Moe:
We're sitting backstage with Portugal. The Man at Bonnaroo. Guys, thanks for being with us.
Zach:
Thank you.
Moe:
I guess you might as well introduce yourselves. Second time. We'll do this again.
Zach:
I'm Zach and I play the bass.
Jason:
I'm Jason and I play the drums.
Ryan:
I'm Ryan and I play keyboards and percussion.
Moe:
Nice. So before that thing shut off, we were talking about the name of the band and how we're Team Excelsior. And you guys based your name on a bigger-than-life scheme, I guess it is?
Zach:
Yeah.
Moe:
So what, I mean, we know John came up with it, but what's the background of that?
Zach:
Well, basically the whole thing is that we wanted to create a fictional character. He kind of started out as a character in our old band's songs, and he was kind of this guy that was just a crazy dude in some of John's weirdo stories, kind of a mix of Hercules and Jesus, I guess. And his name was Portugal. And so John had started doing a side project called Portugal. The Man, and he hadn't written anything for it, just an idea. That band broke up. We decided to go ahead and do it. And it's working out thus far.
Moe:
How's the Bonnaroo experience been treating you?
Zach:
Couldn't be better. I mean, look at the paper there. We got a little front shot there on the newspaper. That made our day. The show last night was excellent. The crowd, I thought, was fabulous.
Moe:
How about the mud? You guys been playing in the mud at all?
Zach:
Oh, we did the mud. I've ruined my favorite pair of shoes. Actually, my only pair of shoes as well. I got some Asics today, but they're a little ridiculous.
Moe:
Just stay away from the Crocs. If you guys move to the Crocs, you might have to stop that.
Zach:
I almost bought a pair yesterday, because it was storming at the time, but then the rain died down. I was like, I'm not going to wear these for a day.
Moe:
Were there any specific flashes of brilliance during your set that made you guys have to take a step back?
“We know traffic's going to be awful, and so we're sticking around for the Beastie Boys, maybe a little Public Enemy, and then we're going to hit the road.”
Portugal. The Man
Zach:
I'm like, shit, this is really going on. There was a lot. It's just mind blowing that we got to play a gig like this. We've never done anything like it before. We're on the list of such great bands, and it's just an awesome thing to be a part of. The crowd was just awesome last night.
Moe:
So, you guys are on the same bill as the boss. Before we came here, I thought this is going to be one of the best Bonnaroos ever. One that's going to go down in the books, and you guys are part of it. What does it mean to you to be here among the greats?
Zach:
Seriously honored and proud, and very thankful for sure. I just kept thinking to myself all summer, I was like, Jesus, I hope I can bring it, like the pros do.
Moe:
Did you bring it?
Zach:
We gave it a good try. It was pretty fun.
Moe:
Awesome. So, you guys are leaving a little later today?
Zach:
We've got to leave tonight. We have a show in Atlanta tomorrow. We know traffic's going to be awful, and so we're sticking around for the Beastie Boys, maybe a little Public Enemy, and then we're going to hit the road. Sadly, we've got to leave.
Moe:
Exactly. So, we're saying that we're going to talk to Beastie Boys later. Maybe, you know what? I will splice in your audio in the video, in the show. You guys, any questions for the Beastie Boys, for Public Enemy, for the boss, for Trent Reznor, whatever? If you have any questions.
Zach:
I have one question for all of them. Why are you so awesome?
Ryan:
You don't have to say that.
Zach:
There's nothing I would like to ask them necessarily, but I would like them to know that we love them, all of them. Yeah, you could tell Trent Reznor that I've been digging on his shit since Pig Face from the mid-90s. I was a little kid when, in fact, the Beastie Boys kind of started me into just a whole other thing. I remember when I was 12 years old, my cousin gave me a Beastie Boys album and a Rage Against the Machine album.
Moe:
Which albums?
Zach:
It was Check Your Head and then the Rage, just a self-titled Rage record. Two of my favorite albums of all time. Oh yeah, I've bought both of those CDs probably five times each because I'd wear them out.
Moe:
Wear them out?
Zach:
Yeah, and I'll still do it, man. Yeah, both those things are just fucking awesome, man.
Moe:
So have bands like that influenced your music itself, or in what ways?
Jason:
Well, in terms of on the drum end, I've listened to a lot of electronic bands and then in the 90s it was electronics mixing with live rock.
Moe:
Like Prodigy?
Jason:
Yeah, your Prodigy or Pig Face and Nine Inch Nails and things like that and Ministry and stuff. You know, a lot of those groups helped me kind of come up with static-y beats versus it being so Neil Young sounding drums all the time. So that was cool.
Zach:
And as far as the bass goes, there's not much better than you can do than Rage Against the Machine. I mean, there's people that are, there's Les Claypool and shit like that that can just rip. But as far as tasteful bass playing, Rage Against the Machine just has it.
