Until recently, Portugal. The Man have almost exclusively belonged to the alternative and indie domains.
But with the meteoric success of recent single 'Feel It Still' they find themselves being welcomed into the luminescent world of pop music.
Since their beginnings in the small town of Wasilla in south-central Alaska, Portugal. The Man have produced eight studio albums, their most recent being last year's 'Woodstock'. Yet despite their consistent, creative output and rampant fan following, popular success had eluded them.
"The whole pop star thing is way beyond the reach of a 36-year-old Alaskan.”
All that has changed in light of the success of the album's second single 'Feel It Still', which has dominated charts worldwide since its release and has also been picked up for several high-profile commercial campaigns.
“Honestly, when you're talking about the places that the song has gone for us, none of that stuff was in the conversation,” guitarist Eric Howk says.
“All that pop radio stuff, that's not something that was ever discussed in the same sentence of Portugal. The Man ever before in the history of the band.
“Even when the song came out it was started... at alternative radio and things like that. You didn't hear about us being in the same conversation as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber; all that stuff happened quite quickly and so out-of-left-field that it took everyone by surprise.”
For a band that has been active for the better part of 15-odd years, Portugal. The Man are just now edging towards their pinnacle, with 'Feel It Still' becoming their most successful single to date and earning them a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance.
“Seeing my friends who have young kids sending me iPhone videos of their kids dancing to [the song] in car seats in the back of cars, that's just totally crazy to me, for this rock band that I play in to have a spread that big. Like, my grandma knows every single word to the song,” Eric laughs.
Though Portugal. The Man have made their official entrance into the world of pop music, Eric says that at this stage of their careers there's little chance of them developing the highfalutin eccentricities that comes with super stardom.
“I think it's pretty impossible for this band to stray too much from its roots just because it's that 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' kind of thing,” he says, “we do what we want and it's for our entertainment in the first place.
“We're just as weird as we've ever been and if anything success is going to make us get weirder. I think if you're 22 and you get a song like this you're going to lean into it and go full-on pop star and get a Jesus complex or the Justin Bieber attitude and ego.
"With us, the whole pop star thing is way beyond the reach of a 36-year-old Alaskan.”
Even with 'Feel It Still' barrelling through charts around the world, Eric says the band has remained true to its core spirit, especially with their live performances. “There's 120 other songs in the catalogue before 'Feel It Still' that represent all of us as a band,” he explains.
“We still open the shows with an instrumental version of Metallica's 1986 song 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'; that's one of the heaviest things in the world and if you're a first-time concert goer coming out because you like 'Feel It Still', you're about to get your brain melted for at least 25 minutes before we even touch on that song.”
Admitting their newfound popularity and the hugely-positive response to 'Feel It Still' may just be a fluke of industrial proportions, Eric says he and the band aren't concerned with attaining similar acclaim with any follow-up releases.
“I think we're pretty self-aware dudes in terms of there are lots of cautionary tales about bands that go along for a long time then they get that hit single and they try to recreate it and recapture what it did.
"I learned early on in my life not to try and outdrink an Australian. Alaskans can put 'em down, but holy smoke you guys know how to do it.”
“We've heard that a couple of times, even if you're recording super-weird, avant-garde out there kind of stuff, you'll always have an opportunity to come back to this world, no matter what you're doing.
"We're going to keep making the best music that we can and write the best songs that we can. Pop or not, we're sticking around.”
As part of their extensive world tour in support of 'Feel It Still' Portugal. The Man are due in Australia this May including appearances at Groovin The Moo and their own headline east coast side shows.
In the aftermath of the single's triumph, Eric says the band will be using the tour as a good excuse to indulge in some much-needed rest and relaxation.
“We've been working super-hard and we've got a lot of crazy friends and a lot of musician buddies in Australia, so we're taking this whole tour to get out there and basically have a little bit of a vacation,” he says.
“You're in a beautiful place full of beautiful beaches, and I think we're going to try and get some skydiving happening. We're definitely going to drink all the coffee, drink all the beer and eat all the pizza, and I'm going to try and get a little bit of a suntan, which is something I've never had.
“We're going to have heaps of fun and take everything you guys have to offer. We're going out there to party, to hang out with friends, have fun and drink beer; we're going to make the most out of it and we're all really looking forward to it.”
Although they have plenty of plans for kicking back and enjoying the country, Eric says there's one classic and iconic Australian pastime best left to the locals.
“We work hard and play hard, and we're going to tear it up out there for sure [but] I learned early on in my life not to try and outdrink an Australian,” he laughs.
“Alaskans can put 'em down but holy smoke you guys know how to do it.”
Portugal. The Man Tour Dates
Fri 27 Apr - Groovin The Moo (Adelaide)Sat 28 Apr - Groovin The Moo (Maitland)
Sat 29 Apr - Groovin The Moo (Canberra)
Tue 1 May - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Thu 3 May - Forum Melbourne
Sat 5 May - Groovin The Moo (Bendigo)
Sun 6 May - Groovin The Moo (Townsville)
Thu 10 May - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)
Sat 12 May - Groovin The Moo (Bunbury)
