With their peculiar name and remote place of origin, Alaskan experimental indie pop band Portugal. The Man are an unlikely success story. After heading southward to the musical hub of Portland, Oregon, the group — co-founded by the duo of John Gourley and Zach Carothers — delivered a series of unique, artfully crafted independent albums throughout the late 2000s, touring hard and eventually signing a deal with Atlantic in 2010. The band’s diligence paid off during their major-label tenure with each subsequent album gaining them a wider fan base and increased acclaim. On 2013’s Evil Friends, they forged a collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, who again helped out on the group’s politically driven eighth album, 2017’s Woodstock, which yielded the Grammy-winning hit single “Feel It Still.”*

JC got a chance to sit down with Carothers to talk about their unlikely rise to the pop charts, their charitable work, and the future of the music industry. All of that and much more on this week’s theFIVE10 Podcast!

*bio written by Ned Raggett