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ON THE COUCH WITH: Presidents Of USA

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: Hey Chirs. How are you?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I'm great. I'm doing interviews while I'm getting dressed for dinner with my family.

Access All Areas.net.au: All right. Presidents of the United States of America are about to tour Australia again. How many times have you actually played down here?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : If you include the old days, then it will be the fourth time. We love to tour Australia. We were actually meant to tour a few months ago, but the financial side of the tour fell through. The guy was Money Bags, not at all a rock guy. He got cold feet and we had to postpone the tour, but we would love to tour Australia way more often. We just love the people and the food and the atmosphere at the gigs. The atmosphere is just fantastic.

Access All Areas.net.au: Speaking of your shows, what can people expect at a PUSA show?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : Pure good times and rock and roll fun. We love to play hard and entertain our audiences. It's such a great feeling to see people having a good time and singing along to the songs. We want to make it so they feel as if they can join in. Were not out to make anyone feel uncool. (Laughs) We're not cool.

Access All Areas.net.au: What was it like reforming the band, after you guys had been broken up for 5 years?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : Really weird. We basically had to relearn all our songs. It almost felt like we were in a PUSA cover band. We had to go back and listen to it a few times. When we listened to it, I found that I actually really liked the record. It was good to listen to it objectively and just take it in for what it was. But yeah, we had to relearn all the songs. In a way, it was liberating to just let those songs take on a life of their own and just play them.

Access All Areas.net.au: Your first album was a massive success. Did you ever imagine how successful it would actually be?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : No, not at all. It surpassed all of our wildest dreams. It was just surreal. We wrote this album about kitties and froggies and monkeys. We really didn't think that anyone would listen to it. The outcomes were amazing though. We were really happy with the success of it all. It was just overwhelming.

Access All Areas.net.au: What's currently playing on your iPod?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I don't actually have an iPod... anymore. I used to have one, but it crashed and burned. So when it did that, I put it on the floor and put my boot on. Then I smashed it. I didn't like listening to music on something that was software dependent. It brought me back to loving CDs. I think with iPods, you are more fidgety and restless and you just hop from on song to the other. With CDs, you are able to just sit there and listen to the record in its entirety. It's the way that the artist intended it to be. I'm a bit traditional and a bit of a purist when it comes to records.

To answer your question though, I'm listening to a lot of different stuff in my stereo. I'm listening to a lot of Rufus Wainwright and Damien Rice. My girlfriend got me into both of those guys. Both of their lyrics are just amazing. They use such great palettes and are able to create little movies inside my mind. It's amazing. I'm also listening to bands such as Bucky and The Long Winters. Both are friends of mine. I'm also listening to Custard, who is a fantastic Australian band. Then you have some DJ and electronic stuff. To be honest, I'm all over the map.

Access All Areas.net.au: I love the Drew Carey show and I know that you guys sing the theme song. How did that all come about?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : (Laughs) It was all really simple. We were appearing on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and Drew was another one of the guests that day. He introduced himself and said he was a big fan. After the show, he asked us back to his trailer and we all really hit it off. When it came time for his show, he needed a theme and he asked us to do it. We were more than happy. Simple.

Access All Areas.net.au: Now if you weren't in a band, what do you think you would be doing?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I would love to be a writer. I love books. I think that would be amazing.

Access All Areas.net.au: Any particular type of books?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I'd love to write history books. I love reading history books. I can’t really write fiction books, I'm not that good. Maybe I could write historical fictional books. I could do that.

Access All Areas.net.au: Do you prefer recording in the studio or touring?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I don't prefer either. They line up to different frequencies of life. If it's winter and I'm indoors and all mellow, then I prefer to record. If it's great outside, then I prefer to tour. It all really depends on the mood at the time. You can't just pick one.

Access All Areas.net.au: You guys have had such a great career. Was there ever a point where it just didn't seem real?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : Definitely. There has always just been this unreal factor of being a musician. The real part is playing love. We love that. The unreal part is all the press and media, the magazines and the reviews. Everything is just pretend and meant to build us up. The key is to focus on communication with the fans. We make solid bonds with our fans. It's what makes your band live or die.

Access All Areas.net.au: So what does the future hold for PUSA?
Chris: Presidents of USA: : I don't know. After all this touring, I think the boys and I are going to get together and write 5 songs. From there, we'll record them and just see how they turn out. We don't want to rush anything at this stage.

