KINGS OF THE JUNGLE: The Black Crowes Roar Back on Tour in Support of Lions from Onstage Magazine August 2001 They've bickered and brawled with each other more times than they'd probably care to admit. But like many sibling musicians before them Phil and Don Everly, Brian and Carl Wilson, Greg and Duane Allman, and Eddie and Alex Van Halen, to name a few Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes share a deep and profound creative bond. I think we do have some sort of musical telepathy, says Chris Robinson, the band's flamboyant lead singer, and I think a lot of it is genetic. We both have the same instincts musically, and that comes out when we're playing. On the heels of last year's historic jaunt with Jimmy Page, the Crowes are back out on their own with a new CD called Lions (BMG/V2) and a roaring live show. I hope we can get into almost the whole thing [Lions] on a nightly basis, Robinson says. Not since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion [the band's second album, released in 1992] have we taken the approach of trying to play the whole thing live. Performing the songs from Lions should be a breeze, considering the way the album was recorded (it was produced by acclaimed studio auteur Don Was). It's the most live recording we've done since Southern Harmony, says Crowes drummer Steve Gorman. We didn't have headphones; there was no separation, so everybody's bleeding in everybody else's microphones, and there are room microphones picking up a lot of it. We put a mic on the kick drum and only one over the kit. It wasn't like we spent hours getting a sound. We never tinkered for too long with anything, so these songs have a very natural transfer over to the stage. Adds Chris, We just had so much fun playing the songs. We ended up getting into them really quickly once we were set up. The Lions sessions were quite a contrast to the way the Crowes cut their previous studio album, 1998's By Your Side. We were each in our own rooms, trying to create a good feel, and I think we accomplished what we wanted, Gorman says, but there's no substitute for just playing together in a live setting. Lions also differs from its predecessor in that it covers such a wide spectrum. Its cuts range from funky guitar-driven tunes like Lickin' and Cosmic Friend to the percussive, blues-stompin' Young Man, Old Man and the poignant Miracle to Me. Says Robinson: The last record is like a bachelor on a weekend, and there's some reflection on it. But most of the time it's very selfish and male oriented. This new record definitely comes from the heart and the soul more. The Crowes hit it big right out of the gate with their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, which sold 7 million copies. In all, they've sold more than 15 million albums. So it's a bit surprising that the band once actually scoffed at the idea of megastardom. In the beginning, fellow Georgia band REM had a big influence on the Crowes, not so much creatively the Crowes' sound owes more to classic blues-and-boogie bands like the Allman Brothers, the Faces, Led Zeppelin, and the Mick Taylor era Rolling Stones as philosophically. REM offered a cool art-school vibe, Robinson says. They definitely influenced us about why to be a band. It was all about college radio and indie, and big business was scary. If you sold a lot of records, you were shit. You weren't cool. You were corporate. And despite their lofty status in the rock world, many would argue that the Crowes have remained cool by avoiding trends and remaining true to themselves. Robinson is disappointed with the homogeneity that permeates today's popular music. A lot of these [young] bands think it's about looking like everybody else and sounding like everybody else and making some money and being famous for a little bit, he says. I just don't think they realize how dynamic their music can be and that every time they get up onstage might be their last time. When we play, we really want to hit all the corners. Beautiful nights? I think we have a lot of them. Not every night, but when they come, they come. And that's when you know that people had the same [great] time you had. I've been to those kinds of gigs. I've sat in the audience with my mouth hanging open and all the joy in my heart. At press time, the Crowes were preparing to coheadline the Tour of Brotherly Love in May and June with British rockers Oasis, a band led by another pair of brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher. Onstage talked at length with Chris Robinson and Steve Gorman about the band's past, present, and future and about their recent experience playing with guitar icon Jimmy Page. Chris, have you and Rich