IF THE staff of London's Millenium Hotel are at all concerned by the large, distinctyl incongruous group of people sprawled over the plush sofas in its foyer, then they are exercising the sort of descretion only a great deal of money can buy.Not that this septet of Papa Roach fans-Sam Jeffries, Sean James, Richard James, Sam Pattison, Jordan Wilson, Dan Aspel and Toni Metochis - are causing any bother, mind , as they anxiously wait for their heroes to finish up a Chinese takeout several floors above us.
When we're eventually summoned to the band's room, effusive frontman Coby Dick greets us at the door and we're ushered in to an expansive hotel suite to meet the rest of P-Roach - that's ursine drummer Dave Buckner, mellow bassist Tobin Esoerance and catatonically silent guitarist Jerry Horton.
" Here we are - on a hotel bed and they're taking pictures of us," grins Buckner.
" Do you know how many photos we've done with a band on a bed?" asks Dick.
" Too f**cking many!" is the good-natured reply.
As notepads are rustled, Coby tries to break the ice by relating a tour bus anecdote involving a porn shoot, impotence and the unfortunate nickname 'captain acorn'.
Unperturbed by a rather muted response, he hunkers down for a lengthy grilling.
" We can handle it!" boasts the vocalist.We shall see....
Jordan:What was it like to play in front of a quarter-of-a-million people at Rock in Rio?
Tobin:" It was crazy because a lot of them didn't really know who we were and they didn't really understand what we were saying. It was fun just looking out and seeinga sea of people.You couldn't see where it all ended, all you saw were bodies."
Coby:" We rode in on a helicopter from our hotel - it was totally unreal."
Dave:" It's going to be on our home video so you'll get to see it."
Coby:" I was shitting my pants! We hate planes and i definately didn't feel very safe in that helicopter."
Sam P (proffering the 'Rock Lookalikes' from K! 849, featuring Dave Buckner and Eric Cartman from 'south park'):Was this picture from before or after you joined Papa Roach?
Dave:" Oh that's like one of the first promo shots we took!"
Coby:"Thats f**ked up!"
Dave:" You know whats funny? I looked a lot more like Cartman back in the day than i actually do now. We had a shirt and it was us modelled after 'South Park' characters and i was Cartman.(Pulling of a pretty good Cartman impression) 'Eh!Cheesy Poofs! Thats my potpie!."
Sean:How do you feel about playing the ozzfest alongside Black Sabbath?