Portugal. The Man has one of the most unique band names in rock 'n’ roll history, although frontman John Gourley's explanation to Ultimate-Guitar for the chosen moniker has a rather logical ring to it. Since Gourley formed the band in 2005, Portugal. The Man has released a new album each year starting with an EP in 2005 and followed by their full-length albums Walter: "You Vulture!" in 2006, Church Mouth in 2007, and their newly released Censored Colors from Equal Vision Records in 2008, which has garnered worldwide web attention from the front pages of itunes, Myspace, Yahoo’s Launch site and Alternative Press to music ezines like Absolutepunk.net, Punknews.org, JamBase.com, and our very own Ultimate-Guitar.
Gourley, who is also an accomplished painter, formed
PTM in his native Wasila, Alaska along with childhood friend
Zachary Scott Carothers on bass guitar. Both were members of the Alaska rock band
Anatomy Of A Ghost and continued to work together after
AOFG dissolved.
Gourley and
Carothers moved to Portland, Oregon and keyboardist
Ryan Neighbors and drummer
Garrett Lunceford joined them shortly thereafter.
PTM’s experimental rock style has drawn comparisons to
Mars Volta, but their penchant for soul inspired rock is unprecedented.
Gourley and
PTM have proved to be open-minded when it comes their songwriting and very much in touch with community issues that affect shifts occurring around the world.
UG: Where did the songs on Censored Colors come from? What inspired you write these songs?
John Gourley: This whole album was written with family in mind. Not just immediate but all families. The families that are built out of community and respect and work and love. We were lucky enough to record Censored Colors with our good friends Kirk Huffman and Phil Peterson, and it opened up many doors musically. They both play in a band called Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, which is made up of some of the best musicians in music. They helped this record to find the sound it needed. This album, being for family, needed to find that meeting of sounds and find the starting point that was their introduction as well as my own. Oldies radio meets everything since. It was a very fun album to make.
What is the song "1989" about?
“1989” was a song that I had written about my reaction as a small child, to the Gulf War. I was very afraid of what it was meant to bring. All I could see was atomic bombs, World War, death, it was terrifying for a boy of 8, 9 and 10. This song took the longest out of all of the tracks on Censored Colors to complete, and I think may have some of the smallest amount of lyrics. It was a song that needed to be very honest.
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| "Censored Colors was our take on music and the world." |
How did you meet Zoe Manville and does she sing lead on "Created" from Censored Colors? How was this melody created and why did you want it to sound so soft and beautiful?
I have been asked this before and I think it is hilarious to go back and listen and hear this as well. I actually sing on this track, but I do see where you find that comparison. The song was written for my brother, Levi, and his son, Cooper. It is everything my brother has taught me throughout life and everything he has always believed. He is an amazing person with some very amazing views. The song came out very quickly and very smooth, actually. This is one of my favorites just for it's birth. Kirk had come into the room while I was writing “Out and In and In and Out.” I believe and he brought up the fact that this album had no songs with finger picking, which our albums had always had to this point. Honestly, I don't know how it came out so smooth, but within 30 minutes I had this really simple line that felt the need of some Supremes-style vocals. The fastest a song has ever come together within this band. Zoe does some back ups in here as well, I believe. She has a really great voice and I am very happy we were able to get her on this album despite the distance of her home in Dublin, Ireland.
Why did you want horns on the track "New Orleans"? Did you use a horn player for those parts or did you use digital samples to reproduce the horns? How did this arrangement come together?
As with everything on this album, it was basically jammed. There are trumpets and trombones on this track that were fully played on the spot. Our friend and trumpet player in Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, Bobby, actually laid down the main trumpet line after we had left the studio. He is such a fantastic player. It was that added color that really tied this song together. We were very happy with what he did. Everything on this record is real and nothing on this record was written before the tracking of each part. It is hard to find players like this and we were lucky enough to have access to this.
Did you have any influences in soul or gospel music because you are so good at this style?
Ha, very kind to say but really we are just interpreters. Our soul is found within the subject matter and our constant jamming and growth and evolution. It is life and learning and finding ourselves. Musically it just made sense to make those references to the Beatles and Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, and The Temptations. We just really do what we are going to do at any given time. Soul is just the best route. It is always best to be honest and just let things flow. It leaves things open to live interpretations. There is a lot of love in soul. We back this.