always had this kind of telepathic understanding? Robinson: Yeah, it was kind of the same vibe when we started as Mr. Crowe's Garden [an early incarnation of the band]. We wanted to be Buffalo Springfield so bad. But we just probably sounded like a bad REM. The Crowes came into being as the hair-metal scene untangled and the grunge scene exploded in Seattle. Robinson: Yeah, it's funny. All those bands are gone. We can always be the Black Crowes; Eddie Vedder will always wear a flannel shirt or something. It's like the flannel shirt of Seattle is like Slash's top hat or something. But having soul being soulful and trying to have your music represent that there's nothing trendy or fashionable about that. And that's where we are. It's just real. I can dress up any way I feel. It's all about who you are. Gorman: Right around the end of our first tour was when Nirvana's Nevermind came out. So many bands were signed in the wake of Nirvana, and it's the same cycle that's always happened. One person does something interesting and the next five mimic it. So even something that was so organic as Seattle was immediately emulated and exploited to no end. The first time I heard Nevermind, I went, Cool. Same thing with Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction. I said, Good, somebody's just playing. But both those records became so big that they enveloped the people who made them. They destroyed those bands. Look at Kurt Cobain. Obviously he had some other issues. But, come on. What do you think is missing in live rock these days? Robinson: Well, I think people are so concerned with themselves, you know? They just wanna get up there and have people look at them. That's why you don't hear complicated arrangements that much. Heavy metal music is different, but I don't really consider heavy metal music very sophisticated the way people who listen to metal do. Their argument would be that they don't understand how something like the blues can be very complicated. But I can't speak for all heavy metal people, obviously. It's really just about being individuals, and that the individual makes up everything. I think if you forget that, then where are you motivated? That motivation must come in different ways. Gorman: Live. The word live is missing. Everybody's got crutches. Everything is synched up perfectly. People play with click tracks, and there's no magic in music when it's perfect or someone's idea of perfect. The people who are most ambitious win and most people forget the musical ambition. They just go with the business ambition. I think there has to be some sort of expression for it to be real; otherwise you're just giving 'em what they want. You don't have a lot of bands who are just doing their own thing and creating music that goes anywhere beyond fashion. Like Chris always says, you got the Barbie dolls and GI Joes all the little girl popsters and the little tough-guy Korns and Limp. And they're all the same thing. Easily digestible. But the problem with being easily swallowed is you're easily shat out as well. Chris, the Crowes have always been a very energetic live band. It seems as though you really feel the music. Robinson: Yeah, totally. That's how it's always been. I think part of getting better at it is just feeling freer with it. That's what the sound of my band does to me; that's why I've been with this band my whole life, and that's why we've committed ourselves to that feeling. And we didn't sit around like I see these people on TV going [adopts a low, goofy voice], We wanted to be the biggest band in the world. Being the biggest band in the world meant you'd have to do a lot of shit that we weren't prepared to do, like be people we're not, say things that we don't feel [laughs], behave the way that we don't want to behave, or do those things and pretend it's not us doing them. Our commitment was really to be part of something much greater than what's popular right now; that's been the case since we were a local band. Success came to the Crowes early. Robinson: We were very young, but I tell you, the first thing that happened when we sold 7 million records on Shake Your Money Maker was we became very humble very quickly. We went around the world and listened to a lot of music still do and there are a lot of great musicians out there, man. That's what it's about. And can you deal with that? You think you're a big video star, but can you go sit in with people in New Orleans and have them respect your music? Or do you think you just have respect because you've been on MTV? Has the band improved since the early days? Robinson: I can't say that it's necessarily better, but it's changed, and it takes on a different form, like