The Presidents of the USA proclaim ‘Good Times’ are here

By Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff

It’s been 15 years since the Presidents of the United States of America took the rock ‘n’ roll oath of office, and they still haven’t made a definitive political statement.

Given the nature of the Seattle-based three-piece, however, fans shouldn’t expect one to be forthcoming any time soon. That’s just not how they roll.

“It’s like anybody’s political beliefs in the world — they’re better held closer to the chest,” “guitbass” player Andrew McKeag told The Daily Times this week. “If you feel like talking about it or endorsing somebody, that’s great — but just because we’re The Presidents of the United States of America doesn’t mean we will.

“For us, it’s just a funny name for the band. It’s just silly, although we all have our different levels of involvement in politics, both nationally and locally. And I don’t think anybody in this band would be afraid to tell you that they’re not Republicans.”

That’s exactly news for keen followers of the group — after all, the band did perform for President Bill Clinton at a 1994 Democratic Party fundraiser in Seattle and supported John Kerry in 2004. What might come as a surprise to those who haven’t heard anything by the trio since the late-1990s success of songs like “Lump” and “Peaches” is just how good the band’s most recent album, “These Are the Good Times People,” is. If anything, it’s even better than those aforementioned hits — less gimmicky, more infectious. The band’s sense of humor is still there — Ballew’s quirky lyrics and balladeer style of delivery is as sharp and witty as they ever were — but the songs are tighter, more focused and more intent on creating and maintaining a melodic groove.

The band got its start in 1993 when vocalist and basitar player Chris Ballew hooked up with Dave Dederer while the two were students in Seattle. At first, they played around town without a drummer, eventually bringing Jason Finn on board and releasing a 10-song cassette called “Froggystyle” in 1994. That same year, they signed to a small Seattle label and released their self-titled debut; a year later, Columbia signed the band and re-released the album, and “Lump,” “Peaches” and “Kitty” all sailed to the top of the modern rock charts, earning Grammy nominations in 1996 and 1997.

The follow-up effort, “II,” was critically well-received but didn’t match the same commercial success. A grueling tour schedule kept the band on the road for two years, and in 1998, the guys split up to spend more time with family. A brief reunion took place in 2000 around a new single, “Jupiter,” which spawned one new record — “Freaked Out and Small” — that wasn’t supported with a tour or a publicity blitz. The trio went their separate ways again until 2004, when McKeag came on board — first as a touring guitarist and later as Dederer’s replacement.

“I’ve known those guys for years — my old band (Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver) used to open up for them in Seattle, and I wound up on tour with them as the guitar tech for The Fastbacks, their opening act,” McKeag said. “Because the Seattle music scene is pretty tight, when it seemed like Dave wasn’t going to tour any more, they asked me to join. I thought they just needed an extra guitar player, and initially, it was really hard for me to imagine the band with anybody else but Dave.

“But both Jason and Chris are really talented players, and the bottom line is that we just have a really good time playing music together. It’s not just me learning the songs and playing them the way they are on the record; it’s turned into a fun, organic rock ’n’ roll band.”

The signature of the Presidents’ sound has centered around their use of the basitar and guitbass, which are regular six-string guitars modified to use two strings (for bass) or three strings (for guitar). According to Wikipedia, “The original idea came from Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, with whom Ballew had previously worked. Guitars modified in this way use heavy-gauge strings for a heavier sound and are normally tuned in Drop D, though the Presidents play half a step lower in C-sharp. For a basitar, the strings are placed in the D and A positions; on a guitbass, the strings are placed in the A, D, and G positions.”

“Learning a three-string guitar is a strange thing for someone who’s played six-string, 4-4 tuning all his life,” McKeag said. “But I’ve done 200 shows with the band now, so at least I don’t have to call up Dave and ask how to play certain songs, like I did in the beginning.”

As his experience with the band has grown, McKeag added, so have his contributions to the music. “These Are the Good Times People” started with Ballew, as all of the group’s music does, but it’s a collaborative process in the studio.

“Traditionally, the focus has been on Chris’s songs and songwriting, but he and I sat down early on and went through all of these songs that might work,” McKeag said. “Certainly, he’s open to other people’s ideas and is willing to try just about anything. We would change songs, monkey around with them and went into the studio with 25. I think we came out with about half that for the record.

“It’s just different now because the band does the things they want to do, when they want to do it. They don’t let the system dictate how they spend their time playing rock ’n’ roll. They’re happy they had that success early on, and now it’s just rock’ n’ roll because it’s fun.”