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]

John Gourley
Gourley in May 2013
Born	John Baldwin Gourley (1981-06-12) June 12, 1981 (age 41) Willow, Alaska, U.S.
Other names	The Fantastic The
Occupation	Musician singer songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Partners	Zoe Manville
Children	1
Musical career
Origin	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock psychedelic rock psychedelic pop experimental rock indie rock post-hardcore
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar
Member of	Portugal. The Man
Formerly of	Anatomy of a Ghost
Musical artist

Life and career

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 born in 2011.[12]

References

Further reading

• Elliott, Will (27 July 2007). "Valley rockers look forward to homecoming gigs". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
• Woodburn, Peter (30 October 2009). "Portugal. The Man Band Interview". Redefine. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
• Talbott, Chris (5 August 2011). "Portugal. The Man: From Alaska to rock stardom". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL. Associated Press.

External links

• "Portugal. The Man Unwind Back in Hometown". Rolling Stone. 22 August 2013.