The song topped the top 40. Busted

.

.

“Feel It Still,” with its inescapable “Please Mr. Postman” melody and falsetto hook, has become

for Alaska-grown rock band Portugal. The Man.

While closely tied to their current hometown of Portland, the band’s DNA is in the back roads of Knik-Goose Bay and the halls of Wasilla High. Today, they capped a star-making year with a Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance.

– go listen to “In the Mountain in the Cloud” from start to finish and you will be too – and couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to talk to Portugal lead singer/guitarist John Gourley tonight about their breakout year.

Here are excerpts from the impromptu Skype interview, edited for length and clarity.

KTUU: In Alaska, there’s a lot of turnover. There’s probably a lot of kids here listing to your music and don’t really know your history here ...

JOHN GOURLEY:

My mom and dad, John and Jennifer Gourley, both dog sled mushers. They ran the Iditarod together. We grew up with a generator. Out Knik Road, when it was Knik Road, not Knik Goose-Bay.

I remember in the winter my mom out there, fixing that generator. Our diesel generator when it would break down. And dealing with the cold and the beluga whales in the Cook Inlet that would come up every year.