Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix Reveals The Painful Moment That Made Him Quit Alcohol

March 5, 2020

In a new conversation with Rock Antenne, Jacoby Shaddix, the vocalist of the world-famous American nu metal band Papa Roach, has talked about one of the painful moment he ever lived and revealed that the moment made him quit drinking.

“I remember I was 27 when I first tried to get sober,” he said. “And it was just… life was getting real tough and real nasty, I was treating myself terribly – and everybody around me – just not being a quality person.”

Also, Jacoby said he hiding and drinking, and added the situation he included in at that time was miserable.

“And so I finally – it was, like, ‘I’m getting sober,’ and I had a really hard time. I’d go out on the road; I’d be cool for the first month, and then five weeks in, all of a sudden I’m in the back lounge, hiding, drinking and, you know, that’s a really miserable place to be.

“It just goes against my spirit; drinking just turns me into a whole different person, and it’s a very dark, muted, senseless version of myself. I want to be on fire, so I struggled with it for many years.”

Jacoby revealed the unheard moment he lived with his brother and stated that his brother said to him that he respected him before. After his brother’s disrespectful words, Jacoby said that his wife reacted to him harshly.

“I felt off a lot of times, and then finally, like, eight years ago, my brother came to me and it was just one of these nights, I was blacked out at a club or whatnot, acting like an idiot, and he rolled up on me the next day; he’s, like, ‘Bro, I used to respect you. I used to look up to you, and now you’re just this fucking mess. You’re just a joke.’

“And it really hit me. My wife told him, ‘You know, he stopped drinking…’ But it was, like, my little brother handed me, ‘Dude, I used to look up to you, and now you’re just a fucking joke.’”

He continued: “It was almost like I was waiting for somebody to just go, ‘Yo, dude, fucking wake up.’ So here I am, eight years, no alcohol, and it’s, I just honestly can say, like, now touring, it’s not hard for me.

“I’ve been down that road so many times, and the level of self-destruction and pain, and just looking in the mirror the next day, going, ‘Oh, what happened?’ – that kind of stuff, the freedom from that alone is, like ‘I’m good, man, I don’t want to go back, more booze for everybody else.’”

Jacoby Shaddix rocking the stage with Papa Roach since the band’s first days, which formed in 1993 in California.

By Talha Cetinbas, MetalCastle

Absolutely nobody, and I mean nobody becomes an alcoholic in a day, week, or month. Becoming an alcoholic is an actual process that takes years for your brain to actually rewire itself making you believe you need to drink when in actuality your only drinking because you want to, not because you need to. Although when you get to the point, when you’re drinking out of need versus “want” then you are an alcoholic.

If somebody wants something, they usually try their best to get it. Ever want ice cream when you’re going down the street? So what do you do? You find an ice cream store and go get one. You did not need the ice cream, but you definitely wanted one. So what did you do? Simple. You got one! Now after you eat the ice cream why is it that you don’t get another one, and another one, and another one? Simple. Because your want has now been satisfied, and your need is no longer. Most importantly, ice cream does not have the missing link needed for addiction. there is no high associated with eating it. There is no brain-altering effect taking place. That’s why the alcoholic continues to drink one after another. He’s replenishing the high from drink number one with drink number two, three, four, five, and so on. Whereas ice cream one is enough. You’re only satisfying your taste for ice cream, and believe me, one double scoop hot fudge sundae with whipped cream will do just that.

I give credit to all these people who were able to quit alcohol. Just like a drug, the alcohol becomes the best friend of the alcoholic, and you know what they say that breaking up is hard to do. Even if it is a friend, and not someone you are in love with. Although the truth is alcoholics are in love with alcohol. It is a love affair. Same as a drug addict to his drug of choice.

Now that you have my take on the situation, I’ll leave it with this.

“I’ll drink to that.”

About The Author

Robert Annenberg: Robert Louis Annenberg Is a 40 year seasoned property owner, manager, investor, builder/developer and business man who is also an author of five published books to date (Amazon.com) and the chief editor of LifeQuestJournal.com. He can be reached at: Info@RobertAnnenberg.com and (201) 289-2500.