MMUSICMAG.COMJULY/AUGUST 2010 ISSUE
IN JANUARY 2002, THE BLACK CROWES ANNOUNCED plans for an indefi
nite hiatus. Relations among the members had reached an all-time
low, particularly the famously tempestuous bond between lead singer
Chris Robinson and guitarist brother Rich. They all needed a break
from each other. “There was a lot of negativity surrounding all of
our feelings,” recalls Chris Robinson, who founded the group with
Rich and drummer Steve Gorman in Atlanta 23 years ago. “It’s
confusing and upsetting when things fall apart and you’re thinking,
‘I want to get out of here.’ It shouldn’t feel like that. It’s
something that’s brought too much joy.”
After being back in action for the last fi ve years, the Crowes
recently announced another impending hiatus, set to begin when
their current tour wraps up in December. But the mood of the band,
Robinson says, is very different this time. “Everyone is happy and
feels great about where we are, what we’ve done and where we’re
going,” he says. “We thought it would be healthy to say, ‘Look,
we’ve
done so many gigs and made three really energetic records in the
last fi ve years. Let’s put it down for a bit and see how we
feel.’”
To mark the occasion—and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the Crowes’ debut album, Shake Your Money Maker—the band has
recorded a new double album featuring acoustic versions of songs
from throughout their back catalog. Croweology was recorded late
last year at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, with former
Crowes guitarist Paul Stacey producing. “We defi nitely wanted to
make some symbolic effort for our 20th anniversary,” Robinson says,
“even though we’re the most non-career-oriented group of people
that you would probably ever meet. I think it’s a super-interesting
record, it’s a warm cocoon of music to get in to.” When we caught
up with Robinson at his Topanga Canyon home in Los Angeles county,
he was engaged in what he calls “big rock-star stuff—moving some
stuff into a storage unit, going to Whole Foods with the family.
It’s a big day.”
THE BLACK CROWESChris Robinson looks back on two decades of
keeping it weird By Chris Neal
‘The songs have to resonate in some way other than nostalgia for
the listener.’
Cou
rtes
y S
hure
Inco
rpor
ated
©20
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Rich Robinson, Chris Robinson
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Why go on hiatus now? It’s better to take a break while everyone
feels good and all the pieces are in place, so it will be that much
easier to put it back together when we feel we want to do it. We
probably should have taken a break after Three Snakes and One Charm
[1996]. If we’d taken a couple of years off back then, who knows?
But when you’re in the middle of something, you don’t have that
perspective. There’s a lot of stuff that happens in your life when
you get off the submarine for a while. That’s a lesson we had to
learn from our past.
How long will it be? It could be two years, fi ve years, 10
years or whatever. Let’s see what happens. Our joke is that if this
record sold a lot of copies, we would go back on the road next
year. We laugh about that, but I don’t know. The last fi ve years
have been pretty Crowe-intensive, and we want to do some other
things—have time to be with the kids, do that kind of stuff. So
it’s hard to say. But that’s what I like about it. You just shove
off from the dock on your little dingy, and the next thing you know
you’re on the wide open sea.
How did you decide which songs to re-record for Croweology? We
were very democratic about it. Everybody put together a list of the
songs they wanted to do. It was funny, about 70 to 80 percent of
our lists were all the same. Then we fi lled in the pieces. Most of
the material we know, we’d been playing it for a long time, so it
was just a question of getting a good sound.
Even though it’s acoustic, it’s defi nitely a real rock ’n’ roll
record.On a song like “Remedy,” this version is rockin’ without
electric guitars. Hey, “Remedy” was written on an acoustic guitar,
laying around in my garage in 1991. One thing I really like about
the record is that it breaks down a little bit more of the
songwriting. You get to hear the architecture of the structure in
the music, which is really hip. I don’t think most people would
expect the way the record sounds. I hope they’ll be pleasantly
surprised.
What was the recording like? We made the record last December.
