At this point you’ve undoubtedly caught wind of my side hustle as a bass player, and more generally my love for the unique community of musicians in and around Seattle. So in the spirit of that fondness, I’m super excited to share my conversation with local alt-rock legend and former lead singer for the band The Presidents of the United States of America, Chris Ballew.

Chris started playing music from a very young age and, in the fertile soil of the Seattle music scene, had no trouble assembling bands of like-minded punk rock compatriots. One such band being the aforementioned—and super successful—The Presidents of the United States of America. You likely remember their catchy riffs and somewhat silly lyrics from hit songs like “Lump” and “Peaches” in the mid '90s, defining a style that even Madonna recognized as taking great care to appear as though they didn’t care at all. But the rise of The Presidents wasn’t Chris’s first brush with fame. Having found his way onto the tour bus of an up-and-coming singer/songwriter by the name of Beck, Chris learned valuable lessons about the music business and his own relationship to it. Chris isn’t interested in sacrificing time away from home and family to chase the spotlight. He’d rather enjoy the act of being creative in the moment. What happens after that is out of his hands.

Thanks for tuning in to episode 23. We hope you enjoy it!

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