Not an 'Ego Trip': Papa Roach churning out the hits 20 years into its career

Oct. 16—Tobin Esperance has been on tour for the majority of 2023.

It's not uncommon, yet he is yearning for some time at home.

"We're at the middle point of the tour," he says. "Luckily, we have a good break coming up."

Esperance is the bass player and primary songwriter for the rock outfit Papa Roach.

Papa Roach is opening for Shinedown on its current tour. The tour makes a stop at Isleta Amphitheater on Thursday, Oct. 19. Spiritbox will open the entire show.

Esperance and Papa Roach have been making music for well over 20 years. The band's most recent album is "Ego Trip."

"Who would have thought we would have the longevity," he says. "People are continuing to connect with our new songs. We're not a legacy band that relies on playing just the hits. We realize how lucky we are to still be doing this at an awesome level. It's hard for a band to make it as long as we have."

Papa Roach made the decision to release its music independently — which has made all the difference.

Esperance says the writing process has always been pretty easy due to the fact that there are no rules for the band when writing.

"Recently, we've been collaborating with a friend of ours," he says. "The ideas are always fresh. The lyrics are usually the last thing to happen."

Esperance says there was one record in the band's catalog, where the songs were forced to be played on acoustic guitar.

"We stepped back and let it all happen organically," he says. "Like they say, 'All you need is three chords and the truth.' "

Over the course of 20-plus years, Papa Roach has amassed many radio hits, which include "Scars," "Between Angels and Insects," "Gravity," "Getting Away with Murder," "She Loves Me Not," "Falling Apart," "Help" and "Last Resort."

Esperance is grateful for the songs, yet wants to switch it up.

"I wish we could switch out more songs," he says. "Sometimes we do that. Lately, we've been trying to keep it a good mix and insert a couple of random, left-field deep cuts. We've always tried to play the songs that people really want to hear. We have 11 albums and about 300 songs. One day, it would be fun to do an entire set of deep cut songs."

Esperance says with technology used in the show, it's difficult to change things on the fly.

"It's an entire process and everything needs to go off without a hitch," he says. "Anything we try to change takes some time."

Esperance is constantly writing and feels like the band is chasing "that great album."

"Honestly, I know it's in us to get there," he says. "But I also hope that we never get to that point because this has been such an incredible journey."