“Well, in terms of on the drum end, I've listened to a lot of electronic bands and then in the 90s it was electronics mixing with live rock.”
Portugal. The Man
Moe:
The Sabotage point.
Zach:
Oh yeah, I can't wait to hear that tonight. The tone of that. I've tried to recreate that tone so many times.
Moe:
Make it real dirty?
Zach:
I'm real close. Yeah. I'm getting there.
Moe:
So you think that Les Claypool's playing is a little distasteful?
Zach:
No, no, no. It's just like he's constantly ripping.
Moe:
Yeah, it's a bass band.
Zach:
Really, it's all of them. I mean, the first show I ever saw was Primus. I was 13 years old and my mom took me to Primus.
Moe:
That's a good trick.
Zach:
I took my little brother, who was 9 years old, and it just blew my mind. Primus is amazing.
Moe:
Yeah.
Zach:
But yeah, we're not a band like that. Even if I could play stuff like Les Claypool, I wouldn't, just because our songs don't call for that.
Moe:
Right.
Zach:
I'm more about the groove and stuff like that. And not to mention, I'm not good enough.
Moe:
Your new album comes out July?
Zach:
Yeah, July 21st.
Moe:
So what's the album called?
Zach:
The Satanic Satanist.
Moe:
That's right. How'd you come up with that name?
Zach:
I just wanted to shock. We just thought it was funny. It's kind of a, you know, we're obviously not Satanists, but it's about our singer's upbringing in Alaska, and a lot of it's about all the crazy fucking people out in the middle of nowhere. It's just kind of about stepping yourself out of society and community and just away from people, you know, mentally and physically. And yeah, but it's fun. We're happy with the record for sure.
Moe:
How's your sound progressed in this album?
Zach:
We've definitely got a lot better at writing songs. I think our first couple records were more, there were just a lot of parts and a lot of riffs that we just kind of threw together. And these ones, we actually take a lot of time now with the chord progressions. We've definitely simplified it a lot and made more straightforward songs. But with this record, in doing that, we also got very experimental with drum loops and with a lot of synthesizers. It's really straightforward pop songs, but they got a lot of psychedelic sounds in there.
Moe:
So psychedelic. I guess you guys made your way out to the campgrounds, huh?
Zach:
We've seen some shit. In fact, man, it was funny today. We played an acoustic song, and what was that part in Colors? We've got a line where, all the highs still get high.
Ryan:
Yeah, all the highs still get high.
Zach:
And everybody just started screaming. I was laughing my ass off. We haven't really had anything like that happen to us, and that was funny as shit.
Moe:
Yeah, that was good. You said your scene is blowing up. How many bands are actually from Portland that are here right now?
Zach:
Maybe two or three, I would suppose.
Moe:
Is that what it is?
Zach:
Four?
Moe:
Okay. The Decemberists are playing, right?
Zach:
I don't think the Decemberists are on this one.
“You know, from a town that's known for music, and be out of a select lump of bands from that town that's actually able to do really awesome things.”
Portugal. The Man
Moe:
They are.
Zach:
The Decemberists are playing?
Moe:
Maybe Sunday. They're like my favorite band right now.
Zach:
A lot of bands move to Portland, too, that are from different places. So sometimes I don't even know who's from Portland.
Moe:
Oh yeah, for sure.
Zach:
A lot of bands, just this year, I've known a bunch of people that have moved to Portland because it's really, well, for one, it's a really cool city with a really good vibe. Very European, and it's also very cheap. So it's affordable for artists to live, and they kind of embrace that. Nobody talks shit to you if you say, what do you do? Oh, I'm in a band. They're like, oh man, that's cool, and really respectful.
Ryan:
Where in a lot of places...
Zach:
Yeah, they just call you bums. Or just ask what restaurant you work at.
Moe:
Yeah, so how's it seen? Obviously, you guys are making a mark. How does it feel to have that many bands from your city representing at Bonnaroo, one of the biggest festivals in the U.S. and in the world?
Zach:
You know, from a town that's known for music, and be out of a select lump of bands from that town that's actually able to do really awesome things. It's an interesting scene for sure. It's kind of hard to pinpoint, but I would say it's kind of jangly. Yeah, I mean, they like their trees up there.
Moe:
Awesome. I look forward to your new album. If you guys want to, feel free to introduce something. We can play it when it comes out. We can hold off on this to release it when your album comes out, if you want to do something like that.
Zach:
Yeah, absolutely.
Moe:
Unless you have a pre-release. So, should I say you're listening to Moe Train's Tracks?
Ryan:
Hey, this is Ryan from Portugal. The Man. This is a song off our new record, The Satanic Satanist, and you're listening to Moe Train's Tracks.
B:
Is that gay or is that awesome or what?
Ryan:
Yeah.
Moe:
You're pretty good.
Ryan:
I'm doing it.
Moe:
Excellent. All right.
Hear it
Moe also caught up with Portugal. The Man on the podcast.
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