Chris Ballew is probably most familiar to folks of my generation as one of the guys behind the Presidents of the United States of America, who came out of the Pacific Northwest and had a number of alternative rock hits in the mid-'90s. And while the Presidents are still going strong (Ballew answered these questions in the midst of a European tour with the Presidents), he's turning some of his attention to making music for the younger set via Caspar Babypants. If the giddiness of his debut Here I Am! album or his series of YouTube videos hasn't convinced you how excited Ballew is by his efforts in the family music genre, this interview will. Zooglobble: What did you listen to or play instrument-wise growing up? Chris Ballew: I guess I was a bit of a piano wonder kid. I started with a pro teacher when I was 4 and went until I was 14 and discovered the awesome power and majesty of the ELECTRIC GUITAR! Then it all changed focus but I still have the piano in my bones. What artists influenced you as a musician in the Presidents? The Beatles, Boston, Lenny Kravitz, The Stooges, and Weird Al. I wanted to make a Frankenstein’s monster of all those artists and I think I actually did it. So it has the love and peace intent of the Beatles, the arena rock swagger (it's in there!) of Boston, the clean articulate simple production of Lenny Kravitz (the early stuff), the fuzz and scrape of the Stooges, and the oddball lyrics of Weird Al.