http://www.portraitmagazine.com/bcrowes.htm

byAdrianGregoryGlover 

If rock and roll's become a foreign concept to the
world at large then don't tell drummer Steve Gorman
and his partners in crime the brothers Robinson Chris
(vocals) and Rich (guitars), veteran keysman Eddie
Harsch and new recruits Guitarist Audley Freed and
Sven Pipen. 

Bred and based in Hotlanta, GA they're currently
campaigning their fifth and latest LP the rejuvenated
By Your Side. Here's what Gorman had to say when he
dialed up the Portrait offices. 

Growing up in Atlanta, I remember seeing you guys open
for Tora! Tora! At the Cotton Club like 11 years ago. 

You're kidding! 

No... believe me it took me awhile to publicly admit
that I paid $$ to see the worst of the 80's
blues/metal bands. 

I remember that show because we were just starting to
get our feet on the ground then. I'm sure you remember
that the scene back then wasn't our cup of tea. I
guess we've always been out of fashion for what's hot.


Yeah, hair bands overran Atlanta with names like Panda
and the Dirty Blondz. 

Well at that time we were part of another group of
musicians that had nothing to do with all of that.
There were times where we had to play shows with those
bands but we weren't like the most popular band in
town to see. We totally sucked back then and it's only
by total luck that we even got a deal. 

How would you say that you guys gelled? Obviously
Chris & Rich grew up in the same house, but as for the
rest of you... 

The cool thing is that Rich and I learned how to play
our instruments. Musically, he and I are as much
brothers as him and Chris. Obviously there's a dynamic
with those two that's a family thing, but for the most
part Rich and I have been together since day one. 

That would explain Rich's uncanny sense of rhythm if
he learned how to play with a drummer. 

Oh yeah, Rich recently got into playing leads a lot
because he pretty much had too although Audley plays
them also. Umm.. I would say that goes for me also as
far as how the playing was influenced. I definitely
wouldn't be the same drummer if I wouldn't have
learned how to play with a guitarist. 

Speaking of which, your peers hold you in high regard.
How's that make you feel. 

Really? No one ever says that kind of stuff to me.
Maybe they just say it to other people. 

One thing that immediately comes to mind is an old
Stone Gossard interview in some musicians mag where he
goes on about you being this incredible rock or
something like that. 

That's really nice. I'll let you in on something. I've
always considered myself to be in the mold of Ringo
Starr. It's so obvious to me how I take from him in
certain ways (yet) nobody's ever pointed it out. 

Hmm... I'll throw on Revolver later and play name that
fill... 

(Laughing) Just do me a favor don't print the results.
Really though, we're just a rock band that loves doing
what we do. We've been at this for a long time. 

You've gone through some stylistic changes over the
years. One of which that through me off was the
Deadhead, barefoot, jammy thing. 

We've gotten a lot of feedback on that. I think that's
because we did the Further Festival and it was a real
easy way for people to describe what we were doing at
that time. 

We tried a lot of experiments and a lot of them came
out shitty. We're willing to admit that. That's what
bands do that grow, you try some things and sometimes
it just doesn't work. 

Let me tell you though, (onstage we were looking for a
certain thing. When it worked... (pauses) it was
awesome. There were some moments that in my opinion
should e considered rock and roll classics. I mean
that, but because more times than not we couldn't
consistently hit that we decided to focus more, so to
speak. 

Were there any one or two moments that signaled that
truth? 

There were a few, we can sum that up by saying it was
most evident when we played songs like “Sting Me.”
That type of song brings out something in us and in
the crowd that makes this band what we are. 

Do you want to talk about the personnel changes? 

We can, how do you want to do it? 

I'd rather not beat and dead horse going over what
happened with Johnny (Colt) and Marc (Ford). 

Thanks... I'm with you there. 

Let's talk about how Sven joined. Since as a bass
player he's the one that you interact with the most. 

Shit that was the easy part. Here's the funny thing
about the situation: Sven was the first bass player
that I ever played with. Obviously things didn't work
at that time, but he's always been a good friend. 

