John Gourley

John Gourley
Gourley in May 2013
Born
John Baldwin Gourley

(1981-06-12) June 12, 1981 (age 43)
Willow, Alaska, U.S.
Other namesThe Fantastic The
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • visual artist
Years active2002–present
PartnersZoe Manville
Children1
Musical career
OriginPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Member ofPortugal. The Man
Formerly ofAnatomy of a Ghost

John Baldwin Gourley (born June 12, 1981) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Alaska. He is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Portugal. The Man, with the hit song "Feel It Still". Gourley was previously the lead singer in post-hardcore band Anatomy of a Ghost.[1] Gourley is also a visual artist, who often uses the alias The Fantastic The.[2]

Life and career

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John Gourley at 2010 Sasquatch! Festival

Gourley was born in 1981 in Willow, Alaska,[3] to John T. Gourley and Jennifer Van Ingen.[4][5] He and his two siblings grew up in Alaska moving from town to town, wherever their father's contracting business took the family.[4][6] 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.[4][7] 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 father.[4][8] 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.[5][9] They toured across the country and released their album Evanesce in October 2003 on Fearless Records.[10] In the spring of 2003, Gourley recorded vocals for the song "Motelroom.Grandpiano" with the band Fear Before on their first album, Odd How People Shake.[11] The members of Anatomy of a Ghost wanted to pursue their own ideas, however, so the band split up in May 2004. Gourley and bassist Carothers formed Portugal. The Man.[10]

Gourley and longtime partner and bandmate Zoe Manville have a daughter named Frances born in 2011,[12] who is afflicted with a very rare neurodegenerative disease. The disease is an extremely rare genetic mutation of the DHDDS gene, which has only been diagnosed in 6 people total worldwide.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Anatomy Of A Ghost - Fearless Records". Archived from the original on 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  2. ^ "About". The Fantastic The.
  3. ^ Gette-King, Dylan (22 December 2011). "Band with local roots stays grounded amid success". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Hopkins, Kyle (21 January 2012). "Portugal. The Man singer tends his Alaska roots". Alaska Dispatch News.
  5. ^ a b White, Caitlin (26 June 2013). "The Man Behind Portugal the Man". Pigeons and Planes.
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Jacobs, Justin (2 October 2007). "Portugal's Gourley a man of many layers". The Pitt News. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  8. ^ Novak, Jessica (25 May 2011). "Portugal. The Phoner". Syracuse New Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. [John Gourley] dropped out of school when he was 15 to build houses with his father
  9. ^ Ressler, Casey (28 October 2002). "From humble Wasilla beginnings, the band is making it big". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
  10. ^ a b Apar, Corey. "Anatomy of a Ghost - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Odd How People Shake: Credits". AllMusic.
  12. ^ Levy, Joe (4 December 2017). "Portugal. The Man: Rock's Surprise Heroes". rolling stone. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  13. ^ The H3 Podcast (11 August 2023). "After Dark #115". YouTube. Retrieved 11 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading

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