Swimming against the musical tide has always been the Black Crowes' speciality, writes Scott Kara
KEY POINTS:
When you partied as hard as the Black Crowes did during the '90s you deserve a break. And that's just what the good old boys, led by rabble-rousing brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, decided to do in 2002.
"We hadn't had a break for 12 years," says Rich, on the phone from Atlanta, Georgia, the pair's hometown where they formed the band in the late '80s.
"We just had to call a break because sometimes, when you're in this big arse wave, you just want it to stop so you can look around and see where you are."
The Black Crowes, who return to New Zealand next month for the first time since 1991, became one of the biggest bands in America following the release of their 1990 debut album Shake Your Money Maker which boasted hit songs such as Hard To Handle and She Talks To Angels. Since then they've gone on to sell more than 20 million albums and they weren't scared to spend the profits.
During this interview, however, Robinson is careful not to dwell too much on the Crowes' partying ways, punch-ups, and a rock'n'roll lifestyle that rivalled Motley Crue - they've grown up since then.
Besides, it all caught up with them and that time off from the band was badly needed.
There was also friction between the two brothers which had as much to do with them being siblings as it did with them both being songwriters.
"We had to go through a lot of shit when the band split up, a lot of things we didn't understand, but I think if you really trust the universe, what you need you will get whether you like it or not.
"But we decided all our personal shit had been addressed and thought, 'Let's try to do this again'."
The hiatus also made them appreciate what they had achieved since starting out as "middle class kids who grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta".
"It was just beautiful. But towards the end we were taking it for granted and not seeing the positives in anything.
"We took a break, looked back on what it is and what we've done. We toured with the Stones, we played with the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and we played with Jimmy and Robert."
Yep, you know you've made it when you're on first name terms with Led Zeppelin's Page and Plant.
"I always loved and cherished music but I respect music now more," says Robinson.
"I was 18, 19 years old, just graduated from high school when I made the first record, and the first album sold seven million copies and that's a plate that some people aren't necessarily ready to deal with.
"Who doesn't want to succeed? That's amazing. But whether you are equipped to deal with that is another thing. But I reckon Chris and I and the gang came out in a pretty good state."
Possibly the biggest battle the Black Crowes faced was that throughout their career their blues-soaked style of rock was always opposite to the popular musical fad of the time.
When they started out heavy metal ruled, then when they released Shake Your Money Maker, second album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, and the 1994 album Amorica - the one with the picture of pubic hair overflowing from a bikini on the cover - grunge was big.
"Although we shared a musical appreciation with what the grunge bands had, because Pearl Jam and Soundgarden used to come and see us all the time, because they loved rock'n'roll music, we were in a different package and we were always on the outside."
Then came the boy-band explosion and the hip-hop R&B boom, meanwhile the Black Crowes kept on doing what they do.
"We basically just made our music and played what moved us because when we're moved we're gonna do the best we do."
Robinson sums up the Black Crowes' musical history simply by going through album by album. He says during the two-year Shake Your Money Maker tour, which included 350 shows, the band learned how to play their instruments; they recorded the next album live in a week; for Amorica they wanted to "delve" into the studio and spent a year making a "great sounding album"; Three Snakes & One Charm from 1996 was the organic record; By Your Side in 1999 was the rock'n'roll party record; and Lions (2001) was a "pretty brave push forward". But, he laughs, "then we split up".
After getting back together in 2005 they went out on tour.
The following year Rich and Chris started writing new songs, and after a few line-up alterations, notably the return of original drummer Steve Gorman, they cemented a line-up and came up with a seventh album, titled Warpaint.
While the title is a statement of intent in itself, the album is the best Crowes' album since Amorica. It's not that they sound different, still retaining the early Rolling Stones cockiness, mixed with a Southern blues stomp, and, being the marijuana-loving hippies that they are, there's some trippy and transitory rock'n'roll moments too.
You can't fault the Crowes' allegiance and sincerity to playing the music they love, which comes through especially on the cover of God's Got It by the Rev Charlie Jackson.
"You should hear him do it," laughs Rich.
"He does it in church with a Fender guitar and amp and he just plays. Obviously we turned it into more of a rock'n'roll stomp but again, the music is moving and it moves you, and the message moves you, and you can take 'God's got it' as being short for the universe.
"There's a real lack of sincerity in the world now, right across the board," he continues, launching into a mini tirade.
"People make movies just to make money, and everything's a weird self service industry.
"That permeates everything, even the book world. Fiction doesn't even exist any more, people don't even pick up on metaphors any more. But if you put on Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Beatles, or the Who - look at Tommy - they would write music that would touch on these universal themes that were good for all human beings.
"If you listen to the majority of music now the majority is about me, this girl and me. There's a problem there. And so I think when people come to see us there's nothing better than experiencing something sincere."
LOWDOWN
Who: The Black Crowes
Where & when: Logan Campbell Centre, April 5
New album: Warpaint, out now
Past albums: Shake Your Money Maker (1990); The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992); Amorica (1994); Three Snakes & One Charm (1996); By Your Side (1999); Lions (2001)
