New Black Crowes Album, Legacy + More

The Black Crowes released their latest studio album, A Pound of Feathers, on March 13. A week later (March 19), frontman Chris Robinson joined Loudwire Nights to celebrate it, reflect on the band’s legacy and dive into their nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing is super cool, to have the industry and be able to look at our careers and think we’re worthy of that distinction,” Robinson shared with Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong.

“It’s amazing, you know what I mean? Like, I don’t think those were the things that, I don’t know, it’s funny, those weren’t the things that we thought about growing up being in a band…I don’t know if kids get in bands anymore because they are bad, they’re bad kids; I tell people that was the only gig for me.”

Robinson explained that he thought he would be more of a legitimate, academic type of writer, but as he put it, the rock and roll lifestyle seemed “far more debauched and chic.” He also said that all these years later, he’s finding new joy in the life of the Black Crowes.

“Ever since we put the band back together, it’s just been really light,” he said.

“The times are heavy, man. COVID was heavy. What’s going on with these people that all these other people let run the government, I mean, it’s nasty … But with that all being said, being in the Black Crowes has been a joy.”

He admitted that if you had asked him if that would be the case years ago, he wouldn’t have been sure about it because he’s typically more visceral and reactive in the moment.

“I’m a person of poetic construct … When it’s getting on 40 years, I mean, that’s a long time. Within that, as a person and a musician, you have ups and downs. But after all of a sudden, [after eight days], we had the whole album. We wrote the songs on the spot.”

The joy that Robinson feels today saturates A Pound of Feathers, continuing the same joy found on their previous record, Happiness Bastards.

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“Ultimately this thing Rich [Robinson] and I created, it needs to be alive,” he said.

“When we get into things, it can’t be because it’s your duty or you don’t have anything else to do. It has to take on a level of energy — it’s a cult science, you know what I mean? Something is a cult when you give something belief … This is our ritual. This is our spell.”

What Else Did the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it was like working on A Pound of Feathers with Jay Joyce, who also produced Happiness Bastards: “There was no trepidation … If there’s one thing with the Black Crowes, we’re consistently never consistent in what mode we work in. You’re in the moment, you’re in different places, you’re with different people. The collaborative aspect of being in a band, I think that interests me as opposed to the solitary life of just the writer.”
• What it was like growing up in Atlanta: “There was a pizza place in Atlanta in Little Five Points, it was the mecca for all the bands and vintage shops and goths and punks and hippies and all the counterculture stuff and all the more art-driven aesthetic stuff, [it] happened in Little Five Points. I had this denim jacket and it’s the Replacements, it’s the early days of Jane’s Addiction, the Stooges, it’s the Clash, whatever is playing on the records at the pizza place. I put an AC/DC patch on my denim jacked on the back between the shoulder blades and I almost got in like three fights that night. I love AC/DC and it’s time I’m allowed to say I love AC/DC and get out of indie rock jail or whatever.”
• How he views A Pound of Feathers in relation to Happiness Bastards: “I mean, I love Happiness Bastards and I’m just so happy. If the one word I [would use to] describe this record compared to the last one, it’s this record is just feral. This record is just like peeing on whatever lawn it wants to pee on. It doesn’t care if you have a big sign out there, curb your dog. This album, if it’s a dog, it’s a three-legged one missing one fang and it’s peeing everywhere.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Chris Robinson joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, March 19; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.