The Presidents of the USA have been serving out their trademark joy-pop to crowds worldwide ever since the group’s eponymous debut burst into the public eye in 1995 on the strength of radio smashes like "Lump" and "Peaches.” The trio returns March 11 with These Are The Good Times People, their first album in three years and fourth overall.
From the opening, celebratory blast of the first single “Mixed Up SOB” -- which embraces the spirit of the band’s 4.5 million-selling eponymous debut -- to the warm, Shins-like lilt of “Loose Balloon,” the group commandeers your attention with 14 contagious winners.
With the collective strengths of founding vocalist, basitar player and principal songwriter Chris Ballew, original drummer Jason Finn and guitbass player Andrew McKeag -- who officially joins the band with this disc -- PUSA have delivered an inventive and uplifting rock & roll album.
On the eve of the band’s new album release and launch of their upcoming world tour, Joe Matera spoke to Chris Ballew for this exclusive interview for UG.
UG: When it came to the songwriting process for These Are The Good Times People, did it differ from the approach you used for your previous albums?
Chris Ballew: Yes, it was a little different this time around. Usually in the past I’ve come to the band with a ton of songs, maybe about 20 or 30 songs. And about 15 of them actually get worked on with the band. But in this instance, I pulled out a bunch of songs that in the past had not worked with our old guitar player and tried them with our new guy and found that a lot of them worked because our new guy is like more open to trying things and being experimental. And so a lot of the ideas that had sort of died on the vine before were now able to come to life this time. And we did a lot more of getting together as a band to song write, which was really fun for me as it took a lot of pressure of me in a relaxing way. Although I did come up with mostly verses and choruses and the main parts of the songs, there was definitely more openness this time to letting the influence from the rest of the guys in the band, in shaping the songs.
Since the songwriting process was approached differently this time, what about the recording aspect now that digital technology has become part and parcel of recording these days.
The digital technology has changed the process for the better. Digital technology is genius because it allows you to capture the moment and have fun. And it allows you the choice to decide later whether something needs to be twice as long or half as long. And that certainly the pressure is off you. You don’t have to nail the arrangement right there in the studio. You can nail the feel, but the arrangement can be messed with later on. And we did that on about a quarter of the songs. I love that part of recording. I love it because the pressure is off in a great way.
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| "My answer to writer's block is to be constantly writing all the time." |
How many songs did you record for the album?
We recorded 24 songs for this album and 14 ended up on the record. We did six B-sides and four of the other songs just didn’t make through. So that is pretty good to have 20 usable tracks. The B-sides are really strong too. I only realized that when I was mixing the B-sides at my house. I kind of have some regrets that some of them didn’t make it onto the album as we did some pretty strong batch of stuff.
You are prolific though as a writer I’m sure you go through periods of writers block. How do keep the creative juices still flowing?
It all comes down to my technique. I’ve been writing songs for 25 years and I always write all kinds of songs and then just bank them away in the library. And when it comes time to make a record, I kind of I have my whole life’s work there. I will record them as demos and then listen to them on random. I will listen to them while I’m doing the dishes or cleaning the house or whatever and just wait for something to pop up that captures my ear. Actually the first single from the new record, Mixed Up S.O.B, I wrote twenty years ago. But it was different to the way I played it 20 years ago when I wrote it. It was much different to the way that the band plays it now. So I was ‘hey this sounds good. I wonder, if I can wrap up the energy, and make it into a President’s song?’ And sure enough it worked and it is the first single. My answer to writer’s block is to be constantly writing all the time and then have the freedom to pick from 20 plus years of material.
Obviously having a new member in the band’s ranks has brought in a whole new fresh approach too?
Yes, Andrew hasn’t toured the world like us, though he toured with us on 2004’s Love Everybody. He didn’t play on that record but toured with us on it. Because we’ve done this [touring] so many times, you tend to get a little bit like ‘yeah done that and been there’ but Andrew has brought a great fresh perspective on to everything. And he has a lot of savvy with the business side of things too as he books all the clubs so he knows stuff about booking live shows that I don’t know. He brings the business knowledge and creative openness to the band which is very cool.
You are around 40 years of age now. It must feel good to be able to still remain relevant and have a connection with the younger generation?
Yes, we had no idea and we couldn’t have scripted it better. When we got back together in 2004 and started playing shows, we were really nervous because we were worried about who was going to care. And we were really pleasantly surprised to find this whole generation of young people that must have been toddlers when our first record came out, were actually coming to our shows.
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| "The digital technology has changed the process for the better." |
How did your ‘Basitar’ approach developed. It is claimed the original idea came from Morphine’s Mark Sandman?
Yes that is correct. I lived with him for a couple years and we made music together for three or four years while I was living in Boston. I had seen his bass version and in his studio he had this guitar version of it. So I sort of adopted that guitar version and it just sort of felt like home for me. I had been taking off guitar strings off my acoustic at the time and was down to four strings and so was writing songs on a four string acoustic. And then I got hit by the two string thing and it felt like I had arrived. It was a place where I could let my free flight fly.
It is a highly unique approach and something that has become your trademark.
Yeah I like the two strings because it sort of filters all of my various influences through this unique sound. I love all kinds of music and sometimes when I sit down and write a song, I think, ‘I want to write a song like Cheap Trick or The Cars or Nirvana or Soundgarden or whatever. And if I filter that influence through the two strings it ends up sounding fresh, which is what I love about it so much. If you play your influences too close to sleeve, and obviously on a six string guitar it’ll sound too close. But the two strings, it makes it very unique and makes it my own personality. And it is just so much fun to jump around onstage with two strings. It is also something that makes us stand out a little bit too and it just fits our personalities so much.
Let’s talk gear, what are you using when it come to guitars and amps?
I’m using Epiphone guitars because I’m an Epiphone endorsee. I use the Epiphone SG-400 and I convert that into a two string. I have a Hartke amp, a 3500 which has a really snappy, upfront, punchy sound and distorts nicely. It has a nice gain structure in it and a multi-band EQ which I love too. I also have a deal with them too so most of my stuff comes from those two companies. Andrew our guitar player has a Gibson endorsement so uses those guitars and a whole array of funky old pedals something I don’t use at all.
Do you like to experiment with other gear when in the studio?
Andrew brought some different guitars but I mainly used the same gear that I use live for whole the record. The only difference on this record is that we did introduce a tenor three-string acoustic that I made. It is the same strings, same notes but an octave higher. So for a few songs like More Bad Times, Truckstop Butterfly, Loose Balloon we use the three string acoustic and it helped sharpen up those things. And so that is a kind of new addition to our instrumental sound.
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| "I don't have the ability to remember bad things. I only remember good things." |
How many guitars do you take out on the road with you?
I take two guitars and put them both into an acoustic guitar case. I usually rent gear wherever we go but in the US we usually take our own gear while in Europe, we just rent. It is really compact and works great when touring.
The band have always oozed with a cheery happy go lucky attitude, is that sort of attitude something that you adhere to as a life philosophy in your personal life too?
Oh yeah absolutely, I don’t have the ability to remember bad things. I only remember good things. Even in the darkest points of my life, I’m like, ‘yeah I remember that. I had ice cream with my family’ while I was probably dying in a ditch or something. If I fell out of a tree and broke my leg and somebody handed me a candy, I’ll remember the candy not the broken leg.
Last question, have you lived the whole sex, drugs and rock and roll cliché at any point in the band’s existence?
Well, right when the band took off I got married. I figured as long as the band was a constant, I might as well get married. But I’m divorce now and so…No, I really never did that as it was never my style. I am too sensitive for that sort of action.
Interview by Joe Matera
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