Biography
Pay Money to My Pain, frequently shortened to PTP, cultivated a sound that aligned closely with Western rock formats through its fusion of post-hardcore and nu-metal driven by anguished, emotionally charged lyrics. The Tokyo-formed group stood apart from most Japanese acts by composing every lyric in English, a choice made explicitly to reach listeners beyond their home market. Early 2005 marked their start after vocalist K disbanded his prior outfit Gun Dog; he then enlisted guitarists Pablo and Jin, bassist Tsuyoshi, and drummer Zax, each already seasoned from earlier projects.
Dense, downtuned guitar layers and industrial keyboards supplied much of the surface texture, yet the essential character came from harmonically intricate interlocking arpeggios paired with heavily syncopated drumming reminiscent of emo’s credible era at the century’s turn. The band name originated directly from K’s refusal to disguise his process: born Kei Goto, he treated lyric writing as an outlet for dark and depressed feelings and regarded fans who purchased the CDs as literally paying into that pain. Hispanic-Japanese guitarist Pablo served as the main composer, originating most song ideas that the others then completed together in the studio, where K often grabbed his notebook the moment a melody from Pablo sparked his interest.
Gun Dog’s prior association with Universal subsidiary Vap, which also hosted major acts such as the visual kei band Nightmare, led the label to approach PTP after hearing their self-produced demos. The band signed with Vap in 2006 and issued the debut single “Drop of Ink” that December. Another Day Comes followed in September 2007, tracked in California. Second guitarist Jin exited in 2008 to pursue production, including work for GreeeeN featuring his brother Hide; rather than recruit a replacement, PTP added session keyboards to maintain their sonic balance. That year yielded only the single “Writing in the Diary.”
After further visits to the United States for live performances, K relocated to Los Angeles to deepen his English studies, keeping in touch via email and Skype while returning to Japan four times annually for recording and shows. The arrangement produced a comparatively light release schedule by domestic standards, limited over the next three years to the albums After You Wake Up in 2009 and Remember the Name in 2011. The latter in particular introduced experimental industrial elements alongside occasional gentler tracks. A greatest-hits collection, Breakfast, appeared in October 2012.
K died of heart failure on December 30, 2012, at age 31 in his Yokohama home after years of struggling with alcoholism. Although the loss seemed to end the band’s run, they announced plans for a final 2013 album honoring him and featuring new material he had developed before his death.
Dense, downtuned guitar layers and industrial keyboards supplied much of the surface texture, yet the essential character came from harmonically intricate interlocking arpeggios paired with heavily syncopated drumming reminiscent of emo’s credible era at the century’s turn. The band name originated directly from K’s refusal to disguise his process: born Kei Goto, he treated lyric writing as an outlet for dark and depressed feelings and regarded fans who purchased the CDs as literally paying into that pain. Hispanic-Japanese guitarist Pablo served as the main composer, originating most song ideas that the others then completed together in the studio, where K often grabbed his notebook the moment a melody from Pablo sparked his interest.
Gun Dog’s prior association with Universal subsidiary Vap, which also hosted major acts such as the visual kei band Nightmare, led the label to approach PTP after hearing their self-produced demos. The band signed with Vap in 2006 and issued the debut single “Drop of Ink” that December. Another Day Comes followed in September 2007, tracked in California. Second guitarist Jin exited in 2008 to pursue production, including work for GreeeeN featuring his brother Hide; rather than recruit a replacement, PTP added session keyboards to maintain their sonic balance. That year yielded only the single “Writing in the Diary.”
After further visits to the United States for live performances, K relocated to Los Angeles to deepen his English studies, keeping in touch via email and Skype while returning to Japan four times annually for recording and shows. The arrangement produced a comparatively light release schedule by domestic standards, limited over the next three years to the albums After You Wake Up in 2009 and Remember the Name in 2011. The latter in particular introduced experimental industrial elements alongside occasional gentler tracks. A greatest-hits collection, Breakfast, appeared in October 2012.
K died of heart failure on December 30, 2012, at age 31 in his Yokohama home after years of struggling with alcoholism. Although the loss seemed to end the band’s run, they announced plans for a final 2013 album honoring him and featuring new material he had developed before his death.
Albums
gene
2013
Breakfast
2012
Remember the name
2011
Pictures
2010
after you wake up
2009
Another day comes
2007
Singles
