Preview
THE BLACK ARMY TOUR with BLACK MOUNTAIN, PINK MOUNTAINTOPS and BLOOD MERIDIAN
Saturday, May 21
Broken City
For such a busy guy, Stephen McBean is surprisingly reluctant to take a break.
If you aren’t familiar with McBean, here is a brief rundown of his involvement with the (moderately confusing) musical collective that is Vancouver’s Black Mountain Army. The Army encompasses the McBean-fronted projects Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops. Initially known for his work with dirgy two-piece Jerk With a Bomb, McBean sought out something more improvisational and as a five-piece Black Mountain gave him the freedom he was looking for. Releasing two similarly designed self-titled albums Pink Mountaintops shows McBean’s sexier side while Black Mountain offers drugged-up nostalgia.
Those two bands, in addition to their good friends and fellow Vancouverites Blood Meridian, are now set to play dates in Western Canada as part of the Black Army Tour. On top of that, Black Mountain are set to tour Europe this summer and North America in September, while Pink Mountaintops have plans to tour the U.S. after that. It’s a gruelling schedule, but even with extensive touring, an increasing fan base and the acclaim for the debut albums from both projects, McBean remains driven simply by a love for his bandmates and good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.
"With all of (the bands) it's just being able to play with my best friends and go on the road with them," says McBean. "What makes it fulfilling is just being with people you love and creating together.
"(I try) to stay busy and… happy, and get as much stuff done and decide to rest when it's needed. If Pink Mountaintops is doing something, Black Mountain kind of takes a rest. Everything's not always going all at once."
Although McBean describes the three Black Mountain Army projects as different little phases, he is clear about the lines between them. "If I write a song it usually becomes pretty obvious as soon as it’s written if it’s going to be a Pink Mountaintops song or a Black Mountain song. Pink Mountaintops is more spur of the moment, while Black Mountain is more precious."
That’s fair enough, but why the mountain theme?
"I had a dream that Jerk With a Bomb changed its name to Black Mountain," says McBean. "The next show we played we made a big banner with Black Mountain on it and played Jerk With a Bomb songs, but we were Black Mountain for that night. It just kind of took over – we couldn't stop it." |
Copyright ©2005 FFWD. All rights reserved.