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Musical Mavericks Hail From Wasilla

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By CURTIS ROSS cross@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

Updated:

TAMPA - John Gourley's band used to be the biggest thing ever to come from Wasilla, Alaska.

"Really? I didn't even know," says Gourley with a laugh, on the phone from a pre-tour stop in Southern California.

Once known to discerning indie rock fans as the birthplace of Gourley's outfit, Portugal. The Man, Wasilla now is famous as the city whose former mayor, Gov. Sarah Palin, is the running mate of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Gourley emphasizes that Portugal isn't a political band. He did, though, post an essay critical of Palin on the band's Web site soon after her nomination.

Nevertheless, Palin might appreciate that her fellow citizens are genuine mavericks in the musical sense.

Over three albums, Portugal. The Man (the period is part of the name) has made unpredictability its only constant.

The band's music is a dense stew of R&B, electro-beats, Led Zeppelin stomps, plaintive folk, dream-pop guitars and anything else that adds flavor to the recipe.

"Every time we go in to record, we say, 'Let's make a soul record.' It hasn't happened yet," Gourley says.

Says him. According to Alternative Press, "Censored Colors," The Man's latest album, "crackles with salt-of-the earth soul inspiration" and "establishes Portugal. The Man as one of the truly great bands of this generation."

Singer-guitarist Gourley and his band mates - bassist Zachery Carothers, keyboardist Ryan Neighbors and drummer-percussionist Jason Sechrist - began crafting their sound in the studio, then had to figure out how to play it live.

The band's 2006 debut, "Waiter: 'You Vultures!'" was constructed using "hip-hop production techniques. Everything was chopped up and sampled," Gourley says.

"When we went out to play the songs live, we found it was really hard to do," Gourley says. "We tried using samplers and iPods and four-tracks. It finally came down to us just throwing out the samplers and machines and just jamming and seeing what happened."

The live experience led to the band "stripping everything away for 'Church Mouth,'" its 2007 sophomore effort. Although still fiercely eclectic, the album emphasized the band's heavy but swinging hard rock side.

For "Censored Colors," Gourley took an even more radical approach - he wrote whole songs with chords for the first time.

"It's been really fun to see just how music works over the last three records," says Gourley. "It's great to see how the songs can be built up in the studio and then how much we can strip away and still play them."

Musical accessibility began at home, Gourley says.

The new album is "a thank you to our parents and families for making us listen to oldies radio," he says.

ON TOUR

Portugal. The Man

WITH: Earl Greyhound and Wintersleep

WHEN: 8 p.m., Wednesday

WHERE: The Orpheum, 1902 Avenida Republica de Cuba (14th Street), Tampa; (813) 248-9500

COST: $23

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568.

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