Intuition, Creative Freedom & Doing What You Love with Chris Ballew

Today’s episode is going to rock your world … pun fully intended because today’s guest is an actual rock star. You may remember a band called Presidents of the United States of America. They took the world by storm in 1995 with their self titled album, Presidents of the United States of America playing songs like Lump and Peaches. Yes, that’s right. My guest today is frontman Chris Ballew.

Chris and I have been friends for years, including collaborating on a music video together and at least one live performance (gotta listen to find out ;). Of course we get into his musical journey, a meteoric rise to success, and then realizing something was missing. We take some deep dives into Chris’ creative process, including his method for capturing his small bits and later using those to write new works, including his new project Casper Babypants.

In this episode:

• Consider what kind of artist you are and how you relate to other artists. For years Chris played in bands, but what he learned about himself is his work is actually solo.
• Don’t censor yourself while you’re creating. Get it out, no matter how crazy or ridiculous or unusual and then look back later. For years Chris didn’t allow himself to write on certain topics because it seemed silly. It wasn’t until he realized that was a false limitation that it help unlock a new level for him.
• How staying curious with a childlike imagination will give you fresh perspectives.