Visual Instincts
People are always asking me about the lyrics, says John Baldwin Gourley, leader and principal songwriter of Alaskan outfit Portugal The Man. But to me, theyre really literal. Though he favors suggestive lyrics, Gourley, a painter since childhood who designs all the bands visuals (CD covers, T-shirts, etc.), approaches his imagery in clearly defined visual terms. When Im writing, he explains, Im writing from the way I see the people in the songs moving about, the way they talk. If you read the lyrics, they come out more visually. Theyre not really meant to be words.
A jangly mix of post-hardcore, progressive and psychedelic influences, Portugal The Man started as Gourleys solo brainchild while he was still fronting the hardcore band Anatomy of a Ghost. Gourley set out to find that elusive middle ground between the Beatles and Wu Tang. He quickly veered into other areas, soon pulling fellow Anatomy of a Ghost refugee and childhood friend, Zach Carothers, into the mix.
Listeners wary of PTMs unabashed resemblance to the Mars Volta might also find themselves enticed not only by the individual group sound straining to get through the grooves on just-released disc, Church Mouth, but also by the bands adventurous live show. Not content to merely change up the setlist every night, Gourley and company (who appear as a six-piece this time around) throw out the set list altogether and also invite any musicians who happen to be on tour with them to join in and integrate themselves into the show as recurring special guests.
We basically try to throw each other off as much as possible, Gourley chuckles. Whatever song starts is the song were going to play. We do rehearse those jams before we go out there, though. Thats an awful thing when a jam session just starts out of nowhere. Theres definitely a place for that, and thats actually what we did when we first went to Germany. It was like, Holy shit, weve got to play for an hour and a half, instead of the 25 minutes that we brought with us. We were headlining shows we had no idea we were going to headline, so we just started jamming. And thats actually what developed the band and made it what it is now.
It made us appreciate things like the James Brown, one-time, two-time shit, he adds. Those bands are sitting in a rehearsal space going over what theyre going to do. Its not necessarily whats going to happen live, but theyre prepared. On Church Mouth, Gourley addresses politics and religion more than hes ever allowed himself in the past, but you can still expect his signature esoteric touch.
I dont really care to avoid it at this point, he says. But its also something Im never going to talk about. There are designated speakers for that. Hopefully, Rage Against The Machine really is getting back together, because people like that dont come along every year. But Ive just realized I can say what I want to say. Even if there isnt an argument about it, I know the outcome, which is: Were both right.
Aug. 13, Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. Bway & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 7, $10/$12 (also Aug. 14 at Maxwells).