In a new interview with Billboard Magazine, Chris Robinson has finally addressed the statement released by his brother Rich Robinson, about the official breakup of The Black Crowes. In that statement, Rich Robinson accused his brother of demanding a greater share of the band, and essentially reducing drummer Steve Gorman, a founding member, to a salaried employee.
To that, Chris Robinson says, “It’s way more complicated than Rich’s public outburst.” He continues, saying, “I’m going to keep my personal, private family business personal and private, and I’ll focus on all the other things that are important. The ideas, I think, are more important than the drama.” Robinson is referring to his current band, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which Robinson calls his “future.”
“I think it’s been leading this way for a while that the CRB is really where we all want to be and really where we want to put our collective focus. We want to see where that continues.”
The interview pegs Robinson as sentimental, disappointed in the feuding that has driven the band apart. Robinson says, “The Black Crowes is so much time and it’s so complicated, and then you mix family and whatever that is into it. … To me it’s just sad and it’s disappointing and it’s unfortunate that on the 25th anniversary, whether the band is working or not, that it’s not about the songs and the good times people had at those concerts.”
Instead, Robinson is looking forward at the potential of CRB, and recently spoke about their “farm-to-table” music philosophy in-depth in a recent interview. That band is currently gearing up for a winter tour that includes a stop at the Paramount in Huntington, on February 19th.