Rocktrospectiva: The Odd Debut Album By "The Presidents Of The United States Of America" Turns 30

Released on 10 March 1995, "The Presidents of the United States of America" was the debut studio album by the US band  The Presidents of the United States of America. Released during the grunge and new punk music breakthrough-era, the album produced four singles "Kitty", "Lump", "Peaches" and "Dune Buggy". Those singles helped the group gain mainstream popularity, especially for "Lump" and "Peaches" earning positive reviews for the band.

 

Chris Ballew and Dave Dederer met while attending The Bush School in Seattle. In the 1980s and early 1990s they collaborated on various musical projects. Ballew returned to Seattle in the summer of 1993, and he and Dederer formed what would become The Presidents of the United States of America that autumn. Initially a drummerless duo, they performed a half-dozen or so shows in late 1993 as "The Lo-Fis", "The Dynamic Duo", and "Pure Frosting." Ballew eventually came upon the name "The Presidents of the United States of America." Shortly after settling on their name, Ballew and Dederer added drummer Jason Finn. In early December 1993, the band played their first show as a trio at The Romper Room in Seattle. 

In early 1994, The Presidents recorded a 10-song cassette, Froggystyle, at Laundry Room Studios. The band sold the cassette at shows in 1994. Finn also sold the cassette from behind the bar of Seattle's legendary Comet Tavern, where he tended bar. Later that year, the Presidents signed with the tiny Seattle label PopLlama Records and released their self-titled debut in the following year, featuring several remixed tracks from Froggystyle. The band also released a limited edition blue vinyl 7-inch single, "Fuck California", on C/Z Records. Then Columbia Records signed the band shortly thereafter and re-released the album in late July 1995. Driven by the singles "Lump", "Peaches", and "Kitty", their debut album proved to be a smash, eventually selling over three million copies.

 

Style of the band was catchy, humorous, and self-deprecating songs, which were a major departure from the grunge/post-grunge sound present on the airwaves. The album received Grammy nominations in 1995 and 1996. Though "Peaches" met the most critical success, the band credits "Lump" as their favorite single. The song's strange lyrics came from a dream that Ballew had while fighting pneumonia. The antibiotics he was taking caused an allergic reaction that produced several consecutive nights of wild and crazy dreams. The lyrics for "Peaches" were written about a crush Ballew used to have on a girl. According to him, she had a peach tree in the front of her yard, and when he finally summoned the courage to go talk to her, he stood under the tree and smashed peaches in his fist until he decided not to talk to her.

 

The critical reception to The Presidents of the United States of America was mostly positive. The Critics just praised the band's quirky touch on punk pop that helped to expand the sounds on MTV and alternative radio back then especially for their look and odd singles that earned the band their place during the golden years of alternative sound domination.

 

The Presidents Of The United States Of America Track List:

 

1. Kitty

2. Feather Pluckn

3. Lump

4. Stranger

5. Boll Weevil

6. Peaches

7. Dune Buggy

8. Wake Up 

9. We Are Not Going To Make It

10. Kick Out The Jams

11. Body

12. Back Porch

13. Candy

14. Naked And Famouse

15. Twig In The Wind