WEBVTT

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Hey, it's Chris Ballew from the Presidents of

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the United States of America, a professional

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rock band from Seattle, Washington, and you are

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listening to My Leaky Mixtape? No, My Weekly

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Mixtape with Brian Coburn. I mean, come on, you

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know where you are. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape,

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a podcast that takes the classic mixtape approach

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to building a modern playlist. I'm your host,

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Brian Colburn. Tonight, I'm excited to welcome

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Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United

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States of America onto the show to celebrate

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the 30th anniversary of the band's classic debut

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album. Chris, welcome to the program, my friend.

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Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

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It's nice to be asked to be anywhere these days.

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Well, I'm excited to have you, but I like to

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always start by asking all of my first -time

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guests, what does the word mixtape mean to you?

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Oh, wow. I mean, it means putting a pencil in

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a cassette to rewind it. It means the clickety

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-clack of cassettes going into recorders. It

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means when I first got my first double cassette.

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stereo component i felt like i was you know had

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more power than the most major of major labels

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to make the greatest sequence of songs i loved

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making mixtapes i had good friends who were very

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good at making mixtapes there's this guy named

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billy ruane who was a eccentric very eccentric

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show booker and music fan in boston and his mixtapes

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were like scientifically engineered to just make

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your brain happy So yeah, all that comes to mind

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when you say mixtape. Fantastic. Well, before

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we dive into the President's self -titled album,

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I'd like to take us back even further than that,

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if you don't mind. As your career in music included

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a stint with Beck before the President's took

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off, could you talk about how that connection

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came together and what the moment was that drove

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you to leave Beck's camp for the President's

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full time? Yeah, the presidents had already played

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some shows. We really formed as a three -piece

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in December of 93. That's when we first played

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with Jason. So sometime early in 94, like in

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January 94, I got a call from an old friend from

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Boston from the busking day. You know, we used

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to busk together. This girl named Mary Lou Lord

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called me up and she said, I share a publisher

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with this new artist named Beck. He needs to

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put a band together to go on tour. He's just

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a solo guy, but he made a record and he needs

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a band. And she's like, I thought of you and

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put your name in the hat. So, you know, let's

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make this happen. And I kind of ignored it because

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imagine if your phone rang and somebody said,

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oh, I want you to be in the band for this, you

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know, Daniel and the Blueberries. They're going

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to be amazing. And you're like, I don't know

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who Daniel is. So it's kind of like that. And

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I also, in one hand, I had the Beck thing. And

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in the other hand, I had the option to become

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the bass player in a band called Flop that I

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loved in Seattle. But either way, the precedents

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had already started rolling. But eventually,

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I met Beck. Mary Lou accompanied him on a West

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Coast residency tour. And he came to Seattle.

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And I met him and saw him do two shows, just

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him and an acoustic guitar. Blew my mind. And

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I went down to Olympia to... audition i guess

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i mean i didn't know how to play slide guitar

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and that's what he needed was a slide guitar

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player to do the thing live and so i said i could

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play slide guitar but i really did not so i uh

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i went to a music store before i got on the bus

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and bought this guitar wow And took it down to

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Olympia and walked into Calvin Johnson's house

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and walked down into the basement and into the

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little recording room. And they said, play slide

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on this song. And I'd never heard the song before.

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And I was kind of hunting and pecking. And I

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guess I was good enough or hunty and pecky enough

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that he liked what I was doing. Because a couple

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of days later, he called me up and said, hey,

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do you want to go on tour? And it was one of

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those moments like my life is beginning, you

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know, like a big graduation. sense the feeling

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of graduating to another level so i did go out

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on tour with him i went to la i was the only

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band member that didn't live in la so he very

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graciously let me live with him in his house

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we drove around kind of we kind of did stuff

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as a duo for a little while like we did kcrw

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morning becomes eclectic uh as a duo and we did

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you know some little recording projects together

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on his four track And once we got on the road,

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it kind of became obvious. Well, it was apparent

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during rehearsals and also manifested on the

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road. He didn't know how to be in charge of a

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band. And I think he signed with Geffen partly

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because Sonic Youth was on Geffen and he was

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a huge Sonic Youth fan. And he kind of wasn't

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a big fan of the Loser song. He wasn't as proud

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of that achievement as you might. hope so he

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kind of wanted to dismantle the happy -go -lucky

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slacker image that the press was trying to make

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so his live show was kind of messy and noisy

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and kind of anti um just anti uh and i was of

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course used to putting on like a show hey everybody

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come on and let's uh let's get together and have

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a bunch of good good old fun so my style and

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his style started to kind of create some friction

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uh meanwhile this demo tape that we'd made as

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the presidents was selling like hotcakes over

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the bar at the comet where jason worked in seattle

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as a bartender so during the second beck tour

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i uh got a call from jason or i called him from

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the road and he said you got to come home this

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is you know this has momentum even though we're

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not doing any shows so let's do shows and get

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back on it So, yeah, a combination of like the

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aesthetics not matching with me and Beck as far

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as our performance style. And then the president's

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kind of, you know, bubbling up, had me in a place

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where I was like, well, I got to go back. And

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when I told Beck that he was like, everybody

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said you would quit because I guess to everybody

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else, it was pretty clear that I had my own thing.

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But the beautiful thing about the whole experience

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was, you know, driving around L .A. with Beck,

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talking about his transition from. bedroom four

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tracker to major label signee and all the pressure

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that comes with that and the opportunities that

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come with that was really and then what kind

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of being on tour and watching him receive all

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this attention and it's like he had a fame tornado

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and i got to stand next to his fame tornado and

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then i got my own fame tornado uh later so it

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was like i went to fame school with beck and

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uh another graduation i guess Yeah, I got accepted

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into fame school and then I graduated and did

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my own thing. Well, I have to ask when you were

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playing with Beck, because I unfortunately didn't

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catch any of the shows. Were you using the bass

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guitar or get bass with him or were you playing

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a full six string? No, I was playing six string

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and occasionally I would double up the bass player.

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I'd also play bass and I also ran the sampler

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with all the little like samples and bits and

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bobs that needed triggering. But yeah, it was

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a six string. situation. This two string behind

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me is the one that I bought in Boston in 93.

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And that's the one that's on the debut record.

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I got it for 75 bucks and I sold 5 million records

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with it. So. Wow. Now I have to ask what made

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you guys decide to do that two string approach?

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Wasn't a decision as much as a discovery. I was

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playing, I was in Boston for quite a few years

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after college in New York from like 88 to 90.

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two three something like that and i had been

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playing an acoustic little like three -quarter

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scale acoustic guitar uh as my main thing with

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a contact mic taped to it and i started breaking

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strings and i didn't have money to buy new strings

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so i got down to four strings and i wrote a whole

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bunch of songs in a four string tuning And then

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I met Mark Sandman of the band Morphine. And

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I don't remember how I met him, but we ended

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up becoming friends. And he had this red guitar

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in his studio set up as a two string. And I picked

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it up and just went clang, clang, bling. And

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I went, whoa, this is where I belong. This is

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it. This is what I've been on my way to with

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the six and down to four and now down to two.

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And it just felt like home. Just felt like every

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influence I wanted to... honor by writing my

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own version of a song like i you know lump for

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me was always a buzzcocks song uh mach 5 was

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a kiss song dune buggy was a uh steve miller

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ripoff it's like but i could wear my influences

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on my sleeve and filter through the two string

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they felt new and fresh so and it was just like

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fit my minimalist attitude which is like fewer

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strings to buy fewer strings to tune you know

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it's just kind of felt right so that's kind of

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where we did it and then then i created a three

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string version figuring if you got the two and

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the three together well that's five strings you

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know you could really sound like you could sound

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like one amazing keith richards style you know

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open g tuning human with five strings with two

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instruments so and john spencer blues explosion

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was a big inspiration for that too because they

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had two guitars and drums and they did just fine

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yeah by all means now Thematically, the president's

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was a bit of a different animal versus what was

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happening in music in the early to mid 90s. The

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sound was a little tongue in cheek, a little

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self -deprecating, almost the yang to the yin

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of what alternative rock was at the time. How

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did you guys hone that sound that pretty much

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I always deemed as the alternative to the alternative?

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yeah we were the alternative to the alternative

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that's i never thought of that actually well

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i have a distinct you know so my whole life i

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wrote songs that were fun and bouncy and even

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when the themes weren't yet animals and food

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even when i was writing about ideas and girls

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i there was energy and like entertainment was

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the order of the day with my songwriting so it

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was less like looking at my shoes and more like

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come on you know um serving the crowd i always

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thought about the crowd as i wrote like well

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what's in this song for them to latch on to and

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enjoy and so anyway it was it was just a thing

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that was always ingrained in me uh having grown

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up listening to sergeant pepper's lonely hearts

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club band exclusively from when i was four to

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ten um i was like music can be entertaining and

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transformative and multifaceted and tell all

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kinds of stories so anyway foundation of that

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but then when the grunge thing exploded i loved

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it and first of all musically i mean i had been

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in boston trying to record songs that sounded

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like nirvana and failing because i just didn't

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have the angst necessary but then when i heard

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never mind i was like oh this is great i'll just

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listen to this record instead of trying to make

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my own this is way better and easier so um i

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had had great admiration especially for that

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record i mean that record just had the amazing

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combination of grit and shine that tickled my

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brain to no end but i do remember the 1992 video

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music awards i was living with my parents because

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i had no money And I was watching the show, and

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all the grungies were getting awards, and it

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was all about that style. And I remember distinctly

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feeling, there's a space in that world for me.

