Editing Chris Ballew (section)

==Biography==
===Early life and musical beginnings===
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Ballew grew up in Seattle and attended middle and high school at [[Bush School (Washington)|Bush School]], where he met [[Dave Dederer]], with whom he would later form [[The Presidents of the United States of America (band)|the Presidents of the United States of America]]. As a child, he was musically inspired by [[the Beatles]].<ref>{{cite web|title=I'm Chris Ballew, aka Caspar Babypants, and This Is How I Parent |url=https://lifehacker.com/im-chris-ballew-aka-caspar-babypants-and-this-is-how-1830039399 |website=lifehacker.com |date=October 29, 2018 |access-date=May 6, 2025}}</ref> In the late 1980s and early '90s, Ballew lived in [[Boston]], where he performed as a [[street musician]] in a duo called Egg with Phil Franklin (later of [[Caroliner Rainbow]] and [[Sunburned Hand of the Man]]).<ref>[http://pusabase.com/bandography.html Chris Ballew Bandography], accessed August 19, 2010.</ref> Many of Ballew's songs with Egg would become well-known Presidents songs, most notably "Naked and Famous", which is performed by Egg as a bonus track on a 2005 reissue of the Presidents' [[eponymous]] [[The Presidents of the United States of America (album)|debut album]]. The two members of Egg were also part of the experimental triple-[[bass guitar]] ensemble Balls, which released a 12-inch EP in 1991.  While in Boston, Ballew also played briefly with [[Mary Lou Lord]], and with [[Mark Sandman]] of [[Treat Her Right]] and [[Morphine (band)|Morphine]], in a duo called Supergroup, in which they developed the oddly-stringed instruments that would become a staple of both the Presidents' and Morphine's sound.

===The Presidents of the United States of America===
Ballew moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, where he shared an apartment with musician [[Beck]] and played in his live band. Ballew told ''[[Seattle Weekly]]'' that playing with Beck "was the beginning of my professional career as a guy getting paid to make music."<ref>{{cite web |title=Marco Collins picks up the pieces |date=December 28, 2010 |last=Kornelis |first=Chris |url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-12-29/music/marco-collins-picks-up-the-pieces |website=[[Seattle Weekly]] |access-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref> He returned to his native Washington in 1993 and started the Presidents of the United States of America. The band released six studio albums, then split up in July 2015.

In 1998, Ballew released a solo album credited to the Giraffes. The recording project turned into a band between 1999 and 2000. For the live version of the Giraffes, Ballew was joined by Jason Staczek (organ, clarinet) and Mike Musburger (drums).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pusabase.com/songography_giraffes.html|title=Songography – the Giraffes (Chris Ballew from the Presidents of the USA / PUSA) Hurley) – is It Christmas Yet?}}</ref>

===Caspar Babypants===
Ballew's first brush with children's music came in 2002, when he recorded and donated an album of traditional children's songs to the nonprofit Program for Early Parent Support, titled ''PEPS Sing a Long!''{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} Although this was a positive experience for him, he did not consider making music for children until he met his wife, [[collage]] artist Kate Endle.<ref>{{Citation |title=Exclusive: Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America (aka Caspar Babypants)! |url=http://www.celebrityparentsmag.com/2009/10/exclusive-.html#more |accessdate=September 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718112751/http://www.celebrityparentsmag.com/2009/10/exclusive-.html#more |archivedate=July 18, 2010 }}</ref> Her art inspired Ballew to consider making music that "sounded like her art looked", as he has said. Ballew began writing original songs and digging up nursery rhymes and folk songs in the public domain to interpret and make his own.<ref>{{Citation| title = Chris Ballew's Back with Caspar Babypants| url = http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-04-29/music/toddler-rock/| accessdate = September 6, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090505060926/http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-04-29/music/toddler-rock| archive-date = May 5, 2009| url-status = dead}}</ref> The first album, ''Here I Am!'', was recorded during the summer of 2008 and released in February 2009.

In 2009, Ballew launched a project targeted toward toddlers, called Caspar Babypants.<ref>{{Citation|title=Chris Ballew's Back with Caspar Babypants|url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-04-29/music/toddler-rock/|accessdate=April 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505060926/http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-04-29/music/toddler-rock|archive-date=May 5, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ballew uses a three-string acoustic guitar when performing Caspar Babypants songs. Caspar Babypants has released numerous albums, all with exclamatory titles such as ''Here I Am!'', ''More Please!'', ''This Is Fun!'', ''Sing Along!'', ''Hot Dog!'', ''I Found You!'', ''Baby Beatles!'', ''Rise and Shine!'', ''Night Night!'', ''[[Beatles Baby!]]'', ''Away We Go!'', ''Winter Party!'', ''Jump for Joy!'', ''Keep It Real!'', ''Flying High!'', ''Bug Out!'', and ''Happy Heart!''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Say it ain't so! Caspar Babypants has recorded his last album |url=https://www.seattleschild.com/say-it-aint-so-caspar-babypants-has-recorded-his-last-album/ |website=seattleschild.com |date=November 13, 2021 |access-date=September 11, 2023}}</ref>

===Other projects===
In 2015, fifteen years after the last official release, Chris Ballew put together ''We Hear Music'', a 33-track double album consisting of previously unreleased Giraffes material. The record was shared privately with a few fans through the internet, with a note allowing the recipients to redistribute the music freely.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pusabase.com/wordpress/2015/05/05/torrent-alert-the-giraffes-we-hear-music-2cd/|title = Giraffes – We Hear Music – 2CD Unreleased Studio Album &#124;| date=May 5, 2015 }}</ref>

Ballew also publishes as a solo artist under his own name. His first album, ''I Am Not Me'', came out in July 2021. In 2022, he released two albums, ''Soul Unfolded'' and ''Primitive God''.

In June 2022, he performed "[[Peaches (The Presidents of the United States of America song)|Peaches]]" with [["Weird Al" Yankovic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2191712/watch-weird-al-cover-peaches-with-presidents-of-the-united-states-of-americas-chris-ballew/news/ |title=Watch Weird Al Cover "Peaches" with Presidents of the United States of America's Chris Ballew |website=stereogum.com |date=June 29, 2022 |access-date=July 5, 2022}}</ref>