The Presidents Of The United States Of America
Bio:The band was formed in late 1993 by Chris Ballew (basitar and lead vocals) and Dave Dederer (guitbass and backup vocals), who met while attending Bush School in Seattle. 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
In 1994, the Presidents signed with the tiny Seattle label PopLlama Records and released their self-titled debut in the following year. Columbia Records signed the band shortly thereafter and re-released the album in late July, 1995. Driven by the singles "Lump," "Peaches," and "Kitty," their debut album proved to be a smash. Critics praised the Presidents' catchy, humorous, and self-deprecating songs, which were a major departure from the grunge/post-grunge sound. The album received Grammy nominations in 1996 and 1997. Though "Peaches" met the most critical success, the band credits "Lump" as their favorite single. The song's strange lyrics came from a dream that Ballew had while fighting pneumonia. The antibiotics he was taking caused an allergic reaction that produced several consecutive nights of wild and crazy dreams. While the idea for the "Peaches" video also came during Ballew's battle with pneumonia, the songs lyrics were written about a crush Ballew used to have on a girl. According to him, she had a peach tree in the front of her yard, and when he finally summoned the courage to go talk to her, he stood under the tree and smashed peaches in his fist until he decided not to talk to her.
In late 2004 Andrew McKeag, Seattle guitarist (formerly of Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver, Shuggie, The Black Panties and others), joined PUSA on guitbass, as an occasional live-performance stand-in for Dave Dederer, who had expressed an interest in spending more time with his family. As of late 2007, however, Andrew has been touring full-time with the band for over two years, which has given rise to speculation in various music publications that he has replaced Dave for all practical purposes. Although such rumors have been repeatedly denied by the group and their management, the band's official website does prominently feature McKeag in many of its more prominent photo layouts.
In November 2007, it was announced that the band's next album would be entitled These Are the Good Times People, to be released on March 11, 2008.
