“I grew up in Alaska, okay? My dad graduated high school and went straight to the…” — John Gourley

I think we're pretty spiritual people, the band in general. We're not a bunch of hippies or anything like that, but we like to work together and work with people. We believe that positive energy is pretty necessary in life, although it's not always easy to maintain.

I went to so many sleepovers where these parents were reading the 'Book of Revelation' before bed and things like that. I would listen to that stuff, and I would sit there and say to myself, 'If God is so great and so good, why is there this list of rules?' Like, you go to hell if you don't believe in him and hold him up above everyone else.

It's really hard to escape where you were brought up. Not that I would ever want to escape it.

Portugal. The Man, to me, doesn't have any real ties. We try to change things up with every album, really progress, and let things happen.