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 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 ...

band formed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, in 1993. The three-piece group's initial line-up consisted of vocalist and bassist

Chris Ballew Christopher Ballew (born May 28, 1965) is an American musician best known as the lead singer and bassist of the alternative rock group The Presidents of the United States of America (band), the Presidents of the United States of America. He als ...

, drummer Jason Finn, and guitarist

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 ...

. The band became popular in the mid-1990s for their hits "

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 Pica ...

" and "

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 ...

"—released in 1995 and 1996, respectively—which helped their self-titled debut album go 3× platinum. The group broke up for the first time in late 1997 because their singer Chris Ballew wanted a solo career; they performed a farewell concert early the next year. They reunited in 2002. In 2004, Dederer left the group and was replaced by Andrew McKeag. The Presidents privately disbanded in 2015, and the news was made public a year later.

History

Early years (1993–1994)

The band was formed in late 1993 by

(bass guitar and lead vocals) and

(guitar and backup vocals), who met while attending The Bush School in Seattle. Ballew had previously been in a punk- busker band called Egg, who wrote many songs that would later be turned into PUSA songs. Initially a drummerless duo, Ballew and Dederer performed a half-dozen or so shows in 1993 as "The Lo-Fis", "The Dynamic Duo", and "Pure Frosting". Ballew eventually came upon the name "The Presidents of the United States of America". Shortly after settling on their name, Ballew and Dederer added drummer Jason Finn; the band played their first show as a trio at Seattle's Romper Room in early December 1993. At the time, Finn was also the drummer in the band

Love Battery Love Battery was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. History Love Battery was formed in 1989 by former rock band Room Nine leader Ron Nine (b. Ron Rudzitis), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Tommy "Bonehead" Simp ...

, who had recently changed record labels from

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

Atlas Records Atlas Records was a jazz record label. It was merged with Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A ...

, an A&M subsidiary. The Presidents recorded a ten-song cassette, ''Froggystyle,'' in early 1994 in one day at Laundry Room Studios. The band sold the cassette at shows in 1994. Finn also sold the cassette from behind the bar of Seattle's Comet Tavern, where he tended bar.

Rise to fame (1994–1998)

In 1994, the band signed with the independent Seattle label

PopLlama Records PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce The Young Fresh Fellows' debut album ''The Fab ...

and released their self-titled debut in the following year. The band also released a limited edition blue vinyl 7" single, "Fuck California", on

C/Z Records C/Z Records was a Seattle-based punk rock record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale. It started with the release of '' Deep Six'' which collected the earliest recordings of what later came to be known as ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

signed the band shortly thereafter and re-released the album in late July 1995. Driven by the singles "

", "

", and " Kitty", their debut album has been certified triple Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. A follow-up album, '' II,'' received similar praise, but did not match the commercial success that the Presidents' debut album had, though it was still

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the US. Throughout 1995, 1996 and 1997, the band made worldwide tours to support their first two albums. In 1996, MTV aired a previously recorded live concert of the band from

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...

for

Presidents Day Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...

. They were introduced with: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Presidents of the United States." In addition to relentless touring in the U.S. and Canada, PUSA made multiple tours of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They also made many appearances in major print media and on radio and TV, including multiple appearances on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' in the U.S. The Presidents turned down an offer to perform on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' in the fall of 1995 because the date conflicted with Ballew's wedding, but later made an appearance on the eleventh episode of ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentie ...

'' in January 1996. The band began the program with a skit called "Public Domain", performed "Lump" later in the show and "

When the Saints Go Marching In "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn and is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstron ...

" during the end credits.

''Pure Frosting'', collaborations and break-up (1998–2000)

The band broke up in January 2000 as Ballew quit to spend more time with his young family and explore other musical terrain. '' Pure Frosting,'' a final album composed of new songs, covers, and demos, was released in 1998. The CD also contained videos for "Lump", "Peaches", "Mach 5", and "Dune Buggy". ''Pure Frosting'' featured two songs that had previously been used in a movie and as a television show theme. "

Video Killed the Radio Star "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1979. It was recorded concurrently by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their album '' English Garden'' an ...

" was included on the soundtrack for ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells t ...

'', while " Cleveland Rocks", originally recorded by Ian Hunter, was chosen as the theme song for ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...

.'' Another song on the album, "Man (Opposable Thumb)", appeared in the Nickelodeon-produced motion picture ''

Good Burger ''Good Burger'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Dan Schneider with Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. Starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, it is based on the comedy sketch of the same name on the Nick ...

