A trio of fun-loving popsters from Seattle, the Presidents of the United States of America provided an alternative to the dysfunctional grunge that made their hometown famous. The band's self-titled debut album was packed to the gills with some of the mid-'90s' silliest and snappiest tunes — all in the key of C#.

Childhood friends Chris Ballew and Dave Dederer had played together under various identities during the ‘80s. It was 1990 before they finally settled on the name the Presidents of the United States of America. “It was the longest name we could think of,” explained Dederer.

Expanded to a threesome with the addition of drummer Jason Finn in 1993, PUSA (the acronym by which the band is often referred) released a ten-song cassette that quickly became a top seller around Seattle. Their first album for the indie Pop Llama label followed. PUSA's infectious melodies and pile-driving rhythms caught the ears of the suits at Columbia, who signed the band in 1995. Surprisingly, the album's first single, “Lump” (about a female creature of unspecified origin who “sat alone in a buggy marsh”), promptly went to the top of Billboard's Modern Rock chart, taking the album right along with it. Within a year, the Presidents and their single-key repertoire were double Platinum.

The band split after its 1996 album, The Presidents of the United States of America 2, with Ballew forming a new project, the Giraffes, in 1998. But maybe the pull of the 2000 election was too much for the former chief executives: the guys reunited that year to make Freaked Out and Small for the diminutive Music-Blitz label. These days Finn beats the traps for a variety of Northwest outfits, while Ballew churns out new music from his home studio, with help from his new sidekick Tad Hutchison.

“You play for years and years and try to put together likely sounding combinations of musicians,” reflects Dederer, who still connects with old pal Ballew from time to time. “And even the best plans often result in humdrum results. But when you do find some people you have some chemistry with, it's really a gift.”

We'd love to hear your suggestions regarding which artists and bands to profile in “Lost and Found.” So if you're wondering what happened to a favorite act from the past, drop us a line at onstageeditorial@primediabusiness.com.