If anyone can write an infectious sing- and slam-along song about divorce, suicide or ADD, its Papa Roach and the band's aggro singer, Coby Dick. The fearsome foursome take disturbing emotions and experiences and vent via such intense tunes as "Last Resort," "Broken Home" and "Between Angels and Insects." One look at Dick, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer David Buckner-and it's clear this hardcore Cali bunch have survived what they sing about.
"Lyrically, what really inspired me is my own life, or situations my friends are in," begins Dick. "Like 'Broken Home' was hard for me to write. Lyrically, P-Roach is my counseling. I still have a side that is responsible-a side that knows what's right and wrong-and I have my punk rock, fuck everything side." Onstage, the latter side is evident, as Dick dives into the crowd and goes off onstage. "I'm off the hook at shows... I've done some stupid things that we won't go into, I mean, our lawyer was going, 'you can't be doing that,' but I've also hugged a million fucking kids."

With Infest, the band's debut album for Dreamworks Records, they've also sold a few million fucking records. And the disc is showing no signs of slowing down, a string of indie releases dating back to 1995 only cementing P Roach's commitment and credibility. Plus, as one of their early CD titles says, the band members are "Old Friends From Young Years." "We're a team," stresses Dick. "This band is a democracy. Some bands are like, 'we just fired our guitar player.' We don't do that shit. We're family. It's not a business, really it's family home team."

Not that they're super-happy cheerleaders. "We can't agree on a whole lot except the music and the band. We're all actually real different people," Dick concludes, adding with a laugh: "As far as philosophies, we're all different and fucked up in the head! But amazingly enough, [Papa Roach] is where we come together."