For 30 years, the Presidents of the United States of America – known to fans as PotUSA – have blended humor and music to become cult favorites in the alt-rock scene. As the band marks its anniversary, we look back at the legacy it’s built.
“We were the alternative to the alternative,” says Chris Ballew, bass guitarist of PotUSA, in My Weekly Mixtape: A Playlist Curation Podcast with show host Brian Colburn.
During a time when the alt-rock scene was full of angst songs and bands, PotUSA brought something new to the table: humor and joy. Their self-titled debut album went triple platinum, demonstrating their unique sound and popularity.
Unlike other bands during the 90s like Nirvana and Radiohead, they brought laughter to their audience. Songs like Kitty are lyrically about a cat that a member’s roommate had that purred a lot. Another iconic song from them is Lump, which Weird Al Yankovic later parodied.
“Music can be entertaining, transformative, multifaceted, and tell all kinds of stories,” says Chris Ballew in the same podcast.
Their legacy of opening a space for rock to openly be humorous and joyful, not to take things so seriously, and to have fun with it.
“We just grew our own particular little Petri dish of happy mold,” as Chris Ballew said.
Often, artists are pushed to create serious music, but PotUSA stood out with their quirkiness and absurdity. They are a reminder that humor, joy, and weirdness can impact the rock scene just as they did.
Top 5 songs to check out
- Kitty
- Lump
- Boll Weevil
- Highway Forever
- Peaches
