During an appearance on the latest episode of “The Jasta Show”, hosted by HATEBREED’s Jamey Jasta, P.O.D. frontman Paul “Sonny” Sandoval weighed in on some artists’ use of backing tracks to add extra instrumental or vocal tracks to a live performance, to enhance the sound or to replicate more closely the instrumentation heard on a recording. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We just finally got to a place where it’s, like, dude, we can’t compete. Because, in our mind, we’re, like, ‘No, the rawer the better.’ That’s what a live show is — it’s more punk rock. But now, to almost like the untrained ear, just the fans that go, they [say], ‘Dude, this sounds just like the record.’ And it’s, like, that’s because it is, dude.”He continued: “We play with so many bands, and it’s gone back for a while now — at least they used to hide it back then. Now they don’t even hide it. I mean, how many times have I walked up and I’m, like, ‘Dude, this mic’s not even on,’ or backup mics or extra guitars and stuff like that. We would trip out, but now bands don’t even hide it. We took out a band recently, bro, and the drums were on track — the kick and all that stuff. And I was just watching ’em soundcheck and [I was thinking], like, ‘You’re not even hiding it anymore. You don’t care anymore.'”For us, we’ve had certain synths and keys and stuff that we put in,” Sonny added. “We had a utility guy for a while, but even now it’s, like, it’s cheaper just to throw it on track, some of those extra little vocals just to thicken up the voice. And we only go so far as what we wanna do, but even then… Then you realize, it actually sounds great. And we don’t feel like we’re selling out. We feel, like, dude, we’ve been doing this for 33 years. We’re still playing our butts off, but it’s just this little backup. And again, compared to the guy that’s up on top who’s doing 75 percent tracks, you’re, like, ‘Oh, dude, our little two tracks in the back ain’t nothing. Come on.'”Sonny went on to say that he “loved” hearing mistakes on old live albums that he used to listen to as a kid. “Or they did something different or whatever,” he said. “Or even when the guitar string would break or whatever, and then they’re figuring it out. That’s when you felt like, ‘This is why I come to a live show.’ ‘Cause I’ll never see that. We’ll never experience the human side of it. But also, technology wasn’t what it was today. A lot of these guys, unfortunately, it is all studio work, and now they can duplicate that live. And to your average person that’s buying a ticket, they don’t know any different.”We’ve been with bands, bro, where the bass player got sick or a member got sick and couldn’t even show up to the gig and they didn’t skip a beat, because that’s how much tracks they have,” he continued. “Or they’re not playing with a bass player. They’re not playing with a guitar player. And you’re, like, ‘That’s crazy.’ But everybody’s rocking out, like if it’s not happening in real time right now, We’re, like, ‘What is going on?'”My son just played the other day, and the second band that went on — they opened up the show — the second band that went on didn’t even have a drummer,” Sonny added. “And I’m just watching him. I’m, like, ‘This shouldn’t be happening right now.’ But they don’t need it. It’s whatever. And these young kids are jumping around, dancing. They don’t care. We’re old school — we’re, like, ‘Nah, dude, this sucks. You’ve gotta have a drummer, you’ve gotta have a bass player, you’ve gotta have a guitar player.’ [Laughs]”In recent years, more and more artists have been given a pass for relying on pre-recorded tracks, drum triggers and other assorted technology that makes concerts more synthetic but also more consistent. For better or worse, pre-recorded tracks are becoming increasingly common for touring artists of all levels and genres and they’re not just used in pop music — many rock artists utilize playback tracks to varying degrees.In his recently released book, “Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds”, Sonny talks about walking a unique path between being in a world-famous rock band and his long-held faith as a born-again Christian.”Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds” was released on February 25 via Baker Books.Sandoval is the lead singer and lyricist of the multi-platinum band P.O.D. (PAYABLE ON DEATH) and cofounder of THE WHOSOEVERS. He is a product of Southtown, the southern part of San Diego that approaches the border with Mexico. He is the founder and president of the Youth Of The Nation Foundation, which reaches out to children from underprivileged neighborhoods and gives them the opportunity to find their self-worth and value. Sonny is married to his high school sweetheart, Shannon, and they have three children.[embedded content]