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There's a place for someone to stand up and be

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like, wait a minute, life's a party. Life also

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can be a party like that. I wasn't down on any

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of that music, but I was just like, ooh, there's

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room for something else. So, you know, a lot

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of people say, you know, we just did what we

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did and we didn't have a plan. But I somehow

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I did have the seed of a plan or a notion that

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there was space there for my style. So, yeah.

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So in that space, we just grew our own particular

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little Petri dish of happy mold. Now that you

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put it that way, let's dive into the actual album

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and start with the album opener, because I love

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me. a solid album opener, and Kitty is an absolute

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classic. All right, so I guess my first question

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is twofold here. How did this become the album's

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opening track and single? And then on top of

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that, this is a true story? Well, first of all,

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yeah, Kitty is a true story. It was about a cat

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named Chima, who was Mark Sandman's roommate's

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cat. Amy had this cat named Chima. So it was

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a session where it was just a hangout session

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with me and Mark and a couple other people. And

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we're sitting around jamming, just making stuff

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up on the spot. And Shima was famous for kind

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of like circulating around among the people and

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kind of purring as she rubbed up against your

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leg. And then you'd reach down to pet her and

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she'd be like, you know, just take your face

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off. So we're jamming and there's Shima at my

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foot. and i just started to sing kitty at my

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foot and i wanna touch it kitty at my foot and

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so it existed as just that chorus for a long

00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:40.620
time i made a little demo like a weird little

00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:43.259
four track recording with a banjo and some stuff

00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:46.399
but it had it had a verse space but there was

00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.840
no lyrics in it so the band uh helped you know

00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.899
playing live with the band i remembered oh i've

00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:55.210
got this kitty fragment let's work on that So

00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:57.490
we expanded it into a song. I don't really remember

00:14:57.490 --> 00:15:00.230
how it ended up being the opening track of the

00:15:00.230 --> 00:15:03.629
album. It just felt like I was always a fan of

00:15:03.629 --> 00:15:05.769
the way the Buzzcocks kind of some of their songs

00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:09.610
started as if they'd already been going for five

00:15:09.610 --> 00:15:11.950
minutes. You're just like dropped into this like

00:15:11.950 --> 00:15:15.769
fully full steam ahead locomotive of punk rock.

00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.230
And maybe that was part of it. Like, let's just

00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:23.409
have the song start with... You know, just go.

00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:26.590
Yeah. Don't bore us. Get to the chorus, I guess.

00:15:27.009 --> 00:15:30.250
But it wasn't a first. I think you were implying

00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:31.909
that it was the first single, but it wasn't ever

00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.730
considered for a single. No, no, no. I'm so sorry.

00:15:34.809 --> 00:15:37.950
I meant that it was the album opening track and

00:15:37.950 --> 00:15:40.250
also a single because I thought that was a single

00:15:40.250 --> 00:15:44.129
at one point. Well, it was later and we made

00:15:44.129 --> 00:15:46.950
a video for it and the video failed miserably.

00:15:47.029 --> 00:15:48.870
I don't think we even ever officially at the

00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:51.490
time we never released it. It's on YouTube now,

00:15:51.549 --> 00:15:55.240
so you can marvel at it. boring brownness uh

00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:59.659
no lump was the first single and then lump was

00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:03.259
really picked by the record company not i think

00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:06.000
as much as by us because when we first played

00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.740
that song live it was kind of a dud because everybody

00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:11.980
liked you know we had boll weevil and back porch

00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:14.200
and dune buggy and all these a body and all these

00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:18.039
like bouncy kind of groovy little twangers and

00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:24.500
then we played four on the floor and the crowd

00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:26.620
was kind of like what do we do to this song you

00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.740
know like i don't know what to do here so anyway

00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:31.259
it was interesting when the label influenced

00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:34.419
us toward that choice as a first single and it

00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:37.120
was a great choice and that song ended up being

00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:42.639
like the most fun song to play ever of any song

00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:45.080
i've ever written every time i played that song

00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:46.820
it was like i was playing it for the first time

00:16:46.820 --> 00:17:17.210
it was phenomenal Well, while we're talking about

00:17:17.210 --> 00:17:19.690
lump, I've always wondered, there are two different

00:17:19.690 --> 00:17:23.970
videos, version a and version B. It appears like

00:17:23.970 --> 00:17:27.349
the swamp, which most people remember from the

00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:29.690
MTV days. I call it the swamp version of the

00:17:29.690 --> 00:17:33.069
video. And then version B features some of the.

00:17:33.289 --> 00:17:36.490
elements of the video that people saw on MTV,

00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:39.569
but it dispersed with live footage. Which one

00:17:39.569 --> 00:17:43.210
came first? And did the label have any push to

00:17:43.210 --> 00:17:46.089
say, let's try this or let's try that? Yeah,

00:17:46.150 --> 00:17:48.250
that was all born out of the fact that so we

00:17:48.250 --> 00:17:51.309
had Roman Coppola was our guy. He made our videos

00:17:51.309 --> 00:17:55.230
for us in the early days. And some of them were

00:17:55.230 --> 00:17:56.890
very successful. And some of them, like Kitty,

00:17:57.029 --> 00:17:59.750
were total failures. Peaches and Lump, great.

00:18:00.009 --> 00:18:02.869
Kitty and Dune Buggy. kind of dark and boring

00:18:02.869 --> 00:18:04.829
although with the doom buggy one it was kind

00:18:04.829 --> 00:18:06.769
of cool because we played the song live in the

00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:09.329
video because uh we just thought we'd challenge

00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:11.990
ourselves to do that so that was fun but yeah

00:18:11.990 --> 00:18:15.529
roman just shot so much footage the day we we

00:18:15.529 --> 00:18:18.589
shot everything in one day all the stuff oh maybe

00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:20.890
it was two days i'm not sure but anyway we ended

00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:23.349
up with so much footage that i think it was roman's

00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:26.569
idea to put together two versions because you

00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:28.529
know we just couldn't fit it all into a two minute

00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:32.579
and 11 second song And so we were all for it.

00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:35.319
I don't think the B version really, I don't know

00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:39.059
if the A and B got play on MTV. The Swamp one,

00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:41.640
the Starts Out in the Swamp, that one definitely

00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:44.220
got the airtime. That's the one I remember the

00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:46.019
most. Yeah, I think the other one was just sort

00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.660
of to satisfy the fact that we had all this footage

00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:53.019
and maybe confuse people a little bit. So they

00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:54.380
would be like, hey, wait, have you seen that

00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:56.599
one? That's not the one. That's the other one.

00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.339
So, yeah, but I like that there's two. And I

00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:04.380
love things about the one with the live footage.

00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.799
I had a camera clamped to my instrument, and

00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:10.619
when I put it up and pointed it at the crowd,

00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.980
that was so serendipitous. Right down the neck,

00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.460
the crowd going crazy. Great shot. Yeah, it was

00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:19.220
really cool. It was my idea. I'm a little bit

00:19:19.220 --> 00:19:22.299
of a film buff, so that was my camera operator

00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:26.440
moment. There you go. Well, I've only been able

00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:30.269
to ask this question twice. In all of my years

00:19:30.269 --> 00:19:32.130
podcasting, you're going to be number three.

00:19:32.170 --> 00:19:34.869
And the other two people I got to ask this question

00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:37.549
to were Bill Gibson of Huey Lewis in the News

00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:41.210
and Guy Fletcher of Dire Straits. And that question

00:19:41.210 --> 00:19:45.470
is, can you talk about the feeling you had when

00:19:45.470 --> 00:19:49.269
you were approached by Weird Al to parody one

00:19:49.269 --> 00:19:53.329
of your songs? And how would you describe the

00:19:53.329 --> 00:19:57.529
Gump experience from the president's side of

00:19:57.529 --> 00:20:03.619
the story? Wow. That's a, it's a big story. It's

00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:06.299
like, it's a big story in, in my life. I don't

00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:08.880
know if it's a, you know, a big story objectively,

00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:14.720
but so Al as a habit reaches out to the artist

00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:18.420
ahead of probably ahead of even starting to,

00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:22.299
you know, finalize his parodies to get permission.

00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.079
from the artist now he doesn't have to do that

00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:27.140
technically when you do a parody you don't need

00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:29.079
permission to change the words you just have

00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:31.799
to treat it as a parody when you go to pay royalties

00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:35.240
and all that stuff but he does do that and we

00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:38.819
were thumbs right through the roof like yes please

00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:43.960
uh so he did it and I'll skip ahead a bit. Years

00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:46.779
later, I was on a podcast maybe four or three

00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:49.500
years ago or something with Dave Perner from

00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:53.400
Soul Asylum, Mike Miltz from REM, and me. And

00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:55.200
we were all talking about our experiences with

00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:58.279
Al. And the question came to me, like, where

00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.980
were you when you first saw the video? And I

00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:05.880
thought, hotel room? Backstage? I couldn't picture

00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.299
it. I was like, you know what, guys? I don't

00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:09.779
know. I have no idea. About a month later, I

00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:12.000
was talking to Al on the phone and I said that

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.640
I couldn't remember. And he's like, you don't

00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:19.220
remember? And I said, no. And he said, we watched

00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:23.279
that video together on a tour bus. I think it

00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:26.500
was the president's tour bus. Just you and me,

00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.839
just Al and me on a bus. And he screamed the

00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.819
video for me. And it was the only time in his

00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:34.930
whole career. that he'd ever debuted the video

00:21:34.930 --> 00:21:38.329
in the room with the artist. Wow. And he was

00:21:38.329 --> 00:21:44.430
super nervous. And what's shocking is if I don't

00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:48.670
remember that, what else don't I remember? Did

00:21:48.670 --> 00:21:51.329
I have pancakes with Dave Grohl on the top of

00:21:51.329 --> 00:21:54.710
the Space Needle and I just don't know? So, yeah,

00:21:54.769 --> 00:21:57.109
it was really great. I mean, when I first saw

00:21:57.109 --> 00:22:00.130
it and then subsequently on MTV here and there,

00:22:00.230 --> 00:22:03.529
just, you know, seeing Al playing me. I mean,

00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:06.670
I remember watching MTV in my friend's basement

00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:09.190
when it came on. We were like sitting there.

