Portugal. The Man lead singer John Gourley and director of photography Michael Ragen have a pretty close relationship. So close, that Michael has actually worked on all of the Portugal. The Man videos as either a DP, or as a director. Their latest collaboration, "Modern Jesus" directed by AG Rojas, was a 20 day production spanning 15 states a trip that John was supposed to go on before management stepped in. We talked to John about the bands relationship with their collaborators, his interest in filmmaking, and what music videos mean to the band.
Doug: What do music videos mean to you guys as a band and how you view them? Are they mainly a promotional tool or is there something more artistic to them as well?
John: Music videos are so important to what being in a band is about. My personal favorite thing in music videos is seeing such a contrast to the sound that you're hearing. It makes and breaks it for me personally. When I watch a video, if the video is good, I'll check out the band. And typically that song is going to be your favorite song on the record right away because you've already connected with it.
Doug: What are your goals for music videos? What is the success based on?
John: I like working with people that we know. We haven't really put out a brief or anything like that to a bunch of directors and just pick somebody from a hat. We've never really done that. Michael Ragen, who is the cinematographer for "Modern Jesus," "Purple Yellow Red and Blue," and a handful of other videos a long the way, has actually connected us with most of the people that we work with. He's directed some of our videos himself and it's kind of kept it all in this family. It's really a cool thing to see Mike go from directing "Evil Friends," to shooting "Modern Jesus" for AG Rojas, and shooting "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" for That Go out in New York. He creates this consistency and this continuity between videos. Even if the concepts are different, he's coming along and he's keeping the look the same from project to project and I think that's a real exciting thing. I remember when he first directed for us. I had been asking him to direct for a while, and after he did it he said, "Fuck man, you got to stop asking me to direct a video. I'm a DP. Directors don't want to hire a DP who's directing his own stuff." He was so paranoid, but he's really good and everybody who knows him knows he's an amazing guy. The reason we work with AG and the reason we worked with That Go is because they're friends with Mike, too. We all have this connection to him.
Doug: How did you meet Mike? How did that relationship start?
John: He went on tour with us to shoot the band that was opening for us, Wild Orchid Children, like five or six years ago. Along the way we kind of became friends. We had a lot of mutual friends and acquaintances in Portland and Seattle and just stayed in touch. He's got great taste in film as well. I grew up watching movies as a kid. I grew up in Alaska, so I just watched as many movies as I could. Really I don't even know how I ended up being in a band because film was the thing that I was really interested in. Ive always been really interested in how to make movies, and thats how we became friends.
Doug: So does every video project start with talking to Mike first?
John: Yeah, basically. We had a video on the last record for All Your Light that was directed by Dan Brown. He had come along and wanted to shoot a video for somebody. He was just looking to get into that stuff and to start working on different projects. Mike suggested that he talk to us and ended up shooting it. I think most of our videos started between friends at that very least, and Mike is the best friend you can have.
Doug: How long ago did Mike put you in touch with AG? When did you become aware of his work?
John: We saw his stuff it must have been three years ago, maybe more. He did a video for Earl Sweatshirt before Odd Future blew up, so maybe it was a longer period than that. I hadn't heard of Odd Future. I hadn't heard of those guys at the time and they were still a pretty small thing. Mike told me about it and I was stoked to see somebody present something as dark and as real as he did, but with this sort of the tongue and cheek reality. It was this take on reality that seems exaggerated, but we've been at those parties. We've been at some fucked up parties. I've always liked his stuff since I saw that and we've stayed in touch. I did music for a short that he made thats up on Vimeo called The Front Door. It's just something we like to do. I'm really interested in what AG is doing. He's a very intelligent guy and he's got a great eye.
Doug: Was the narrative of Modern Jesus something that you guys collaborated on?
John: I like to be involved in that stuff, but I also like to see what other people have to say and see their take on the song. As long as nobody's presenting lyric-by-lyric video ideas, I'm generally pretty on board. The only time I'm going to say anything is if it's too preachy, or if it's too along the lines of the lyrics. I think AG did a really good job. I mean, when he wrote the initial treatment we were just kind of on board. He presented something that represented his idea of the song and I thought it was great.
Doug: I know the production was pretty big. It was a 20 day shoot over 15 states. How many of those days and states were you a part of?
John: I ended up not going, but the plan all along was that I was going to go with them. But then we went to management, and it was so funny to see them scramble, "Hey, what the fuck? Are you going to take them for two weeks? Two-and-a-half weeks, three weeks? I can't do that. We got to go on tour. We got promo shit to do." I cant believe they were throwing that stuff at me, and I said, "I don't have to go. I just want to go on a road trip with my buddies." We went to Taft to shot on my part, and that was the day before I flew to New York for Purple Yellow Red and Blue. I was in a spacey place at that point between all the flying and promo stuff.
Doug: It sounds like you didn't need to necessarily contribute much to the project, it sounds like you just needed a break.
John: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, had I gone I'm sure we would have gotten some stuff. I think, at the end of the day, I really, really love what AG did. I love what Mike shot, and I think that team was really, really moving. AG is one of the most exciting new directors in my opinion. I think That Go as well, going from AG to them, and having such a different experiences, but both very positive. You get to see that stuff and recognize that talent. It's really fucking cool. It's cool to have those people around and actually trust them with this sort of thing. I know not many bands would be cool with just sending a director out for that long just crossing their fingers.
Doug: So they basically just came back after 20 days with what they shot and that was going to be it, right? Were you checking in throughout?
John: We talked along the whole way. I was pretty much there. Mike and I talked frequently enough to get the almost getting teased story, and the cow being born story. I heard about all of that stuff before I got to see any of it. They're the type of guys that get it. AG knows the right things to present with whatever band he's working with, and he knows how to do it. I think there's very little risk, outside of his choice of concepts. That's the thing with AG, I'd hate to say he's an edgy dude because he's just a dude, but he'll definitely go for it. I think a lot of people get scared of that sometimes. I mean, I've seen the comments on his videos. That's why every video director fucking hates putting things up on YouTube. It's getting all the comments that come in that want to pick things apart. I think it's harder with his stuff to actually pick it apart. It's deeper than surface level.
