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Port OBrien
Folk / Acoustic / Indie

"Alaska! portobrien.blogspot.com"

OAKLAND, California
United States

Profile Views:  184073




Last Login:  5/17/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

   Contacting Port OBrien

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/portobrien  

   Port OBrien: General Info
Member Since1/11/2005
Band Websiteportobrien.com
portobrien.blogspot.com
Band Membersvan pierszalowski - guitars, vocals
cambria goodwin - banjo, vocals, keys, mandolin
caleb nichols - bass, vocals
joshua barnhart - drums, vocals, autoharp
zebedee zaitz - guitars, vocals, keys

Influences
Sounds LikeMARCH 2008 USA TOUR VIDEO WHITE GUY DANCING AT SXSW


Record LabelCity Slang (EUR)
Dew Process (Aus/NZ)
&(JPN)
Type of LabelIndie





   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
May 13 2008 4:00P
Boo Boo Records Listening Party! San Luis Obispo, California
May 13 2008 8:00P
ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING USA
May 13 2008 8:00P
The Echo w/ SSLYBY Los Angeles, California
May 14 2008 8:00P
Rickshaw Stop - ALBUM RELEASE SHOW! - buy tickets now! San Francisco, CA
May 15 2008 5:00P
RASPUTIN MUSIC INSTORE BERKELEY!! Free! Berkeley, California
May 16 2008 8:00P
Towne Lounge w/ SSLYBY Portland, Oregon
May 17 2008 8:00P
The Vera Project w/ SSLYBY Seattle!, Washington
May 18 2008 8:00P
Media Club w/ SSLYBY Vancouver, British Columbia
May 22 2008 8:00P
Retrospect Gallery- All Ages! CD Release Show! - 672 Higuera Street San Luis Obispo, California
May 26 2008 8:00P
WEEKEND- rooftop- Berlin, Germany Berlin
May 27 2008 8:00P
The Tripod w/ Tapes n Tapes & Sons and Daughters Dublin, Ireland
May 28 2008 8:00P
Barfly w/ VETIVER Liverpool, England
May 29 2008 8:00P
The Borderline London, England
May 31 2008 8:00P
PRIMAVERA FESTIVAL Barcelona, Spain
Jun 2 2008 8:00P
Flech D’or w/ FLEET FOXES Paris, France
Jun 3 2008 8:00P
Amersham Arms w/ THE DODOS London, England
Jun 4 2008 8:00P
St. Giles w/ BON IVER London, England
Jul 4 2008 12:00A
ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING ~ on CITY SLANG ~ EUROPE

Port OBrien's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

NPR’s All Songs Considered! ~ PopMatters review! ~ AWCDWS comes out TOMORROW!  (view more)

New York Times! Tegan and Sara name Port O’Brien one of their 6 favorite bands!  (view more)

Pre-Sale "ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING" now for early delivery!  (view more)

More US dates / Back to Europe! / New album coming soon!  (view more)

Year-end lists and some recent press  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Port OBrien
Click the cover below, to pre-order our DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM and support music!

Photobucket
"ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING" by PORT O'BRIEN
1. I Woke Up Today
2. Stuck on a Boat
3. Fisherman's Son
4. Don't Take My Advice
5. Alive For Nothing
6. Pigeonhold
7. Will You Be There?
8. The Rooftop Song
9. In Vino Veritas
10. Close the Lid
11. Valdez

For the most up-to-date news, with pictures and videos.. check out the THE PORT O'BRIEN BLOG.

Our friend Ryan Stively made this.

CLICK THE FLIER TO BUY TICKETS! SAVE MONEY BY BUYING NOW!

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY A T-SHIRT?
They are only 15 bucks, with FREE shipping anywhere in North America! We have them in dark navy blue, and grey. We have grey in MEDIUM and LARGE.. and navy in MEDIUM... I'm sorry, but those are all the sizes we have left.
They are American Apparel, so they run a bit on the small side of the fence.
After, you click that little "BUY NOW" button, write us a message on here telling us which size and color you'd like. Orders go out the next day, ALWAYS.

International orders.. add a small $5.00 shipping charge... and click here:
Photobucket
They have this on the back:
Photobucket
Also, now available on Myspace ~ directly from us ~ "The Wind and the Swell" for 12 bucks, free shipping to North America.
International orders for "The Wind and the Swell" CD: $15.00 total! CLICK THIS ONE:
Or buy the shirt and "The Wind and the Swell" CD for 25 bucks total, again - FREE shipping to North America~!
Or, for you outside of North America.. the shirt and CD for 30 United States Worthless Dollars! Click here:

BIOGRAPHY:
"At sea a fellow comes out. Salt water is like wine, in that respect." Herman Melville

Port O'Brien began early in the year 2005, as a folk-ish duo of Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin. The two penned songs while Cambria lived in the tiny Californian coastal town she shares her name with and Van lived in an apartment in Oakland…which was about the size of his name. Shortly thereafter, Cambria moved to up to the Bay Area and within the next year, the project added a rhythm section, comprised of Caleb Nichols and Joshua Barnhart.

