San Jose Mercury News August 1st, 1997 Submitted by Tom Herrington CROWES' FEATS from the Crowesnest: http://qfg.tierranet.com/crowesnest.html Rock 'n' rollers getting rep for winging it at concerts BY JON MATSUMOTO Special to the Mercury News WITH MOST popular rock groups, there's a certain predictability to their concerts. For instance, just about every Rolling Stones' show since 1972 has included the hits ``Jumping Jack Flash,'' ``Brown Sugar,'' ``Honky Tonk Women'' and ``Tumbling Dice.'' Fortunately, there are some prominent bands that are unwilling to fly on automatic pilot. The Black Crowes certainly fit that description. There's simply no telling which songs the Atlanta-bred quintet will perform when it headlines the Furthur Festival Saturday at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Certainly the band feels no obligation to march out all of its best-known numbers, from ``Hard to Handle'' and ``She Talks to Angels'' to ``Remedy'' and ``Gone.'' ``We don't play (the most recognizable songs) every night, because we have four albums of material, 30 unreleased tunes and cover tunes we like to play,'' says guitarist and co-songwriter Rich Robinson by phone from a Furthur Festival stop in Wisconsin. ``We don't want the music to become stale. ``If I was a fan and I was coming to see the band,'' he continues, ``I would want to see them really enjoy what they were doing and play songs that mean something to them and that they love. By not playing those songs every night, when we do play them I think we play them that much better.'' It's not uncommon for fans of the Black Crowes to follow the band from city to city on its tours. The group's disciples are also encouraged to openly tape shows and to trade these audio recordings with other devotees of the group. This all helps to foster a spontaneous, anything-goes atmosphere on stage. The diehard fans simply expect -- and perhaps demand -- different set lists each night. Loose game-plan But Robinson is quick to point out that the Black Crowes have always tended to wing it on stage, even before following the band on tour became popular with its fans. ``I remember on our first arena tour in 1990 when we opened for Aerosmith,'' says Robinson. ``The first song we played on that tour we just sort of jammed. People thought we were nuts. It was like, `What are you guys doing?' '' The Black Crowes' free-flowing shows and the intense devotion the band elicits from some of its fans make it an apt fit for the Grateful Dead-accented Furthur Festival, which is the brainchild of former Dead members Mickey Hart and Bob Weir. Last summer the inaugural Furthur Festival tour drew plenty of Deadheads, as Weir's Ratdog and Mickey Hart's Planet Drum participated in the first major Grateful Dead-related concert trek since the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995. Robinson says this year's version has attracted less of the Dead's tie-dye contingent, even though Planet Drum, Ratdog and Bruce Hornsby (who in the early-to-mid '90s played extensively with the Dead) are all participating in the tour. This summer's lineup also includes former Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. Younger artists such as the Black Crowes and Moe have helped to broaden the audience for the Furthur Festival. Rich Robinson says both he and his brother Chris -- the group's singer and other songwriter -- have a deep respect for the Grateful Dead. But Rich has also come to realize that the Black Crowes approach music very differently than did the venerated hippie band. For one thing, Robinson's group plays a harder brand of roots-rock than the Dead's more mellow exercises. ``People following us and going from show to show is (an idea that) began with the Dead,'' says Robinson. ``But I think there's a different appreciation there. The way that we jam is different from the Dead. With (their) jams, it (was) basically a chord or two, and everyone just sort of played free-form. With our band, we take specific parts (of songs), and we go from place to place to place. People play over it, and it's really cool. Not that it's any better or worse than what the Dead did. It's just that it's really different. Plus we're a rock 'n' roll band. That's what we are at the end of the day.'' Pot ideology The Black Crowes do share the Dead's liberal view toward pot-smoking. On one of its previous tours, a huge marijuana-leaf banner adorned its stage. The band also annually headlines a hemp benefit in Atlanta. So how have authorities in middle America greeted the Furthur Festival, with its connection to both the free-spirited audiences of the Dead and the Black Crowes? ``Well, they've sent cops down to some of these shows . . . with dogs and stuff,'' Robinson says. ``I've noticed that at a couple of gigs. It's like, `Hey, we've got a quota (we've got to meet). Let's go arrest some people.' '' The Black Crowes have faced a number of obstacles since their first album, 1990's ``Shake Your Money Maker,'' started its journey toward sales of 4 million copies in the United States. It took years before the band was able to shake its ultimately annoying image as a Rolling Stone clone band, an impression that was formed largely by that popular debut album. The release of ``Amorica'' (the band's third album) in 1994 saw a decline in both album sales and internal group harmony. The Robinson brothers weren't getting along, and, according to Chris, the Crowes came close to breaking up. But the two siblings managed to patch up their differences, and now Rich says they're ``getting along great.'' Last year, the group released ``Three Snakes and One Charm,'' an album that is a bit more subdued than some of its previous efforts. After the Furthur Festival tour concludes on Sunday in Irvine, these inveterate road warriors will take a break before heading out on their own American tour this fall. A few songs have already been recorded for the Black Crowes' next album, which is scheduled to be released sometime next year. Robinson sees his band as a much needed antidote to today's techno music and push-button pop, which he clearly disdains. ``(Our new) songs are rock songs,'' he says defiantly. ``I know that sounds like a cliche, but nowadays it really isn't, because the way I see it there really isn't any rock 'n' roll anymore.'' Published Friday, August 1, 1997, in the San Jose Mercury News from the Crowesnest: http://qfg.tierranet.com/crowesnest.html