The three-piece group's initial lineup consisted of vocalist and bassist Chris Ballew, drummer Jason Finn, and guitarist Dave Dederer.

[1] The group broke up for the first time in late 1997, since Ballew wanted a solo career;[2] they performed a farewell concert early the next year.

Shortly after, Ballew and Dederer added drummer Jason Finn; the band played their first show as a trio at Seattle's Romper Room in early December 1993.

The Presidents turned down an offer to perform on Saturday Night Live in the fall of 1995, because the date conflicted with Ballew's wedding,[citation needed] but later made an appearance on the eleventh episode of Mad TV in January 1996.

They began the program with a skit called "Public Domain", performed "Lump" later in the show, and "When the Saints Go Marching In" during the end credits.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" was included on the soundtrack for The Wedding Singer, while "Cleveland Rocks", originally recorded by Ian Hunter, was chosen as the theme song for The Drew Carey Show.

Another song on the album, "Man (Opposable Thumb)", appeared in the Nickelodeon-produced motion picture Good Burger but was not directly written or performed for the film.

In 1998, the group appeared on the album Happy Hour by Japanese female rockers Shonen Knife, singing backing vocals on the song "Sushi Bar".

Because of the single's popularity, the label convinced the band to release a new album; Freaked Out & Small was issued that year to critical praise.

The band did not tour or promote the album, which quietly sold 25,000 copies as MUSICBLITZ, an early digital music player, quickly went bankrupt.

In August 2004, they issued Love Everybody on their newly formed indie label, PUSA Inc. Two singles were released through the iTunes Store.

Seattle guitarist Andrew McKeag joined PUSA in late 2004 as an occasional live-performance stand-in for Dederer, who had expressed an interest in spending more time with his family.

On March 5, 2011, the Presidents performed a new tribute song, "Can't Stop (Catchin' 'Em All)", at the Nintendo World launch event for the video game Pokémon Black and White.

[12][better source needed] Since the beginning of the project, fans were able to pledge for various items in addition to the digital and physical copies of the two albums, such as posters, lyric sheets, and instruments signed by the band.

In 2009, Ballew began recording and performing as children's artist Caspar Babypants and has since released numerous albums under that moniker.

Different pledge tier levels were available that provided extras such as the ability to get the LP signed, anniversary t-shirts, enamel pins, etc.