Access All Areas.net.au: Thanks for talking to us today Chris.
Chris: Presidents of USA: : Thanks man. Appreciate it.

Interview by Simon Finck

PREVIOUS INTERVIEW - 2005
Access All Areas.net.au: The band broke up after your second album to pursue individual solo projects, was there always a plan to reform, and if not how did the idea of reforming for another album come about?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): Offers were always kind of there to play but the answer always seemed to be no... then one day the answer was yes and we did a reunion show on new years eve 2002 and it snowballed from there in to an album and touring and all the rest... it is great to be back!

Access All Areas.net.au: You’d been away from the spotlight for such a long time between your last album and this one, how was it to get back in to the studio together and record and write? Was it harder to get back in to it and create the ‘Presidents Of The United States’ sound that fans know and love?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): Not at all... in fact the big break we took made it easier because the love was restored for doing what we do best... catchy fun story rock and roll... we tracked the drums at a big studio then went to my little one to do all the vocals and guitars and basses and stuff... so we got the 4-track home made feel in there on top of the slick pro sound... I love it!

Access All Areas.net.au: Can you tell us a little bit about the new album, ‘Love Everybody’?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): It is good... it is great... it is a little bit rock and roll and a little bit campfire sing alongs... not as many monkeys and chickens as in the past but the metaphores are silly and thick... sounds like our first record on overdrive!

Access All Areas.net.au: Has the time being apart helped you at all with your songwriting?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): Yes... I played with other people and it is essential that I do that in order. To make a good PUSA record... liberating and fun to bounce idea's off of other brains.

Access All Areas.net.au: It’s funny because a lot of Presidents of the United States Of America songs have abnormal themes to the song which is what makes you so unique as a band I mean there was Peaches, Jennifer’s Jacket, Clean Machine, Postman?? How or where do the ideas come from?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): From Misunderstandings... from saying things that sound like song titles and quickly writing them down... from deep inside the folds of my brain... I like surreal associations in art and music so that is the source.

Access All Areas.net.au: Having been away from your fans for so long, was it daunting not knowing what was going to happen or whether your fan base still existed?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): Didn't really worry about it once we got up on the stage, that fact that people still cared was clear...

Access All Areas.net.au: Interestingly enough you were given an idea to entirely shoot the video for ‘Some Postman’ using mobile phone camera’s – a very bold move to the traditional method and risky, apart from the fact it was recorded by mobile phone technology, how different was the shooting process of this video?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): It was simple really... we just played the song over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and they shot it and edited it all together... from our end it was us doing what we do best... goofing off for 4 hours!

Access All Areas.net.au: What was it about the concept that made you go “yep let’s do it”?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): The mobile phone hook.

Access All Areas.net.au: You’re in the middle of a world tour, which takes to Australia in October 2005, I know there’s the saying what goes on the road stays on the road but c’mon, has there been any roadie stories you can share with us that you’ve had so far?
Presidents of the USA (Chris): Naked girls every night in the backstage and heroin parties till the dawn then it's up at noon to a bottle of whiskey and a armed robbery before soundcheck and then we do it all again... no stories... sorry!

Access All Areas.net.au: What is in store for the future of the Presidents Of The United States Of America? More tours? More albums?

Presidents of the USA (Chris): Yes and yes.... when I don't know... we are going to learn from our past mistakes and take a while off before jumping into another record... but it will happen!

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

There's only one thing tougher than walking away from a multi platinum band at its peak: re forming for a show five years later and trying to remember your old songs. That was the dilemma facing The Presidents of the United States of America when they reunited for a special New Year's Eve show in Seattle in 2002. "We felt like we were in a Presidents cover band," laughs lead singer and 2 string basitarist Chris Ballew. "It definitely took a few rehearsals and listening to the old albums to jog our memories. I remember putting on those records and feeling like I was listening to someone else's songs. I thought, 'Wow, that's a really great band.'"

The Presidents' constituents had been reminding them of that since their amicable split in December of 1997. They sent letters and e mails urging the band to reunite and asking why they broke up in the first place. Truth be told, the member's decision to disband came as a surprise to just about everyone. Twelve months earlier, the Seattle based trio had released II, the follow up to their wildly successful 1995 self titled Columbia Records debut.

