Formed in summer of 1999 from members of veteran Detroit rock acts Rocket 455, Ten High and The Hentchmen; The Paybacks first came to international attention when their track Black Girl opened the 2001 Jack White recorded and produced compilation "The Sypathetic Sounds of Detroit." Shortly thereafter, the White Stripes exploded onto the international rock scene inviting a global interest in Detroit rock. With Danny Methric from Detroit blues punks The Muggs now on lead guitar, The Paybacks spent the next four years on the road supporting two critically acclaimed albums: "Knock Loud" and "Harder and Harder." The band found its way onto film and television scores including ABC's 2004 telecast of the Academy Awards, which opened with the Paybacks track "Hollywood" and two nights of live performances from the band on NBC's "Last Call with Carson Daly." With a reputation for big, arena rock riffs, emotionally charged lyrics and an explosive live show, The Paybacks continue to exemplify the power and integrity that have become the band's hallmarks. The third album, "Love, Not Reason," recorded in spring of 2006, was released in November 06.
Photo: Jay Janner
ABOUT "LOVE, NOT REASON"
Detroit's The Paybacks release third album: Love, Not Reason, on Savage Jams records.
There are those who would scoff at the notion that Cat Scratch Fever is poetry. The members of Detroit rock outfit The Paybacks aren't among them. Rock n roll, when doing its job properly, releases the same brain chemistry as love: the surge of adrenalin, the limbic charge of a pleasurable encounter and the primal recognition that unites the pack. At the peak of their capabilities, love and rock n roll happen naturally. And the first rule of rock applies to both no guts, no glory.
On The Paybacks new album, "Love, Not Reason," the band strips back the covers to reveal some naked truths about love and its many rapturous, painful, exhilarating and perplexing manifestations -- the highest highs, the lowest lows and all the throbbing, confusing parts in the middle. In a word, its a seductive treatise on the futility of trying to tame the passions that drive us.
Recorded over a chilly spring weekend at Chicago's Volume Studios with producer/engineer Sanford Parker and released on the new Savage Jams label, "Love, Not Reason" has emerged as a complete listening experience in the most classic tradition. Greater than the sum of its parts, the album really is an album.
"We didnt plan it that way, says singer/songwriter Wendy Case, but we're proud to have made a record like this while the format still exists. Queen and Led Zeppelin made records that were more than just a bunch of songs on a platter. We feel like weve done that with this album."
When Ted Nugent observed that Cat Scratch Fever "makes a grown man cry," he wasnt just whistlin' Dixie. Whether hes expounding on love, ass or a trip to the doctors office, believe it some tears are gonna fall. "Love, Not Reason" insists that you drop your guard, max out the volume knob and enjoy the ride. Life is short; get your hands dirty, get your heart broken and dont forget what Thomas Mann had to say about it: "It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death."