The Presidents of the United States of America have nothing to do with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
The band’s new CD, “These Are the Good Times People,” is filled with “joy pop” tunes that are out of step with the doom-and-gloom of the campaign trail.
The band is happier now because things just feel right. Times are good.
“There’s no getting back to that time, that was weird,” drummer Jason Finn said of the craziness of the late ’90s, when singer, songwriter and “basitarist” Chris Ballew — burned out by the pace of touring and the pressures of being on a major label — quit, essentially putting the trio on hiatus.
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“What’s happening now is more realistic, more organic. We needed to get back to where we actually belonged — which is right here, comfortable and doing it on all our own terms. But we do like all the money,” Finn said.
“These Are the Good Times People” was released in March. The group also kicked off its “Good Times” tour in March, and it stops in Chicago on Friday.
The band is now made up of Ballew, Finn and “guitbassist” Andrew McKeag (who replaced original member Dave Dederer). With the release of “Good Times,” McKeag, a Seattle guitarist and club booker who has played with the band for years, becomes a full-fledged member.
“He brings energy to the band. Lots of energy,” Ballew said.
Though the band was formed 15 years ago, the audiences it attracts are still young.
“What surprised me when I started playing with this band is that the audience is the same age as they were when I was a guitar tech in the Fastbacks 10 years ago,” McKeag said. “I mean, it’s the same age group, the same excitement.”
The band prides itself on staying in character while incorporating a variety of styles.
“As a band, it’s fun not to be limited to something like, say, what Kiss does,” Finn said. “That’s not a knock on them, but they’ve got a narrow thing they can do. And we can do all these other styles. It’s fun to mix them all up.”
Looking back on the creative challenges that led to his quitting the group in 1997, Ballew said:
“My whole creative process got invaded by the business end of things. So I couldn’t sit down and just play for the joy of it. I had to get back around to making music for the right reasons.”
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The Presidents of the United States of America
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.