Ahead of Jones  Beach show, Black Crowes' Rich Robinson talks about reuniting with his brother

It’s no secret that for years the Black Crowes have been pecking at each other. Brothers guitarist Rich and singer Chris Robinson split up in 2014 and were completely estranged both personally and professionally causing the band to dissolve. Chris went on to form The Chris Robinson Brotherhood while Rich created The Magpie Salute. Fans hoped and prayed for a reunion but the mudslinging in the press gave them little faith that day would ever come.

In November 2019, the duo appeared on SiriusXM’s "The Howard Stern Show" to announce a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut album, "Shake Your Money Maker" with a July 18, 2020 date at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. Then the pandemic happened and the tour was postponed to summer 2021 where dates were moved twice. The brothers Robinson will finally play Jones Beach on Sept. 17.

Newsday spoke with Rich via phone about how the truce occurred, writing new music and the Crowes’ future going forward.

What have you been doing during your pandemic downtime?

I’ve been writing and sending a bunch of songs to Chris. We decided to try to take advantage of the time we had, which turned out to be a lot. Songs have been passed back and forth. I’ve also produced a couple of bands and played on some records via Zoom, which is interesting.

What’s the direction of the new music?

It’s definitely a rock and roll record, which is what still moves Chris and I. Some of these songs, in my opinion, are as good as any song we’ve ever written. It’s good to know that working with my brother still brings that out.

You and Chris have been apart for several years. How did the olive branch get extended?

I had a bunch of songs I had written for other projects and I called a mutual friend of ours. I remember saying something like, "I wrote these songs and it would be amazing to see what Chris would bring to them." I had made a bunch of solo records and a couple of Magpie Salute records. But I found myself always writing for Chris’ voice. He’s my brother but also as a singer and frontman I love what he does. It’s part of me. Our friend said, "Chris said the same thing to me a week ago." That kind of started the whole thing. We’ve been offered tours every year for the last few years, but we didn’t want to tour and didn’t feel like we could. Time and space from one another was good. For me to get out and look at the world from a different lens kind of helped me see what I was doing. A lot of times when you are in the middle of a relationship, it’s always the other guy who is the jerk. When you get away from it, you start to see the things you did that would drive him crazy too. It’s not just a one-way street.

Have you reconnected personally or just professionally?

Yeah absolutely. I don’t think we would have done it professionally first. It was more of a personal thing first. Committing to a two-three year tour, whatever it might wind up being, is a huge commitment and you need to be in a good head space.

Where did you first see each other?

We saw each other in New York for the first time because we were staying at the same hotel. It was very familiar. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be at first. You never know because things get built up so much. I had my children with me, some of which he had never met. We just met in the lobby downstairs and it was really cool. I was happy to see him.

You have chosen to rebuild the band around you and Chris instead of bringing back old members. How come?

The Crowes were very dysfunctional for a lot of reasons. [Drummer] Steve Gorman told me one time the thing he hated the most was when Chris and I got along because he couldn’t stop us from doing what we wanted to do. That was honest of him, but also messed up. It was interesting to hear these people in our band and around the band admit that and spend their days trying to keep Chris and I apart so they could carve out a little power for themselves. A lot of those around us toward the end really kind of worked to keep Chris and I at odds for no reason. We decided we can take care of our own dynamic and we can’t account for other people’s agendas. Chris and I both realized the only way this is going to work out is if we hire new people and be vigilant in trying to not go down that road.

Is this a reboot of the band not just a temporary reunion?

That’s our hope. It’s not about just going out to make some money and pretending to be nice. Neither Chris nor I want to do that. We want to live our lives and also create with each other. That’s where we feel comfortable. That doesn’t mean that we’ll never do other things too. But we want the Black Crowes to maintain a positive vibe.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.