Christopher Mark "Chris" Robinson (born December 20, 1966) is the singer of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes and brother of its guitarist Rich Robinson.
Early years
Robinson was born in Marietta, Georgia. Along with his brother Rich, Robinson formed Mr. Crowe's Garden in the 1980s, having been heavily influenced by The Faces and The Rolling Stones. [1] They played a variety of clubs in and around Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. - while some fellow students had posters of bikini girls lying on Porsches, Robinson decorated his dorm with a Tom Waits poster and a Dream Syndicate poster: "...even at 18, I was into music."[2]
Life with The Crowes
In 1989 Mr. Crowe's Garden changed their name to The Black Crowes. They were signed to Rick Rubin's label Def American, and released their debut album Shake Your Money Maker. With the success of their album they went out on tour to support it. They played several dates supporting ZZ Top. During this tour Chris was criticized for talking to the audience about his opposition to corporate sponsorship. This led to ZZ Top firing The Black Crowes from the tour.[3]
In May 1991, Chris Robinson spat at or on a female customer at a 7-11 store. Robinson was arrested for assault and disturbing the peace, and plead 'no contest' six months later.[3] In the media, Robinson would openly discuss his use of marijuana. The Crowes headlined The Atlanta Pot Festival in 1992 which would ultimately label them as a "stoner band".
Over the next nine years The Black Crowes went through many lineup changes and released six studio albums. In early 2002 it was announced that drummer Steve Gorman would be leaving the band and that The Black Crowes would be taking a break.
Going solo
Robinson's first solo recording, "The Red Road," appeared on the soundtrack to the 2002 Goldie Hawn film The Banger Sisters, confirming the singer's turn into softer material. A full-length debut, New Earth Mud, appeared in October and garnered very positive critical reviews. Written and produced with Paul Stacey and featuring collaborations with ex-Crowes Marc Ford and Eddie Harsch, the album allowed Robinson to hit the road as a headlining act. The band itself became known as New Earth Mud and became known for playing remarkably inspired sets across the United States.
New Earth Mud toured well into 2003, not only as a headliner but sharing the bill with such acts as Elvis Costello, Gov't Mule and The String Cheese Incident. During the later portion of the tour, the band introduced several new songs into their set and built up quite an anticipation for their second release. Robinson headed into the studio after the tour concluded, again with Paul Stacey as co-songwriter and producer. The end result was This Magnificent Distance, released in June 2004. The album was a bigger success than its predecessor and showcased more of a "full band" sound.
Robinson parted ways with Paul Stacey and the rest of his band in early 2004, the reason for which remains unknown. In a very cryptic post on his official message board, Robinson said farewell to his original line-up and welcomed a new one, which featured ex-Crowes member Audley Freed on guitar and studio virtuoso George Reiff on bass. The band toured in support of This Magnificent Distance through the Summer of 2004, again gaining more critical and commercial attention for themselves. Another tour was planned for the fall of 2004 but was suddenly and inexplicably scrapped. Robinson instead remained out of the public eye aside from three appearances with Phil Lesh and Friends at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco (December 2004).
Robinson didn't perform publicly again until his February 2005 performance with his brother Rich at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (a private event for people who work in consumer electronics). He then joined Phil Lesh again for the Mardi Gras Spectacular concerts in San Francisco at the end of February, which also featured members of Railroad Earth, Particle and Galactic as well as former members of the Jerry Garcia Band.
Reunion
In early 2005 it was announced that The Black Crowes would be reuniting for a run at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. This lineup included former members Sven Pipien and Marc Ford. This quickly turned into a full-fledged tour. Although initially not there for the reunion Steve Gorman did return to the band in early May. The Black Crowes have since toured as a supporting act for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as well as headliners. In July 2007, during the Black Crowes Summer Tour, the live album Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy was released.
The album was composed of tracks culled from Chris and Rich Robinson's three night set at the Roxy, and featured Black Crowes songs (Horsehead, Cursed Diamond, Thorn In My Pride), solo material from both brothers (Someday Past the Sunset, Forgiven Song), covers from some of their favorite artists (Over the Hill, Roll Um Easy, Driving Wheel, Forever Young), and new Black Crowes material (Magic Rooster Blues, Cold Boy Smile). A new album, Warpaint, was released on March 4, 2008.
On August 31, 2009, the Black Crowes released their eighth studio album, Before the Frost... Each CD purchase is accompanied by a download code to receive the album's companion release, ...Until the Freeze, comprised of session outtakes. The vinyl version includes all twenty tracks.
Marriage to Kate Hudson
In December 2000, Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson.
On August 14, 2006, after nearly six years of marriage, Hudson's publicist announced their separation. On November 17, 2006, Robinson filed divorce papers, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of their son, Ryder Russell Robinson (born 7 January 2004). Divorce was granted on October 22, 2007 with Chris being granted joint custody of Ryder.[4] Robinson is expecting his second child with girlfriend, Alison Bridges, in early 2010. [5].
Other appearances
Robinson made a cameo appearance (playing an angel) in the final episode of the popular sketch show The Kids in the Hall in 1994.[6] According to the The Kids in the Hall Season 5 DVD commentary, Robinson met Kate Hudson at a live Kids in the Hall performance during their 2000 reunion tour. In 2007, Chris Robinson played Wavy Gravy's birthday party in San Francisco under the name Chris Robinson's Wooden Family. The show was a benefit to support an international development organization called the Seva Foundation founded by Wavy along with Ram Dass.[7]
Discography
New Earth Mud Band Members
Chris Robinson - vocals, guitar, harmonica (2002-2004)
Paul Stacey - lead guitar, piano, vocals (2002-2004)
Jeremy Stacey - drums, percussion (2002-2004)
George Reiff - bass, vocals (2002-2004)
George Laks - keyboards, (2002-2004)
Audley Freed - lead guitar (2004)
Steve DiStanislao - drums, percussion, vocals (2004)
Rob Barraco - keyboards, vocals (2004)
References
- ^ Interview with Rich and Chris Robinson. Seconds. [1]
- ^ Jancee Dunn (1996-10-31). Interview with Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
- ^ a b "Biography: The Black Crowes." Rolling Stone. Taken from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)[2]
- ^ Lee, Ken. "Kate Hudson, Chris Robinson Divorce Finalized." People. 25 October 2007. [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "The Kids In The Hall Episode #5.21." IMDb. [5]
- ^ Jackson, Blair. "Mickey Hart Performs At Seva Benefit (Wavy Gravy's 71st Birthday)." dead.net. [6]
