Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson, the lanky and lovably loud-mouthed Black Crowes frontman, has put his famous band on hold indefinitely and is touring to preview material for a forthcoming solo record. Attendees can expect an intimate acoustic setting, a generous helping of unheard material, and a handful of choice covers, including Badfinger and Ray Charles, when Robinson plays at the Showbox on Thurs Aug 15.

Given the nature of the Black Crowes' fan base, I'm wondering if you're dealing with a lot of irate audiences yelling at you to play Black Crowes songs. How are you handling that? "It's funny how people play up to the generalizations of where they live sometimes. In Europe we had none of that. I think Europeans are more sophisticated in terms of seeing the music for what it is, but in the U.S.... to be honest with you, when people act that way, it just makes me sad. When I bring the electric band back in the fall, I don't expect to see them there and I'm happy with that. That behavior has always upset me--I think people in large groups can behave a lot cooler than they do."

Well, it's kinda kooky for fans to insist that artists remain static.... "Yeah, and for me, going out and playing music at this juncture has nothing to do with commerce. When rock 'n' roll is done well, it has nothing to do with that anymore."

So your collaboration with Page and Plant could be viewed by a lot of your peers as the ultimate "rock opportunity." Is there anyone else of that stature you'd like the opportunity to work with? "Playing with Jimmy Page was cool, but there's a side of me that would much prefer to sit around singing old folk songs with Bob Dylan or Neil Young. I mean, it was awesome and I love Led Zeppelin, but for me, some of those lyrics were a little silly to sing sometimes."

Silly how? Like you were doing Led Zeppelin karaoke? "Stuff like, 'To a castle I will take you,' you know--goblins and gnomes and things [giggles]. I'm uncomfortable singing a line like, 'Vixen of my dreams.'"

Interview by Hannah Levin