James caught up with Jerry Horton from Papa Roach before their headline show at the Academy in Birmingham to talk about their current album 'The Connection',plans for their future album, how hectic 2013 has been for them and much more.

You released your seventh studio album ‘The Connection’ back last October are you happy with how the album has gone down with your fans and the press?
Yeah, we’ve received great reviews from almost everyone that we’ve encountered. It’s gratifying because with every record you have to take a chance and go somewhere new musically without knowing exactly how it’s going to go down.

What would you say your favourite track from ‘The Connection’ is and why?
I really like ‘Before I die’ which, is a song that wasn’t originally intended for Papa Roach. Tobin had written it entirely on his computer using only electronics. We were just in the studio one day and said ok, what do you have? And he said well I have this thing but, it’s not really us. He played it and we all said wow, come on we’ve got to work on this. We went into the live room and worked on it and I think it turned out really well.

I know it is still early days but has any work or thought been put into the next Papa Roach album?
Yeah, we’ve been working on it for at least this tour. I don’t think we’re going to go in this time with too much written, I think it’s more about just going in and seeing what happens. We’re going into the studio in February and we’ll be working with a guy called Kevin Churko who did the last two In This Moment records.

You are currently back in the UK on a headline tour, how does it feel to be back over here and how have the first couple of nights been?
I’m really happy to be back on a proper tour because it’s been a long time. The first night of the tour was in Portsmouth and it was kind of ok but last night we were in Sheffield and it was really good. I think the Portsmouth show was maybe a bit lacklustre because there were a lot of first timers there so they didn’t really know how it works with us.

You are being supported by Middle Class Rut and American Fangs how did these bands become a part of the tour and how have you found touring with them so far?
Middle Class Rut are friends of ours from Sacramento, California. They’ve been on a different path to us musically but we said let’s just get together and do this. They were supposed to be on the whole of the European tour but their label pulled their support so they could only do the UK leg.

We love both of the bands that are with us right now. They have great energy so it’s cool to be able to do this with them.

Are there certain shows on the tour you are looking forward to playing more than others?
I know that the Glasgow is going to go crazy; I know Manchester is going to be great as well. I’m excited for Dublin because we haven’t been there in about 7 or 8 years.

You spend a lot of time on the road touring, what do you get up to in-between shows to keep you busy?
We usually do three shows in a row and then have a day off but it usually depends on the city we’re in and the time that we have free and driving to the different venues. Personally I’m into photography so I like to try and get out and take some photos. I know that we’ve got a day off in Glasgow so we’ve planning on going to Edinburgh castle.

Once the tour comes to an end in Brixton on Sunday what do you have planned next?
We’ve got a few days off and then we’re doing a few more shows. I think we’re doing New Year in Las Vegas and we’re doing a rock cruise called ‘Ship Rocked’. In February we’ll be in the studio and then hopefully we’ll have a record by August or September and be back in the UK soon after.

2013 has been a busy year for Papa Roach with relentless touring and festival appearances but what would you say your highlight of the year has been?
I think it would have to be Rock AM Ring. Everything about it was just right and the attendance was higher than in previous years. The crowd were amazing.

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be and why?
I guess I would be a giraffe because their point on vision is different from ours.

Thanks for your time is there a message for your fans reading this?
Thank you very much for sticking with us. If you haven’t been to a show before come and see us because it’s a great experience and we hope to see you soon.

Interview by James Daly