our lives. And that's all it is. It's just a reflection of how we are and how we feel at any given moment in this shared thing that we chose to do. Steve, what was the early phase like for you? Gorman: It was just fun and filled with adrenaline. A friend of ours signed us and produced our first record; we made it for next to nothing, and we all still had jobs. We wanted the band to tour and we wanted this to be our life. When the record came out, I was still working at a record store. I'm sitting there in February 1990, and my own record is in the store, and I'm like, This is weird. [Laughs.] We started touring about two weeks after the record came out, and we went for 20 months straight, and afterward, it sold a lot of copies. What early gig will always remain in your heart? Gorman: The most unadulterated joyous night of our lives was on the first tour. We played in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Barrowlands, an old ballroom. We were opening for Dogs d'Amour. The way the crowd was going nuts, you would have thought we had been around for 20 years. It was about 3,000 kids, and they were dancing and pogoing and no one was getting body slammed and no one was throwing beer. We walked off like giants. We've played Barrowlands every tour since, and it's always great. It's the best venue on earth, but that first time, it was truly magical. What was challenging about that early phase, and what's still challenging? Gorman: Just little things every band goes through. Tempos. Figuring out the most important things like, How much can I drink and still play well? It's like a lab experiment at all times. And it's hard to have a great night onstage if everyone's pissed off at each other. We're just that kind of band; we can't separate those things. If there's a fight in the dressing room five minutes before the show starts, I don't walk onstage with a smile on my face just 'cause the people are there. I can't fake it. But we've had great shows during bad times, of course. What was interesting about the Crowes' tour with Jimmy Page? Robinson: We had been so focused and concentrated into our music for so long, and then we were able to get into somebody else's dynamic. I think we've always had a Zeppelin-esque sound and have always attempted a real dynamic, dramatic, emotional music that comes from traditional influences. Then to get inside somebody else's way of doing that was totally cool. And he's really a spectacular musician. Gorman: It was a lot of fun. We got together with him in 1999 for a show in London just a benefit gig, for 45 minutes. We've been friendly with Jimmy for a while. At our shows he'd sit in on a few blues numbers. We've always enjoyed each other's company; he's just a lovely guy. And he's always been a big fan of our band, very supportive. When we got together to play Led Zeppelin songs, he stepped into our band. They were his songs, but he became the seventh member of this group. That was very freeing for him. It was like being on vacation. It was rock 'n' roll camp. It must have been refreshing to play the Zeppelin songs. Gorman: Very refreshing. Anytime you play with new people, you come back energized. The fact that we were playing new stuff made us appreciate each other more than we probably ever have. We really take each other for granted, and suddenly, we're looking at each other like, Hey, you're pretty good, man or How'd you figure that out? And Jimmy carried an awful lot of energy. He's like a kid when he puts his guitar on. Did the stint with Page alter the Crowes' approach to music? Robinson: I don't think it changed our band as much as it maybe just made us feel good, because this is the only band we've ever been in, and that was the second band we've ever been in, you know what I mean? So it made us feel good that, well, we were in another good band. [Laughs.] We were in one, but now we've been in two cool bands! But it's not like we sat around going, Oh my God, it's Jimmy Page. I knew who Led Zeppelin was. I heard the records. Like I said, there have been a lot of great bands out there, and they're one of the greatest, but you know what I mean. We came to do our thing too. If we wanted to be in a Zeppelin tribute band, that's what we would have done. Steve, did you attempt to emulate John Bonham? Gorman: Not at all. If I went in with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, I would feel like, Jesus, man, I gotta become Bonham real quick [laughs], which I'm not interested in doing, by the way. I don't think that's gonna happen, so I'm not really interested in driving myself crazy trying to figure it out. I've ripped off Bonham as much as the next guy, and I would certainly say he