Admit It, You Loved Nu Metal and Now You Love Roach Koach

Have you started listening to podcasts yet? If you haven't, you're missing out. Podcasts have changed the way that we listen to "radio" and who we listen to when we tune in. Podcasts give anyone the ability to reach a large group of listeners if their content is interesting enough. Hip in Detroit even started our own monthly podcast where we go into depth about all things hip once a month, you can check that out here. There's also another local podcast that has been creating some buzz around town, it's called Roach Koach and it's the only place on the internet that you can get your nu metal fix.   

Roach Koach is the brainchild of Lorin, Jenny, and Matt. The three friends realized there was a lack of attention and appreciation for the lost art of nu metal and they wanted to change that. They knew that there were lots of people who wanted to talk about which Korn album was the best (it's the self titled btw) and how the Deftones Around The Fur changed our lives. So, they started chatting, they started broadcasting, and soon enough everyone was listening. In fact, the podcast is celebrating their success by broadcasting live from Go Comedy! in Ferndale on Wednesday, June 7th. You can attend the party and watch  the co-hosts talk all things nu metal. But, first, we had a chance to chat with the crew about why they started the show and why they love nu metal so much. Check out what they had to say and if you like what you hear, tune in or head out to see them live on the 7th! 

HID- Why did you decide to start a podcast about nu metal? 

Matt- "I had already been doing a podcast called Matters for over a year and when Lorin mentioned Roach Koach to me. I could see how excited and serious he was about it and although I was never a fan of Nu-Metal, I am a fan of passion and Lorin sure had that."

Lorin- "Jenny and I became friends over a mutual love of nu metal, specifically Limp Bizkit. I read an article on Stereogum about the 20th Anniversary of Sepultura’s Roots album which declared it “probably the best Nu Metal album ever made”. I was shocked by the statement because 1) I’d never heard the album and 2) I realized there wasn’t much, if any real critical consensus on the nu metal genre. I googled around looking for articles and lists and most of them were sheepish takes and jokey dismissals, begrudgingly acknowledging the biggest selling nu metal albums but without much analysis. I saw an opening no one was filling."

HID- What are your personal favorite nu-metal albums/names? 

Lorin- "I’m a big Limp Bizkit fan, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water being probably their best work. I love Deftones; Around The Fur is a watershed moment in my musical upbringing. And the first Slipknot album basically fucked my life up forever." 

Jenny- "For me, 3 Dollar Bill Y’all was a game changer. I made my parents order it for me after I saw a commercial for it on TV, and I thought I was cool as shit when I brought it to school. I’m also with Lorin on Around The Fur- I love Deftones. After doing the show, I’d put P.O.D’s Fundamental Elements of Southtown up there. Also, if you want a big dumb fun album give Disturbed’s The Sickness album a spin. Droppin’ Plates is an all-timer."

Matt- "The albums I find myself liking the most have been Static-X Wisconsin Death trip and Slipknot’s Iowa."

HID- How do you prepare for a broadcast? 

Lorin- "Jenny and I trade off on who picks an album week to week. Sometimes it’s a long debate, sometimes we pick something that our listeners have requested a lot, and sometimes we just say “Godsmack, sure.” I take at least three listens to every album we do on the show, if not more, if I have time. We have a system called The Christgau Challenge, named after famed music critic Robert Christgau. It requires the listener to engage with an album in at least three different scenarios: once with headphones, once over speakers, and once while taking part in a physical activity such as working out or house cleaning. The idea behind this being that some albums require different scenarios to engage a listener. Christgau said he didn’t “get” the last Rihanna album until he heard it on the treadmill. I also take notes on my last listen while scrolling through our favorite website, Songmeanings.com."

Matt- "I think my role on the show is to be the voice of the non Nu-Metal Fan so I don’t listen to the albums. So my preparation is to make sure the gear is ready to record."

Jenny- "Much like Lorin, I Christgau Challenge, and I do a google deep(ish) dive. When we first started I’d listen to the albums on repeat for a week, and go deep as hell researching, but by the time we’d get to recording, I’d be so sick of the albums that I’d just be a ball of rage. I’m a lot better at delivering reasonable criticism when I haven’t been listening to Jonathan Davis do his Daddy rant ten times a day for a week."

 HID- Did you think that you would be doing this for a year when you started?

Matt- "Absolutely, we got a couple more years in us."

Lorin- "Definitely. Recording our first episode we found an instant chemistry and vibe that has shown no sign of dissipating. I did not predict that we would have listeners from around the world emailing and messaging us daily with album recommendations. We currently have enough recommended albums that fall in the Nu Metal genre to last us for awhile."

Jenny- "Yeah, this is basically just blocking off a few hours every other week to hang out with my friends and joke around and talk about music. The fact that people listen and reach out is icing. It’s been a really sweet, fun experience."

HID- Why do you like podcasts?

Lorin- "I used to work in radio and while I love certain aspects of broadcasting, unless you’re a big name, you can’t truly be yourself. Podcasting lets us just be ourselves, beholden to no one, talking at length about the relative merits of a P.O.D. song."

Matt- "Freedom. The podcast format allows you to do whatever you want. If we were to pitch this to a radio station I think they would turn it down in a moment. What podcasting allows us to do is a show this niche and find an audience that was waiting for it."

HID- What is the nu metal canon? 

Lorin- "The Nu Metal Canon represents the best the Nu Metal genre has to offer the world. The way that you can consult a Jazz or Hip Hop canon and see what critics and aficionados consider the best, most important and most influential, we are creating for Nu Metal. The hope is that someone can look at our canon and find a strong collection of music that both accurately represents the genre while also accentuating what made it a powerful cultural force in the late 90’s and early 2000’s."

HID- Why did you call the podcast Roach Koach?

Lorin- "Jenny and I did an improv show together a few years ago and had to come up with a quick name for our team. I joked about a team influenced entirely by Papa Roach songs, and the alliteration of Roach Koach made us all laugh pretty hard. When it came time to name the show, it was the only choice."

HID- What is a Roach Ryder and a Indigo Angel? 

Matt- "I thought it would be a good idea to have a name for our fans, I am very presumptuous, so we started throwing around names. My wife suggested Roach Ryders and we all liked it. A Roach Ryder is Ride or Die for Roach Koach."

Lorin- "If you have ever sang along to the “Stick up your yeah!” part of “Nookie”, you are a Roach Ryder."

Jenny- "An Indigo Angel is basically the softer or more feminine side of a Roach Ryder. The name comes from the Indigo Ranch, which was Ross Robinson’s recording studio where a lot of seminal nu-metal records were made, and angel comes from me calling people Angels all the time."

HID- Why did so many nu metal bands use Z and Ks instead of Cs when they spelled things? 

Lorin- "Z’s and K’s are under-represented letters, just like nu metal is an underrepresented genre. Real recognize real."

Jenny- "A lot of nu-metal music is about feeling outside of society’s norms, and learning to embrace not being a “normal.” I think that for a lot of people, part of embracing it is to be outwardly and aggressively different. Wearing shit like JNCOs, being “sinister” and whatever. I think spelling things with Ks or Zs is another way to stick it to the man. "

Matt- "Cuz iTz Kool!"

You can party with the entire crew at Go Comedy! next Wednesday, get your $10 tickets here. 

~S