We came from a fi ve-night run at the Fillmore in San Francisco
straight down to the studio here and went right in. So we were a
little shell-shocked, which adds to how dreamy some of the music
sounds. We went from these big, loud, long psychedelic nights at
the Fillmore to this. We had to get into this space where you’re
not being that loud, but you’re playing this dynamic kind of
music.
Did you feel like you learned something new about the songs?I
get that feeling all the time. I’m not on a nostalgia trip, and I
don’t really listen to our records. I can’t be in one of those
bands where you have to play [the Crowes’ 1990 breakout hit] “Hard
to Handle,” you still have to go out and get into that groove.
Luckily, we don’t play the exact same songs all the time. If you’re
going to play your music, it has to feel legitimate and it has to
feel present. If you get to the real, true expression in whatever
piece you’re working on, you can stay in a pure place. The songs
change with you and the things that you go through, and with the
audience. Especially if you’ve been doing them for a long time, the
songs have to resonate in some way other than nostalgia for the
listener.
When you fi rst started the band, did you have a goal in mind?
No, we weren’t like that. We just wanted to make a record. Steve
Gorman joined the band in 1987, and by then Rich was just getting
out of high school. I decided not to go to university, so that’s
when we said we were going to do this. We made a commitment, but
our commitment was to make music, our commitment was to not give
up. Our commitment was, at least for me, to keep it weird. If we
made it, or if we got to a place where we could eke out a living,
great. If we became rock stars, even better—but that was so beyond
the realms of consciousness. It was about trying to write the best
songs and be the best band we could be, and see where that took us.
I didn’t want to look like anyone else, didn’t want to sound like
anyone else. I feel the same way now. It’s the thread running
through our tapestry. I never wanted to be a chameleon or have a
character or something. I don’t have to get a silly haircut. I’m
sure people think I look silly anyway, like some weird old
hippie-like wizard guy.
How would you describe your relationship with your brother?I
guess to other people it’s complicated, but to me it’s simple. I
love my brother to death, he’s very talented and I love the music
we make together, but I don’t always like him. He probably feels
the same way. I’m proud of the work we do together, but we live in
our own worlds. The only time we can really communicate and be
civil is when we’re making music, and then the other times there
are these complicated things. I’ll take my half of the credit for
the good and the bad stuff. That’s the way life works, and I can’t
get hung up on it. I can’t say,
STEPPING OUT
Even amidst the Black Crowes’ busy schedule, Chris Robinson has
been making a name for himself as a producer. He has recently
helmed this year’s self-titled debut by Truth & Salvage Co., as
well as Ready for the Flood, last year’s reunion of former Jayhawks
frontmen Mark Olson and Gary Louris. “I think they wanted somebody
who could deal with them,” Robinson says of Olson and Louris. “They
aren’t brothers, but they are as different and strange and bizarre
as my brother and myself. Maybe they knew that I could deal with
that dynamic.”
Robinson signed Truth & Salvage Co., a six-man band from Los
Angeles, to the Crowes’ Silver Arrow label after being introduced
to them by manager Pete Angelus. “There’s four different singers,
so I wanted to make sure everybody had their individual
aspect to their songs,” he says. “I wanted to keep it cohesive
and put them in a good place to make records.”
Robinson’s approach to production is very straightforward.
“Making records isn’t that hard,” he says. “You take the best
material you have, then go and get the best performance you can get
during that time. I don’t know about promotion teams and marketing
strategy, but I know if everyone in the room is feeling it. If
everyone in the room is happy, then we’re making the record. It’s
that easy.”
STEPPING OUT
Even amidst the Black Crowes’ busy schedule, Chris Robinson has
been making a name for himself as a producer. He has recently
helmed this year’s self-titled debut by Truth & Salvage Co., as
well as Ready for the Flood, last year’s reunion of former Jayhawks
frontmen Mark Olson and Gary Louris. “I think they wanted somebody
who could deal with them,” Robinson says of Olson and Louris. “They
aren’t brothers, but they are as different and strange and bizarre
as my brother and myself. Maybe they knew that I could deal with
that dynamic.”
