“We were very, very isolated up there. Before the internet all we had was oldies stations and top 40 radio,” he says. “Luckily our parents had amazing record collections but we had no idea about underground music at all. If it was underground it got up to Alaska about ten years later.”
In 2004 Gourley and Carouthers relocated to the bohemian mecca of Portland, Oregon to enhance the opportunities for the freshly conceived Portugal. The Man. Portland is crawling with musical activity and the move south hastened the band’s development.
“When we moved down to Portland it was just crazy,” says Carouthers. “I couldn’t believe that I was going and watching these amazing bands I’d definitely heard of that were playing some cool little bar for like three dollars. Seeing all these bands just get in a van and go travel across the country playing shows every night, it really inspired me to go out and do it.”
In the last few decades Portland has given rise to many leading indie music figures, such as Elliot Smith, The Shins and Blitzen Trapper. The city maintains a strong underground scene, which Carouthers believes to be a creative impetus.
“You try to surround yourself with people that are very talented and it definitely pushes you. I grew up snowboarding a lot, John and I both did. We would always go with the older guys, the guys that are pretty much professional snowboarders in Alaska. They would always push us more to do everything, so I think that’s a big thing to have people that you look up to that are doing something right.”
After putting out five LPs through various indie labels Portugal. The Man signed to major label Atlantic Records for the release of 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud. Their relationship with Atlantic continues and the band’s latest record Evil Friends is bolstered by the production smarts of Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse. Carouthers reveals their continual rise hasn’t pleased everyone in their adopted hometown.
“A lot of those people in Portland, they don’t want to get big, they want to stay as this ‘cool small band’. And I don’t. I want to play for a lot of people, I want to travel as much as I can. You know, I get to go to Australia in January and spend a few weeks there travelling around the country playing shows. That’s fucking awesome.”
Carouthers’ intention to broaden Portugal. The Man’s audience is not a wanton quest for stardom. “I would love to be able to turn on any top 40 radio station and have the top 40 songs be awesome,” he enthuses. “There’s always been artists like that, that are good. Like David Bowie – how many hits does that guy have? Nobody ever questions his artistic intent. It’s stuff like that that’s really inspiring. The Beatles – listen to the White Album. That’s one of the most popular records of all time. You can write popular stuff and still have it be fucking amazing.”
Pop songs often rely on concision and a certain hypnotic quality to succeed. It’s a delicate balance and artists who miss the mark can be subjected to harsh scrutiny. Carouthers discusses the nuanced craft of successful pop music.
“I’ve been in prog-rock bands, I love that kind of stuff, but writing a seven-and-a-half minute epic prog song is a lot easier than writing a three minute pop song. Take something like Ain’t No Sunshine. It’s got pretty much one progression, one hook, one groove, it’s two minutes and 30 second long and it takes me so many places in that two minutes 30 seconds. I just think that’s beautiful and that’s hard to do. That’s what we’re striving to do.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
