Tune in, Turn On, Drop Out

As a young man, Chris Robinson experienced overnight success with his band The Black Crowes. The Crowes had a major hit in the late ’80s with their album Shake Your Money Maker, led by the Rolling Stones-esque single “Hard To Handle.”

“I had a lot of people who could say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ about my life,” Robinson explains to EW. “It’s cool when people say ‘no.’ It’s really dangerous when people say ‘yes.’”

“The Black Crowes didn’t get to have a trajectory.”

“The Black Crowes didn’t get to have a trajectory,” he continues. “We were shot out of a cannon.”

These days, Robinson’s focus is on Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB), playing a mellower brand of cosmic California boogie-rock. CRB returns to Eugene behind If You Live Here, You’d Be Home By Now, a companion EP of sorts to the band’s 2016 full-length Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel.

Robinson says , that at his age, CRB’s contemplative pace and ability to work outside the corporate, mainstream music business suits him well. “Everyone’s older now,” he says. “We’ve been through a lot of positive things. We’ve been through a lot of negative things.”

“Overall,” he adds with a knowing wink, “we have this incredible opportunity to tune in, turn on and drop out.”

Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays 8 pm Sunday, Dec. 4, at Hi-Fi
Music Hall; $25 adv., $30 door. All ages. — William Kennedy