“There are many more famous Alaskan dog sledders than pop stars,” smiled John Gourley, singer, guitarist, songwriter and frontman for indie-rock band Portugal. The Man. “It’s not that Alaska has no music scene but it’s mostly metal or bluegrass. Things have got more diverse since the Internet blew up.”
John hopes his band might add their unusual name to that of Jewel when people talk about pop stars from Alaska. Not that there was much chance of this happening during the first 13 years of their career.
They did have some success on the US album charts, most notably with 2013’s Evil Friends which reached number 28 on the Billboard 200. But the band never had an entry on Billboard’s Hot 100 until their 2017 single, Feel It Still, saw Portugal. The Man hit number four in America.
The song has now gone top ten on numerous charts throughout the world and recently earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance.
“We never expected anything like this to happen,” John remarked. “We’d never been anywhere near the Hot 100. It’s really cool that the song connects with so many people. Our attitude is we get in a van, go play our music and have a good time. Everything which has happened with Feel It Still is a massive bonus.”
John might have at least had an inkling that the song could be something special. It uses the melody from Please Mr. Postman, a chart-topping smash for both The Marvelettes in 1961 and The Carpenters in 1975.
“Anytime you borrow, or I should say buy, the melody from such a great song, you’d think it should work. Our compositions are usually very full, we’ll pile in everything we can. But Feel It Still came about so naturally, just a bass and vocal.
“There is something really natural about this song. It was written so quickly. It reflects every aspect of who we are as a band. It’s not hiding behind anything.”
Hiding his talent is something 36-year-old John was prone to do as he was growing up. He played music with friends in high school but had no thoughts of fronting a band until he received a phone call from some friends who had moved down the Pacific coast to Portland, Oregon.
“They had formed a band called Anatomy of a Ghost and asked me to sing with them. To this day, I have no idea why they asked me to do it because I had never been a singer.
“I had never wanted to be a frontman and had never thought about leaving home. But it was a stage in my life when I just decided to do things which I hadn’t previously considered. I accepted the offer and moved to Portland.”
Despite positive reviews for their only album, Evanesce, Anatomy of a Ghost split up after just two years together. John and bass player Zach Carothers had already begun developing musical ideas as Portugal. The Man before Anatomy of a Ghost broke up.
“Zach and I are both from Wasilla, Alaska. We returned home after Anatomy of a Ghost folded, recruited more musicians to fill out the band and then went back to Portland. This was in 2004. Since then, musicians have come and gone. Our drummer, Jason (Sechrist), has left twice before but is back with us again. Only Zach and I have been constantly in the band.”
Through a busy touring schedule and prolific recording, six albums in as many years, Portugal. The Man gradually built a solid fan base. Their first three albums actually proved more popular overseas than in America but 2009’s The Satanic Satanist gave the band their first significant chart success. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard 200 and number 38 on the Top Rock chart.
Their next album, 2010’s American Ghetto, failed to chart but the band signed with major label, Atlantic Records, before the release of 2011’s In The Mountain, In The Cloud. The promotional power of Atlantic saw the album reach number 42 on the Billboard 200 and make the top 12 on both the Top Rock and Alternative Albums charts.
Greater success followed with Evil Friends before the band took what, for them, was an incredibly long four-year break before the 2017 release of Woodstock.
“We didn’t deliberately have a long break. We thought we’d try the approach Prince used of writing about 100 songs for an album and going from there. It didn’t work for us. We actually recorded an album which we called Gloomin + Doomin but eventually decided to scrap it. Zach was worried about all the money we’d spent on recording the songs but we all agreed we needed a fresh start.”
Inspiration for Woodstock came from a trip home to Wasilla. John’s father had attended the original Woodstock festival in 1969 and had recently rediscovered his old ticket stub.
“My dad said ‘You’ll get a kick out of this’ and he was absolutely right. Seeing the ticket stub and having dad talk to me about Woodstock gave me the focus for our record. Make an album based on the same principles of that time, frustration, rebellion and social commentary.” Woodstock proved a welcome return as far as Portugal. The Man’s fans were concerned. In addition to more success on the Billboard 200, it hit number two on both the Top Rock and Alternative Albums charts.
The band still haven’t come to terms with winning the Grammy and all the international chart success with Feel It Still.
“We’re getting silver, gold and platinum discs, in fact multi-platinum discs, from all over the world. It’s difficult to take in when you’ve been around for so long yet never had anything like this level of success.”
One thing John is very familiar with is the question asked in almost every interview, how did Portugal. The Man choose such an unusual name?
“It’s kind of an alter ego, like David Bowie with Ziggy Stardust. It’s our character to represent us as a band. We wanted the name of a country for one name to represent a group of people and Portugal was the first that came to mind. Having the period after Portugal is to state that Portugal is the man’s name and he is ‘the man.’
“It’s also a personal thing in that I keep intending to write a book about my dad and all the adventures he’s had. I want to call that ‘Portugal. The Man.’ I guess now if I ever get around to doing the book, people will probably think it’s an autobiography of the band.”
IN BRIEF
Leona Lewis / Calum Scott
It’s been two and a half years since the release of I Am, the fifth studio album from English singer Leona Lewis.
In the meantime, she has made her Broadway debut in a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Cats. But Leona is back on the pop scene now with her new single, You Are The Reason.
The track is performed as a duet with Calum Scott, who co-wrote the song. Indeed, it was originally recorded and released as Calum’s own single late last year. The accompanying video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShZ978fBl6Y.
Despite nearly 48 million YouTube views, the song did not receive the radio and television support it deserved and could only reach number 86 on the U.K. singles chart, though it did make number 14 in Scotland. Leona and Calum’s duet has already had primetime TV exposure so this augurs well for possible chart success.
As yet, there is no video for the duet but an audio posting is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=96bpvMCfBfo. Leona and Calum’s live performance on BBC Television’s The One Show can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Weh1BQYrI.
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke is about to release her first new material since 2012.
The London-born singer and actress has spent much of the intervening time working in two stage musicals, The Bodyguard and Sister Act: The Musical. She has also signed to play Svetlana in the London revival of Chess. Opening night is April 26.
It was Alexandra’s appearance last year on BBC Television’s Strictly Come Dancing which prompted her pop comeback. Her performances proved hugely popular with Alexandra eventually finishing runner-up to actor Joe McFadden.
The people at Universal recognised this popularity and signed her to their Decca Records label last December. Alexandra’s third album, The Truth Is, will be released on March 16.
Lead single, Shadow, hits record stores later this week. There is no video as yet but an audio posting of the song can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuRdWzIE0IA
FEET ON THE GROUND: “We never expected anything like this to happen,” says John Gourley, singer, guitarist, songwriter and frontman for indie-rock band Portugal. The Man of the band’s latest hit.
