Tobin Joeseph Esperance
Name: Tobin Esperance
Nick name: Sexy bitch
Birth date: 11/14/1979
Location: Vacaville, California
Responsible for: Bass / songwriting
Family: Married with Jennifer since 2002 divorced 2006
Kid: Ava (girl)
Job before Papa Roach: warehouseman
Quote: "If we were to think about what other people want us to do, we'd make ourselves crazy. What other people are doing, we don't pay attention."
Extra Info: Tobins parents got divorced in 1985. His father gave him at the age of 8 a bass and he learned to play without lessons. In 1993 he became a Roadie for Papa Roach and replaced finally Will James after a few test Gigs.
He finished his school with the Highschool exam and then started as a warehouseman to earn money. Also Tobin finally decided in 1999 to get professional with Papa Roach and quit his Job.
Tobin Esperance knows a thing or two about what it takes to make an alt-metal mega hit—he’s Papa Roach’s primary songwriter, and he wrote or co-wrote all of the music on the band’s latest record, Getting Away with Murder. For Tobin, having a songwriter’s sensibility is key to being a solid bassist. “Learning how to craft an arrangement has really helped me understand when to play and when not to play, when to let the fills breathe, and when to let the vocals breathe—and that’s made me a better bass player,” he explains. “I can get notey as a mofo if I want to, but being supportive is just as fun. ‘Not Listening’ is an example of where I had to lay back a bit,” he says. “There are a lot of tricky, intertwined rhythms, so I just had to stick to the groove and play right down the middle. Anything more would have just complicated the song, and it would have lost any infectious qualities it has. Nothing feels greater to me than a deep pocket,” he adds. “I put on the stinky cheese face and just follow the groove.”
Esperance, who cites reggae as a big influence on his playing, resists the temptation to strike a cool-guy pose and churn out glorified guitar riffs. “Sometimes locking up with the guitar isn’t bad,” he shrugs, “but I prefer to make things more interesting.” At home and on the road, Tobin is always prepared to work through what might become the next Papa Roach album. “I like to be ready whenever a creative thought comes to me—a melody, a riff, a chord progression, whatever,” he explains. “So I have an acoustic guitar in just about every room in my house, and on tour I keep one in the front of the bus, one in the back lounge, and one in our dressing room. Plus, I have a piano at home, and I take a keyboard on the road. And I have Pro Tools rigs at home, in the studio, and on the bus. As you can see, I like to be ready.”
Papa Roach are a rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993 and consisting of Jacoby Shaddix, Jerry Horton, Dave Buckner, and Tobin Esperance. Shaddix used the pseudonym Coby Dick on the band's first LP, and has also used the name Jonny Vodka. The band's name comes from Coby's step-grandfather, who was nicknamed "Papa" and had the surname Roatch. They had mostly regional success until their breakthrough with the hit single "Last Resort" from their first major label album, Infest.
Indeed, their first demo, Potatoes for Christmas (1994), sounded very different from their current sound and was much more weird and funky. As of 2004, Jacoby Shaddix has given up rapping, mainly due to the decline of rap-metal in the early 2000s, and has focused on just heavy metal, as he stated to the Dallas Music Guide.
August of 2004 saw the release of their third and latest album, Getting Away with Murder. Touring on the immense popularity of the album's second single, "Scars", Papa Roach have currently sold 1 million albums and have reached platinum status. 2005 has seen continuous touring, including a full United States and European tour.
In November of 2005 Papa Roach released a live DVD show entitled Live and Murderous in Chicago. This show was 80 minutes of HD video shot at the Vic Theater in Chicago on May 1st 2005.
Since the beginnings Papa Roach were constantly evolving their sound. With every album ("Infest", "LoveHateTragedy" and Getting Away With Murder") they tried something new and did mostly not what their fans expected.
On September 12, 2006 they released their 4th major-label album The Paramour Sessions. The band chose the title in respect to the recording location, the Paramour Mansion. The band were given the idea of doing an album in a mansion, while recording Getting Away With Murder, by Slipknot, who were recording their Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) album in the Houdini Mansion and told the band it was the "only way to make an album".
Next album is expected for late 2008. Writing hasn't been started yet