Every summer, Van works on his father's commercial salmon fishing boat, the Shawnee, on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The work is exhausting and the weather could be much better, but the contrast between the serenity of the wilderness and the rigorousness of the labor seem to cause quite a bit of musical inspiration. Meanwhile, on land and around the corner, Cambria also writes music while maintaining her position as the Head Baker at Larsen Bay. Her days can be even longer, and the work even more tiresome. After both write parts and lyrics separately, they fix them together when Van comes ashore. For the first time this summer, Caleb also joined the ranks at the cannery, and their cumulative effort while up in a latitude and longitude few of us may ever see resulted in the creation of the songs that comprise the band's first studio-recorded album "ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING." Because when you're working all day in the freezing cold, what the hell else are you going to do? "Stuck on a Boat" tells of the frustration related to being so close yet so far away.. Van stuck on a little fishing boat, while Cambria bakes across the bay…yet weeks go by without having a chance to go to port. "Fisherman's Son" speaks of the frustrating, yet contented thought of destiny. "Don't Take My Advice" captures the endless quest for settling, while remaining in awe of the entire world to explore. "In Vino Veritas" expresses the flurry of emotion caused by isolation, while emerged in substance.

The album was recorded in San Francisco, CA by two very talented engineers. Aaron Prellwitz recorded the band at the legendary Tiny Telephone Recording Studios, where he has also recorded Sun Kil Moon, the Mountain Goats, and Death Cab for Cutie. Jason Quever, of the band the Papercuts, recorded the other half of the songs at his Pan-American Recording Studios. Lush string arrangements, raw electric guitar, percussive banjo, pots + pans, a tight rhythm section, group chants and screaming provide the new album with a diverse, but cohesive feel.

In the summer of 2007, the band released a compilation of previously self-released songs titled The Wind and The Swell on American Dust Records. They've become a touring machine since the critically lauded M. Ward first named Port O'Brien his Favorite New Band on Pitchfork Media. They have been able to perform with several of their favorite artists; touring the United States with Rogue Wave, the West Coast with both Bright Eyes and the Cave Singers, and England with Modest Mouse. Now, Port O'Brien is ready to take on the rest of the world, using the little island of Kodiak as a jumping off point.

RELEASES:

CONTACT:
the "band":
portobrien@gmail.com

the "management":
christian stavros littleoperation@gmail.com
bryna gootkind highfivemgmt@gmail.com

north america "booking":
jackie nalpant @ paradigm jackie@mpartists.com

europe and beyond "booking":
rob challice @ coda rob@codaagency.com

"press" inquiries:
dana erickson dana@230publicity.com


   Port OBrien's Friend Space (Top 16)
Port OBrien has 6137 friends.
 ~CamBriA (The giRl)~ 


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 ryan stively & his poison band 


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 sparrows gate 


 Black Shirts 


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Is Online
 The Cave Singers 


 Rogue Wave 


 Papercuts 


 Vetiver 

Is Online
 M. Ward 


 Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin 


 the morning benders 


 The Passionistas 


 City Slang 





Port OBrien's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 2020 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
jerry





May 15 2008 6:19 PM

Hey, caught the show last night, great job there. I brought a buddy of mine and he thought you guys were great as well. Spreading the word.
rose





May 15 2008 4:54 PM

1. the show was beyond amazing last night!

2. do you guys have some secret ritual spraying of febreze before you sell your t-shirts? mine was damp and smelled of a magical berry scent, but maybe it was all some freak accident.
Hippies Are Dead





May 15 2008 3:03 PM

Great show last night! Review and photos on the ol' blog: http://www.hippiesaredead.com
Breanna looks like she's resigned to her fate





May 15 2008 11:55 AM

Great, great, beautiful tunes guys.
Can't believe I wasn't paying attention to the Echo schedule and missed you a couple days ago. Shame on me.
♥ ARIEL ♥





May 15 2008 11:11 AM

You guys are so wonderful ♥
That Tiffany Sainz, Is One Classy Dame.





May 15 2008 9:15 AM

Wonderful show last night & I look forward to the instore today! :D
thomas x 12





May 14 2008 8:42 PM

sorry i couldnt make it tonight
but i got the cd at rasputin!
that one guy





May 14 2008 5:50 PM

hey are you guys gonna be selling vinyl copies of your new cd at the record release in slo???
casey catherine





May 14 2008 5:21 PM

You guys were ridiculously good last night. Really, ridiculously.
Chris - Reanimator





May 14 2008 3:43 PM

you guys were badass last night
welikeit.indie





May 14 2008 12:04 PM

Win a signed Port O'Brien tee over at Welikeit.indie!!!

http://blog.welikeitindie.com/2008/05/port-obrien-new-release-welikeitindie.html
Segal





May 14 2008 11:11 AM

Hey, thanks for coming to Tucson, your performance was excellent! I haven't been able to stop listening to All We Could Do Was Sing.
Kels





May 14 2008 10:47 AM

good seeing you guys in long beach! awesome show : )
the black watch





May 14 2008 10:10 AM

great meeting you guys--steve said you were fantastic people and he was RIGHT!

i really like yr songs, i do.

much luck on the rest of the tour--and meant to give you our new record but i was too busy being my own roadie!!! hahahah


cheers, john from tbw
Rasputin Music In-Stores!





May 14 2008 9:49 AM

Go see Port O'Brien at the Rickshaw tonight. Come meet them when they play at Rasputin Music in Berkeley tomorrow at 5pm and get a copy of "All We Could Do Was Sing".
Joseph





May 14 2008 9:36 AM

Amazing show last night guys, and nice meeting you Van! The CD is great!
two like this(is working on new songs)





May 13 2008 9:10 PM

hey love you guys,
and if you like Port O' Brien
then check us out.
or don't either way
Twidget





May 13 2008 8:42 PM

Heard you guys on XM radio today! Sounded AMAZING. Miss you all.
A Kid That Was Almost Cool





May 13 2008 5:33 PM

I picked up the album of Itunes today. Awesome CD!!!
Bridgette