Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance said its been hot every time his band comes to Utah.
"Never have we been there when it rains," said Esperance during a phone call during a rainstorm in Hershey, Pa.
"And we've never been there in the winter. But I hear there is some great snow for skiing and snowboarding."
Still, Esperance isn't complaining.
"We always have a great time when we come to Salt Lake," he said. "We play some of our best shows."
The last time Papa Roach — Esperance, vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton and drummer Tony Palermo, who replaced Dave Buckner last year — was in January when the band opened for Buckcherry and Avenged Sevenfold.
Last summer the band was one of the energetic openers on Crue Fest at the USANA Amphitheatre.
"This time we're coming with Nickelback," Esperance said. "They've been keen on having us on tour with them for some time, but our schedules have prevented it until now."
Papa Roach has, however, been on tour with Hinder in the past.
"They are a bunch of great guys," said Esperance, who cited the Beatles, Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as some of his musical influences.
Being on the road with the Nickelback tour is exposing Papa Roach to new audiences.
"Nickelback's audiences is broad," said Esperance. "And Saving Abel is also on tour, which brings in a newer audience.
"So each time we step on stage on this tour, we are being exposed audience members that haven't heard of us before."
In March, Papa Roach released its fifth album, "Metamorphosis."
Esperance said the band did a lot of song arranging for the album.
"I'm the king of demo recordings," he said. "I have a ton of music on my hard drive. And I pull them out for the guys."
Esperance said the band will choose which bits of music they like and begin building songs around them.
"The music is always first," he said. "Then Jacoby will come in and write lyrics after. It's always worked for us because he will take into consideration all of our experiences in the past few months."
This time around, Papa Roach went through some major changes, said Esperance.
"We changed management. We changed drummers. So there were a lot of things that happened to us. And that gave Jacoby some new perspectives."
New perspectives keep the music fresh, said Esperance.
"We don't want to keep making the same song over and over again," he said. "That works for some bands, but not for us. Becoming stagnant, to me, is death."
If you go...
What: Nickelback, Hinder, Papa Roach, Saving Abel
Where: USANA Amphitheatre, 5400 South and 6200 West
When: Aug. 26, 5:30 p.m.
How much: $25-$85
Phone: 801-467-8499, 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
e-mail: scott@desnews.com