For those on the outside, it might seem like the pinnacle of Chris Ballew’s creative life would be the fame he achieved as the front man for his alternative rock ‘n’ roll band, The Presidents Of The United States Of America. That group, perhaps most well known for the hits, “Peaches” and “Lump,” though, is not what Ballew himself considers to be his career achievement. Rather, he says, PUSA was merely part of an “arc” that eventually led him to his 2020 Grammy-nominated family music project, Caspar Babypants.
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“I phrase it as ‘the end of a long search,’” says Ballew, who has been writing and producing popular songs like “Stompy The Bear” and “The Stump Hotel” under the Caspar Babypants moniker for a decade. “My whole life, I felt like I was searching for a way to make music that was transparent as far as how it related to who I really am.”
Ballew wrote and released a total of six studio albums with PUSA but despite the success, he says, something was missing. And while the band helped him tap into his creative, musical and even goofy side with its at-times-silly lyrics (“She’s lump, she’s lump, she’s lump, she’s in my head!”), the band ultimately didn’t satisfy what the songwriter needed from art and music going forward. So, in the early 2000s, he began making a shift.
Ballew was inspired deeply by the artwork of his now-wife, Kate Endle, whose distinct, approachable images of bugs, trees and animals unlocked an expressive mood or vibe in Ballew, freeing something in the artist that he’d always wanted to be in touch with.
“I knew she was somebody I needed to be with,” Ballew says. “I didn’t know why exactly, but I knew it. Her work spoke to the innocent little part of me trying to be found. Instead of trying to be a cool guy in a cool rock band, I wanted to be a silly little childlike man.”
Ballew will digitally release the latest Caspar Babypants record, Bug Out!, on May 1st and physically on May 8th. The 20-song album, which features titles like “pickle holiday” and “fuzzy buzzy buzzing bug,” is rich with expert musicianship and complex writing. Yet, the album, like the other 15 Caspar Babypants albums before it, are suited for a full family, from infant to parent, not just kids. And while Ballew doesn’t sit down to write a song for a family, per se, his tunes work perfectly for them.
“I make music that makes me feel innocent and childlike, nurturing that part of me,” Ballew says. “I make music for myself but it fits for children because I am a child deep down. I’m not writing songs that I think children want to hear, exactly. I’m writing songs that make me happy. When I record a song and start moving it into its final shape, that’s when I make critical decisions based on what a family needs.”
As a kid, The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the first record to really speak to Ballew, who began playing piano at 4-years-old and dabbled in becoming a professional concert pianist. He says that particular album transported him to different creative places in his own mind. He “hallucinated little scenes” listening to the diverse collection of songs, Ballew says. And it’s a gift he tries to offer on the music he makes now.
When it comes to Caspar Babypants songs, the joy for many is the blend of complexity and simplicity. The songs aren’t just immature repetitions with comical sound effects. Rather, some are 12-bar blues, some are covers of The Beatles or Tom Petty of Donna Summer, some are nursery rhymes or intricate lullabies. And delivering these complex genres with digestible stories is the delightful product Ballew gives his listeners (and video jukebox viewers).
“I do feel like I’m at the top of my game as a musician,” he says. “I have figured out a lot of things in terms of arranging, recording, mixing, mastering and sequencing songs. I still definitely make albums.”
Ballew, a longtime musician, is also a student of music. He studies old standards, chants and work songs. The time-tested sonic skeletons of these compositions can offer a type of structure upon which Ballew can put his signature Caspar Babypants flair. It’s the stuff that’s helped Ballew grow a catalogue of nearly 400 songs, a large fan base and a recent Grammy nomination. And his is the kind of music that his fans will continue coming back to as they have kids and grandkids of their own.
“I’ve been on a long search for my true musical voice,” Ballew says. “And I didn’t need the Grammy’s to confirm that I’ve landed in the right spot. But it sure did feel good to have that kind of institution back what I’m doing.”