'' but was not directly written or performed for the film. The Presidents also wrote the theme song for the 1998 TV movie ''

My Date with the President's Daughter ''My Date with the President's Daughter'' is a 1998 American made-for-television romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television and premiered as part of ABC's revival of ''The Wonderful World of Disney''. It was shot in various locatio ...

''. They also performed a cover of the ''

George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon char ...

'' theme song for the 1997 movie of the same name. This performance is not available on any of their albums. In 1998, the group appeared on the album '' Happy Hour'' by Japanese female rockers

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional lyr ...

(also a three piece); they did backing vocals on the song "Sushi Bar". The Presidents also collaborated with

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'' ...

as Subset, a short-lived rock and hip-hop band. They had a brief tour and recorded several songs, but never released an album. The band broke up because Sir Mix-A-Lot wanted to take the band in a harder, more electronic direction, but Finn and Dederer were not interested.

Brief reformation and break-up (2000–2003)

The Presidents reunited in 2000 to release a new single, "Jupiter", on MUSICBLITZ Records. Because of the single's popularity, the label convinced the band to release a new album. '' Freaked Out & Small'' was released that year to critical praise. The band did not tour on or promote the album, which quietly sold 25,000 copies as MUSICBLITZ, an early digital music player, quickly went bankrupt. Afterward, the band members once again went their own ways. Ballew continued to produce and record his own work, becoming a children's artist under the name

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 ...

and collaborated with Tad Hutchison of

The Young Fresh Fellows The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group, that was formed in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, United States, by Scott McCaughey and Chuck Carroll. Tad Hutchison, Chuck Carroll's first cousin, joined for the recording of the grou ...

as The Chris and Tad Show. Also during this time, The Young Fresh Fellows recorded a song, "Good Times Rock 'N' Roll", about The Presidents, which appeared on the 2001 album '' Because We Hate You''.

Full reformation and new guitarist (2003–2010)

Moore Theatre 100 Years - Andrew McKeag 04B

In 2003, the band once again reformed. In August 2004, the band released '' Love Everybody'' on their newly formed

indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

PUSA Inc. As with their previous albums, it received praise from many critics. Two singles from the album have been released through the

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. In late 2004, the rights to the debut album were returned to the band, who have since reissued the album through PUSA Inc. twice: once as a tenth-anniversary edition with extra tracks, and again in the spring of 2006 in a low-price edition. Andrew McKeag, Seattle guitarist (formerly of Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver, Shuggie, The Black Panties and others), joined the band on guitar in late 2004, as an occasional live-performance stand-in for Dave Dederer, who had expressed an interest in spending more time with his family. Since late 2007, McKeag started touring full-time with the band, and later replaced Dederer. Dederer has played live with the band in concerts in Seattle on occasion. In November 2007, the band's next album, ''

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 ...

'', was announced; it was released on March 11, 2008. They performed a live webcast celebrating the album's release by Easy Street Records. In December 2007

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

played the new song "Bad Times". On February 1, 2008, 107.7-The End, a Seattle radio station, played "Mixed Up S.O.B.", the first single from the Presidents' new album. The music video for the song was directed by

"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 ...

. On June 15, 2008, they played for Pet-Aid 2008 in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. In October 2008, "Lump" was released on the video game '' Rock Band 2''. "

Ladybug Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

", "Feather Pluck'n", and "Dune Buggy" were released as downloadable content for the game on November 4, 2008. In the summer of 2009, The Presidents performed in San Diego at the North Park Music Thing Music & Media Festival which only showcases local bands.

Final years (2010–2015)

In August 2010, The Presidents performed at Skokie's Backlot Bash outside of Chicago. In September 2010, they played during halftime of the UW-Syracuse game at

Husky Stadium Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...

. On March 5, 2011, The Presidents performed a new tribute song, "Can't Stop (Catchin' 'Em All)" at the

Nintendo World ''Nintendo World'' is a Brazilian video game magazine, which covers games for the Nintendo Wii, Wii U, 3DS and DS. It was created in 1998 by the Conrad Editora. Initially it covered games for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color consoles, whi ...

launch event for the video games ''

Pokémon Black and White and are 2010 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' vid ...

''. In 2012,

re-released ''

'', a discount greatest hits compilation. On November 12, 2012, The Presidents performed during halftime of the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

–

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

playoff soccer game at

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...

