Ex-THE BLACK CROWES Drummer STEVE GORMAN On 2020 Reunion Tour: It's 'Sad'

During an appearance earlier today (Monday, November 11) on "State Of Amorica: A Black Crowes Podcast", former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman was asked for his opinion on the announcement that brothers Chris and Rich Robinson were teaming up with new musicians to perform the band's entire debut album, "Shake Your Money Maker", on a 30th-anniversary tour next year.

He replied (hear audio below): "It's probably not unlike what a lot of people who have followed the band for years think, which is you can judge someone by what they say, but it's far more important to judge people by their actions. People say anything. And I think that the way the band ended in 2014, which is Chris demanding all the money from me and most of the money from Rich — that's true; that actually happened. And that followed 20 years of him telling everyone that everyone else cared about money and that he doesn't. And the purity test that he puts other people through has long just been…

"I don't wanna get too deep into this, but a culture like that band — when you have a culture that's got addiction and codependency and betrayal and loyalty and blind loyalty, when you have all these elements, you end up in a culture of secrecy and shame and embarrassment. And there's so much of that throughout THE BLACK CROWES.

"Now, again, the music's the music, and somehow those damaged people, myself included, occasionally made tremendous rock and roll music," he continued. "And that doesn't take anything away from that. And so if people want to go hear 'Shake Your Money Maker' in its entirety played by men in their 50s, then, by all means, go see it. It's still my music — I'm not gonna play it ever again, but that's still my music, as much as it's anybody else's music. And so I'm thrilled that people love THE BLACK CROWES' music, and if they wanna go see a version of THE BLACK CROWES, or if they wanna go see Chris and Rich calling themselves THE BLACK CROWES with another band, they have the right to do that. And to me, it's, like, who's in FOREIGNER? I don't know. But if you wanna hear that music, go see it."

Gorman added: "I can't say that it's not sad that a band like THE BLACK CROWES, who, by our second album, had put ourselves in position to be in control of our own fate and destiny for the rest of our lives... We went from being a band that discussed, 'Let's buy a farm and build a studio and we'll have our own world outside of Atlanta. Let's buy a place over near Athens, where the land is cheap, and we'll build a studio and we'll have a compound and we can make music there forever.' For a band that went from there to the 30th anniversary, 'Let's hear an album start to finish, including songs these guys haven't played in 20 years,' that's sad — that's what that is to me. It's perfectly fine if they wanna [do it] — I mean, they have every right to do it. And, again, I don't begrudge anybody that goes to see it, but it's sad — it's always gonna be sad. And I've said this a lot, but it's true — there's no anger in my book. And I know that, because there has been a lot of anger in the past, and I know the difference. But there's always sadness. But this is also exactly how it's supposed to go, because this is their destiny — to do what they're doing right now, despite the better efforts of myself and a lot of other equally, if nor more, capable people to provide guidance and leadership and true passion and true talent. And it still wasn't enough to keep them from destroying the entire thing. That's the band — that's not the music. The music is eternal."

When THE BLACK CROWES announced their split in 2014, Rich issued a statement saying that he loved his brother and respected his talent but that "his present demand that I must give up my equal share of the band and that our drummer for 28 years and original partner, Steve Gorman, relinquish 100 percent of his share … is not something I could agree to."

The new BLACK CROWES lineup features Chris, Rich, EARTHLESS guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, former TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND bassist Tim Lefebvre along with ONCE AND FUTURE BAND members Joel Robinow on keyboards and Raj Ojha on drums.

THE BLACK CROWES will celebrate the tour announcement by playing an intimate gig at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City tonight (Monday, November 11) and at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California on Thursday (November 14).

Gorman, who played for THE BLACK CROWES for 27 years, released a book, "Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes - A Memoir", in September.

Photo courtesy of Westwood One