Everything you always wanted to know about The Presidents Of The United States of America

The Presidents of the United States of America are: Chris Ballew, Dave Dederer, and Jason Finn. Chris sings and plays two-string basitar. Dave plays three-string guitbass and sings. Jason plays no string drums and sings.

Growing up in Seattle, Chris and Dave attended junior and senior high school together and have been knocking out tunes with each other since 1985. Jason caught an early version of the act in 1991 and -- after two years of solid begging -- became a full-fledged President in 1993. In the early days of the band, they had no name and would simply make a new one up each time they played. They introduced themselves as "The Presidents of the United States of America" -- the longest name they could think of at a party -- the moniker stuck and the rest is history.

The trio originally recorded their debut album "THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" for Seattle's PopLlama Records with production by Chris and Dave and PopLlama's Conrad Uno. The album was remastered and released on Columbia/PopLlama in July 1995. By February 1996, it was one of the Top 10 albums in the United States. The album generated three Top 40 singles: "Lump" (which also hit the #1 Modern Rock Airplay slot), "Kitty," and "Peaches." Videos for both "Lump" and "Peaches" achieved MTV "Buzz Clip" stress rotation. The album set a record on the CMJ chart as the longest charting debut album released in 1995 (outlasting the Foo Fighters and Alanis Morissette, among others).Since its release, THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA has been certified double platinum by the RIAA while earning the band a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance.

The band has been the subject of massive mainstream and underground press coverage. Steve Hochman's live review of the band in the L.A. Times (2/24/96) sums it up: "...not a mere novelty act, but actually a necessary addition to mid-90's rock ... there's an intelligence to their humor, a nonchalant sense of craft in both the skewed, offbeat lyrics and quirky music ... like the Ramones did for 70's dinosaur rock, the Presidents pop the balloon of 90's self-absorption without mocking it. They neither parody Eddie Vedder nor preach to his fans to lighten up. The simply have fun."

During their early tours, the Presidents made a point of playing out-of-the-norm venues such as Pink's Hot Dog Stand in Los Angeles, Washington Square Park in New York City, and a Polynesian Room in Minneapolis. They've also performed on a flatbed truck in Minneapolis, in a bowling alley in Chicago, and at Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Pacific Beach in San Diego, and Newbury Street in Boston. A live performance by the Presidents of the United States of America was broadcast on the Sony JumboTron to revelers in Times Square at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve 1995-1996. The band celebrated Presidents Day 1996 with an MTV concert performance live from Mount Rushmore.

In the past year, the Presidents of the United States of America have toured the United States four times and Europe once. They were in Japan in April 1996 and in Australia in July. By the end of 1996, they will have covered the globe.

Although the Presidents of the United States of America appeared at a 1994 Democratic Party fundraiser in Seattle and had their photo taken with President Bill Clinton, the band has absolutely no relationship -- personal, business, or otherwise -- with our nation's Chief Executive and does not endorse any particular candidate or political party. What you do in the voting booth is between you and your conscience.

On November 5, 1996 (Guy Fawkes Day), the Presidents of the United States of America release their new album, the aptly-titled II. The album is produced by Presidents Chris Ballew, Dave Dederer and Jason Finn. Recorded at Bad Animals and Studio Litho in Seattle, II contains a smorgasbord of brand-new original songs penned by the Presidents: "Ladies and Gentlemen," "Lunatic To Love," "Volcano," "Mach 5," "Twig," "Bug City," "Bath of Fire," "L.I.P.," "Tiki God," "Froggie," "Toob Amplifier," "Supermodel," "Puffy Little Shoes," and "Ladies and Gentleman II."

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