. In November 2013, the band started a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

project in order to release a new studio album. The band met their goal in just over a week, and the album, titled '' Kudos to You!'', was released on February 14, 2014. The band also released their first full live album, '' Thanks for the Feedback'', at the same time. Since the beginning of the project, fans were able to pledge for various items in addition to the digital and physical copies of the two albums, such as posters, lyric sheets and instruments signed by the band. A limited edition burgundy and yellow vinyl was also available to backers. On November 16, 2016, Chris Ballew stated that the band had dissolved sometime in the summer of 2015 as they wanted to move on, calling themselves "old people now".

Post-2016: Solo work, album vinyl re-release

Following the breakup, each band member devoted time to his own solo projects. Ballew was the most prolific of the three, releasing albums with

The Giraffes The Giraffes can be one of the following bands: *The Giraffes (Brooklyn band) ** The Giraffes (album), ''The Giraffes'' (album) *The Giraffes (Seattle band) See also

*Giraffe (disambiguation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Giraffes, The ...

and The Tycoons, two of his side projects. Dederer collaborated with former

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

bassist

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

as The Gentlemen and in McKagan's perennial hard rock band, Loaded, including contributing to the album ''Dark Days''. Dederer also played bass in the Seattle band Juke and produced songs for singer/songwriter Gerald Collier. Finn played drums for several bands, including

Nevada Bachelors Nevada Bachelors were an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1997. The band's lineup consisted of Robb Benson (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard), Mike Squires (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Ben Brunn (bass, backing vocals). Du ...

The Fastbacks Fastbacks were a Seattle, Washington, punk rock band. Formed in 1979 by songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960), and friends Lulu Gargiulo (guitar and vocals, born October 12, 1960) and Kim Warnick (bass and vocals, born April 7, ...

and

, his original band. Around 2016, Chris Ballew began collaborating with Seattle-based rapper Outtasite as The Feelings Hijackers. They have done local shows and have released two albums. In 2009, in addition to his continued work with The Presidents, Ballew began recording and performing as children's artist

. In 2020, the band used

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

to re-issue their self-titled debut album for the 25th anniversary of its original release as a green-colored vinyl. Different pledge tier levels were available that provided extras such as the ability to get the LP signed, anniversary t-shirts, enamel pins, etc. The LP used the remaster that was initially used on the 2004 10th anniversary release. On 6 December 2022, the band announced a limited-edition vinyl reissue of their demo tape ''Froggystyle''.

Musical style

The Presidents of the United States of America have been most frequently described as

, and

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

. They have also been described as

post-grunge Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...

. Although they have been fairly consistently labelled as

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

by the media, ''The New York Times'' at the time of their debut in 1995, considered them "an antidote to the misery and self-absorption of grunge". The Washington Post claimed that the band, "without a hint of angst", "have revived the pleasures of pure pop."

Band members

– lead vocals, bass (1993–2016) *

– guitar, backing vocals (1993–2005) * Jason Finn – drums, backing vocals (1993–2016) * Andrew McKeag – guitar, backing vocals (2005–2016)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:07/01/1993 till:12/31/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:lvocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:album value:black legend:Album Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1994 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1994 BarData = bar:cb text:"Chris Ballew" bar:dd text:"Dave Dederer" bar:amck text:"Andrew McKeag" bar:jf text:"Jason Finn" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:cb from:start till:end color:lvocals bar:cb from:start till:end color:bass width:3 bar:dd from:start till:01/01/2005 color:guitar bar:dd from:start till:01/01/2005 color:bvocals width:3 bar:amck from:01/02/2005 till:end color:guitar bar:amck from:01/02/2005 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:jf from:start till:end color:drums bar:jf from:start till:end color:bvocals width:3 LineData = layer:back color:album at:03/10/1995 at:11/05/1996 at:09/12/2000 at:08/17/2004 at:03/11/2008 at:02/14/2014

Discography

Studio albums

* '' The Presidents of the United States of America'' (1995) * '' II'' (1996) * '' Freaked Out and Small'' (2000) * '' Love Everybody'' (2004) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Kudos to You!'' (2014)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents Of The United States, The 1993 establishments in Washington (state) Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) American musical trios American grunge groups American post-grunge musical groups American punk rock groups Columbia Records artists C/Z Records artists Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Musical groups from Seattle PopLlama Records artists Pop punk groups from Washington (state) Sony Music artists Tooth & Nail Records artists