Chris Ballew Net Worth, Income, Salary, Earnings, Biography

Christopher “Chris” Ballew (born May 28, 1965) is a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. He also works as a children’s artist under the moniker Caspar Babypants, which is a combination of his first and last name. In Seattle, Ballew grew up and went to The Bush School for middle and high school, where he met David Dederer, with whom he would go on to create their own band, The Presidents of the United States of America, many years later. Ballew resided in Boston throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he worked as a street musician and played as part of a duet called Egg with Phil Franklin (later of Caroliner Rainbow and Sunburned Hand of the Man). The Presidents’ Naked and Famous, performed by Egg as a bonus track on a 2005 edition of the Presidents’ eponymous first album, is one of several of Ballew’s songs written with Egg that would go on to become well-known Presidents tunes. While in Boston, Ballew collaborated with Mary Lou Lord for a brief period of time, as well as with Mark Sandman of Treat Her Right and Morphine in a duo known as Supergroup, in which they developed the oddly stringed instruments that would become a staple of both the Presidents’ and Morphine’s sound in the future. A two-string “basitar” made from an Epiphone SG-400 guitar (modified into a two-string “basitar”), as well as an Orange AD200B MK 3 200-Watt Bass Head, are used by Ballew, who is sponsored by Epiphone Guitars and Orange amplifiers. There are no distortion pedals utilised in the live performance; just the natural distortion of the amp is audible. When asked about his two-string “basitar,” Ballew acknowledges that he is “technically not a bass player,” but he does play bass lines on occasion. “A lot of the time, I strum like (on a) guitar and create chords,” he says of his style of playing. In 2009, Ballew created a concept called Caspar Babypants, which was aimed towards toddlers at the time. When Ballew performs Caspar Babypants songs, he utilises a three-string acoustic guitar as his instrument. Since his first album, Here I Am!, Caspar Babypants has produced seven full-length albums: This Is Fun!, More Please!, Sing Along!, Hot Dog!, I Found You!, and Baby Beatles! Beck’s live band also included Ballew for a period of time during the early 1990s, with the musician claiming the experience “was the beginning of my professional career as a person being paid to create music.” Ballew is married to collage artist Kate Endle, with whom he has two children.

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