Recorded for $8,000 and initially released on indie label PopLlama, The Presidents of the United States of America went double platinum, rocketed all the way to #6 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart, produced three Top 40 hits ("Lump," "Kitty' and "Peaches") and a #1 single on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart, and garnered two Grammy nominations and a gaggle of critical praise for its sense of pop savvy and quirkiness. Their videos blanketed MTV, they toured the planet, played a live MTV concert at Mount Rushmore, and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Howard Stern Show and Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. As if that weren't enough, II spawned another top ten Modern Rock hit, "Mach 5," and the band contributed a rocking cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" to the platinum-selling soundtrack to Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer. At the end of the line, Pure Frosting, the band's swan song for Columbia, included a cover of the Ian Hunter song "Cleveland Rocks," which was used for many seasons as the theme song to the Emmy nominated television series, The Drew Carey Show. For the average artist, such achievements usually mark the summation of a long and healthy career if they're lucky. The Presidents, however, accomplished all that and more in just a couple of years.

"It was an amazing time and we're proud of how hard we worked," says guitarist Dave Dederer. "But as difficult as it may be to comprehend, it all became a bit overwhelming. It's sort of a 'be careful what you wish for' kind of thing. We went three years without a day off and worked ourselves to exhaustion. Eventually, we reached a point where we had to take a break." In the five years that followed, each President worked on various projects: Ballew formed a band with Young Fresh Fellows drummer Tad Hutchison, cleverly titled Chris and Tad. In addition, he built his own recording studio, where he writes and produces music for advertising, film and television. Dederer played with former Guns N' Roses and current Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan in a duo called The Gentlemen and in McKagan's band, Loaded. The guitarist also worked on a benefit for Seattle non profit YouthCare and served as a public relations consultant to Experience Hendrix, LLC. Drummer Jason Finn became a much sought after Seattle stickman, serving time with The Fastbacks, The Nevada Bachelors and The Gentlemen, among others. In between, the trio collaborated on a project called Subset, which featured famed "Baby Got Back" rapper Sir Mix A Lot. Though the three friends recorded an album (2000's Freaked Out and Small) for Internet startup Musicblitz.com, the Presidents did not perform publicly for almost five years.

During the presidential campaign in 2004, the band figured it was the perfect time to resurface as the once and, if they have their way, future leaders of buoyant, absurdist rock. The newly reunited PUSA had holed up in the studio during the year cooking up a new album, a new platform, as it were, for playfulness in rock, featuring 14 songs.

For their fall 2004 CD, "Love Everybody", the band recorded basic tracks at Egg Studios with Conrad Uno (Posies, Supersuckers, Young Fresh Fellows, et al.) and at Jupiter Studios with Martin Feveyear (Mudhoney, Mark Lanegan). Ballew's home studio, a shack in his backyard, was the band's choice for polishing and rough mixing the new tracks. The new songs run the gamut, though one tune, "Some Postman," has already proven itself after being leaked onto Seattle’s KNDD and subsequently turning into a highly requested local hit. Says Dederer, "I was blown away when we played two sold out show at the Showbox (a 1200 seat club in Seattle). I expected it when people sang along to the songs from our first record, but the whole crowd was singing along both nights to "Some Postman," which wasn't even commercially available yet."

The band was offered several record deals, all of which they decided to walk away from in order to have more control over their music and careers, and to keep it all local. They hired Seattle based manager David Meinert at Fuzed Music to coordinate the marketing and promotion of their new album which was released on the band's own PUSA Music label, and distributed through Northwest based NAIL/ Allegro Distribution.

A the same time, the band also released the Ten Year Super Bonus Special Anniversary Edition of their eponymous multi platinum debut album, 2 CD set that included a re mastered version of the original, plus 13 bonus track rarities, as well as a DVD including their hit videos, live and interview footage. Nine years later, the songs smart, tuneful and exhilarating from The Presidents of the United States of America still hold up. "We gained back the rights to the record and thought it would be fun to put it back out there on our own terms," says Ballew.

As for the future, the band is happy to be out on the road for an upcoming October tour in Australia, (which follows a summer European tour).

www.presidentsrock.com

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MY FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

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I dont bring many valuables because I lose them often... including guitars!

Best and worst things you’ve seen people wear at a festival?
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Funniest thing someone has come up to you and said at a festival or silliest behaviour you’ve witnessed?
I've seen people fall out of trees. I remember a guy in a bin wearing lipstick laughing his head off,thats pretty weird. ive had a guy come on stage when we were playing, put his arm around me and just stand there giving the crowd a thumbs up and a big smile for a song,that was pretty strange.