John Gourley

John Baldwin Gourley

John Gourley at 2010 Sasquatch! Festival
Background information
Also known as The Fantastic The
Born 1981
Willow, Alaska, United States
Origin Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres Rock, Post-hardcore
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Guitar
Years active 2002–present
Associated acts

John Baldwin Gourley (born 1981) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Alaska. He is the lead singer and guitarist in the Portland, Oregon rock band Portugal. The Man. Gourley was previously the lead singer in screamo punk band, Anatomy of a Ghost. Gourley is also a visual artist, who often uses the alias The Fantastic The.[1]

Early life

Gourley was born in 1981 to John T. and Jennifer Gourley.[2][3] He and his two siblings grew up in Alaska moving from town to town, wherever their father's contracting business took the family.[2][4] Gourley's parents both competed in the Iditarod, and for a while the family lived in a remote "off the grid" cabin accessible only by dogsled.[2][5] He grew up helping to take care of dozens of mushing dogs.

He attended Wasilla High School, but dropped out at age 15 to study at home and work in construction with his dad.[2][6]

Gourley joined four fellow Wasilla musicians: his best friend Zach Carothers and the three members of band Nice Guy Eddie (Dewey Halpaus, Joe Simon, and Nick Simon), to form punk band Anatomy of a Ghost in 2002.[3][7] They toured across the country and released album Evanesce in October 2003 on Fearless Records. The members wanted to pursue their own ideas, however, so the band split up in May 2004. Gourley and bassist Carothers formed the nucleus of Portugal. The Man.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "About". The Fantastic The.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hopkins, Kyle (21 January 2012). "Portugal. The Man singer tends his Alaska roots". Alaska Dispatch News.
  3. 1 2 White, Caitlin (26 June 2013). "The Man Behind Portugal the Man". Pigeons and Planes.
  4. ↑ Hakata, Josh (4 October 2008). "Back home, Palin lives model life in Last Frontier". MLive. Retrieved 7 July 2015. [John T.] Gourley, who with his wife, Jennifer, raised three children in a generator-powered cabin near Wasila
  5. ↑ Jacobs, Justin (2 October 2007). "Portugal's Gourley a man of many layers". The Pitt News (University of Pittsburgh). Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Novak, Jessica (25 May 2011). "Portugal. The Phoner". Syracuse New Times – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)). [John Gourley] dropped out of school when he was 15 to build houses with his father
  7. ↑ Ressler, Casey (28 October 2002). "From humble Wasilla beginnings, the band is making it big". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
  8. ↑ Apar, Corey. "Anatomy of a Ghost - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.