Port O'Brien

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(2005 – 2011)

Port O’Brien was an American musical group combining elements of acoustic, folk and indie rock, formed in 2005.

They were named after a bay in Alaska featuring a now-abandoned cannery on Kodiak Island where founder member Van Pierszalowski’s parents met. They started out as a folk music duo of Cambria Goodwin and Van Pierszalowski while Cambria was living in Cambria, California and Van was living in Oakland. After Cambria moved closer to Oakland they added a rhythm section composed of Caleb Nichols and Joshua Barnhart.

The band toured nationally with artists such as Nada Surf, Bright Eyes and The Cave Singers and toured Europe with Modest Mouse, as well as receiving favourable reviews from Pitchfork Media, Allmusic, and The Times. M. Ward named Port O’Brien his “favorite new band”.

The band released three albums; a compilation of self-recorded and early tracks called The Wind and the Swell on American Dust Records and a studio-recorded album All We Could Do Was Sing on City Slang Records, and their latest studio album Threadbare on TBD Records.

I Woke Up Today from the album All We Could Do Was Sing was recently used as the backing music for several Dulux Paints television advertisement in Australia. The band toured Australia in February 2009 as part of the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival.

In May 2011 Port O’Brien announced they’d split.
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Top Albums

  • All We Could Do Was Sing
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  • Threadbare
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  • The Wind and the Swell
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  • My Will Is Good
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Top Tracks

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  • ScottiePippen

    The news of their disbandment really caught me off guard and it fills my heart with sadness. At least I was fortunate to have seen them live before all this happened. And what a show it was! Intense, intimate, energetic and highlighted by their first ever live performance of Pigeonhold, which also happens to be my favorite song in their catalogue. Oh the memories...

    October 2011

  • airfid

    <3

    August 2011

  • cynthiapowell

    One of the saddest things in the world is when you've just discovered/found one of the many things that makes you happy and all of a sudden it's gone.

    July 2011

  • rocknindie

    what's up with changing I Woke Up Today?? Bring back the last version!! it's much better.

    June 2011

  • Sic_Maetze_siC

    :( this news make me cry :( a band that helps me so much with their music, especially their threadbare lp. can't believe we won't get something new of them. and i sadly never saw them live :'(

    June 2011

  • TwenteHenna

    Breaks my heart...really. :'( They were definitely one of my favourite bands. Like mispel I was just looking for news about a new album or somethin, and then this. So so sad. Can't describe how grateful I feel that I had the chance to see them live in April 2010 in Münster. The concert was awesome. I miss you already.

    June 2011

  • mispel

    That's so sad to hear. I was just listening to "Calm me down" (a song that helped me through hard times) and wanted to see if there's something new about them. Then I had to read this. At least I've seen them live once (one of my best concerts ever) and what remains are two great albums.

    May 2011

  • danielm992

    D: so sad.... does anyone have a copy of their my humps cover?.....ive been looking for it, but cant seem to find it ....

    May 2011
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New Video for Leap Year

11 Mar 2010 | from blog.myspace.com/portobrien

Hey Everyone. We made a new video for our song "Leap Year" with the incredible Focus Creeps.  Check it out at the link below and come see us on tour. See you …

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