Jacoby Shaddix Cites M80 As Saving His Voice
Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix is seen on tour with his M80 dynamic mic.
Dynamic rockers Papa Roach had to cut short their triumphant European tour last month when the German government shut down all public gatherings. Lead singer Jacoby Shaddix commented, “We had to respect the rules of the land, so I had to pack my Telefunken and get home.”
Over the past two decades Papa Roach have established themselves as leading innovators in rock music. They’ve been nominated for two Grammys, toured the world with everyone from Eminem to Marilyn Manson and crafted the Nu Metal anthem “Last Resort,” which is still in heavy rotation on rock radio twenty years after its release.
In a phone interview with Shaddix back home in Sacramento, California, he spoke about his persona and his Telefunken M80 dynamic stage mic, “I am a high energy, high octane, full tilt boogie, rock and roll singer, rapper, screamer, emotive personality on stage. And to have a microphone that can capture all the nuances of what I’m doing as a vocalist and just kick ass live, the M80 is the one for me.”
The group’s ninth full-length album “Crooked Teeth” (2017) saw the band returning to their early roots. The album was recorded in a North Hollywood studio with up-and-coming producers Nicholas “RAS” Furlong and Colin Brittain, who grew up listening to Papa Roach and inspired them to revisit some of the traits that personally endeared the band to them, most notably frontman Jacoby Shaddix’s remarkable rapping technique.
“Who Do You Trust?” is the tenth studio album by Papa Roach, with three singles released: “Who Do You Trust?”, “Elevate”, and “Come Around”.
“I’m friends with Matty Mullins, lead singer for Memphis May Fire,” Shaddix recounts. “He said, Cob, I got to hook you up with Telefunken. So they came out to our show in Worcester, Massachusetts, not far from the company’s headquarters. I got my hands on one of these M80s for our show; I tried the microphone out and instantly loved it. I used it throughout the rest of last year and then on into our 2020 tour in Europe.”
Shaddix continues, “The M80 really caught the high-end sizzle and crisp parts of my voice. And for the live element, it really cuts through the mix. It also really works well with my in-ear monitors and the way that it’s mixed into my overall stage mix. The quality that I love most about it is that it really cuts through everything else. Being in a loud rock band, the vocals can kind of get jumbled up with the guitar tones, because we’re sitting in some of the same frequencies right there. The M80 just pulls out all those really crisp highs of my vocals. It helped me a lot in the live setting. When I was using other microphones, it was like I was pushing my voice even harder to be heard. That was damaging to my voice. Considering I’ve had two surgeries on my vocal chords over the years, I can’t really afford to go and destroy my voice. Now that I’ve started working with Telefunken and using this M80, I couldn’t imagine using any other microphone.”
Papa Roach released the track “Top Of The World” on March 25th from their new album “Who Do You Trust”. In a statement from the band, they wrote: “Although most of us are in a self-quarantine situation, that doesn’t mean we need to shut others out. If you need help, talk to someone. We will all rise up like we always do as humans. Just wanted you all to know it’s gonna be okay. We made this video for “Top of the world” right before all this quarantine stuff. And we hope this music video and lyrics bring some hope to everyone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv53RZcTw78
Speaking of life now back home in Sacramento, Shaddix says, “We’re just hunkered down with the family, and doing a lot of cooking and playing board games, and reading books, and exercising in the backyard. I’ve got the garage set up like a little gym. And one of my younger sons is playing a lot of drums lately. I hear a racket coming from the garage and it’s a joyful sound. I would love to be on tour and I would love to be out there performing. But I’ve spent 20 years on the road, so I’m really enjoying this forced break with my family and really taking advantage of just having this quality time. My oldest son is going away to college next year, so it’s a real good way to spend some quality time with the family, just count my blessings, and be grateful for the simple things.”
ABOUT TELEFUNKEN
TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik strives for absolute perfection. By offering historic recreations of classic microphones alongside their own proprietary designs based around the distinctive tube mic sound, TELEFUNKEN has established a product line that expertly combines vintage style and sound with the reliability of a modern-day microphone design. TELEFUNKEN’s commitment to both the sonic excellence and quality of all of their products is rivaled only by their dedication to provide the best possible service to their customers. http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
