The Other Robinson
By Eric Layton
Entertainment Today
December 6, 1996


Rich Robinson is tired of comparisons. Since the Black Crowes' inception,
critics have seen fit to liken them to such groups as the Rolling Stones
or The Faces. But the Crowes have always exercised a distinct musical
vision albeit one that blends a wide array of influences (rock, country,
blues and R&B among them). Perhaps it's more accurate to say that the band
simply draws from the same traditions as the artists they've been accused
of copying.

The artistic argument hasn't been the only cross the Crowes have had to bear.
Chris and Rich Robinson, creative partners as well as siblings, have had a
notoriously strained relationship over the years. Rich, 27, handles the music
writing and guitar, while older brother Chris, 30, is the lyricist and lead
vocalist. Despite the oft-publicized tumult between the two, the Crowes have
churned out some highly successful albums: Shake Your Money Maker (1990) sold
five million copies; The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992) also
sold well and spawned the hits "Remedy" and "Sometimes Salvation;" 1994's
Amorica won the band some long-overdue critical praise.

Success notwithstanding, tensions and infighting nearly broke the band up
last year. Three Snakes and One Charm, released this year, finds the sextet
harmonious, focused and happy, especially since they've overcome some prolonged
differences and completed perhaps their finest album to date. The Black Crowes
now seem poised to become a rock tradition, as fans flock from show to show
and tape the performances, recalling the spirit and phenomenon of you know who.
Rich Robinson puts it all in perspective.

"I don't see many parallels [between us and the Dead]. It just seems, no
matter what we do, we'll get compared to someone. I guess the only way
you could compare us is that we let people tape and we change the set lists,
but a lot of bands change the set lists. I think not changing your set list
is sort of a product of the '80s. I think when big business came into play,
it was like 'You can't change the set list, because it might mess up your
lighting plot.' Stupid shit like that. That, I think, was ultimately the
downfall of music, and I think that's why [popular music] was in a rut in
the '80s for about 7 or 8 out of the 10 years. Now we're in this fuckin'
worse rut."

Speaking of today's music, Robinson expounded on why he thinks the
Black Crowes are in a class by themselves, separate from the spectrum
which includes such live-focused acts as Phish, Blues Traveler and
the Dave Matthews Band (all of whom boast devout followers and
encourage taping).

"We've always been unto our own," says Robinson. "We're an island, and I
think our fans know it. I don't think it's really possible to compare us
to any band that came out of the '60s or '70s, or even bands that are out
now. We've always done our own thing since day one. I mean, we sold 5
million records on Shake Your Money Maker, and we [toured] theaters.
We said, 'This is what we're gonna do just because we can go into arenas
doesn't mean you should.'

"People were going 'Man, they're nuts!', and it's like, why? We've never
really done things conventionally, even the way we make records. After
a band sells that many records and then [records] their second one in
eight days, some people would think that's a little weird, saying
'Why didn't you spend more time on it?' We heard all the shit.

"I can't really get behind comparisons. You can compare everything on
Earth to everything, or you can just see a band for what it is and what
it does. We've been festooned with comparisons since day one, and it
gets old. If you're five guys on the stage and you get up there, you
play your set, you change it and you jam all these different things,
you're compared to something. If you don't, if you just get up there and
play the record then you're stiff. So who knows? You have to question
'Where did jamming come from?' Then you have to go back to jazz and
give credit where credit's due instead of giving it all to the Grateful Dead."

Indeed, part of the appeal for many Black Crowes followers is the fact that
they alter their set list nightly. Robinson explained how they devise the
song lineup and who's responsible for writing it. "Basically, I think Chris
got sick of [writing the set list] before we went on the Money Maker tour,
so I wrote it for like five years. Then last year, Chris started writing
them and he and I started splitting them, he'd write one, I'd write the
other. This year, we started off that way, but he's written most of the
set lists this time, which is fine with me." So how do they keep from
repeating themselves, as they never play the same set twice?

"We have four records, and we can play as long or as little as we want,"
says Robinson firmly. "We have new songs that we play, unreleased songs
and cover tunes. There's lots of stuff we can do. Chris and I have written
about 15 new songs since we started the tour. We learned some Byrds songs,
Dylan songs and we do a Neil Young song ("Big Time," from Broken Arrow)."
Any tunes he wouldn't miss if they were dropped from the repertoire?

"Yeah, sometimes there's songs, but I can't really even think of them.
Chris and I sort of have the same taste for the most part. If he and I
both don't like it, we really don't have to say it, it'll just sort of
disappear [laughs]."

It's been noted, especially in the last couple of years, that hordes of
fans have been trailing the group from gig to gig. It was a bit surprising,
therefore, to find out that the Crowes have had such devotees since the
beginning.

"Since day one, fans have followed us around," Robinson pointed out.
"In 1990, there were groups of people in all the regions of America.
When we'd get to the general southern area [after touring in the northern
states], there would be like the same group of people [following us] for
the full Shake Your Money Maker tour. It's just sort of been growing since
then. Now there's kids who go to like 40 shows. There's actually some kids
from Europe who flew over to see us. I think it's quite flattering."
So why do these kids follow the tours around?

"Word of mouth gets out how the shows are, how we change the sets and
play different cover tunes. We also change arrangements of songs.
We do something different every night. We've moved on since 1990.
I feel we've gotten 100% better, and have a lot more to offer."

Given their success at touring, Robinson agreed with the opinion that
the band has come to a point where it no longer needs to make music videos.
"I would [agree with] that. Our tour was on sale before we did Three Snakes,
and most of the shows have been sold out, which to me, is great. I couldn't
ask for more. Especially in lieu of how bad the industry is right now,
from what I'm reading everywhere. Record sales are down like 14% or
something, ticket sales are down everywhere. We're really fortunate in that
sense, to still be able to play the same size places and the same number
of nights that we were when we were selling way more records. I hope
and I think that our fans are in there for more than hits."

Robinson also described tentative plans for a live concert film and/or
album. "We talked about doing it. The home video that we did,
Who Killed That Bird on the Windowsill, was really cool. That again
was unconventional, a little bit different. And I think that we would
do a really cool live record and video. We want to do a live record,
we need to just figure it out."

Since the Black Crowes' canon displays traces of gospel music, we asked
about Robinson's religious background growing up.

"[Religion] was pretty much nonexistent. The gospel influence comes from
the music of the south, gospel being really attainable where we're from,
it's right there. In that sense, I think it's almost inbred in us. All
these elements, from jazz to country to gospel to blues to hearing
everything, I think all those are from being brought up in the south.
Being exposed to all that, I think it helped us a lot. Plus, my dad
being such a music fan sort of helped. But as far as religion goes,
I don't think that we as a family were ever overly religious."

During the Black Crowes' career, much has been written about the often
troubled relationship between Rich and his brother/partner Chris, who,
comparatively, is much more outspoken publicly (Rich is usually perceived
as "the quiet one" of the pair). Some might argue that such tension,
creative or otherwise, makes for better music, and Rich yielded his
thoughts on the notion.

"I think that tension can be beneficial, but [Three Snakes] was made
basically tension free. Everyone in the band was really getting along,
and I think this is the best record we've ever made. During the whole
writing of the record, Chris and I were totally getting along and
listening to each other, being respectful. That was sort of strange for
us, but I think it turned out great. I couldn't have been happier."