Korn Showed Us the Ropes, Mötley Crüe Wanted Us Off the Stage, Says Jacoby Shaddix

Touring for over two decades brings a lot of memories—some good, some you’d rather forget. When Jacoby Shaddix and Jerry Horton of Papa Roach sat down with Q101, they didn’t hold back on sharing stories from the road. The good times? They pointed right at the Korn tour in 2000. The iffy ones? Well, that involves a showdown with Mötley Crüe, naturally.

According to Horton, the time with Korn came right after their stint on Warped Tour in 2000. “We were young and they really took us under their wing. It was like, ‘Grasshopper, we’ll show you how to handle this,’” he laughed. “They were super cool. Treated us well and set the bar for how we would later treat other bands we toured with.”

Shaddix echoed that sentiment, adding, “They were like, ‘Turn up the volume as much as you want, take the stage however you want—just go for it.’ A lot of bands aren’t like that. They try to control your sound, limit where you can be on stage, and all that crap.”

Not all tours are built on such happy vibes, though. The Mötley Crüe tour? Let’s just say things got tense over some stupid wings. Not the flying kind—the stage ones. Shaddix spilled the tea about a little confrontation with Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx. “It was Crüe Fest. I was cool with the guys, but I didn’t really know Vince. So, they’ve got these wings on stage, and the stage manager says, ‘Don’t use them.’ Naturally, my response is, ‘Don’t tell me not to, ’cause I will.’”

Shaddix, being Shaddix, kept using the wings. “Halfway through the tour, I’m getting calls from management, like, ‘Dude, stop using the wings.’ But I didn’t listen.” Then came the moment of truth. “We were in Ohio somewhere. I’m sweaty, walking back to the bus after the show, and I see Vince and Nikki walking together—which never happens. They stop me and ask, ‘How was the show?’ I’m thinking, ‘It was awesome, what’s up?’”

Vince wasn’t there to chat about the setlist. “He looks at me and says, ‘Next time you walk out on those wings, you can walk right off this tour.’” Shaddix didn’t blink. “I just looked him dead in the eye and said, ‘So there is a way off this tour, huh?’ Then I walked off.”

Reflecting on it now, Shaddix can laugh. “I love those dudes, but seriously? Mötley Crüe telling someone to follow the rules? Give me a break. Like, you’re Mötley Crüe, you are the rule breakers. Telling me not to use the wings is a joke. Just nah.”

Turns out, even legends have their quirks. But one thing’s clear—Papa Roach learned from the best and the worst, taking notes along the way.