Christopher Ballew (born May 28, 1965) is an American musician best known as the lead singer and bassist of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group the Presidents of the United States of America. He also performs and records as a children's artist under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Caspar Babypants Caspar Babypants is the stage name of children's music artist Chris Ballew, who is also the vocalist and bassist of The Presidents of the United States of America. History Ballew's first brush with children's music came in 2002, when he record ...

Biography

Ballew grew up in Seattle and attended middle and high school at Bush School, where he met

Dave Dederer David Dederer (born October 5, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University ...

, with whom he would later form the Presidents of the United States of America. In the late 1980s and early '90s, Ballew lived in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he performed as a

street musician Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

in a duo called Egg with Phil Franklin (later of

Caroliner Rainbow Caroliner, a group formed in 1983 in San Francisco, is an industrial bluegrass–experimental–Noise conceptual art band that uses instruments from bluegrass and rock traditions, as well as homemade electronics and other modified instruments. In ...

and

Sunburned Hand of the Man Sunburned Hand of the Man are an experimental rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. They are a loose collective known for their frequent line up changes and large discography released on a variety of labels including Eclipse Records, Thurston M ...

). Many of Ballew's songs with Egg would become well-known Presidents songs, most notably " Naked and Famous", which is performed by Egg as a bonus track on a 2005 reissue of the Presidents'

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album. The two members of Egg were also part of the experimental triple-

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ensemble Balls, which released a 12-inch EP in 1991. While in Boston, Ballew also played briefly with

Mary Lou Lord Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician who started performing as a busker in Boston. Life and career Mary Lou Lord first gained attention playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations, partic ...

, and with

Mark Sandman Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

Treat Her Right Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar," Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harmon ...

and

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, in a duo called Supergroup, in which they developed the oddly-stringed instruments that would become a staple of both the Presidents' and Morphine's sound. Ballew moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, where he shared an apartment with musician

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

and played in his live band. Ballew told ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'' that playing with Beck "was the beginning of my professional career as a guy getting paid to make music." He returned to his native Washington in 1993 and started the Presidents of the United States of America. The band released six studio albums, then split up in July 2015. In 1998, Ballew released a solo album credited to the Giraffes. The recording project turned into a band between 1999 and 2000. For the live version of the Giraffes, Ballew was joined by Jason Staczek (organ, clarinet) and Mike Musburger (drums). In 2009, Ballew launched a project targeted toward toddlers, called Caspar Babypants. Ballew uses a three-string acoustic guitar when performing Caspar Babypants songs. To date, Caspar Babypants has released seventeen full-length albums, all with exclamatory titles such as "Here I Am!", "More Please!", "This Is Fun!", "Sing Along!'", "Hot Dog!", "I Found You!", "Baby Beatles!", "Rise and Shine!", "Night Night!", "Beatles Baby!", "Away We Go!", "Winter Party!", "Jump for Joy!", "Keep It Real!", "Flying High!", "Bug Out!", and "Happy Heart!" Ballew released the nineteenth Caspar Babypants album, "Easy Breezy!", on November 5, 2021. In 2015, fifteen years after the last official release, Chris Ballew put together ''We Hear Music'', a 33-track double album consisting of previously unreleased Giraffes material. The record was shared privately with a few fans through the internet, with a note allowing the recipients to redistribute the music freely. Ballew also publishes as a solo artist under his own name. His first album, ''I Am Not Me'', came out in July 2021. In 2022, he released two albums, ''Soul Unfolded'' and ''Primitive God''. In June 2022, he performed "

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

" with

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

Equipment

During his time with the Presidents, Ballew was endorsed by Epiphone Guitars and Orange amplifiers, utilizing an Epiphone SG-400 guitar (converted into a two-string "basitar"), as well as an AD200B MK 3 200-Watt Bass Head from Orange. No distortion pedals are used live; just the natural distortion of the amp is heard. Regarding his two-string "basitar", Ballew admits: "I'm technically not really a bass player, although, I play as if I'm playing bass lines, a lot of times I strum like (on a) guitar and make chords."

Personal life

Ballew is married to collage artist Kate Endle.

Discography

With the Presidents of the United States of America * '' The Presidents of the United States of America'' (1995,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

) * '' II'' (1996, Sony) * '' Rarities'' (1997, Import) * '' Pure Frosting'' (1998, Sony) * ''

Lump Lump may refer to: * "Lump" (song), a 1995 song by The Presidents of the United States of America * ''Lump'' (compilation album), a 2000 best-of album by The Presidents of the United States of America * Lump (dog), a dog who inspired Pablo Pic ...

