Though raised in the small coastal town of Cambria, CA, Van Pierszalowski spent all of his summers on Kodiak Island in Alaska, where his father works as a commercial salmon fisherman. Every summer, Van would (and still does) go up North to work on his father’s boat, the Shawnee. The work is intense (20 hr. work days, weeks after weeks without touching land, no showers or toilets, stormy seas), but ultimately rewarding (beauty, inspiration, and money.)
During the summer of 2005, Van took the inspiration from his time spent at sea and started composing the songs that now will make up their latest offering, The Wind and the Swell, and named his band Port O’Brien after a now-abandoned cannery site where his parents met in the late ‘60s. The musical attributes of the resulting collection of song showcased the paradox between the band’s ferocity and its tenderness. The male and female vocal counterpoint and the urgent rushes of instrumentation mid-song meet with the gentle strum of acoustic guitars and wistful imagery of the sea. These songs present music as a document of experience; shot through as they are with pathos, imagination, enthusiasm, and warmth.
Over the past couple of years, Port O’Brien has evolved into a full 4-piece band and currently performs all around California. Onstage, their youthful vigor (the average age of a member is 21) compliments their folkish sound in a way that feels exciting and new, as if Cap’n Jazz were translating a set of Will Oldhams most approachable material.
Port O’Brien have recently shared the stage with Bright Eyes, Vetiver, Man Man, Akron/Family, Little Wings, Fujiya and Miyagi, Frog Eyes and many others. Upon their return from Alaska in the Fall, the band is scheduled to perform at the UK’s Bestival and End of the Road Festival in September and will embark on their first full US tour.