00:22:09.329 --> 00:22:11.589
It's just static. And then Video Kill the Radio

00:22:11.589 --> 00:22:14.309
Star comes on, which we ended up making sort

00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:16.869
of later on. But we're going to get to that.

00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:21.839
Don't worry. Yeah. So to have sort of. you know

00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.700
on on our own to have gotten into the world of

00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:27.960
mtv was crazy enough but then to be parodied

00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:31.640
by al was just like mind -boggling you know like

00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:35.039
pinch pinch pinch is this a dream and then al

00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.660
we i ended up being really good friends and we've

00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:40.119
uh stayed in touch and every time i go to la

00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:42.559
just to kind of chill out uh we get together

00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:44.640
he and his wife suzanne and i get together and

00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.160
and my wife kate and we just have a good old

00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:50.000
time so yeah and and you know we've collaborated

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.160
with him he produced a video for us for this

00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.619
song called mixed up son of a from our later

00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:57.759
album and we've hijacked each other's sets live

00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.380
shows and hopped on stage with each other countless

00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:03.880
times And one time in L .A. was so great, we

00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:06.180
did a cover of More Than a Feeling by Boston.

00:23:06.380 --> 00:23:09.059
So, yeah, it's a delightful experience all around.

00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.819
It's very impressed with his he's so technically

00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:14.700
good at what he does. And he's a great songwriter

00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:21.200
and a really just amazingly kind and present

00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.299
human. Like you have a conversation with him

00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:25.539
and he's just like, you're the only person in

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:28.519
the whole world. And it's really nice. Really

00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:30.480
nice. Although one time I complimented him on

00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.940
that fact. And he said, actually, it's because

00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.440
my hearing loss from playing is so profound.

00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:39.599
I have to focus on your face. Wow. I did not

00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.059
know that. Yeah, yeah. Well, the next song I

00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:45.180
want to talk about actually has a little bit

00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:48.519
of a change that happens over the original Pop

00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:51.079
Llama Records version of the album versus the

00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.940
Columbia Records version, which is Feather Pluckin'.

00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:05.819
Talking in cold to clams in the clouds. They

00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:11.420
send a secret message and send it by worm. So

00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:17.299
vibrating spiders will receive the word. Well,

00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:46.079
that's totally feather plucking. Now, if you

00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:48.200
were one of the lucky few original people to

00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:50.920
purchase the Pop Llama edition of the album,

00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:54.640
you got treated to the band's rendition of the

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.920
Beatles' I've Got a Feeling interspersed into

00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:00.599
the track. But the version that most people purchased,

00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:03.900
which was the Columbia re -release, doesn't.

00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:07.180
Yeah. Is there a lawsuit story behind this one?

00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.000
Well, there's the proactive prevention of a lawsuit.

00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:15.220
Like two things happened on the Columbia debut.

00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.880
One is that Beatles tribute, which we used to

00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.259
do live all the time. And eventually later live,

00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.920
we would put Baby, You're a Rich Man in there,

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:27.799
too. So we had our it was our little spot to

00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.900
pay homage to the Beatles. And then we beeped

00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:34.269
the fucks in Kitty. ourselves on the pablama

00:25:34.269 --> 00:25:36.009
version i remember it took forever for us to

00:25:36.009 --> 00:25:38.509
at that time in the 90s we're trying to generate

00:25:38.509 --> 00:25:41.509
a beat but when we signed with columbia they're

00:25:41.509 --> 00:25:43.990
like get rid of the beep and you can't have that

00:25:43.990 --> 00:25:45.910
beatles thing in there because it's too complicated

00:25:45.910 --> 00:25:48.890
with royalties and it's couched in your song

00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:52.349
so it's going to get messy so we were mastering

00:25:52.349 --> 00:25:57.029
the record in the basement studio space at capital

00:25:57.029 --> 00:25:59.430
records in la you know the big round building

00:25:59.430 --> 00:26:03.089
the iconic And the guy doing the mastering cut

00:26:03.089 --> 00:26:06.009
some of the lacquers for the American releases

00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:10.289
of the Beatles albums, Wally Truggett. And we

00:26:10.289 --> 00:26:13.769
were his last gig doing a mastering job before

00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:17.470
he retired. Wow. In this space. And he took us

00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:19.690
into the other room and showed us the lathe that

00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:22.430
made the masters for the Beatles. You know, I

00:26:22.430 --> 00:26:27.309
touched it. And so it was incredible. And so

00:26:27.309 --> 00:26:31.750
ironically, one of his last moves with the razor

00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:35.130
blade, because this is a quarter inch master.

00:26:35.470 --> 00:26:39.049
We don't have digital files or anything. So his

00:26:39.049 --> 00:26:41.269
last move with the razor blade was to cut the

00:26:41.269 --> 00:26:45.869
Beatles out of our song. It's just so poetic,

00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:49.150
right? The guy that mastered some of those records

00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:53.390
ended up cutting that band out of our tune. Absolutely

00:26:53.390 --> 00:26:56.720
poetic. It was just cosmic. He told us a really

00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:00.960
amazing side story, too. Leading up to writing

00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:03.440
the songs I wrote, and during that time when

00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.119
I was writing the songs I wrote for the debut

00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:08.279
album for the Presidents, I woke up every morning

00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.900
and put on More Than a Feeling by Boston. Because

00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:13.319
to me, it was like this candy -coated, beautiful

00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:17.289
rock sweep. thing you know like i just wanted

00:27:17.289 --> 00:27:20.170
to eat rock candy first thing this morning i

00:27:20.170 --> 00:27:22.289
kind of remind myself like what is important

00:27:22.289 --> 00:27:25.069
with music harmony entertainment you know like

00:27:25.069 --> 00:27:28.910
melody and so the lyrics of course uh woke up

00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:31.029
this morning and the sun was gone put on some

00:27:31.029 --> 00:27:33.269
music to start my day lost myself in a familiar

00:27:33.269 --> 00:27:36.450
song i i was doing what the song was saying so

00:27:36.450 --> 00:27:40.670
i noticed on wally's wall a gold record or a

00:27:40.670 --> 00:27:44.009
platinum record for that record And he's like,

00:27:44.069 --> 00:27:47.730
oh, yeah, that thing was a bitch. Because what

00:27:47.730 --> 00:27:49.930
happened was they mixed it, got everything ready,

00:27:50.049 --> 00:27:52.410
Wally mastered it, and then it went out to radio.

00:27:52.490 --> 00:27:56.769
And the radio compressors crushed the vocal down

00:27:56.769 --> 00:28:01.109
for some reason too far. And it was bad enough

00:28:01.109 --> 00:28:06.329
that they recalled 500 ,000 records and trashed

00:28:06.329 --> 00:28:09.609
them and remixed and remastered the song so that

00:28:09.609 --> 00:28:13.160
it would be the right dynamic. Wow. I never knew

00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:15.859
that. Yeah. So he had a big story to tell about

00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:18.759
that song, which was the song I used to like

00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:23.000
my compass rose for what music should be. Oh,

00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:25.339
wow. That's incredible. The whole experience

00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:28.900
was cosmic and trippy and just, you know, I have

00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:31.079
a, I have a permanent bruise from pinching myself.

00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:36.109
My career. Well, I'm going to put my nerd hat

00:28:36.109 --> 00:28:38.210
on for this next question, if you don't mind.

00:28:38.509 --> 00:28:40.950
That's OK. I'm doing it all day. All right. Along

00:28:40.950 --> 00:28:43.230
with the feather plucking that we talked about

00:28:43.230 --> 00:28:48.049
in Spain, the original vinyl pressing of the

00:28:48.049 --> 00:28:52.730
album was the band with Bill Clinton on the cover.

00:28:52.809 --> 00:28:57.509
But that got recalled and replaced with the face

00:28:57.509 --> 00:29:00.809
paintings that you see on the inside of the Columbia

00:29:00.809 --> 00:29:04.670
CD version. Was that another instance of Columbia

00:29:04.670 --> 00:29:07.549
Records going, you guys, I don't know if you

00:29:07.549 --> 00:29:09.470
could get permission. Was there an issue with

00:29:09.470 --> 00:29:12.690
the Bill Clinton photo? No, I think we just had

00:29:12.690 --> 00:29:15.109
a bunch of different versions of the vinyl. The

00:29:15.109 --> 00:29:17.410
vinyl wasn't a big deal back then. So it was

00:29:17.410 --> 00:29:19.190
kind of a sloppy like, you know, they're doing

00:29:19.190 --> 00:29:21.890
this in Spain. They're doing this in Italy. They're

00:29:21.890 --> 00:29:24.349
doing this in France. They're misspelling back

00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:29.589
porch as black porch. So, yeah, no, I don't think

00:29:29.589 --> 00:29:31.509
that wasn't a legal thing. It was just sort of

00:29:31.509 --> 00:29:33.750
a limited run by a small label in Spain called

00:29:33.750 --> 00:29:38.009
Munster. Yes. Yeah. And I think that picture

00:29:38.009 --> 00:29:42.269
on the front was in color, which was so our manager,

00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:46.150
Stacy, set up this situation where we were opening

00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:47.990
up for Bill Clinton and then we would meet him

00:29:47.990 --> 00:29:50.289
and get a photo op afterwards. And the idea was

00:29:50.289 --> 00:29:52.230
to get that photo op because it would make an

00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:56.009
amazing promo picture for the band. Right. So

00:29:56.009 --> 00:29:58.930
when it came to. take the picture with clinton

00:29:58.930 --> 00:30:02.609
stacy got in the shot in between dave and bill

00:30:02.609 --> 00:30:05.329
clinton and we're like stacy what are you doing

00:30:05.329 --> 00:30:09.250
this you know we can't this is before photoshop

00:30:09.250 --> 00:30:13.769
was ubiquitous so we did have it for her photoshopped

00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:16.549
out now the original shot with her in it we all

00:30:16.549 --> 00:30:18.950
look amazing i mean the light is incredible we

00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:20.930
look like we all just came off the beach we look

00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:23.869
healthy and wonderful Whoever did the Photoshop

00:30:23.869 --> 00:30:27.430
edit did not understand. It just fucked with

00:30:27.430 --> 00:30:29.630
the colors. We all look like we had the flu.

