BLACK CROWES PLAY TO LIVE, LIVE TO PLAY by Katherine Turman July 1991 RIP Magazine (LFP) "Wear a headband like Axl, say a lot of four-letter words, and pretend you're a bad guy. You'll get a record deal." So says Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, who doesn't wear a headband or use a lot of four-letter words. So what gives? Why is he staying in New York's too-trendy-to-have-its-name-on-the-outside-of-the-building Paramount Hotel? Why is he buying towels at Macy's? Why is he playing Madison Square Garden? Why has he been on the road for over a year, opening for Aerosmith, Robert Plant and ZZ Top? Why is Chris Robinson, 6'2" and 120 pounds dripping wet, getting a reputation for being one cocky mofo? Because the Black Crowes have a platinum debut album in _Shake Your Moneymaker_. And why is that? Because the Crowes' brand of basic, bluesy, honest rock 'n' roll strikes a universal chord, and well-crafted tunes like "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels" have across-the-board appeal. "We always knew that we would get a record deal. I'm not here to be humble," says the Atlanta-born singer, laughing. "We knew we weren't going to get it for a while, because we weren't ready. I wasn't the singer that I am now. Rich [Robinson, guitarist and Chris's brother] wasn't the player he is now. So many bands and musicians think that getting a record deal means they're going to be huge rock stars. I mean, I like the money I've made this year - actually, I don't know if I've made any really - but that doesn't mean that's why I do this. I would, regardless of the deal of the cards. As much of it is luck, is that we are very good at what we do. So you just do it." And do it they do. "We're not foolish people. We've made very calculated steps. Yes, we polled all our resources to make this record. The music side of the thing is a given. My brother and I write songs - not because we want to, because we have to. I don't write songs because I get blown backstage. I don't write songs because I get free drugs. There's something in my brain that makes me write lyrics all the time. Rich plays because he cannot keep a guitar out of his hands; because he likes the sound." Following in the tradition of volatile brother duos such as the Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies, Chris, 24, and Rich, 21, have always played together. Always. And while the Robinsons like to think of the Crowes as a democracy, Chris admits, "I think the other three guys would probably give you a different story. This is the only band I've ever been in. If I ever, for some reason, get into another band, I'll never do anything as special as this. It's blood, and we both understand each other and push each other, even though our motives at the time may seem a little cruel. At the end of the day, when it's all said and done and the bandages are applied, we have some special things." Unfortunately, some in the record industry don't think that Chris is so special. Especially when the singer does what he does best - proclaim the truth according to C. Robinson. Chris is a hyperkinetic, intelligent, nonstop talker who takes no time to edit his words, and the result of that is a plethora of press where he comments, not always favorably, on his peers. "A lot of what I said is really tongue in cheek," he insists, gladly addressing the subject. "What can you say to me? What I say is the truth. I mean, Kip Winger goes on TV and says - not to keep bringing him up; I have nothing against the guy, but he stands for things that we're not about. That's just me making a comment on it. I really have to watch what I say, because I speak a lot of times as a fan. And then they say, 'Oh, you're jealous, or ungrateful.' I'm not either of those things, but it hurts my feelings. Maybe I just don't understand or comprehend why someone would go on TV and say, 'Well, we wrote some of the riffs, then I knew we had to put some words to 'em.' Had to? And he says, 'The best thing I got for Christmas was a gold record.'" So just who is doing something with inherent integrity, according to the Crowes' high, no-b.s. standards? Well, Marc Ford, of the L.A. band Burning Tree, is one of Chris's best friends and fave musicians. Why? "Because we both know that rock 'n' roll - and I'm talking about rock 'n' roll, all-encompassing, your lifestyle, the way you order a drink at the bar, the way you do anything - that it's the only thing that is important." Though Chris appears to take it all quite seriously, he can also take the piss out of rock 'n' roll etiquette. "Rock stars don't wear shorts," he says, coyly, but seriously. "There is etiquette. Not a lot of people are aware of that. Never, never wear shorts onstage if you're a real rocker...unless you're a punk-rock type. Never wear a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. Another one is that you'll never see a table of singers sitting together, like at a bar." Hmmm. But while he's concerned with the trappings of a career in rock and is glad that the Crowes Def American debut sold a million copies, more than that Chris truly hopes that their audience hears "the difference between what we do and what everyone else does. This is music, it's not a product. It's up to you...what do you want out of things? It you just want a nice, happy little song and a cute video with a lot of tits