Robinson signed Truth & Salvage Co., a six-man band from Los
Angeles, to the Crowes’ Silver Arrow label after being introduced
to them by manager Pete Angelus. “There’s four different singers,
so I wanted to make sure everybody had their individual
aspect to their songs,” he says. “I wanted to keep it cohesive
and put them in a good place to make records.”
Robinson’s approach to production is very straightforward.
“Making records isn’t that hard,” he says. “You take the best
material you have, then go and get the best performance you can get
during that time. I don’t know about promotion teams and marketing
strategy, but I know if everyone in the room is feeling it. If
everyone in the room is happy, then we’re making the record. It’s
that easy.”
Dar
ren
Ank
enm
an
Chris Robinson on stage in San Francisco, 2005
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MMUSICMAG.COMJULY/AUGUST 2010 ISSUE
“Oh, that’s the way Rich is.” I imagine the way I am is hard to
be with on a certain level as well. We’re just too stubborn,
maybe—I don’t know. The fulfi llment and the payoff is the music.
That’s the focus, the most important and the most interesting
thing.
A lot of people say Rich is a realist and you’re an idealist. Is
that right?Maybe on some things, but not on others. Rich is equally
an idealist in terms of the politics of how we make our music and
how we get it to people. We both have a healthy disregard for
authority, so that’s the tie that binds us. So I don’t know if
that’s a fair assumption. It’s hard to say, I have a hard time
putting my fi nger on it myself. Maybe during the hiatus I’ll fi
gure it out. (laughs)
What are your plans for the hiatus? I defi nitely see making
music. I could play music here in L.A., get some solo material
together, write songs with other people. The Black Crowes is this
incredible dynamic trip. It’s love and hate, joy and loss. It’s
very dramatic. I love that, but fi ve years of that doesn’t give
you any time to play with other people and do all the things you
want to do. It’s time we take control of our own business
and say, “OK, we’ll get back to this later.” Everybody has music
to make and children to raise and wives to love. It’s a healthy
move for the commune all around.
Looking back on the last 20 years, what are you proudest of?
Keeping it weird. Not just the music itself, but what it stands for
and the culture of what the Black Crowes has been. These days
nobody steps out to make a statement, a soulful statement. It’s
just sad when kids grow up thinking Nickelback is a real band. I’m
sure they’re great guys, I just picked them because they’re big.
I’m proud that we’re still making music that I feel is equally
important and has as much depth as anything we created in our
commercial period in the ’90s. I’m proud that we still have the
freedom to be self-indulgent. Jesus Christ, shouldn’t somebody be
self-indulgent besides Radiohead? (laughs) Not every trip is the
same, and not everything should be watered down to sell to the
middle. We didn’t jump on any trends or bandwagons. I’m proud that
we’ve maintained a certain aesthetic and integrity, even though on
the outside it may look like we’re totally crazy. We love it so
much that it probably has made us a little crazy.
‘The Black Crowes is love and hate, joy and loss. It’s very
dramatic.’
Josh
Che
use
STRETCHING OUT
Although not typically thought of as a “jam band,” the Black
Crowes have a long history of live improvisation. While the studio
versions of their songs rarely stretch past the six-minute mark,
the band has no reservations about exploring a tune onstage for 10
or even 20 minutes at a time. One thing Chris Robinson was eager to
do with Croweology, the group’s new album of acoustic arrangements
of their past material, was to fi nally capture the Crowes’ fl air
for improvisation in the studio. “When you’re known for longer
improvised pieces, but you’ve never recorded one, that’s kind of
funny,” he says. “With the jam, ‘Wiser Time’ is like 22 minutes on
stage. The studio version of that song is four and a half minutes.
So why do it like the original version? Why not do it the way we’ve
been playing it for the last 15 years?”
At New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, 2005
Jeff
Fasa
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Steve Gorman, Adam MacDougall, Luther Dickinson, Sven Pipien,
Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson
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