Culture
Street Roots • Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2018
Street Roots • Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2018
Page 9
Culture
“We’re letting people know:
We’re with you! We’re one of you!
Everybody’s got something, and we
have to look out for each other.”
Zach Carothers, bassist for Portugal. The Man
Far left: Zach Carothers,
Portugal. The M an’s
co-founder and bassist, says
Keep Oregon Well is an
important cause for the band
to support because mental
illness is prevalant, “especially
with a lot of musicians.”
A t left: Kyle O’Quin (left), the
band’s keyboardist, and
Carothers spoke with Street
Roots in advance of the launch
o f the Keep Oregon Well
concert series at
McMenamin's Edgefield.
Zach Carothers o f Portugal. The Man performs on stage during the Danube Island open-air Festival in Vienna, Austria, June 24.
The Portland band’s concert series supports Keep Oregon Well, a campaign to quash the stigma around mental health
McMenamins Edgefield on Aug. 24. The
band also features lead singer John Gourley,
along with Zoe Manville, Eric Howk and
ortugal. The Man has lent its name to
Jason Sechrist The concerts wrap up
a lot of causes: raising more than $1
Friday, Aug. 31 in Bend.
million for school musical
“We’re letting people know: We’re with
instruments, supporting climate change
you! We’re one of you! Everybody’s got
advocacy, even handing over all the profits
something, and we have to look out for each
from a planned Charlottesville, Va., show to
other,” Carothers said.
the city’s community foundation in the wake
That mutual care has become even more
of the white supremacist rally.
important now with the band’s heightened
But the band’s most recent campaign
success over the past year. Portugal. The
supporting mental health awareness and
Man has been together for 14 years,
destigmatization seems to resonate a little
producing eight albums, but its celebrity
closer to home.
status skyrocketed with th e success of the
“We are 100 percent not the poster child
chart-topping single “Feel it Still” from their
for superb mental health,” said Zach
2017 album Woodstock.
Carothers, eyes wide and slowly shaking his
Now the Portland-based group is a
head. Carothers, the band’s co-founder and
headlining Grammy winner, with endless
bassist, is speaking in advance of the first of
tour dates and the stress and pressure of
four shows to support Keep Oregon Well, a
mainstream expectations. But they’re not
campaign to end the stigma around mental
complaining - far from i t They enjoy using
and behavioral health issues and encourage
their platform to call out organizations and
people to take care of themselves.
efforts they support.
Carothers and Kyle O’Quin, the band’s
A lot of celebrities lend their name and
keyboardist, sat down with Street Roots
money to causes as a m atter of charity, but
ahead of their first concert in the series at
that’s not what this is about, Carothers said.
BY JOANNE ZUHL
E X E C U T IV E E D IT O R
P
This is personal.
“We’re saying we’re not doing well in this
situation either, and we’d like to just help
provide some tools, or just point somebody
in a good direction to get some help if they
need. Or if they know anybody that does.”
Within the band, Portugal’s lead singer,
Gourley, has been open about his own social
anxiety and episodes of stage fright
To deal with the stress of the work and
the tours, O’Quin said he needs his own
private time to recover.
“We live in such tight quarters,” O’Quin
said. “It’s interesting to see how people deal
with stress and missing their family.
Everybody is so different”
Carothers recalls his youth, growing up in
Wasilla, Alaska, where the dark days can
trigger depression and isolation.
“During the winter, the sun comes up at
10:30 and goes down at 3,” he said. “It’s
dark up there. There’s a very high suicide
rate, and I saw a lot of my friends go
growing up. And that was very hard.
“I see that everywhere we go,” Carothers
said. “And everybody knows people, and
everyone has problems themselves, and I
think it’s just starting to get a little more
socially acceptable to talk about it, to admit
that you’re not all right, and to take care of
yourself. And that’s one of the reasons I
wanted to get into this, not only to spread
the word for everybody else, but to remind
ourselves to take care of ourselves, because
normally, we don’t ”
“I always tell Zach I’ve hit rock bottom,”
O’Quin said, “but it’s all right because
there’s only one way to go.”
“Yep,” Carothers said. “You’re on solid
ground down there.”
Carothers said the band was inspired to
get involved with Keep Oregon Well because
of its co-founder, Portland musician Logan
Lynn, who himself survived a suicide
attem pt Lynn launched the program in
2015, in conjunction with the Trillium
Group and Mental Health Matters.
“He’s just a guy we know and love,”
Carothers said. “He talked to us, and we
loved his vibe and loved what he’s doing.
Honestly, it’s an issue that we see every day,
which is not like a lot of the other issues
that we stand for. We obviously care about
musical programs in public schools, but we
don’t hang out in public schools too often.
This is something that we see on the
streets, and honestly, something we see
very severely in our own group quite often,
especially with a lot of musicians. That’s
why we wanted to get into i t ”
Keep Oregon Well promotes ways people
can reduce the stigma around mental health
and become an advocate for themselves and
others.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults lives with a
mental illness - 44.7 million in 2016,
according to the National Institute of Mental
Health. And the population with the highest
prevalence of any mental illness would apply
to a large swathe of Portugal. The Man’s
audience - young adults ages 18-25,
according to NIMH.
According to a June report from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the suicide rate in the United States has
risen nearly 30 percent since 1999, with
mental health conditions among several
contributing factors. In Oregon, suicide
rates have been steadily increasing, and
today the state is ranked 28th in the nation,
with 21 suicides occurring among every
100,000 people in 2016.
By NIMH’s statistics, only a fraction of
Hie people who identify as having a mental
health issue actually seek help or treatment.
The goal with Keep Oregon Well is to make
sure people who need help feel supported in
seeking i t
“You don’t have to say it loud and proud
if you don’t want to,” Carothers said. “If
you want to keep it to yourself, you can.
But if you want help, you can find your own
ways, and we’re all about people finding
their own ways to make them happier and
healthier.”
The band’s online video for “Feel It Still”
created some controversy upon its release,
notably for showing a Sikh man burning a
newspaper labeled “Infowars,” the white
nationalist platform run by discredited
conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The
musicians received death threats from
Jones’ supporters. But the otherwise benign
video also includes Easter eggs for people
who click on the links, with affirming
messages for people to engage with
organizations and causes, including Planned
Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties
Union, clean drinking water and pay equity.
O’Quin said the video still stands on its
own as entertainment, but the charity
information gives viewers another
opportunity to learn about reputable
organizations.
“We sussed out a lot of different
charities,” O’Quin said. “Sometimes you
want to give to a good thing, and you don’t
even know where to do it. That’s crazy to
me.”
Carothers recommends trusting your gut
- in just about all matters.
“America in general is out of its goddamn
mind,” Carothers said. “Trust your gut with
almost everything. I don’t like politics. I .
don’t like laws. I don’t like beings that have
to enforce those things. Most people know
what’s right and wrong, what feels good,
what feels bad. Try to make decisions that
make you feel good, and do whatever you
need to do to make yourself happy. And
most of the time, those are good things that
don’t hurt anyone else or hurt their feelings.
Most of the time.”
joanne@streetroots.org; Twitter @jozuhl