‘Mr. Portland’ Jake McGrady is doing it for Rip City culture, Blazers fans
By Dayton Brown
(John Gourley of Portugal. The Man. Photo courtesy of Jake McGrady.)
Portugal. The Man
As the months went by, the podcast grew and continually made noise on Twitter and Instagram. However, McGrady wanted something more transcendent for 2nd String Sports. The show was overdue for something big.
McGrady noticed an account following his personal and Mr. Portland Twitter pages.
“I noticed their name was ‘The Lords of Portland’ and they had ‘Trailblazers’ in their bio,” McGrady recalls.
It was the band Portugal. The Man.
McGrady sent the band a message, and they had a quick chat about Portland and the Blazers. This was right before the release of their song “Feel It Still,” which ended up shooting the band into stardom.
Once McGrady starting hearing that song everywhere he went, he knew he had to contact the band again. So in September 2017, he reached out to the bad again. This time, he had bigger plans than a casual conversation.
“I was as patient and kind to them as I could be, seeing how busy they were with touring and doing many other interviews,” McGrady recalls. “But them and their management really liked the idea of our show and their appearance, and they were so chill and nice with us.”
Portugal. The Interview
The interview, which took place after many conversations on Cyber Monday 2017, went great for many reasons. First, the connection between Portugal. The Man members John Gourley and Jason Sechrist and the hosts was natural and enjoyable to listen to. Second, McGrady, Ocampo and Lowe did their research before meeting the two members. The interview went beyond just the band’s music and current album.
Portland, of course, was a forefront topic. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the experience for McGrady was what happened once the episode dropped. It was the first time the podcast had a video-recorded episode, and it turned out fantastic. Portugal. The Man’s Twitter account retweeted and promoted the episode often, and fans of the band’s subreddit were some of the most impressed.
“They loved that we asked non-cliche questions to the guys, and how everything felt comfortable,” McGrady says. “And it was so easy to talk to these guys. They were great hosts at their studio. Us all being from Portland helped us click right away, and it is, to this day, my proudest accomplishment.”
Fan support pours in often for McGrady and the guys at the show. These awesome messages sum it up well.