00:30:29.990 --> 00:30:33.869
Dick's hair is kind of greenish. Everybody's

00:30:33.869 --> 00:30:38.430
got red noses. Later, when we used it as a poster,

00:30:38.549 --> 00:30:40.470
we made it black and white, and then you couldn't

00:30:40.470 --> 00:30:43.750
tell how terrible the photo had been butchered

00:30:43.750 --> 00:30:47.730
by the Photoshop person. Forever after that,

00:30:47.769 --> 00:30:49.670
we're like, Stacy, what the hell were you thinking?

00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:56.549
Well, in 1996, on President's Day, which is very

00:30:56.549 --> 00:31:00.670
fitting, MTV aired a concert from your performance

00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:03.490
in front of Mount Rushmore. I was sitting in

00:31:03.490 --> 00:31:06.710
my dorm room in college. I recorded it on VHS

00:31:06.710 --> 00:31:11.150
tape and wore that tape out. Given that MTV was

00:31:11.150 --> 00:31:14.490
still at its prime at that moment as a music

00:31:14.490 --> 00:31:18.839
influencer. Did that airing propel the album's

00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:21.759
popularity more than it already had been growing

00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:25.259
at the time? Boy, I don't know. You know, at

00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:28.220
the time, anytime you were on TV, there was a

00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:30.519
bump. You know, like when you did The Tonight

00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.140
Show, bump. When you did The Letterman, bump.

00:31:33.380 --> 00:31:36.279
So I assume there was a, you know, as similar

00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:40.829
kind of sales surge after that. special i mean

00:31:40.829 --> 00:31:43.130
that was unique you know unlike say on a late

00:31:43.130 --> 00:31:44.869
night show where you play one song you've got

00:31:44.869 --> 00:31:48.049
three minutes of airtime that was 30 minutes

00:31:48.049 --> 00:31:50.390
i think or something close to it of airtime with

00:31:50.390 --> 00:31:53.890
all kennedy yammering and doing her thing i think

00:31:53.890 --> 00:31:57.170
it was a total of 30 minutes yeah so i assume

00:31:57.170 --> 00:31:59.690
it was just another bump that was quite an amazing

00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:02.809
thing because we were stuck we said yes to that

00:32:02.809 --> 00:32:05.410
and you know the record label totally engineered

00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:07.920
that whole thing which is great And we were on

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:10.019
our way to do it. And we got to San Francisco

00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:13.059
and the airport shut down because of fog. And

00:32:13.059 --> 00:32:15.839
we're literally like on in, you know, an hour

00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:18.099
and a half. We got to get to North Dakota and

00:32:18.099 --> 00:32:22.940
from San Francisco. And so we rented a jet, like

00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:25.960
a tiny plane that apparently could navigate the

00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:29.160
fog. And, you know, being aware of the whole

00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:33.609
Buddy Holly thing. Yeah. Get to the next. got

00:32:33.609 --> 00:32:35.690
to get to the next gig you just got to get in

00:32:35.690 --> 00:32:38.410
this little plane and then everything and i was

00:32:38.410 --> 00:32:41.930
freaked out i gotta say man i was like we're

00:32:41.930 --> 00:32:45.410
gonna die this is how this is how stories go

00:32:45.410 --> 00:32:48.410
you know this is how you end up smashed into

00:32:48.410 --> 00:32:51.089
the side of a mountain but we made it and everything

00:32:51.089 --> 00:32:53.349
worked out fine and you know we got to get in

00:32:53.349 --> 00:32:55.829
our own little tiny jet that was our one time

00:32:55.829 --> 00:32:58.170
where we were like you know custom jet people

00:32:58.170 --> 00:33:01.329
and that gig was memorable too because it was

00:33:01.329 --> 00:33:05.130
cold out And there were hot air vents in the

00:33:05.130 --> 00:33:09.049
stage blowing up at us, but only in the spots

00:33:09.049 --> 00:33:11.750
where our microphone stands were. So if we went

00:33:11.750 --> 00:33:14.009
away from the mic to kind of rock out with Jason

00:33:14.009 --> 00:33:16.470
or whatever, our guitars would go out of tune.

00:33:16.609 --> 00:33:21.029
We actually re -performed four songs because

00:33:21.029 --> 00:33:24.650
of tuning issues. Really? Yeah, it was kind of

00:33:24.650 --> 00:33:27.890
a long day. I mean, at least for the audience,

00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:30.210
it was like bonus concert time, so I couldn't

00:33:30.210 --> 00:33:32.400
be that bad. oh no it was great we had a great

00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:35.559
time you know and actually we were i'm sure if

00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:39.140
yeah we were uh happy to play the songs again

00:33:39.140 --> 00:33:41.240
because we were just so into the scene and it

00:33:41.240 --> 00:33:44.119
was fantastic so yeah but it was just one of

00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:47.460
those side notes like we've done a few shows

00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:49.920
over the years where we're playing in like freezing

00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:53.799
temperatures and it's it's it wreaks havoc on

00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:57.740
your uh tuning it's real tough Well, still staying

00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:00.680
on that special, I'm going to pivot into cover

00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:03.380
songs because on that special, you opened with

00:34:03.380 --> 00:34:05.799
a cover song, which also made the self -titled

00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:08.940
album, your cover of MC5's Kick Out the Jams.

00:34:36.590 --> 00:34:38.929
And then later in the special, you guys performed

00:34:38.929 --> 00:34:41.789
the band's cover of Video Killed the Radio Star.

00:35:13.929 --> 00:35:16.530
Thinking about cover songs for this band, was

00:35:16.530 --> 00:35:19.570
there a thought process that went into, hey,

00:35:19.650 --> 00:35:22.010
let's do MC5 here, let's do the Buggles here?

00:35:22.090 --> 00:35:25.889
The covers definitely pay homage to the original,

00:35:25.929 --> 00:35:29.250
but they're uniquely President songs. Yeah, that's

00:35:29.250 --> 00:35:31.030
the two -string thing, two - and three -string

00:35:31.030 --> 00:35:34.409
thing, and tiny drum set at work. It sounds like

00:35:34.409 --> 00:35:38.010
us, because that's our sound, but we're... paying

00:35:38.010 --> 00:35:40.329
homage to our influences i mean the kick out

00:35:40.329 --> 00:35:42.949
the jams thing i kind of discovered this in like

00:35:42.949 --> 00:35:47.869
90 90 91 i discovered the mc5 and the stooges

00:35:47.869 --> 00:35:49.889
at the same time and they just you know we used

00:35:49.889 --> 00:35:51.929
to cover tvi by the stooges at the drop of a

00:35:51.929 --> 00:35:53.250
hat it was one of those things we just had in

00:35:53.250 --> 00:35:54.949
our back pocket if things were going really well

00:35:54.949 --> 00:35:56.989
and the room is crackling one of us would launch

00:35:56.989 --> 00:35:59.730
into tvi and just like here we go and unplanned

00:35:59.730 --> 00:36:02.590
so kick out the jams was a similar sensation

00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:04.650
it just felt so fun to play there's a little

00:36:04.650 --> 00:36:07.530
story with that we changed the words we weird

00:36:07.530 --> 00:36:10.670
alified that song actually we uh changed all

00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:13.250
the verse lyrics kept the chorus lyrics so it

00:36:13.250 --> 00:36:15.329
wasn't technically a parody because we kept the

00:36:15.329 --> 00:36:17.869
tagline was the same title was the same all that

00:36:17.869 --> 00:36:21.929
when we sent it off to the mc5 camp to get approved

00:36:21.929 --> 00:36:25.489
as a you know it's a cover but it's changed so

00:36:25.489 --> 00:36:27.670
that we had to get their approval they said no

00:36:27.670 --> 00:36:31.449
really yeah patty smith was in charge of fred

00:36:31.449 --> 00:36:33.869
sonic smith's uh legacy the guitar player who'd

00:36:33.869 --> 00:36:37.789
passed away And Wayne Kramer, they both said,

00:36:37.829 --> 00:36:44.789
you can't change it. Wayne, you know, I don't

00:36:44.789 --> 00:36:47.050
know exactly what their logic was, but they just

00:36:47.050 --> 00:36:51.449
said no. So our lawyer was partners with Patti

00:36:51.449 --> 00:36:54.230
Smith's lawyer, David Kotico and Rosemary Carroll.

