me is having, through my recovery — I put down the bottle over 12 years ago now — and through that process of really just peeling back the layers and being vulnerable and open and honest, I’ve been able to tackle some of those behemoth-sized issues that I’ve had in my life and make some sense with it, and also come to a place where I know that life is supposed to be — it’s not supposed to be all pain, but part of life pain is necessary. It’s a great teacher. It’s just when pain becomes overwhelming that it dominates your life, that’s a scary place to be.”
As previously reported, PAPA ROACH will make its only U.K. appearance in 2025 with its first-ever headline show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, on February 7, 2025. It will see the band and their biggest-ever production journey deep through their vast catalogue of music, including a celebration of the 25th anniversary of their iconic breakthrough album “Infest”.
The band has also announced that they will be partnering with the suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) who are fighting to reduce the devastating impact of suicide in the U.K. There will be a £1 donation included on every ticket.
“Infest” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for sales in excess of three million copies in the U.S. alone. The album featured the iconic hits “Last Resort” and “Broken Home” plus fan favorites “Blood Brothers” and “Between Angels & Insects”.
Photo credit: Bryson Roatch