and ass in it, then cool." But isn't that 90% of the music business? Chris shifts in his seat and focuses on a spot on the wall. "So let's get back to Mark Slaughter and Kip Winger. I have no problems with them. Actually, I never should have said it. It's true, but I never should have said it. I don't kiss anyone's ass, and that may be a huge albatross around my neck. But fuck it, I'm not a diplomat; I'm a rock star. "There are so many necessary evils in the world. It could be so much easier for everyone," he continues. "I think most people who buy records would be surprised just what these bands they like do in the studio. In terms of stealing drum sounds...I love the drum sound on 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love' by Bad Company, but if I want a snare sound like that, myself, [drummer] Steve Gorman and our producer will spend three days getting that sound. Because I make music. I don't think Game Boys are the coolest thing ever invented. Don't steal from other people's records and go out and say you're bad. "The Faces and the Rolling Stones sound similar as far as guitar sounds go, but has anyone said, 'Hey, Ron Wood was ripping off Keith Richards'? My brother said, in _Rolling Stone_ magazine, 'If you want to talk about the rolling Stones, I'll talk all day; but you'd better get Keith Richards on the phone to talk about Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.' Jimmy Page and Keith Richards were both blues disciples. Look at the two different ways they interpreted things. Same thing that the Black Crowes do. There's no Rod Stewert songs on my record. If more people knew who Steve Marriot was, they'd know where my voice came from." "I look up to a lot of people," he acknowledges. "I look up to Keith Richards. I look up to Steven Tyler. I'm sorry I made the comment I did in _Rolling Stone_, but that guy represents everything a frontman should be to me, and it just hurt my feelings that some of these people I got to tour with...I got in trouble 'cause I said some things about people singing to tapes. I didn't do it to be malicious; I did it because I thought people maybe should know. It takes away the magic. That means anyone can do it. How rock is that? That's New Kids On The Block. It's crap. But it will always be around. "Rock 'n' roll should be an arrogant, sometimes nasty, sexy, beautiful, free animal. We don't compromise, and we never will. And whether we sell a million records or 12, we have to do it. We're not here to say we're better, or bigger, or skinnier, or we drink more than you. We just do what we do. On top of it all, I've met a lot of cool people this year, and my life will never be the same regardless. And thank you. Thank whatever. I'm glad." Though Chris hates overstating the obvious, once again the seemingly inevitable topic of honesty and integrity comes up. "Honesty is the best policy. Jack Kerouac said it best in _Satori in Paris_," believes Chris. "He said, 'I don't make up stories, because the people who enjoy made-up stories are the exact same people who are afraid to look in the mirror when they are sick, injured or insane.' They will not look at themselves and admit, 'Am I crazy?' They have a huge gash on their face; they don't want to see it. But that's real. I mean, you can use that analogy." For all his pontificating and sudden success, Chris appears to be very centered. His new Manhatten apartment, which he shares with girlfriend Tracy, came complete with doorman and bizarre art lining the hallways, and just received its first wave of furnishings: TV, VCR, phone, bed and, of course, the requisite flying Indonesian pig. The second wave included towels, sheets, coffee machine, and Chris's crates of records. His apartment building seems to be chock-full of couples with babies, which leads Chris to glance at his lady love and comment, "Well, I guess we'd better have one." Though Southern ("the chosen people," as he says) to the tips of his toes, Chris finds New York inspirational, claiming, "You have to keep your wits about you. It's like being on the sidelines at a pro football game. And I like having a margarita and sitting in the eye of the storm." And that he does. Even while on tour, he keeps his center by constantly reading, listening, thinking and talking. His current on-bus book is _Confederacy of Dunces_, while his "hotel" book is _Plagues of People_, "a history of diseases, and how they affected history," he explains. "I read everything from William Burroughs...now I'm reading a Czech writer, though I tend to stick toward the twisted." Bottom line, Chris Robinson is enigmatic. Yes, he's cocky. But on the other hand, he's entirely likable and quite able to justify, intelligently and reasonably, what he says. "No one has gone and slapped 'respectable' on our foreheads. We stir a lot of feathers," he says, somewhat boastfully. "But that's what it's about. We don't live any lies." A question that seems to pop up in relation to Chris and his pronouncements regarding his band is "Why are you the way you are?" The skinny white boy with the big nose laughs. "Because I believed all the records I listened to as a kid. I realized when I heard 'Mama Kin,' and Tyler sings, 'It ain't easy, livin' like a gypsy, trying hard to find peace of mind,' Yes, but what else are you gonna do? It's not easy, but it's the most fun I've ever had."