and Ringo Starr are my two favorite rock drummers of all time. But I was playing those songs with my own band, and we were all learning them together. To me it was more important that the band just sounds good. What do you do when you encounter sound problems in concert? Robinson: It doesn't really matter. If the band can play, it's gonna sound good; you know what I mean? That's why I've never been picky about my monitors. We're not picky. We've never been the guys to blame our equipment. We don't sound good because my shit ain't right. [Adopts a twangy voice.] No, you don't sound good 'cause you ain't no good! Gorman: I look at the drum kit like it's not my kit but my drum tech's kit, and I just play it. I don't mess with the monitor system. The less I get involved, the smoother things run. Also, it's a general rule that if the sound check sounds great, the gig is gonna suck. And when you're going from indoor to outdoor, back and forth, night after night, it gets a little weird. In the summer, there are little things like when you're playing on a really humid night, the drumheads soak a little of that up and they sound different. And when there's no roof, the sound is just going up and not staying there. Steve, has your drum kit evolved over the years? Gorman: Not really. To me the big change is adding or taking away another floor tom. I always play a four- or five-piece kit, and it's with two floor toms, not with two rack toms. I've added a China cymbal that I hit about once a night. I keep it pretty simple. It's funny because I get really excited about new things for about a week, and then I always go back to the bread and butter. Do you use a subwoofer with your monitors so you can feel the bottom end more? Gorman: Yes. I actually just got this subwoofer you attach to your seat, but I haven't used it yet. I'm going back to a riser. The last tour, I just played on the floor, so I got a lot of the bottom from the stage. You lose a little of that oomph when you get off the floor. Other than your bass drum, what's the loudest thing in your monitor mix? Gorman: Rich's guitar. If he and I are locked in, then the rest of the band can go do what they want [laughs], because the song is there. We've been playing together since 1987, and in a weird way, he and I are the rhythm section, and the bass is added on top of that. Because when he's writing, songs always start from that foundation. He played the bass on this last album. Don Was played the bass on Lay It All on Me and Come On, but Rich played the rest. On some tracks, Don would play bass, but then Rich would go back and put a different line on [top]. Steve, how do you and Rich communicate onstage? Gorman: I'm very expressive with my face and with my whole body, and he's not. I know what he's thinking and saying to me, but it takes other people a while. We're communicating constantly. It's never a question of Is it fast or slow? It's Why aren't we in sync? We're not the kind of band that worries about beats per minute. We just worry about if it feels good. When a song kicks in, there's always an initial Are you okay? I'm okay. Let's go. But to get him to crack a smile onstage is like discovering the lost art of alchemy. Does the band find itself improvising much onstage lately? Robinson: Yeah, definitely. On the By Your Side tour, we were more structured, but I think we found a nice middle ground, and we have our places where we allow ourselves that indulgence during the set the indulgence of doing something different every night. Steve, do you work hard to lock your parts together with the bass? Gorman: Never. During the last two years we've gone through a few bass players. Our original guy, Johnny Colt, quit in 1997. And finally the guy we have now, Andy Hess, is fantastic, knock on wood. He joined in January. The first time we played together, we looked at each other like Oh, this is good. Still, it's more on his shoulders to lock in with me. I've been with the band 15 years, and I have this thing that, no matter what I play, it's right. [Laughs.] Chris, who are some of your influences as a singer? Robinson: Sly Stone, Otis Redding, obviously. As for rock singers, I'd say Joe Cocker and Steve Marriott. What about Mick Jagger? Robinson: Yeah, to a certain extent. I mean, for different things probably. And also Bob Dylan. Who are some of your influences as a harmonica player? Robinson: I'm more of a harmonica owner. Some of the main ones are Little Walter he's my favorite Sonny Boy Williamson, and Sonny Terry. Do you ever run your harp through an amp? Robinson: Sometimes on records. But usually I just play the harp straight through my [Shure] SM58. What cuts from Lions do you particularly