When Portugal. The Man won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, former bassist Zach Carothers said in his acceptance speech that, growing up, the band's heroes were dog mushers.
“We'd like to rep this for all the kids in the villages,” Carothers said in his acceptance speech. “Shishmaref, Barrow, Bethel all the Indigenous people in Alaska and around the world, you’re beautiful, your culture’s beautiful, thank you for inspiring us.”
Originally from Wasilla, Portugal. The Man has made its love for Alaska known throughout its two decades of existence. So it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the single “Denali” came out. But once the band released “Tanana” and “Mush,” it was clear that their new album would be an ode to Alaska.
The band announced the album's title, “Shish,” in late September. The name is a nod to the Seward Peninsula village of Shishmaref. The album art depicts a man dragging two bloodied seals across a snowy landscape.
Dennis Davis is a resident of Shishmaref and longtime friend of the band. He said the title track is among his favorites.
“The beginning, it's like, ‘Are we going to Shish?’ just goes from there, and it just starts hitting hard,” Davis said. “It's everything wrapped up in one."
Davis said he contributed several photos from the Shishmaref area to the album's promotional art, which shows “a little bit of everything.” But the cover, he said, was taken sometime in the ’50s or ‘60s.
The music video for the song “Mush” features a looping video of a dog team. The song pays tribute to lead singer John Gourley’s parents, both of whom competed in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Davis said the Gourley family’s first sled dog came from the late Iditarod Hall-of-Famer Herbie Nayokpuk, known as the Shishmaref Cannonball.
There’s references to Alaskan communities all over the tracklist, like “Angoon” and “Kohkanockers.”
Davis said the band plans to bring its Denali concert tour to Alaska sometime in January. He said he’s helping the band scout venues in Unalakleet, Shishmaref and Nome.
SHISH will be out on Nov. 7.