• 2004-

  John GourleyLead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drum machine2004-

  Zach CarothersBass, percussion, backing vocals2004-2024

  Kyle O'QuinKeyboards, guitar2007, 2012–2025

  Jason SechristDrums, percussion2008-2023

  Zoe ManvilleBacking vocals, percussion2008-

  Kane RitchotteDrums, percussion2012-2013

  Eric HowkGuitar, bass2015-2025
• Portugal. The Man are an alternative rock band formed in Wasilla, Alaska in 2004, fronted by singer-guitarist John Gourley. The band relocated to Portland, Oregon early in their career, but Alaska has remained central to their identity and music, most explicitly on their 2025 album Shish, titled after the Alaskan village of Shishmaref.
• Gourley grew up on Knick-Goose Bay Road and Point Mackenzie in Alaska. "I loved exploring old, abandoned missile silos and climbing mountains in Hatcher Pass. It was wild," he told UK newspaper The Sun.
• Growing up off the grid shaped Gourley's musical education. "I grew up with dog-mushing parents, which I know is a bizarre thing for anybody outside of Alaska," he told Songfacts. "We were off the grid our whole lives until I left. Like, an hour drive to town. Sometimes a two-hour drive to town. That's four hours, both ways. So we would just listen to oldies radio."
• Both of Gourley's parents competed in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race; the grueling annual long-distance race across Alaska. The family's first sled dog came from Herbie Nayokpuk, the legendary Inupiat musher from Shishmaref known as the "Shishmaref Cannonball," who was inducted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame.
• The band originated with demos recorded by Gourley on the music production software Cakewalk in a tiny studio. When he sent them out hoping to find a band, a group in the Alaskan city of Palmer heard them and asked to use his band name. "They'd already played shows using my songs," he told The Sun. "I never expected to be a singer but eventually joined them, and we got signed after our fifth show."
• Why Portugal. The Man? "As an Alaskan kid I'd spin a globe and look at Portugal, the furthest place from me," explained Gourley. "Naming my solo project after a country made sense, as a country represents a group of people. The period is because I didn't know it should probably have been a comma."
• The band were prolific in their early years, releasing an album a year between 2006 and 2011. Their breakthrough came with "Feel It Still" (2017), which reached #4 on the Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2018.
• When accepting their Grammy for "Feel It Still," bassist Zach Carothers dedicated the award to Indigenous Alaskan communities: "We'd like to rep this for all the kids in the villages; Shishmaref, Barrow, Bethel, all the Indigenous people in Alaska and around the world, you're beautiful, your culture's beautiful, thank you for inspiring us."
• After signing with major label Atlantic Records for the albums Woodstock (2017) and Chris Black Changed My Life (2022), the band parted ways with the label and Gourley founded KNIK Records, named after the Alaskan community near where he grew up, to release Shish.

Comments

More Songfacts:

UnbelievableEMF

The EMF song "Unbelievable" samples the raunchy comic Andrew Dice Clay saying, "What the f--k was that!"

Shut Up And DanceWalk the Moon

Walk The Moon vocalist Nicholas Petricca got the idea for "Shut Up and Dance" when he and his girlfriend were taking forever to get drinks at a Los Angeles club bar. Petricca was getting frustrated, so his girlfriend told him to, "Shut up and dance with me!'"

Mercedes BoyPebbles

"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.

Soul ManSam & Dave

"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?Culture Club

"Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" was written by Boy George about his relationship with Culture Club's drummer Jon Moss.

Cracklin' RosieNeil Diamond

Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie" is about a bottle of wine.

Editor's Picks

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.