Who: Payola Presley is Zach Saucier (guitars/primary vocals) and Mac Purdy (drums/programming/keyboards/backing vocals), who were also bandmates in local rock mainstay Slow to Surface for 13 years.

Sounds like: A balanced mix of rock and electronic dance music, as evidenced on its recently released long-player, Make Checks Payable To ... And as Purdy reminds us, the two styles aren’t exactly disparate: “We harken back to the beginning of rock music, when it was the dance music of a generation.”

The road from rock to rocktronica: Never ones to discount a music genre, the two men transitioned from STS to solo projects to working together again. “We were listening and dissecting electronic music and decided to create our version of this style of music,” Saucier says. “We took the elements we enjoyed and expanded it, and eliminated the elements we didn’t care for as much.”

Under the influence: While Saucier made a living working at popular Vegas nightspots, he got hooked on dance anthems like Adrian Lux’s “Teenage Crime” and remixes of rock act The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition.” “Working in the nightclub scene had a huge impact on the way I began to perceive music,” he says.

Play to slay: For its live debut, the duo will incorporate electric guitar, drum kit, computer, midi keyboard and vocals, ultimately seeking to balance both performance and technical responsibilities. Says Saucier: “This is the idea behind the project: bringing the live rock show experience to the electronic music world.”

Payola Presley With live painter Tagz1. March 27, 9:30 p.m., $10. OBA Lounge at House of Blues, 632-7600.