00:36:54.409 --> 00:36:57.449
So David worked on Rosemary, who worked on Patti,

00:36:57.530 --> 00:37:00.250
I guess. And then Wayne fell in line and eventually

00:37:00.250 --> 00:37:03.639
they said yes. like a year later maybe a couple

00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:06.059
years later i kind of was realizing hey we never

00:37:06.059 --> 00:37:08.780
sent anyone from the mc5 like a platinum award

00:37:08.780 --> 00:37:12.000
you know with the re the platinum record so i

00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:14.260
called the major label and said hey send wayne

00:37:14.260 --> 00:37:19.039
kramer a platinum album they did and then about

00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:21.320
a month later wayne called me at home i don't

00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:23.440
know how he got my number but pick up the phone

00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:27.429
it's wayne kramer and he's like i am so grateful

00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:29.989
for this award thank you so much nobody's ever

00:37:29.989 --> 00:37:32.210
done anything like that for me and i'm so touched

00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:34.030
and blah blah blah and then he's like let me

00:37:34.030 --> 00:37:37.030
tell you why i said no i was like he said um

00:37:37.030 --> 00:37:40.269
i said no because i felt like if i allowed the

00:37:40.269 --> 00:37:42.389
words to be changed to our signature song it

00:37:42.389 --> 00:37:45.409
would be like tampering with history it would

00:37:45.409 --> 00:37:48.130
be disrespectful to the legacy of the band and

00:37:48.130 --> 00:37:51.369
all this stuff and then through time i guess

00:37:51.369 --> 00:37:53.829
and through some convincing from rosemary carroll

00:37:53.829 --> 00:37:57.769
and patty smith he said yes and uh he felt like

00:37:57.769 --> 00:38:00.750
when he said yes his whole relationship to their

00:38:00.750 --> 00:38:04.409
catalog and their legacy changed he felt way

00:38:04.409 --> 00:38:07.750
less attached to it and like sort of uh bound

00:38:07.750 --> 00:38:10.570
by it and he loosened up and was like you know

00:38:10.570 --> 00:38:13.070
what if i say no to the presidents it's like

00:38:13.070 --> 00:38:16.530
i'm the man and i'm crushing creative progress,

00:38:16.849 --> 00:38:19.389
right? So he had this epiphany and we really

00:38:19.389 --> 00:38:21.210
bonded over that and became friends and everything.

00:38:21.329 --> 00:38:24.730
And then smash cut to like 2015, I think it was,

00:38:24.869 --> 00:38:28.690
MC5 comes to Seattle. Most of the original members,

00:38:28.889 --> 00:38:32.610
you know, except the ones that have died. And

00:38:32.610 --> 00:38:36.530
I did kick out the jams with them live. Amazing.

00:38:36.670 --> 00:38:40.269
I'm in the MC5 for a song, you know. And then

00:38:40.269 --> 00:38:42.590
we're backstage afterwards, like laughing and

00:38:42.590 --> 00:38:44.409
high fiving and drinking beers and stuff. And

00:38:44.409 --> 00:38:47.250
I tell the whole story about how Wayne said no.

00:38:47.389 --> 00:38:49.849
And then he said yes. And it changed his attitude.

00:38:49.909 --> 00:38:51.429
And then there's a beat of silence. And then

00:38:51.429 --> 00:38:54.710
Wayne pipes up and he says, actually, I needed

00:38:54.710 --> 00:38:56.670
a new garage. And I heard you guys were going

00:38:56.670 --> 00:39:03.230
to be huge. And so the whole room like loses

00:39:03.230 --> 00:39:07.559
it like. And so apparently that's all it was,

00:39:07.559 --> 00:39:11.340
was he needed some cash. Well, thank God for

00:39:11.340 --> 00:39:14.199
that then. I know. The other one I mentioned

00:39:14.199 --> 00:39:17.019
was Video Killed the Radio Star. You talked earlier

00:39:17.019 --> 00:39:19.719
in our conversation about sitting and watching

00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:22.920
MTV for the first time and seeing that. I'm guessing

00:39:22.920 --> 00:39:25.820
that had part to do with it, but I'm wondering

00:39:25.820 --> 00:39:28.780
how it became a part of the Wedding Singer soundtrack,

00:39:29.019 --> 00:39:31.239
why they didn't go with the Buggles and why they

00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:34.159
chose your version. I think Adam Sandler's a

00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:37.679
fan. During that time when that was happening,

00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:41.619
he would call my house and I never talked to

00:39:41.619 --> 00:39:43.619
him, but he left a couple messages that were

00:39:43.619 --> 00:39:46.340
hilarious. He was talking about how I had a newborn

00:39:46.340 --> 00:39:48.380
son at the time and he was giving me instructions

00:39:48.380 --> 00:39:51.480
on how to go water skiing with a newborn. I don't

00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:54.559
know why. But anyway, I didn't save those messages,

00:39:54.599 --> 00:39:57.719
unfortunately. But I got the sense that he was

00:39:57.719 --> 00:40:01.320
just into, he was a fan. And I'm not sure exactly

00:40:01.320 --> 00:40:03.840
how that whole thing came about. yeah that no

00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:06.800
that song when it even you know when it came

00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:09.400
on the radio when i'd be driving around in seattle

00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:12.219
in the early 80s i would have to pull over the

00:40:12.219 --> 00:40:14.840
car because it was so again like more than a

00:40:14.840 --> 00:40:17.340
feeling video killed the radio star these are

00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:20.679
like just song sugar you know you just they're

00:40:20.679 --> 00:40:24.179
so uh satisfying they just like quench your thirst

00:40:24.179 --> 00:40:26.920
for harmony and melody and everything and atmosphere

00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:31.449
you know So, yeah, it was fun. The reason we

00:40:31.449 --> 00:40:33.150
covered it is like, well, that's a great song,

00:40:33.230 --> 00:40:35.989
but maybe it would be even greater or a different

00:40:35.989 --> 00:40:38.889
kind of great if it were hard charging and not

00:40:38.889 --> 00:40:43.369
as many frilly lines, but let's just nail it

00:40:43.369 --> 00:40:46.409
to the floor and see what happens. In that way,

00:40:46.510 --> 00:40:48.650
we kind of felt like we made it our own. Certainly

00:40:48.650 --> 00:40:52.320
did. And then, yeah, we made a video. for this

00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:54.940
it was a single from the soundtrack album for

00:40:54.940 --> 00:40:57.619
that movie so we made a video and i had already

00:40:57.619 --> 00:41:00.139
we had already broken up when we shot the video

00:41:00.139 --> 00:41:02.739
so in the video i called up a sign that says

00:41:02.739 --> 00:41:06.559
i quit and it's kind of poetic it's like video

00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:09.059
killed the radio star we're disintegrating as

00:41:09.059 --> 00:41:11.960
a band and getting killed metaphorically i guess

00:41:11.960 --> 00:41:15.119
so it all kind of dovetailed together quite nicely

00:41:15.949 --> 00:41:18.150
Well, we already talked about Lump, so I think

00:41:18.150 --> 00:41:20.590
it's only fitting that we throw in some conversation

00:41:20.590 --> 00:41:43.230
about peaches as well. Right. Now, from what

00:41:43.230 --> 00:41:45.849
I've read over the years, and if I'm wrong, please

00:41:45.849 --> 00:41:49.289
correct me here, this song stems from everything

00:41:49.289 --> 00:41:54.449
from LSD to John Prine. Well, both, actually.

00:41:54.769 --> 00:41:57.329
And Mary Lou, the girl that introduced me to

00:41:57.329 --> 00:42:01.449
Beck. She's involved. Okay. So, where does it

00:42:01.449 --> 00:42:06.610
begin? It begins with me taking acid. And then

00:42:06.610 --> 00:42:10.210
walking. I was living with Mark Sandman. And

00:42:10.210 --> 00:42:12.170
then I went out of the house and I walked to

00:42:12.170 --> 00:42:14.210
where Mary Lou's house was in the same kind of

00:42:14.210 --> 00:42:16.789
neighborhood. Cause I had, I had developed feelings

00:42:16.789 --> 00:42:18.650
for Mary Lou and I was going to tell her that

00:42:18.650 --> 00:42:20.289
I had a crush on her and, you know, see what

00:42:20.289 --> 00:42:23.030
would happen. And of course taking LSD is the

00:42:23.030 --> 00:42:26.230
first step in any young, in any young romantic

00:42:26.230 --> 00:42:29.309
quest for connection. You want to start with

00:42:29.309 --> 00:42:32.750
drugs? Kids don't try this at home. So I get

00:42:32.750 --> 00:42:34.909
to her house and she's not home. And her house

00:42:34.909 --> 00:42:37.969
was this like canary yellow Victorian house in

00:42:37.969 --> 00:42:40.579
this very, different kind of neighborhood like

00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:43.460
you know machine shops and garages and then here's

00:42:43.460 --> 00:42:47.760
this like tweety bird house even not on lsd it

00:42:47.760 --> 00:42:50.099
was remarkable and a peach tree in the yard by

00:42:50.099 --> 00:42:52.420
the white picket fence so i go in i knock on

00:42:52.420 --> 00:42:54.360
the door she's not home so i go sit under her

00:42:54.360 --> 00:42:58.420
peach tree and i'm just like that pushing peaches

00:42:58.420 --> 00:43:01.960
and literally doing what the song says she never

00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:05.440
did come home so you know it's sort of uh never

00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:08.309
i never made that connection um We were in a

00:43:08.309 --> 00:43:11.170
band later called Strumpet and hung out and stuff

00:43:11.170 --> 00:43:12.989
like that. And we're still good friends. In fact,

00:43:12.989 --> 00:43:14.909
I just had a big phone catch up with her about

00:43:14.909 --> 00:43:18.070
a couple of weeks ago, which was great. And then

00:43:18.070 --> 00:43:21.349
I showed it to the band and Dave Dieterer came

00:43:21.349 --> 00:43:23.690
up with that whole end part. Millions of peaches,

00:43:23.750 --> 00:43:26.369
peaches for me. That was all Dave. So it's very

00:43:26.369 --> 00:43:30.469
much me and then Dave. And I love that about

00:43:30.469 --> 00:43:33.110
the song. I love that it's like a real collaboration

00:43:33.110 --> 00:43:36.940
with... Dave, which a lot of the songs we did

00:43:36.940 --> 00:43:38.519
were just kind of like I wrote the whole song.