like to play live? Gorman: I like playing everything on the new record live. It's great. By Your Side was a record that was fun to make, but it wasn't so great to tour. The songs were done the way they're supposed to be done on the record; they're just straight rock songs. It's kind of like there was no reason to tour. The record is the tour. There's a lot more to play with on the new album. Young Man, Old Man and No Use Lying there's a lot of space on those songs. There's nothing better than the air between notes. What makes the Crowes an especially strong live band? Gorman: Just the fact that we've done our homework. We can play. We're not reliant on our light system. Homework? Gorman: Listening. Everyone in this band if you went to their houses when they were seven years old was in their basement listening to records, dissecting them. That's all we were doing. And we weren't sitting in our basements playing instruments yet. We each also have a healthy respect for how the others play. What do you prefer: huge arena and stadium shows or more intimate club gigs? Gorman: They're so different that it's all cool. A club show is great because you have rabid people right in your face and you can just see and feel their excitement. And if you're playing a big show, it's good when you reach someone really far away. You can look up and across a football field and you're like, Man they're really diggin' this. It's getting that far out there. Plus, you have a big dressing room if you're in an arena; you have room to walk around backstage, you have a shower it's nice. You play a club, you get a sandwich and some chips. [Laughs.] But it's all good. ------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Perlah is a music journalist based in New York City and is the managing editor of Car Stereo Review's Mobile Entertainment magazine. onstagehotlinks http://qfg.tierranet.com/crowesnest.html This fan site and home to the Black Crowes Webring also hosts a Crowes Internet discussion forum and mailing list. www.click2music.com/blackcrowes The Crowes' BMG site includes video and audio clips. www.theblackcrowes.com On the band's official site, you can buy the new record, listen to clips, check out their tour schedule and set lists, and e-mail the band. It has links to a variety of Crowes-related sites, lyrics to all their recorded songs, and more. The Black Crowes' Gear Chris Robinson: lead vocals, harmonica Shure SM58 vocal mic Hohner Marine Band harmonicas Audley Freed: guitars, vocals Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster Gibson Custom Shop Firebird Gibson Les Paul Gibson J Series acoustic Terry C. McInturf custom guitar Bogner Ecstacy 100W head Fender Tone Master 100W head (2) Matchless 412 cabinets (open back) Roger Mayer Rocket FX Octavia DigiTech Talker Fulltone Deja Vibe Fulltone Soul Bender Prescription Electronics Clean Octave Blend Ibanez Tube Screamer Vox Wah Ernie Ball volume pedal Shure SM58 vocal mic Shure SM57 and Shure KSM32 mics on cabinets Andy Hess: bass Fender Jazz bass Fender Precision bass Fender Telecaster bass Ampeg SVT bass head (2) Ampeg SVT 810 cabinets Shure Beta 57 on bass cabinet Countryman DI (direct bass signal) Rich Robinson: guitars, vocals 21 guitars including: 1968 Gibson Gold Top Les Paul 1968 Gibson Firebird 1968 Gibson TV Special Gibson ES-335 1952 Fender Esquire Fender Custom Shop B-Bender Fender Custom Shop Relic NoCaster 1960 Gretsch White Falcon James Trussart (custom guitars): SteelPhonic (with acoustic pickup) SteelCaster SteelPaul Dan Armstrong acrylic guitar (2) Zematis custom guitars Zitlau electric 1970 Martin D-28 acoustic (with undersaddle pickup) (2) Harry Joyce custom 50W heads (2) 412 Harry Joyce cabinets Bob Bradshaw MIDI rack Bob Bradshaw RS-10 pedal board Pete Cornish guitar selector and line driver (A/B box) Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Dunlop CryBaby Dunlop Univibe Korg/Toneworks 301dl Dynamic Echo DOD FX96 echo MXR Dynacomp compressor DigiTech Whammy Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler Shure SM58 vocal mic Shure SM57 and Shure KSM32 mics on cabinets Gibson Vintage Strings (.010 - .046 for electrics) Steve Gorman, drums Ludwig drums: 22" kick 18" floor tom 16" floor tom 13" rack tom 14" 5" maple snare Zildjian cymbals: 15" A Quick Beat Hi-Hat 18" A Custom Crash 24" A Medium Ride 20" Crash Ride 24" China Kit mics: Kick: Shure Beta 52 and Shure SM91 Snare top: Shure Beta 56 Snare bottom: Shure SM57 Toms: Shure Beta 56 Ride: Shure SM81 Hi-hat: Shure SM81 Cowbell: Shure SM81 Overheads: Shure KSM32 Eddie Harsch: keyboards Hammond B-3 Leslie Model 120 Korg SG-1 piano Kurzweil K2000 keyboard Minimoog (Keyboards go directly into the P.A.)