“These really violent kids started to tear the place apart. It was like The Shining, with axes coming through the walls.” The Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson on his band’s wildest early show
Chris Robinson has recalled a chaotic house-party performance from the mid-1980s, when he and his brother Rich played with their early band, Mr. Crowe’s Garden. Held in a house awaiting demolition in Atlanta, the event descended into serious vandalism as violent attendees smashed windows, damaged walls with axes and set fire to a gas line, prompting police to attend.
The brothers also discussed pursuing music despite pressure from others to attend university and warnings that they would fail. They said their determination and refusal to compromise ultimately helped The Black Crowes succeed, culminating in the 1990 breakthrough album Shake Your Money Maker.
- Early Black Crowes show became a destructive house-party riot.
- Attendees smashed walls and windows and started a dangerous fire.
- Robinson brothers pursued music despite widespread discouragement.