John PayCheck is looking at his life in his new video for “More Days Behind,” and he’s reflecting on where he’s been — and where he’s going next.
PayCheck has already had a very full life that includes a stint working with his famous father, “Take This Job and Shove It” singer Johnny PayCheck, before taking a completely different path that led him into technology and, eventually, working in intelligence for the U.S. military.
He’s returned his focus to music in more recent years, and as he tells Taste of Country, “I got to a point where I realized in my life that the scale of time has changed on me. There are literally more days behind me than ahead of me.”
That inspired the song, and he decided to take a unique approach when it came to the video for “More Days Behind,” which is the title song of his second solo album.
The clip includes a number of statistics that appear on the screen as he sings, including the average human life span, how much of that time we typically spend sleeping and at work and more.
“The whole thing is a metaphor for, I’m on this journey, and where it leads me all the way back to is my family,” PayCheck explains.
“I think it’ll make people think, which is really what I’m hoping for. If you’re younger than me, then maybe it will make you budget that time better than I did. If you’re older or about the same age, well … hopefully you’re happy with what you’ve done and where you’re gonna go,” he adds with a laugh.
PayCheck’s video for “More Days Behind” premieres exclusively via Taste of Country below:
PayCheck admits he spent years trying to outrun his legacy by directing his attention into other pursuits.
“I didn’t want to do anything with music,” he states. “It was the furthest thing from my mind, because I wanted to be my own person. I didn’t want to be seen as Johnny PayCheck’s son. Especially as a young man full of testosterone who wanted to make his own way in life.”
PayCheck changed his mind after attending the opening of an Outlaw Country exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2018, where he ran into the adult children of a number of other country stars that he had known since childhood.
“Shooter Jennings was there, and Tyler Coe, the Tucker family and a bunch of other people,” he recalls.
They all met up afterward, and “it was kind of like a homecoming,” he shares.
A conversation with Jennings made PayCheck realize how much he missed making music, prompting him to launch a solo career. He released his debut album, We All Have a Story, in 2021.
More Days Behind followed in November of 2024. The album is currently available via PayCheck’s website.
PayCheck has a slate of tour dates in support of the album in 2025, and he’s also working on his third album, which he expects to release in 2026.
Keep up with John PayCheck via his official website.
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