THE BLACK CROWES' RICH ROBINSON: 'We Probably Could Have Been A Much Bigger Band If We Had Listened To People'

In a new interview with the JJO Discover New Music Podcast, THE BLACK CROWES guitarist Rich Robinson discussed the band's latest studio album, "A Pound Of Feathers", which came out on March 13 via Silver Arrow Records. The 11-song set was recorded over a 10-day period in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Jay Joyce, and with only Cully Symington, the band's drummer since 2023, joining Rich and his brother, THE BLACK CROWES singer Chris Robinson, in the studio. Asked how it feels to have released THE BLACK CROWES' tenth studio album, Rich said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's like an old worn, beat-up pickup truck. [Laughs] But maybe it got a new engine. I don't know. There's a lot of dings and rust or whatever, but it's still functioning. No, it feels great."

Rich continued: "Chris and I have always only made the records that we wanna make… We probably shot ourselves in the foot. We probably could have been a much bigger band if we had listened to people and tried to do the things that people do. But we are in it because we love music and we love the process and we love being in a band, playing and we love being in the studio and making records and writing new songs. And so it's pretty amazing to sit back and look at ten records."

Rich added: "I was talking to Chris the other day. If I had had my druthers, I would've made a record a year. We could have easily done it, but the industry back then wouldn't let you. 'Cause they're, like, 'It'll thwart the sales of this one record,' and everything was kind of wrapped up into sales. And now it seems like you're much more capable or able to go in and make a record or two records a year. Some of the bands in the '70s would make two records a year, which was really cool. And you look back after a 36-year career for them, and they're, like, 20, 25 albums released and stuff like that. So it's all put into perspective."

Regarding the decision to work with Joyce again after previously working with the producer on 2024's "Happiness Bastards" album, Rich said: "Chris has produced a bunch of bands. I've produced a bunch of bands, written songs for other people, produced all my solo records. Chris has worked with tons of other people, and we both know one thing about ourselves is that we have our strong opinions about how things should be, how things should sound or what a thing should look like. So we both agreed early on that we need someone to come in, someone that we trust that we can just kind of turn over the reins. Like, 'Hey, this is what I'm doing, this is this and this is that.' And then someone that can take that and look at it from 10,000 feet and be a little bit cooler… I just think Jay's such a cool dude. He's a talented musician in his own right. He comes from a similar background to us and speaks our language. And that's what we really like about him."

THE BLACK CROWES are playing shows in Australia and Japan in April before kicking off a North American tour with WHISKEY MYERS and SOUTHALL on May 17 in Austin, Texas.

THE BLACK CROWES' 2026 touring lineup consists of the Robinson brothers alongside Symington, keyboardist Erik Deutsch and guitarist Nico Bereciartua. Longtime bassist Sven Pipien is sitting out the tour and is being replaced by Mark "Muddy" Dutton of BURNING TREE.

Founded by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, THE BLACK CROWES make music for the mavericks, playing rock 'n' roll that's hip-swinging and heavy, dirty and debonaire, bluesy and ballsy, ecstatic and electrifying, and soulful and soaring. They don't fall in line, and they never cared to either. Instead, they're right at home with the outsiders, the drifters, the lost souls, the hustlers, and the hellraisers who inhabit timeless tunes like "She Talks To Angels", "Hard To Handle", "Wiser Time", "Twice As Hard" and "Black Moon Creeping". No matter where culture went, the multiplatinum Grammy Award-nominated group fearlessly charted their own course, taking flight with the five-times-platinum "Shake Your Money Maker" and never coming back down. Their path twisted and turned from seminal records a la the two-times-platinum Billboard 200 No. 1 LP "The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion" and gold-certified follow-up "Amorica" to a once-in-a-lifetime jaunt with Jimmy Page and accompanying gold-certified live record "Live At The Greek". The band's lore expanded with the chart-shaking "Warpaint" and "Before The Frost…Until The Freeze". Another generation fell under their spell as they launched their biggest headline tour yet to celebrate "Shake Your Money Maker"'s 30th birthday. They lit up the next chapter with 2024's "Happiness Bastards" — which garnered a 2025 Grammy Award nod for "Best Rock Album". Between widespread critical praise, they even picked up 2025 and 2026 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominations.

Press photo credit: Errol Colandro (courtesy of Live Nation-Hewitt Silva)