00:43:38.539 --> 00:43:40.579
They interpret it. But this was like a co -write,

00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:43.280
which was really cool. So, yeah, that's kind

00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:45.900
of the origin story of Peaches. Well, we've talked

00:43:45.900 --> 00:43:48.519
about the hits from the album, the covers, some

00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:51.300
classic cuts. But I would wonder, as one of the

00:43:51.300 --> 00:43:54.380
members of the band, what, in your opinion, are

00:43:54.380 --> 00:43:57.360
some of the most underrated songs on the self

00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:00.280
-titled album? Maybe songs that you wished would

00:44:00.280 --> 00:44:52.010
have been a single. I think Bo Weevil. That song

00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:55.409
just slayed live. Super fun to play. Another

00:44:55.409 --> 00:44:57.349
one where I really, every time we played it,

00:44:57.389 --> 00:45:00.329
I was excited to play it, actually. I think we

00:45:00.329 --> 00:45:02.269
should have made a video for that instead of

00:45:02.269 --> 00:45:04.150
Dune Buggy and Kitty. We should have made like

00:45:04.150 --> 00:45:09.289
a throwbacks, you know, 70s disco themed extravaganza

00:45:09.289 --> 00:45:11.329
video. That would have been a smart move. Really

00:45:11.329 --> 00:45:15.789
fun and bright and explosive. So, yeah, that's

00:45:15.789 --> 00:45:18.610
my pick. Bull Weevil. Well, earlier we talked

00:45:18.610 --> 00:45:22.000
about your stint with Beck. But I'm a huge 90s

00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.920
hip -hop fan, so I can't talk to you and not

00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:27.719
bring up Subset, which is your collaboration

00:45:27.719 --> 00:45:31.539
with Sir Mix -a -Lot. You guys had songs like

00:45:31.539 --> 00:45:34.039
Addicted to Fame, which is on YouTube, Beach

00:45:34.039 --> 00:45:37.780
Rats, and We Can't Stop Us. Considering where

00:45:37.780 --> 00:45:42.099
Nu Metal was at the time of Subset, why was there

00:45:42.099 --> 00:45:44.440
never an album for this? Yeah, that's a good

00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:47.579
question. In fact, about two years ago, we all

00:45:47.579 --> 00:45:50.380
got together and revisited that question and

00:45:50.380 --> 00:45:52.900
thought we would put it out, believe it or not,

00:45:52.900 --> 00:45:56.280
as an NFT. There was a moment where we were taking

00:45:56.280 --> 00:45:59.480
meetings with NFT people, but everyone we met

00:45:59.480 --> 00:46:01.519
with felt like they were also in charge of the

00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:05.809
Fyre Festival. Uh -oh. Yeah. We'd get on a Zoom

00:46:05.809 --> 00:46:07.349
call with them and they'd be somewhere like,

00:46:07.530 --> 00:46:09.710
oh, where are you? Oh, we're in Barcelona. And

00:46:09.710 --> 00:46:11.369
then the next time, where are you? Oh, we're

00:46:11.369 --> 00:46:15.590
in, you know, Pongo Pongo. They were always somewhere

00:46:15.590 --> 00:46:18.469
exotic with their shirt unbuttoned on most of

00:46:18.469 --> 00:46:21.449
the way. kind of just gave us the creeps so we

00:46:21.449 --> 00:46:25.050
uh backed off that idea but you know every five

00:46:25.050 --> 00:46:27.570
or six years i run into mix and he's like we

00:46:27.570 --> 00:46:29.809
gotta put out the record i'm like go ahead and

00:46:29.809 --> 00:46:33.289
do it you know if he would take charge of it

00:46:33.289 --> 00:46:36.309
that'd be great so that project was really fun

00:46:36.309 --> 00:46:40.670
mix was contacted by some record label that wanted

00:46:40.670 --> 00:46:44.550
to do a compilation album of songs by pacific

00:46:44.550 --> 00:46:48.710
northwest artists covered by unlikely pairings

00:46:48.710 --> 00:46:51.230
of Pacific Northwest artists. So it'd be like

00:46:51.230 --> 00:46:54.170
Queensryche and Hart or Sir Mix -a -Lot and the

00:46:54.170 --> 00:46:57.670
Presidents, you know. And it would be us doing

00:46:57.670 --> 00:47:01.610
a Hendrix tune. But we got together to talk about

00:47:01.610 --> 00:47:04.590
that and had dinner out at a restaurant. And

00:47:04.590 --> 00:47:06.789
immediately we got along so well and we had so

00:47:06.789 --> 00:47:09.909
many interesting ideas just among ourselves that

00:47:09.909 --> 00:47:11.929
we're like, forget the cover. Let's just make

00:47:11.929 --> 00:47:14.980
some new music. And we did. We made Beach Rats

00:47:14.980 --> 00:47:18.579
and Addicted to the Fame and just was like, well,

00:47:18.659 --> 00:47:20.260
that was great. Let's do more and more and more.

00:47:20.380 --> 00:47:22.559
So we just kept going and going. And we do have

00:47:22.559 --> 00:47:26.280
a record pretty much done, but we just can't

00:47:26.280 --> 00:47:28.760
agree on how to put it out. I think we should

00:47:28.760 --> 00:47:31.780
just put it out for free, put it up on a streamer

00:47:31.780 --> 00:47:36.000
or all the streamers and no money involved. Some

00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:38.800
of it doesn't age exactly right. Some of the

00:47:38.800 --> 00:47:41.960
lyrics the mix was spouting were kind of not.

00:47:42.489 --> 00:47:45.269
would not be i don't know it's a different time

00:47:45.269 --> 00:47:47.750
you know it's like there's red flags in there

00:47:47.750 --> 00:47:49.409
that we kind of are like i don't think we want

00:47:49.409 --> 00:47:53.480
to charge money for this but mix i think he wants

00:47:53.480 --> 00:47:55.500
to do it in a way that would generate some cash

00:47:55.500 --> 00:47:58.820
so we're just we just we had so many expectations

00:47:58.820 --> 00:48:01.019
for that collaboration and then we had kind of

00:48:01.019 --> 00:48:03.519
a weird disastrous show here at the show box

00:48:03.519 --> 00:48:06.360
where dave's amp broke and and we didn't quite

00:48:06.360 --> 00:48:09.199
have the confidence as a unit to kind of fill

00:48:09.199 --> 00:48:11.260
a gap where we have technical difficulties and

00:48:11.260 --> 00:48:13.280
we kind of floundered and people kind of were

00:48:13.280 --> 00:48:15.420
like i don't know but we did a west coast tour

00:48:15.420 --> 00:48:19.019
that was amazing like all the other shows we

00:48:19.019 --> 00:48:23.179
did were just like off the hook crazy funny mix

00:48:23.179 --> 00:48:27.260
being you know letting him be the front man was

00:48:27.260 --> 00:48:29.880
really fun for me you know just backing up and

00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:32.820
doing bass and i played keyboards and and saying

00:48:32.820 --> 00:48:35.380
some of the stuff but anyway it was a fun experience

00:48:35.380 --> 00:48:37.380
and it was really great to get to know mix he

00:48:37.380 --> 00:48:39.800
turned me on to recording in pro tools and digital

00:48:39.800 --> 00:48:44.619
formats and i would not be as kind of uh in touch

00:48:44.619 --> 00:48:47.360
with my true creative self if it weren't for

00:48:47.360 --> 00:48:50.280
me hanging out with him for all those years watching

00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:52.699
him work and learning how to do all that stuff

00:48:52.699 --> 00:48:55.980
so yeah he's a big deal as a friend and as a

00:48:55.980 --> 00:48:58.380
collaborator he's a great guy too really nice

00:48:58.380 --> 00:49:01.719
dude i'm just gonna throw out there there has

00:49:01.719 --> 00:49:05.559
never been a 25th anniversary edition of an album

00:49:05.559 --> 00:49:08.360
that's never been released you guys could be

00:49:08.360 --> 00:49:11.929
the first That's great. I love it. I love it.

00:49:11.929 --> 00:49:14.030
That's a really good idea. That, that might be

00:49:14.030 --> 00:49:16.889
a good pitch for those guys to kind of rekindle

00:49:16.889 --> 00:49:19.070
that project. Hey, if that happens, if you could

00:49:19.070 --> 00:49:21.409
just throw a shout out to Brian Colburn at my

00:49:21.409 --> 00:49:23.650
weekly mixtape and the liner notes, that'll be

00:49:23.650 --> 00:49:25.610
awesome. Maybe, maybe I'll get to come out to

00:49:25.610 --> 00:49:27.610
a show. I'll introduce these on stage. Maybe

00:49:27.610 --> 00:49:29.730
I'll, I'll jam out with you too. What the hell?

00:49:29.750 --> 00:49:32.050
Why not? I'll have some fun. You'd be the fifth

00:49:32.050 --> 00:49:34.070
beetle or whatever. There you go. I'll be the

00:49:34.070 --> 00:49:39.500
Yoko Ono. The sub subset. Yes. Yes. Well, We've

00:49:39.500 --> 00:49:41.480
been talking about the self -titled album throughout

00:49:41.480 --> 00:49:44.800
this discussion, but the presidents, to me, are

00:49:44.800 --> 00:49:47.440
a lot more than just the self -titled album.

