Portugal the Man Thrive Due to Alaskan Work Ethic

Posted on Sep 16th 2009 4:00PM by Benjy Eisen
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Growing up in Alaska, John Gourley from the band Portugal the Man never sat still. Nor did anybody around him. For some Alaskans, a strong work ethic is a necessity for survival -- otherwise, you might starve or freeze to death. There's dinner to be hunted or gathered, wood to be chopped, and work to be done. Always. There was one rock club within driving distance, for a little while at least, (where Gourley saw Jesus Lizard play, once) but other than that, you even made your own entertainment.

So when Gourley and his band Portugal the Man relocated to Portland, Ore. to start their career in earnest, he was surprised at the difference between the way rock bands describe a strong work ethic versus what was just normal in Alaska. "I feel like we don't work enough," he tells Spinner. "And we tour year-round and we make a record a year."

Like any avid music fan, he would hear musicians talk about how the public doesn't see all the hard work that goes into being in a successful band and how it's not just playing music for an hour or two a night and going to awards shows. "It's almost frustrating, honestly, when people ask us how we can make a record a year," he says. "I always feel like asking how bands can be so lazy -- all they do is play music. That's what they do. My dad builds houses. It's not like he builds one house a year and then goes, 'Well, it's a house. People are going to grow old in it."
His dad did, actually, lay his hammer down for one weekend, this past August, to watch his son's band perform at Outside Lands in San Francisco. Playing the festival was big deal, but you can bet that, come Monday, dad was back at work.

"It's just the way things work up there," says Gourley. "People never sit still. You never want to sit still. It's fun that we get to make music. We have such a great opportunity, why not do something with it? Even if people don't like it, we're happy to be doing it."

Lucky for him, people do like it. Portugal the Man is currently not sitting still-- they're touring the country in support of their latest CD, 'The Satanic Satanist' and then, they'll tour some more.