Parting Shots

Retro-Active: Chris Robinson


Chris Robinson seems out of place in the faster-quicker-more of 2004. It's not 
just his shaggy visage or fashion sense-his take on love, life and rock and roll 
is all '70s passion and warmth. The clean sheen and pigeonholing of the modern 
music industry has made him a skeptic, though his unwavering passion for music 
has buoyed him as a lifelong optimist. And as one of Hollywood's odd couples 
with star actress Kate Hudson, the former Black Crowes frontman is all smiles 
with the recent arrival of a baby boy. His new band New Earth Mud will deliver 
their second album, This Magnificent Distance, in early summer.

So now you're a proud father of Ryder Russell Robinson. What's the origin of the 
name?
My wife came up with Ryder, which we really liked. I have a song called "Ride" 
on the last album that we play a lot and when he was in her belly he seemed to 
really, really like that song every night he was at one of the shows, on the 
inside. So it just happened and Russell, obviously for her dad Kurt. So we got 
the triple R, the triple threat.

On the Crowes' Live album and tour, you covered Led Zeppelin tunes with Jimmy 
Page alongside you. Did you ever have any mixed feelings considering Robert 
Plant is still alive?
No. It was the Black Crowes with Jimmy Page. He played our songs too. We never 
called it Led Zeppelin and I didn't try to be Robert Plant. Musically, it was 
just born out of mutual respect. It went right from there as opposed to trying 
to relive something or revisit something. There are plenty of tribute bands out 
there that do it for a number of groups. It was far from that. It was something 
real and different.

You said your latest effort is an "L.A.-based album." Is that a strictly literal 
comment or does that also apply to the overall feel?
I definitely think that California as a place, not so much Los Angeles, but 
California as a place and not just today but historically, holds a great deal of 
inspiration. Not just in terms of being the farthest point west but its internal 
beauty. It's kind of a mindset. I find it still to be more fertile here in terms 
of interest in all things counterculture-related.

Do you think musicians have a responsibility to speak out politically?
I think the inherent nature of being an artist goes against the inherent nature 
of politics and control. The pursuit of trying to create something beautiful and 
connecting to people on an emotional level, I don't think that has politics 
involved.

It's been reported that the music industry is finally on the upswing. What's 
your take on the current situation?
The industry wants to categorize and have genre-specific music. I've never been 
one to really start slicing up the pie and call everything by its name the way 
they want to. Within the chaos of the business itself, whom are they talking 
about? Pop acts? Angry metal acts? It's very dangerous that people understand 
that something like Bonnaroo is the biggest concert event in America with a 
scene of people who just want play their music and aren't really super 
interested in anything else. That starts to be dangerous because then people are 
like, "Well, we gotta go get some jambands." And that's not the answer either.

As for The Black Crowes, obviously something of the past but it would it be fair 
to say, "never say never?"
I guess so. The thing about the Black Crowes is that when something is so 
passionate, that took up much of our time, when it goes away, it just goes away. 
I'm not nostalgic. I wouldn't see getting together to do it to relive the old 
days. Unless it was really super vital and charged up and we had the material 
and the passion to do it. But yeah, I guess you can never say never.

We're not going to see you go for the big jackpot reunion tour when you're 60?
Well man, I might not be 16 anymore but I'm still a pretty good ways away from 
60. [laughing] You can ask me that question again when I'm 60.

If you could see one person get hit in the nuts with a swinging microphone, who 
would it be?
Anybody who disrupts another person's good time at a concert. That has always 
bummed me out and will always bum me out. I just can't stand to see people fight 
at concerts or people crowd surf and put their feet in people's face. Selfish 
people at concerts.

Has anything eluded you as an artist?
I always just expected everyone to be as passionate about music as I am. Not 
just the people around me. As I'm older, I realize that not everyone wants to 
sit around and listen to the Incredible String Band all night.

Chris Robinson was interview by Josh Baron.
http://www.relix.com/robinson/