00:49:47.800 --> 00:49:50.099
Just off the top of my head, you've got Mach

00:49:50.099 --> 00:49:53.920
5 from 2. You've got Slow Slow Fly from Kudos

00:49:53.920 --> 00:49:56.719
to You. You had mentioned Mixed Up Son of a Bitch

00:49:56.719 --> 00:49:59.900
from These Are All Good Times People. What are

00:49:59.900 --> 00:50:03.480
some of your personal favorite songs from across

00:50:03.480 --> 00:50:07.400
the president's discography that are not on the

00:50:07.400 --> 00:50:10.159
self -titled release? Wow. That's a good one.

00:50:10.420 --> 00:50:14.559
Some Postman. I really loved playing that song

00:50:14.559 --> 00:50:16.420
live. That was super fun. And that came about

00:50:16.420 --> 00:50:20.320
so beautifully. A friend of mine, Ramona in New

00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:23.139
York sent me a CD of some songs I think she was

00:50:23.139 --> 00:50:25.780
working on and it never arrived. And she called

00:50:25.780 --> 00:50:27.340
me like, did you get the CD? And I said, no,

00:50:27.500 --> 00:50:29.039
I didn't ever, never got it. And she's like,

00:50:29.099 --> 00:50:31.280
ah, darn it. And I said, well, some Postman is

00:50:31.280 --> 00:50:34.539
grooving to it and went, whoa, song title. And

00:50:34.539 --> 00:50:36.460
she's a songwriter too. So I was like, Ramona.

00:50:36.969 --> 00:50:39.429
Call me back in 20 minutes and let's both write

00:50:39.429 --> 00:50:41.929
songs called Some Postman and we'll put out a

00:50:41.929 --> 00:50:44.769
single. So I hang up the phone. I wrote it, recorded

00:50:44.769 --> 00:50:46.710
a demo of it. She calls back. I'm like, here,

00:50:46.789 --> 00:50:48.329
listen to it. And she listens to it. And then

00:50:48.329 --> 00:50:50.789
I play yours. And she's like, I couldn't do it.

00:50:50.829 --> 00:50:53.690
I didn't write one. And she still hasn't written

00:50:53.690 --> 00:50:55.869
one. And I'm still giving her a hard time. She

00:50:55.869 --> 00:50:59.219
came in like. i don't know 2014 or something

00:50:59.219 --> 00:51:01.420
she came to a show in new york and i from the

00:51:01.420 --> 00:51:03.639
stage i pointed her out to everybody like there's

00:51:03.639 --> 00:51:07.860
ramona and she still owes me that song so anyway

00:51:07.860 --> 00:51:10.639
that song for some reason that pops right off

00:51:10.639 --> 00:51:13.639
the top of my head um yeah the song mixed up

00:51:13.639 --> 00:51:17.260
son of a that al recorded that that was really

00:51:17.260 --> 00:51:20.659
um fun to hear that one come to fruition i started

00:51:20.659 --> 00:51:26.760
that song way back in like 80 1989. I had a four

00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:29.059
-track, and at the time, four -tracks were kind

00:51:29.059 --> 00:51:31.539
of expensive, and not all songwriters had access

00:51:31.539 --> 00:51:34.420
to it. So I made a little poster like, are you

00:51:34.420 --> 00:51:36.239
a singer -songwriter that wants to do a demo?

00:51:36.480 --> 00:51:39.599
I tried to start a tiny little studio with one

00:51:39.599 --> 00:51:42.300
mic and my four -track. I only ever got one phone

00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:44.500
call from the ad, and it was this woman who was

00:51:44.500 --> 00:51:49.690
just completely deluded. had delusions of grandeur

00:51:49.690 --> 00:51:52.369
and and wasn't making any sense and i was like

00:51:52.369 --> 00:51:54.510
whoa whoa whoa i don't think i really want to

00:51:54.510 --> 00:51:57.090
do this as a job and you are a mixed up son of

00:51:57.090 --> 00:52:01.130
a bitch i wrote this song about her the only

00:52:01.130 --> 00:52:05.349
respondent to my ad to go to my apartment and

00:52:05.349 --> 00:52:09.289
record songs so um i don't know those two kind

00:52:09.289 --> 00:52:13.829
of pop out uh oh crown victoria that one was

00:52:13.829 --> 00:52:17.039
really yeah That had John Roderick from the Long

00:52:17.039 --> 00:52:21.239
Winters on backup vocals. And that was fun to

00:52:21.239 --> 00:52:22.920
believe it or not. We played that live several

00:52:22.920 --> 00:52:24.679
times and it was really fun to just kind of get

00:52:24.679 --> 00:52:28.780
into that slow groove of that song. So those

00:52:28.780 --> 00:52:31.099
those three kind of pop out for some weird reason.

00:52:31.699 --> 00:52:35.400
Well, the band's last two releases both came

00:52:35.400 --> 00:52:38.480
out in 2014. That's kudos to you and the live

00:52:38.480 --> 00:52:41.199
album. Thanks for the feedback. But then sadly,

00:52:41.340 --> 00:52:45.039
in 2015, the president's ended their run. Correct.

00:52:45.480 --> 00:52:48.460
With the 30th anniversary of the self -titled

00:52:48.460 --> 00:52:51.800
album being this year, is there any chance of

00:52:51.800 --> 00:52:55.480
that maybe being a catalyst for a reunion of

00:52:55.480 --> 00:52:58.219
sorts or maybe some deluxe edition of the album,

00:52:58.260 --> 00:53:02.380
maybe bringing the presidents back in 2025? Yeah,

00:53:02.420 --> 00:53:05.860
we're doing some stuff around the anniversary.

00:53:06.380 --> 00:53:12.199
We took over Lithium XM Radio a month ago and

00:53:12.199 --> 00:53:17.070
DJed. We found the guy, Craig, who used to do

00:53:17.070 --> 00:53:21.090
our live sound. Multitrack recorded our last

00:53:21.090 --> 00:53:25.789
show in January of 98. The last show of the first

00:53:25.789 --> 00:53:28.789
chapter. Yeah. And it sounded great. And we had

00:53:28.789 --> 00:53:31.329
our friend Johnny Sangster mix it. And so we

00:53:31.329 --> 00:53:34.610
have this fully mixed live show that is amazing.

00:53:35.150 --> 00:53:37.309
And we're not sure what we're going to do with

00:53:37.309 --> 00:53:40.199
it yet. during this year where it's the 30th

00:53:40.199 --> 00:53:41.659
anniversary we're either going to release it

00:53:41.659 --> 00:53:45.000
in like song chunks as lyric videos maybe online

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:48.440
or just do the whole thing or do just the debut

00:53:48.440 --> 00:53:52.019
album tracks as a little mini concert you know

00:53:52.019 --> 00:53:54.500
put them in order and all that nice but it came

00:53:54.500 --> 00:53:56.619
out great so we have that intellectual property

00:53:56.619 --> 00:53:58.780
that we're just kind of sitting on right at the

00:53:58.780 --> 00:54:02.079
moment we're kind of we we're overdue for a a

00:54:02.079 --> 00:54:04.119
meeting to figure out what we're doing with that

00:54:05.110 --> 00:54:07.730
and then now playing live no we're not going

00:54:07.730 --> 00:54:10.949
to do that because i look back and i where i

00:54:10.949 --> 00:54:13.050
listen to that show and i look back at videos

00:54:13.050 --> 00:54:16.050
and stuff even of how we performed in the 2010

00:54:16.050 --> 00:54:19.750
to 15 range but you really if you look back into

00:54:19.750 --> 00:54:23.989
the 90s so much jumping so much energy so much

00:54:23.989 --> 00:54:27.730
like focus and i just can't do it i'm 60 years

00:54:27.730 --> 00:54:30.780
old and my feet are kind of hurting me and elbows

00:54:30.780 --> 00:54:32.840
i've got like some sort of weird arthritis in

00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:34.559
my elbows i can only play guitar for like five

00:54:34.559 --> 00:54:37.940
minutes before my elbows start to explode so

00:54:37.940 --> 00:54:41.260
yeah i'm just you know and and you know i watched

00:54:41.260 --> 00:54:43.360
an interview with rem recently too and they're

00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:46.639
the same way they're like the way i see it is

00:54:46.639 --> 00:54:49.800
like It's an arc and it was a beautiful arc,

00:54:49.920 --> 00:54:53.940
but it has arced. And as a creative person, letting

