Justin Payne & CO. On the Making Of ‘underrated/overstimulated’
What was the creative process like for this particular 'underrated/overstimulated?'
I started writing this record about a year after moving to Nashville, full-time. I had been touring and travelling with some hired gun players for some years, based out of the Midwest, and had hit the glass ceiling of success in my home region. I had grown tired and disenchanted by the process of making my last record, Season of Loss. I had grown frustrated by the lack of commitment and engagement in the work from my hired professional musicians in the band. I wanted to get back to my roots, the type of music I liked growing up in the 80s and 90s, and enjoy the process again. I opted for shorter and simpler song structures, a more punk and grungy edge to the tunes. I wrote the majority of the book for this record in a little over a week, with minimal edits and second-guesses. I feel like this experience was more like an exorcism, clearing the creative decks so that I could grow into the artist that I am now.
What is your personal favorite song from 'underrated/overstimulated' and why?
"is this what it feels like?" is my favorite tune from this batch of songs. I feel that I resonate most with this particular song, because it is under 3-minutes, tells the truth about my stance against American society and its untenable and insane values. We are constantly sold the lie that we are the best people on the planet, because we are rich and free. Any clear-eyed, truth-telling person can see that, in fact, we live in a carceral state with gatekept health care, unaffordable housing, the food and water are poisoned, and our biggest international export is the means to murder and steal from others. We are still a slave-owning society, the plantations have simply changed from sharecropping, to prisons and credit scores. Let me ask you. Do you think this is what it feels like? The price of a new aircraft carrier could house every homeless veteran in the United States. The price of a new private prison facility could feed countless people. It is human lives that matter most, and this place has totally lost sight of that in favor of being a police state. Look at how they treat folks exercising their right to assembly, to protest injustice and murder overseas and domestically. Our rights are conditional, and they dangle from the end of a miltarized policeman's truncheon. Just like the carrot and stick. Is this what freedom feels like?
Can you share any memorable experiences or stories from performing 'underrated/overstimulated' live?
We played a packed show at the Basement not too long ago, here in Nashville, for a new faces event. We won the crowd that night, aside from the old heads at the venue. They just stood agast and didn't talk to us much after. I loved it! Nashville ain't just a country town, and some people just are not prepared to accept that, or face the changing world at-large, for that matter. Closed-mindedness and gatekeeping. Two of the essential elements of this place. It keeps the mediocre in prominence here in the scene, and I find that humorous. It makes me giggle, sometimes.
Are there any specific themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?
Really just one theme resonates through most of my music. Fuck authority. Be what the hell you want to be in your life, so long as no one else is getting shorted or hurt, and you can't lose.
Can you share an example of a time when you embraced spontaneity during a live performance?
Yes. One time, when I was still drinking and using, I lit my guitar headstock on fire with some rubber cement and a lighter. Looked super cool, and the crowd ate it up, but in the end I would argue that it was just another symptom of the pre-sober me seeking validation through self-sabotage and self-destruction. Each show is different, and it’s a good move to go with the flow and let the moment decide, instead of the rehearsal. Humans like to see people be human, flawed and real. It really is quite simple. Be yourself, authentically, without apology. You will find your audience, and they will love you for it.