Why did you name the album Censored Colors? Who came up with the name and what significance does the title have for you?
The idea of the title was the same as the music and the same as the art. It all went hand in hand. Censored Colors was our take on music and the world. It is the movement of the songs as well as the frustrations with genres these days. Music has become very, very unnecessarily specific and it feels very claustrophobic. It was our love for the birth of music as well. It was our shout out to the birth of rock and roll and the birth of progressive music as well as our frustrations of where it has been taken.
How did you meet Anthony Saffrey and why did you want him to sing in the parts with gang vocals?
Anthony actually played the sitar on “Lay Me Back Down,” and did an amazing job at that. This was actually very much Paul Kolderie's and Adam Taylor's idea, which was very appreciated. When we finished our work with Kirk and Phil, we had planned on finding someone to mix the record outside of all of us. I remember talking to Paul for the first time, who is a very, very nice and obviously knowledgeable and talented man, and discussing the mixing. He asked me how we wanted the album to sound, if we wanted it scary, or big, or soft, or loud and I just found this very funny. I mean, he is the man! All I could say was "just do what you like." It makes sense. I am glad he went with it and just had a good time. They added synth and sitar and some vocals and even helped a structure or two. It was a truly great collaboration from start to finish.
How was the writing process for Censored Colors different from your previous records, Church Mouth and Waiter: "You Vultures!"? What did you learn from your previous recordings that you were able to use when you recorded Censored Colors?
We took a different writing approach with the new album. Our previous records were all written off riffs. We would loop guitar tracks and piece songs together, hip hop production. This time, we wrote and tracked songs as a whole, using chord progressions to build them. We also had so many instruments at our disposal. It also helps to be friends with amazing musicians.
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| "Our soul is found within the subject matter and our constant jamming and growth and evolution." |
What was it like working with Phil Peterson and Kirk Huffman from Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground? Why did you want them to produce Censored Colors?
We had just gotten done with a short tour with Wild Orchid Children (another Kay Kay offshoot) and Kirk had come up towards the end and asked about doing an EP or split with us with the help of Phil at House of Breaking Glass. We have been friends for the last 6 years and it was pretty exciting to think about. Just the fact that we love to write and release music as much as possible, and the fact that it would be something short and sweet done with friends and fellow musicians. So, we went up to Seattle and did two demos with them. Well... at the time, it wasn't exactly demo work. I don't think we had actually planned on doing the album with them until after we got home from recording. They ended up being demos nonetheless. We were all very happy with where things had gone and after a phone call just decided to go for it.
Who came up with the visual for the album cover? What is the concept behind the image?
The album cover was very, very fun to put together. It's kind of a shout out to 2001, the dawn of man. Our friend Emily came out on tour with us and took the pictures and our friend Makenna put together the lay out. We have good friends.
How did the tour with RxBandits come about? Is there a camaraderie between the bands?
We've been talking about a tour with them for a while. We have a lot of mutual friends and we know their manager. They are an amazing rock and roll band and some of the best dudes we know.
Do you have any pre show rituals or songs that the band likes to warm up with before a show?
Not really. We started warming up our voices with “And I” in the back room, but that only lasted a week or so. We sounded better. We should do that more often.
How did the band's name, Portugal. The Man come about? Where did it come from?
We love the idea of solo projects. Names like James Brown just sound bigger than life. We were not a solo project, so we decided to create an alter ego like Ziggy Stardust or Sgt. Pepper. We wanted his name to represent all of us boys in the band, and we figured a country is one name that represents a group of people with similar ideals. We just thought Portugal would make an awesome name for a guy.
How did the members come together? What were the common interests that bonded you?
I had been wanting to start the project while i was still in Anatomy Of A Ghost. When that band ended, i asked Zach to start Portugal, we moved back to Alaska and got a few friends together and started writing songs.
Do you remember Portugal. The Man's first live show? Where was it and did the experience encourage the band to continue?
It was in Portland at the Meow Meow. Awesome fest! I think we did ok. We were all electric back then, and people seemed to dig it. I think we were pretty determined regardless.
Which artists and/or bands do you think make music that is socially significant? Do they inspire your own music?
I think we all agree that the Beatles are the best band of all time. There is probably a few people who agree. We grew up listening to them. They pretty much paved the way for any type of progressive and experimental rock.
Interview by Susan Frances
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Portugal The Man Music
Anyway, cool interview. I'll check them out.