00:54:53.940 --> 00:54:56.900
that arc finish and be done and then starting

00:54:56.900 --> 00:54:59.679
new ones, you have room to start new ones. And,

00:54:59.760 --> 00:55:03.219
you know, I've done Casper baby pants for, you

00:55:03.219 --> 00:55:04.780
know, zero to five year olds and their parents,

00:55:04.860 --> 00:55:07.500
kids. And then I'm doing this solo record arc

00:55:07.500 --> 00:55:10.300
now. I'm on I'm finishing up album number nine

00:55:10.300 --> 00:55:14.139
on that. So part of evolving as a creative person

00:55:14.139 --> 00:55:17.219
is making space for new. stuff to come in and

00:55:17.219 --> 00:55:21.519
part of that is not saying yes to reuniting the

00:55:21.519 --> 00:55:24.960
band the nice thing is the three of like rem

00:55:24.960 --> 00:55:28.000
we're all on the same page all three of us are

00:55:28.000 --> 00:55:30.900
like although dave you know dave quit the band

00:55:30.900 --> 00:55:35.159
in 2004 and uh we went on for another 11 years

00:55:35.159 --> 00:55:37.760
and so i think dave's got a little itch like

00:55:37.760 --> 00:55:41.840
i think if we if jason and i had it in us in

00:55:41.840 --> 00:55:45.780
us he might be the first to say yes But Jason,

00:55:45.820 --> 00:55:48.420
Jason and I are just two. We played a lot more

00:55:48.420 --> 00:55:51.440
shows than Dave. And I played on top of all those

00:55:51.440 --> 00:55:54.800
president shows. I played 1300 Casper baby pants

00:55:54.800 --> 00:55:58.440
shows in 10 years. Wow. Yeah. So I just wore

00:55:58.440 --> 00:56:01.960
out my parts. Well, it's perfect timing because

00:56:01.960 --> 00:56:04.039
I was going to bring up Casper baby pants, your

00:56:04.039 --> 00:56:06.440
children's music project, as well as the music

00:56:06.440 --> 00:56:09.380
you've released as a solo artist, which you've

00:56:09.380 --> 00:56:14.139
described as I quote. Fuzzy, psychedelic, groovy,

00:56:14.139 --> 00:56:17.659
nappy, suited, distorted jam albums. There you

00:56:17.659 --> 00:56:20.739
go. I like it. Although I've sort of consolidated

00:56:20.739 --> 00:56:24.099
down to a genre that I call pop cosmic. There

00:56:24.099 --> 00:56:26.820
you go. Because it's pop music, but then it's

00:56:26.820 --> 00:56:29.699
got cosmic elements to it. So it's pop cosmic.

00:56:30.139 --> 00:56:31.980
So there's something about these albums that

00:56:31.980 --> 00:56:35.280
I find very refreshing, very exciting. And also,

00:56:35.300 --> 00:56:37.760
once again, I'm going to use the term the alternative

00:56:37.760 --> 00:56:41.260
to the alternative because all of these albums

00:56:41.260 --> 00:56:44.360
are available on every streaming site. However,

00:56:44.619 --> 00:56:48.860
on your webpage, chrisbaloo .org, all of the

00:56:48.860 --> 00:56:52.559
albums are available to download for free. Totally.

00:56:52.619 --> 00:56:57.840
To me, that is a unique approach. to promoting

00:56:57.840 --> 00:56:59.699
and marketing an album. And I'd love to hear

00:56:59.699 --> 00:57:04.699
the mindset behind that approach. Well, it's

00:57:04.699 --> 00:57:07.739
an experiment that I've always, sometimes out

00:57:07.739 --> 00:57:10.179
of necessity, like in the early days out of necessity,

00:57:10.380 --> 00:57:12.320
I didn't have any infrastructure. Like when I

00:57:12.320 --> 00:57:14.780
was making four track cassettes and playing in

00:57:14.780 --> 00:57:18.000
the subway and selling my tapes and busking and

00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:21.489
all that. That felt like a perfect circle of

00:57:21.489 --> 00:57:24.090
like, write a song, record the song, sell the

00:57:24.090 --> 00:57:26.349
song, perform the song, you know, like it's and

00:57:26.349 --> 00:57:30.050
the scale was all that was kind of could be perceived

00:57:30.050 --> 00:57:33.510
as, you know, a bummer. I didn't see it as a

00:57:33.510 --> 00:57:35.730
bummer. I saw it as like a full circle that was,

00:57:35.809 --> 00:57:38.889
you know, attainable and reachable, a goal that's

00:57:38.889 --> 00:57:41.309
reachable. So I guess that kind of trickled into

00:57:41.309 --> 00:57:44.090
this idea where. when the presidents got signed

00:57:44.090 --> 00:57:45.769
i remember sitting down with the label and saying

00:57:45.769 --> 00:57:47.889
we'd like to promote this record without really

00:57:47.889 --> 00:57:50.489
appearing to promote it at all because i always

00:57:50.489 --> 00:57:54.170
kind of feel like i want honest like any sort

00:57:54.170 --> 00:57:58.150
of um success that my songs achieve i want them

00:57:58.150 --> 00:58:01.329
to achieve it without a promotional machine pushing

00:58:01.329 --> 00:58:05.650
them because then i will trust the level of a

00:58:05.650 --> 00:58:08.869
claim they achieve right like if we like with

00:58:08.869 --> 00:58:11.880
casper i didn't do any promotion at all except

00:58:11.880 --> 00:58:14.760
write the songs record the songs play shows sell

00:58:14.760 --> 00:58:18.400
the cds and let families ingest it and then let

00:58:18.400 --> 00:58:21.619
the families tell other families about it so

00:58:21.619 --> 00:58:24.480
that's just kind of stuck as my sort of preferred

00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:31.280
way to gauge the music's honest place in the

00:58:31.280 --> 00:58:36.110
landscape right like So if I have my latest solo

00:58:36.110 --> 00:58:38.809
record has something, the songs all have something

00:58:38.809 --> 00:58:41.670
like 4 ,000 listens. And to me, that's like amazing.

00:58:41.730 --> 00:58:44.449
Like 4 ,000 people have listened to this song.

00:58:44.949 --> 00:58:48.269
It's just incredibly fulfilling and exciting.

00:58:48.489 --> 00:58:50.969
And it's not about money. I'm fortunately in

00:58:50.969 --> 00:58:53.150
a position where the presidents and Casper kind

00:58:53.150 --> 00:58:57.909
of pay the bills. And now I can just be a hobbyist

00:58:57.909 --> 00:59:00.949
who. makes music because i want to hear it and

00:59:00.949 --> 00:59:03.230
then i put it out with no expectations and then

00:59:03.230 --> 00:59:06.849
any you know any listener count is a victory

00:59:06.849 --> 00:59:09.949
if you uh i guess it's like that what is it uh

00:59:09.949 --> 00:59:13.130
under promise and over deliver kind of attitude

00:59:13.130 --> 00:59:16.150
you know like so i just feel really comfortable

00:59:16.150 --> 00:59:18.550
with that and i don't think i'm not in a position

00:59:18.550 --> 00:59:20.690
where i need to charge money for it so i'm not

00:59:20.690 --> 00:59:25.110
gonna tax the listener just because that's the

00:59:25.110 --> 00:59:28.280
normal thing to do i just think Making it free

00:59:28.280 --> 00:59:32.739
takes economics out of my creative process, too.

00:59:32.880 --> 00:59:35.659
I don't think about that. I think more about

00:59:35.659 --> 00:59:38.980
the person listening to the album. I'm forever

00:59:38.980 --> 00:59:41.239
trying to remake Sgt. Pepper's. I'm trying to

00:59:41.239 --> 00:59:45.159
make that headphone journey through all sorts

00:59:45.159 --> 00:59:48.300
of styles and textures and stuff that I experienced

00:59:48.300 --> 00:59:50.719
as a kid when I listened to that record. So I

00:59:50.719 --> 00:59:52.139
don't want money to get in the way of people

00:59:52.139 --> 00:59:55.380
having a good time with the music. Well, I have

00:59:55.380 --> 00:59:57.800
had a good time with the last eight solo albums.

00:59:57.860 --> 01:00:00.599
I'm looking forward to nine and beyond. Great.

01:00:00.780 --> 01:00:03.360
The Presidents of the United States of America

01:00:03.360 --> 01:00:06.659
turns 30 this year, and you can hear it anywhere

01:00:06.659 --> 01:00:10.079
and everywhere you listen to music. Chris's solo

01:00:10.079 --> 01:00:12.940
music can be found at chrisbaloo .org, as well

01:00:12.940 --> 01:00:15.539
as all the streaming sites. Chris, this has been

01:00:15.539 --> 01:00:18.619
an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for joining

01:00:18.619 --> 01:00:21.059
me on My Weekly Mixtape. Thanks for having me,

01:00:21.099 --> 01:00:23.159
man. I really appreciate it. And it's great to

01:00:23.159 --> 01:00:26.219
talk and tell all these stories. Yeah. Sometimes

01:00:26.219 --> 01:00:28.420
I tell all these stories. I'm like, really? Did

01:00:28.420 --> 01:00:32.000
that really all happen to me? So it's fun to

01:00:32.000 --> 01:00:34.119
revisit them. So thanks for having me. And to

01:00:34.119 --> 01:00:36.480
those listening, there is a full Presidents of

01:00:36.480 --> 01:00:39.000
the United States of America playlist embedded

01:00:39.000 --> 01:00:42.659
on the episode page over at myweeklymixtape .com.

01:00:42.820 --> 01:00:44.920
And remember, you can find My Weekly Mixtape

01:00:44.920 --> 01:00:48.000
on almost all the social media haunts at My Weekly

01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:50.659
Mixtape. You can also head to myweeklymixtape

01:00:50.659 --> 01:00:53.519
.com to check out the full catalog of My Weekly

01:00:53.519 --> 01:00:56.079
Mixtape episodes. And finally, if you like what

01:00:56.079 --> 01:00:58.079
you're hearing on the show, you can help me out

01:00:58.079 --> 01:01:00.139
by either telling a friend, leaving the show

01:01:00.139 --> 01:01:02.119
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01:01:02.480 --> 01:01:05.920
or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com

01:01:05.920 --> 01:01:09.179
forward slash myweeklymixtape. There you can

01:01:09.179 --> 01:01:11.719
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01:01:11.719 --> 01:01:14.519
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01:01:14.519 --> 01:01:17.619
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01:01:17.800 --> 01:01:20.079
That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening.

01:01:20.179 --> 01:01:22.500
And until next time, enjoy the tunes.