'' (2000, Sony Special Product) * '' Freaked Out and Small'' (2000, Music Blitz) * '' Love Everybody'' (2004,

PUSA Inc The Presidents of the United States of America (occasionally referred to as PUSA, PotUSA, The Presidents of the USA or simply The Presidents) were an American alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1993. The three-piece group ...

) * ''

These Are the Good Times People ''These Are the Good Times People'' is the fifth studio album by The Presidents of the United States of America. It was released on March 11, 2008. This is their first album to feature Andrew McKeag instead of Dave Dederer on guitbass. Track li ...

'' (2008, PUSA Inc) * '' Kudos to You!'' (2014, PUSA Inc) With Balls * ''We Will Grow on You'' (1990, Elaterium Records) – only 300 LPs printed With Egg * "Emotional Cowboy" on the compilation EP ''A Kinder, Gentler Genocide'' (Wasted Effort Records, 1990) As Caspar * ''Lint Cake'' (1991, Raw Poo Music) * ''Sonic Uke'' (1993, Raw Poo Music) * ''Caspar'' (1996, Raw Poo Music) With Caspar and Mollusk (aka Chris &

) * ''Caspar and Mollusk'' (1995, Cosmic Records) With Supergroup (aka Chris &

) * ''Supergroup'' (1995, Cosmic Records, 45 rpm single) With

the Minus 5 The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Band history McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and ...

* ''

The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy ''The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy'' is an album by American rock music, rock band The Minus 5. Their final release of new material for Hollywood Records, it was released in 1997. The album was met with positive reception from critics. Recording ...

'' (1997) With the Giraffes * '' 13 Other Dimensions'' (1998, My Own Planet) * ''

The Days Are Filled with Years ''The Days Are Filled with Years'' was released by The Giraffes (Seattle band), The Giraffes in 2000 (see 2000 in music) on Orange Recordings. It is the second album as The Giraffes by The Presidents of the United States of America (band), The Pre ...

'' (2000,

Orange Recordings Orange Recordings is a record label that started in Chicago in 1997. In 2000 the label moved to San Diego and then relocated again to Los Angeles in the early 2002. Orange is currently headquartered in Seattle. Some of the artists on the label in ...

) * ''Zero Friction'' (2000) * ''We Hear Music'' (2015) With the Tycoons * ''Is It Christmas Yet?'' (1998, Collective Fruit) With Chris and Tad * ''Hand Me That Door'' (2000, Orange Recordings) With Subset (aka PUSA &

Sir Mix-a-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

) * ''Addicted to the Fame'' (2000, MusicBlitz.com) With Chris Ballew and Friends * ''Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS): Sing with a Child'' (2002) With Creepy Stick * ''Creepy Stick'' (2005) With the Feelings Hijackers * ''T.F.H.'' (2005) * ''Skeletal Remains'' (2007) As

* ''Here I Am!'' (2009) * ''More Please!'' (2009) * ''PEPS Sing a Long!'' (2010) (Download only) * ''This Is Fun!'' (2010) * ''Sing Along!'' (2011) * ''Hot Dog!'' (2012) * ''I Found You!'' (2012) * ''Baby Beatles'' (2013) * ''Rise and Shine!'' (2014) * ''Night Night!'' (2015) * ''Beatles Baby!'' (2015) * ''Away We Go!'' (2016) * ''Winter Party!'' (2016) * ''Jump for Joy!'' (2017) * ''Sleep Tight!'' (2018) * ''Fun Favorites!'' (2018) * ''Keep It Real!'' (2018) * ''Flying High!'' (2019) * ''Bug Out!'' (2020) * ''Happy Heart!'' (2020) * ''Easy Breezy!'' (2021) Solo * ''My First Computer'' (2003) * ''Like to Boogie'' (2004) * "Run World, Run" (2005) (A soundtrack to a short

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

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Brooks Running Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are a ...

) * ''I Am Not Me'' (2021) * ''Soul Unfolded'' (2022) * ''Primitive God'' (2022)

References

External links

The Presidents of the United States of America
official website (archived)
Caspar Babypants official website

Chris Ballew: Post-grunge, children's music, and the untold story of Sampladelic
''Project Revolver,'' May 17, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballew, Chris 1965 births 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists Living people Musicians from Seattle American rock guitarists American male guitarists The Presidents of the United States of America (band) members The Minus 5 members