So when Johnny left, it was like 'Ok, let's call
Sven.” He was the only bass player that we tried out. 

If it didn't work out would him not getting the gig
have affected your respective friendships? 

I don't know, that's speculative. I'm glad it did
worked out because he fit in and gave us the
opportunity to keep going without missing too much. 

Last words? 

Yeah, thanks to everyone whose stuck by us through it
all. It's only getting better from here. 




-----------------------------------------------------



Posted by Ed C on April 08, 1999 at 10:24:56:

129.116.78.130 

Hey All,

This is from today's UT Daily Texan (student
newspsaper)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Black Crowes still rockin' after 10 years

Brendan Sinclair
Daily Texan Staff

Lock up your liquor, hide your Zeppelin collection,
and brace yourself for a
second-hand buzz. The Black Crowes are rolling through
town Thursday, and
they're bringing with them all that is right with rock
'n' roll.

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson are finally getting
along and the Black
Crowes are once again flying high.


Live Music - THE BLACK CROWES

When: Thursday, April 8
Playing at: Austin Music Hall
Opening: Bare Jr.


Long known for their exhaustingly energetic live
shows, the Crowes have legitimately
earned the moniker, "The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n'
Roll Band in the World."
Grinding solos, a nigh-convulsive lead singer and some
seriously kick-ass music have
become the Crowes' hallmark after a decade of
superlative live shows. But this time
out the band has taken a different approach to
touring.

"The philosophy behind our live shows has changed,"
explains Crowes drummer
Steve Gorman. "Before, it wasn't so much a
performance. It was just about the
music, about experimenting and improv and taking the
music wherever we could," he
said. "Sometimes it would work and sometimes it
wouldn't. Now, though, we just go
out there to put on the best damn show we can."

From the look of the tour's set lists so far, the best
damn show they can put on is
heavy on the hits, offering the cream of each album,
but leaving the inspired cover
tunes and B-side gems by the wayside. Also absent from
the show are the
long-winded jams the band became mired in on their
Horde and Further festival
tours.

True, some fans came for the jams, but as Gorman says,
"It's our band. We can do
with it [the show] what we want."

"We have five albums," he continues, "and we've been
playing for 10 years. On
albums alone, that's over 50 songs to choose from.
We're at the point where we
should be doing our own material on stage."

Gorman is one of three remaining Crowes from the
band's original lineup. In the
process of making their latest album, By Your Side,
the band lost original bassist
Johnny Colt and lead guitarist Marc Ford. Their
unexplained departures left fans
wondering if the Black Crowes were self-destructing,
perhaps in an anti-climactic
fizzling similar to the demise of Guns 'n' Roses. 

While the band managed to pull things together
replacing the departed band
members, it's still tough to get a straight answer on
what happened.

"In a group situation," states Gorman, "if a couple of
guys aren't really with it, it
affects everyone. What was done had to be done, and
this band is better off for it."

Oddly enough, it was the song-writing sibling duo of
lead singer Chris Robinson and
his younger brother/guitarist Rich Robinson that kept
them together throughout the
recording of By Your Side. 

Infamous for their frequent squabbling, the Robinson
brothers were surprisingly
well-behaved in the recording of the new album, having
finally found a respect for
each other's opinions in the songwriting process.

"That's true," adds Gorman. "I write stuff all the
time just for me. If I showed it to
somebody and they said, 'That's great, but if you
change this paragraph here ...' I'd
be like, 'Get the fuck out of my way,'" he said.
"Chris and Rich have been
songwriters and bandmates for years, but never
friends. They've changed that now."

Between the band's new lineup, the band's new
philosophy on live shows, and the
band's new camaraderie, it seems the Crowes are once
again flying high.

"Right now," says Gorman, "we're enjoying things and
doing what we do best.
Everyone's a little older, we're certainly a little
wiser, and we've found a balance in
the band that hasn't been there in a while."

He adds, "We're just following our instinct and going
where it takes us. And right
now, our instinct is to go out there every night and
put on a loud as hell Rock 'n' Roll
show."



http://stumedia.tsp.utexas.edu/webtexan/thursday/99040814_s04_Black.html