"It doesn't count unless it sticks,"

said Chris Ballew, lead singer and two-string basitarist for the Presidents of

the United States of America, just before going on stage at the Liquid Room in

Tokyo. He was talking about the wet tea bag that he had just thrown against the

wall (sticking), but he may as well have been summing up the band's philosophy

behind its music. The Presidents want to write songs that stick with you, and

seem to be doing quite a good job. In late April, they were in Tokyo headlining

two sold out shows in an event presented by Tower Records called "Towering

Inferno.

The Presidents, whose debut CD has sold over 2,000,000 copies in

the US, have broken the 70,000 mark in Japan, an impressive number for a

previously unknown foreign group. They appeal to the Japanese because their

lyrics are easy to figure out (although their pervasive stream of non-sequiturs

may make comprehension difficult for some non-native English speakers), and the

sense of fun that underscores everything they do comes through loud and clear

in their upbeat music.

While in Tokyo during their first trip to Japan, the

band was kept extremely busy, and always seemed to be doing two things at

once--taking part in one interview after another, followed by photo sessions,

autograph sessions, question-and-answer sessions, and performances. During one

of the days they were here, I spent most of the day with them; they followed a

lunch hour sound check at the Liquid Room with a one hour interview at their

hotel with the Japanese magazine CD Journal, simultaneously signing

autographs that were given away later in the day. The band--Ballew,

guit-bassist Dave Dederer, and drummer Jason Finn--were seated around a table

in a hospitality room at their hotel, passing Japanese autograph paper (a fancy

white square of cardboard framed with gold, about the size of a record cover)

across the table as they talked. Ballew drew a small cartoon next to every

signature, something the comic book-crazy Japanese were sure to love.

Then

they posed for a photo session with a photographer who continually reminded

them that they should be "charming." The band obliged by running through a

range of poses for the camera. This was followed immediately by another

interview with the Japanese magazine Boon, during which Ballew amused

himself throughout by using aluminum foil to make imprints of his face.

The

Presidents of the USA, who have been yo-yoing around the globe at the behest of

their label, Sony Records, seem to be greeting their sudden success with

relentless good cheer, and not a hint of pretension. While the band was being

interviewed, their manager, Staci Slater, sifted through a massive pile of

faxes, asking the band their opinion when necessary, as in, "Do you want

tickets to game two of the playoffs?" To which Dederer, while being

photographed, humbly responded: "I'd definitely feel like a rock star if we

could do that.

Ballew obligingly posed for pictures with fans who were

waiting outside their hotel, and jumped off the stage following their show the

next day at the Liquid Room to shake hands with the screaming teenyboppers

smashed against the railing in the front. In similar fashion, drummer Jason

Finn tossed cans of backstage beer into the audience, and Dederer held his

guitar out over the crowd and encouraged audience members strum

away.

During their interviews, the Presidents repeatedly brought up the

fact that they want to write great pop songs, "Like the Steve Miller Band,"

said Dederer. "He's our idol." Ballew, who is now building a home studio, also

noted that the album he returns to constantly for inspiration is Sgt.

Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. He said his current favorite album was the

Beatles Anthology II, which he had been listening to in an effort to

divine what he called the "golden secrets" of his favorite songwriters, Lennon

and McCartney.

The Presidents of the USA consistently give the impression

of being serious, earnest, and dedicated to ensuring that you have a good time.

Ballew told me he likes "to put all my energy into the performance, and then go

home and rest." Everything about their sound seems designed to enhance the ease

with which the listener can appreciate their message of simple pleasures:

lyrics about monkeys, peaches, kitties and bugs; fewer strings on the guitar

and bass to simplify the song structures, and make it easier for the band to

jump around on stage; small cymbals on the drum kit to minimize interference

with the vocals.

Following their afternoon of interviews and photo session,

the Presidents went to Tower Records in Shibuya, the largest record store in

the world, for a free show on the 8th floor "event space." The band was greeted

by a crowd of about 300 screaming kids, mostly high school girls, who had to

pick up tickets to this show in advance, and before beginning their performance

were engaged in a question and answer session with the audience. The band

responded in characteristic good humor.

Audience Member: "What is your

favorite Japanese food?

Ballew: "Peach Sushi.

When Ballew, who keeps

what little hair he has cut extremely short, was told that he looks like

Midnight Oil vocalist Peter Garrett, he responded that he thought of himself as

more like a "small, white Michael Jordan.

To be continued...