Written July 2, 2023 updated October 1, 2024
Local musician Mike McMann talks to Community Hubb about writing a proper love song, and welcomes us to “The Only Stephentown on Earth”. I had alot of fun talking to Mike.
I know you’re a collector of a lot of different types of guitars. Is there a particular type of guitar that you really like?
I usually play a McPherson – which is a type of custom guitar. I’ve played on that now for the past 17 years. It’s a very easy guitar to play. I have a Gibson as well that I really like. But as far as accoustic guitars go – I really like the McPherson. They’re more of a custom builder – they are a higher-end guitar. I wanted certain woods – Adirondack spruce top and rosewood back and sides, but other than that it’s a fairly standard model that they make. They’re more of a small (boutique) builder as opposed to being a big factory. Most guitars are factory-made. But these smaller companies put a lot more time and attention into their creation.
Why do you like the Adirondack spruce so much?
It’s a punchier sound. A lot of bluesgrass guitarists use it. If you’re a flat-picker, the adirondack spruce is a good choice. A lot of the vintage guitarists use adirondack spruce.
Are there any other types of instruments that you play?
I play a little base and also some drums – but I wouldn’t call myself either a base player or a drummer! I own a piano – it was free – but I’ve just never gotten around to learning it. Maybe one of these days.
When did you think being a guitarist was going to be your true calling?
When I was 12 years old I saw the band KISS – I was at my friends house and they had a little league party. And this was when HBO first came out. I was a horrible baseball player. I couldn’t really hit the ball. But when I saw this concert I was mesmerized. I saw the stage and the costumes, the guitars, and the explosions, and the girls in the front row going crazy. I said – the hell with sports – I’m getting myself a guitar!
Kiss in 1974
I felt like one of those kids back in the day that saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. How many kids went out and started a band after seeing them? So that Christmas I coerced my parents into buying me a guitar. I was about 13 at the time. Then the next Christmas I got a nicer guitar. That’s when I really started getting into it and playing it. When I was about 14 or 15 I would just play along with records. I’d pick up the needle and just move it back until I got the song right.
I had to tune my guitar to the turntable– not everyone’s turntable played the record at the same speed. Once I tuned my guitar I played all sorts of stuff – ACDC, Ted Nugent, Cars.
It’s probably a parent’s worst nightmare to announce you wanted to be a guitarist – were they receptive?
They were realistic and told me to continue playing but “have a job to fall back on” and “don’t expect to get rich doing it”. But yeah – I thought I was gonna be a famous rock star – just like every other kid that starts playing a guitar.
I actually stuck with it and realized I could actually play the damn thing. I was good after 2 years especially starting from nothing. The kids are even quicker these days. They just go onto Youtube and pick things up in a flash.
Did you ever have any other career?
I got into carpentry, building houses. And from that experience I got a job at Hudson Valley Community College as a carpenter and worked there for 30 years.
I retired almost 3 years ago. So I was working during the week and playing gigs on the weekend. The job was great for time off if I wanted to do a gig during the day occasionally.
What are some of the bigger names you played with?
I played with Tony Markellis, Tommy Emmanuel, Kenny Homan, Blue Hand Luke, Kim Buckley, Kevin Maul also Kenny Gwyn– big in the NYC area – I played with him in the 90’s for awhile.
Some musicians went through a transition during the “Covid” lockdowns – did the direction of your music change at all during that time?
My job offered me early retirement so I was extremely lucky. They offered a half year salary so I paid off my house. Of course there were no gigs for a year and a half. I started seeing a couple people doing Facebook shows. So I said that’s what I should do. I knew I needed to keep my chops up. I knew I had to play. So I started a Facebook show – every Sunday called The High Noon Show. It was like an hour and half show. Some people would request songs but usually I just played what I felt like that day. A lot of people were tuning in! It got pretty popular. A lot of other guys were charging through paypal. But I didn’t worry about charging – I just did the shows for free. So I did that for about a year and half before shows started getting up and going again. But at least it got me practicing. I would see some friends of mine and they would tell me they hadn’t played in like 6 months! And I’m like what? Some of the musicians had a tough time getting back into it. They sounded rusty and I could tell. I definitely wasn’t going to let that happen to me. My cat listened to me alot during Covid.
It was during that time when I was over at my friends studio mixing and matching and recording my most recent album True. I purposely kept myself very busy during Covid. I’m really happy with how True turned out.
I recently heard you perform True off of your new album and thought it was such a pretty tune. What was your inspiration for the song?
I always wanted to write a proper love song. My parents died about 15 years ago. My mother passed away and then my father passed away about a month later. I know that’s common – people die of a broken heart. So I’m thinking – “ok well that’s some inspiration right there”. It didn’t really go anywhere much past that point for awhile.
So not too long ago I’m listening to the song again and it sort of sounded like something Steely Dan would have come up with. So I’m thinking ‘it’s got a good vibe to it, it’s happy, it’s warm…this could be the love song’. I usually write music first and then the lyrics seem to fall into place afterwards. I’ve got lots of music but no lyrics. I’m hoping I can complete all these at some point!
When I put the lyrics to it I was like ‘boom, this is it. I finally wrote a proper love song’. A lot of people really love it. And of course inspiration for the song came from my wife Kim. We’ve been married for 20 years.
I also want to mention to my readers that you wrote the song about Stephentown. Very catchy.
I wrote that not too long ago – it’s where I live now. Alot of people like the song – especially people from Stephentown! It really is the only Stephentown on earth – there is no other town out there with the same name.
What would you say to budding musicians today?
Anything you start on your own, it’s going to be a lot of work to be good at it. Just like an olympic athlete, where they train all the time, you may not be doing much else outside of your music if you want to be great. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not phenomenal in the beginning. So much has to do with practice, practice, practice. You’ll get better as you go. And don’t be discouraged by the business itself – like the money aspect of it, because you may not make much.
And you may end up always being mediocre – but that’s ok! You can still have a lot of fun with music. It’s definitely not as easy as it looks, but if you’re heart is into it than I would encourage anyone to pursue their dreams.
To listen to the album True: