Jerry Horton, Papa Roach Interview

Hi, first obvious question, how’s the tour going and what have been the highlights?

It’s been great, I think the Nottingham gig may have been the best one in the UK so far. The energy of the crowd was great.

On the subject of the gig, how do you go about choosing songs for the set list, and are there any disagreements?

There are no real disagreements, well ok, there are some! A lot of it is to do with some of the tunings on the songs because obviously we have to change guitars and you have to keep that in mind and we want to have a set that peaks at the right moments. It’s important to get it right.

You’ve sold in excess of 10 million albums, hasn’t been the easiest routes, but what for you have been the hardest challenges?

One of the hardest things to deal with has been the media’s perception of us, they sometimes still label us as a nu-metal band and obviously that’s not really the case now, that’s a pretty major thing we’ve changed, and it’s really evident on the new album. People are giving us a chance, listening to the newer stuff regardless though!

Yeah, the rapping has gone, and that seems to have happened over time. Was it a conscious decision to make it a gradual change, or did it naturally happen that way?

It’s definitely an evolving process, even before “Infest” came out we were constantly changing things, you know. We started out with major influences being like Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers with that helping us to develop our kind of sound, actually taking us a while, even before “Infest”.

How else have you perhaps changed as a musician?

Yeah, I mean, as time goes on, of course you get into new music, there’s more stuff out there, and naturally you extend your own abilities, and explore new territories musically. Some of it’s been done before but like any other artist you make it your own and put your own stamp on it and that sort of keeps things interesting for us as well.

Is there anyone you feel has had a substantial impact on your music development?

Ah, probably, the main influence, like a lot of guitarists of the time, Metallica! That was definitely the main one.

Looking back, are there any moment you look at and wish you could change it, or have any regrets?

Personally, yeah, I think given the chance, most people would change something or have regrets, but musically, with Papa Roach, not at all. We’re where we’re at it, and it’s good. I consider myself very fortunate, we’ve done well, the fans have been great, so no real complaints there.

September, Moscow, Gorky Park, hell of a gig!

Yeah, it was incredible, the energy was awesome. You never quite know what to expect, but you have to go in with an open mind, but the fans were amazing.

You often put your heart and soul into your music, had a song called “Legacy” which was quite political, but have only recently gone back to those kinds of issues. Is there generally more to be mad at, or is it a case of just being more worldly wise?

I think it’s a case of seeing more on your travels, and of course with the internet and media, you’ve got access to much much more information. Of course getting a bit older contributes as well.

Reality TV shows such as X Factor, American Idol etc, they make or break these people in a very short space of time, do you think it’s good that you can spot new talent that might have been missed, or bad in that they haven’t really paid their musical dues?

Sure you get people on there you might not have ever discovered before, but it’s a different audience they’re appealing to, TV entertainment. I don’t want to get too negative about it, or too into it, but yeah, it’s for the most part relatively short lived. Yeah, it’s just entertainment, I’ll leave that there (laughs).

How did you get into playing guitar?

My family were in the military, lived on base, and down the road was a guy my age, listening to Metallica. It was quite a protected environment, and in that I started to learn to play, at 14 I had a white strat. So that was the catalyst, the start.

What advice to you have for people learning guitar?

Well, there’s practise practise practise, but I think it’s important to look outside of your music genre. Explore other types of music because there’s so much out there, and there are some great hooks and techniques in other styles that you might miss.

Thank you very much for your time Jerry

You’re welcome.