John Gourley

The whole band is from Alaska. It's like growing up anywhere else.

Growing up, I just always doodled, which is the worst word for it. I would just draw things in class, get yelled at by my teachers, get my drawings taken away. That stuff happened all the time.

I was a shy kid growing up, and I liked the idea of playing under this alter ego: like, I could be Ziggy Stardust, but I also knew I could never be Ziggy Stardust.

Growing up, the only acts that came to us in Alaska were the big ones. The Mariah Careys.

As a songwriter, it's good to have criticism, and I like objective opinions.

We went to Japan and stayed an extra day just to go shopping. New York is one of those places where we never get that. If we're there, we're working.

My dad just decided that he wanted to race sled dogs, and when he did that, he took us out of Wasilla, and we never really went back.

I would watch 'Sesame Street' and see neighborhoods and kids with other kids to play with, and I just didn't have that. You know, we were on a lake. We just didn't have that stuff.

When we were kids, my favorite thing was coming to upstate New York where my family is from and hanging out with my grandparents' friends pre-Internet and them asking if we had stores or 'Do you have TV in Alaska?'

To me, sci-fi has the most amazing style.

Money messes up everything. It ruins art. The second you start putting price tags on this stuff, it's... Art isn't for just the wealthy. It's for everybody to enjoy.

I think there are really great movements happening in Portland. It's nice being in a place that supports itself and stands on its own.