Shouting to Be Heard

Since releasing its major-label debut album “Infest” in April, Papa Roach has been receiving a lot of attention--for its high-profile video for “Last Resort,” for album sales of more than 400,000, a spot on the brink of the national Top 10, and for its relentless touring (including a spot on the Warped Tour that comes to the Arrowhead Pond today).

But the one thing that people most seem to notice about Papa Roach is that these guys are mad.

“I read a review of us saying, ‘Just another band who is mad, it’s so easy to be mad,’ ” says singer-songwriter Coby Dick. “Well, yeah, it’s so easy to push your problems to the back of your mind until it all explodes on you. We’re not mad to be cool; we’re mad because we’re [expletive] mad! This is my way of venting it.”

The band--Dick, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Dave Buckner--formed in 1993 when the members were in their teens. The strait-laced, middle-class environment of suburban Vacaville in Northern California bred feelings of desolation and frustration, according to Dick. “There really isn’t much to do in Vacaville, which we called ‘lack of thrill,’ so kids had to find ulterior ways to have fun and get out aggressions and emotions.”

For Papa Roach, that way came in the form of music--a chunky style that blends influences from metal to punk to hip-hop--the music they grew up with. Says Dick, “We listened to Metallica, Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.”

Though they released four self-produced CDs before signing with DreamWorks Records in 1999, Dick made himself dig a little deeper into his own reality while writing the songs for “Infest.”

“At first I didn’t even think of the listener.” he says. “When our independent albums were out, we didn’t get the reaction we get now. But recently I’ve written a lot of songs that dealt with my past. I realized, ‘Hey, Coby, this is your outlet.’ If there’s anything in the world good for me, it’s this and bringing all those negative things to light. Afterwards, I found people were connecting with my songs.”

Those songs deal with subject matter--divorce (“Broken Home”), alcohol abuse (“Binge”), suicide (“Last Resort”)--that Dick has run into firsthand in his life or in the lives of people around him. He concedes that the songs are “heavy,” but Dick never wanted Papa Roach to be a party band. “We’re not pop culture escapism. We’re not trying to write the next Britney Spears hit--we’re on a different mental plane, and I think kids are appreciating it.”

Dick is looking forward to the Warped Tour shows, where Papa Roach will join the likes of Green Day, NOFX and Jurassic 5.

“I think playing on a bill with a lot of bands who are pretty intense brings a whole air of intensity to the show. When you get up there, you know you have a bunch of other bands watching you, and you gotta back the hype. Right now Papa Roach is blowing up, but hype don’t impress a crowd. You gotta get up there, be a band and tear it up.”

The live shows are where Papa Roach really captures an audience, according to Dick. “We’re wing-nut style, but we’re tight. I’m doing flips on stage--it’s nuts. Every day I wake up with new bruises, cuts and sores. We put on a good show.”

Aggression and social consciousness seem to be major ingredients on the Warped bill, and in the current wave of rock acts.

“I think it’s just a turn music took,” says Dick. “It’s heavier. I think people are starting to realize what problems there are in life, and they’re pretty pissed about it. The world is a mean place right now; there are health problems and family problems. I think music is a positive way to expel anger.”

Dick says he doesn’t walk around angry all the time. For now he’s “like a machine,” just focused on the band and live shows--until the next album, where he can let his emotions flow again.

“I still have things in my past [to work through],” he says. “One album ain’t gonna cure me.”

BE THERE

Papa Roach, on the Vans Warped Tour, today and Friday at the Arrowhead Pond parking lot, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. Noon. $25. (714) 704-2500.