Papa Roach - Old Friends from Young Years (1997)

Old Friends from Young Years is the debut album by Californian rock band Papa Roach, self-produced and released on February 4, 1997. This album, along with their other independent demos, were released on the band's now defunct indie label, Onion Hardcore, so named because onion farming is a staple of Papa Roach's hometown, Vacaville, California. The album was co-produced by bass guitarist Tobin Esperance's father, who included an audio recording of Tobin as a child as a bonus track on the album.

On February 4, 1997, the band produced their first full-length album, entitled Old Friends from Young Years. Still touring heavily, they supported bands such as Incubus; Powerman 5000; Hed PE; Snot; Far; Earth, Wind & Fire; and Static-X.

In 1998, they released an EP titled 5 Tracks Deep. It sold more than 1,000 copies in its first month of release. In 1999, they produced another EP, which would end up being their last independent release, titled Let 'Em Know. Its success caught the attention of Warner Music Group, who as part of a development deal provided a small amount of money for the production of a five-track promo-demo CD. The band decided they wanted influential rock producer Jay Baumgardner on board to produce the record. In an interview with HitQuarters, Baumgardner said, “At first I wasn’t really convinced it would work out, but then I saw a video of them performing at a club - I saw all these kids going wild, knowing the songs by heart - and that’s when I realized that they definitely had potential.”

Warner Bros. was not convinced by the demo, however, and elected not to sign them. The unreleased disc included the songs "Infest", "Last Resort", "Broken Home", "Dead Cell", and "She Loves Me Not" - the first four would later feature on their Infest album, and the last on Lovehatetragedy.

Soon after, DreamWorks Records offered the band a recording contract.

Jacoby Shaddix - lead vocals
Jerry Horton - guitars, backing vocals
Dave Buckner - drums, percussion
Tobin Esperance - bass guitar

Track List:
01. Intro (00:28)
02. Orange Drive Palms (04:53)
03. Liquid Diet (04:19)
04. GrrBrr (04:14)
05. iSEDuFuknDie (04:16)
06. DIRTYcutFREAK (02:45)
07. Living Room (04:14)
08. 829 (04:35)
09. Peewagon (04:43)
10. Hedake (05:20)
11. Shut Up N Die (Reprise) (02:33)
12. Thanx (05:50)
13. Happy Birthday (Unlisted) (01:54)