Q&A: Stephen McBean

You might be familiar with him as the front man for rock band Black Mountain, but these days Stephen McBean has hit the road with the softer sounds of The Pink Mountaintops. The IDS caught up with him before the band stopped in Bloomington.

IDS: How’s the tour going so far?

McBean: It’s nice. We’re kind of entering a new dimension of mental well-being now. We were in Europe before this, and now we’re back touring North America.

IDS: I feel really insane things happen to people when they go to Europe. Anything strange to report?

McBean: I met an albino werewolf in Croatia. He showed me around. I’d never been to Croatia before, and I like dogs. That was nice.

IDS: The promotion for the record describes it as written like a ‘romance novel.’ How did the love theme come up? Was it a conscious goal or just a nice coincidence?

McBean: I think the album stemmed out of our friends getting married. It definitely has that kind of mood of friends getting together to celebrate love. It’s beautiful the way people travel from all over to be there. The celebration and spirit of the weekend carried through the recording, I think. It wasn’t planned that way.

IDS: I read a piece that called Pink Mountaintops “a subdued personal project.” Do you think that’s the case?

McBean: I don’t know what that means. It’s still me. No one is suppressing their personalities or musical abilities. It’s just a lighter shade of rock.

IDS: The sounds of Pink Mountaintops and Black Mountain are different, but how different is it for you on stage? Can you feel like two totally different artists if people see the two bands that way?

McBean: Yeah, I mean, it feels different. The amps are in different spots. Sometimes it does have a different mood, but it all depends on how the audience will react. It still feels like me. Sometimes I’m wearing different shoes or different pants, though.

IDS: I think with this album, more and more people are really becoming Pink Mountaintops fans, at least I can speak for the college crowd. Who are you playing this summer? Anyone new?

McBean: Right now I’m listening Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. I really love the new Sunn O))) record, “Monoliths and Dimensions,” and I really want to hear the new Oneida record when it comes out.

IDS: I read that Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips gave you one of their bubble machines. That sounds like some ceremonious “now you’re a rock star” ritual. Do you use it on tour?

McBean: When we played in Oklahoma City we stayed at their compound there. It’s a huge place with one house for him and his wife and a couple of other friends. They were filming the “Christmas on Mars” movie. In the morning he was giving a guided tour and he gave us the bubble machine. I think it’s from Lollapalooza from ‘94. We used it on that tour for a while, but it’s kind of dangerous. You have a soapy stage it’s easy to fall. But it’s nice he passed it along. And I didn’t sell it on eBay – we kept it around. Maybe one day I’ll pass it along.

IDS: Also, I Googled you earlier, and one of the things that came up was “Beard of the Day.” I’d say that’s pretty “rock star,” too.

McBean: I didn’t even know about that.

IDS: It feels like music reviewers are all about comparisons. I’ve heard Pink Mountaintops compared to Pink Floyd and Neil Young. Another reviewer said the album sounds like “breathing room.” What do you think the record sounds like?

McBean: I just wanted it to sound like a bunch of friends playing together. There are a lot of elements during recording this that I’ve never experienced before. And also because of Black Mountain, being so busy there was a lot of time to let it sit and stew, and get away from it for a bit. We had a chance to get away from the worst ideas. Everything we recorded made it on the album. We recorded ten songs and ten songs made it on the record. It was nice not to have to pick and choose.

IDS: Do you have a favorite track on the album?

McBean: I haven’t listened to it since we got a sample press. I heard certain things when we were learning the songs for tour, but that’s it. I guess I really like the songs I don’t sing on because I don’t have to distance myself. It’s nice not to do that.