The Black Crowes with Truth & Salvage Co.
Where: Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Art, Filene Center, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Info: $25 to $42; wolftrap.org
Forget the hype about a reinvented Black Crowes.
Yes, as the band approaches its 20th anniversary it’s creating new music that bends the framework of what many might think of as its signature sound, but the music should be familiar territory to many avid Crowes’ fans.
“Some of the stuff on the album, to the casual fan, sounds a bit deeper into folk or bluegrass or country,” said drummer Steve Gorman who has been with the Crowes — except for a brief hiatus — almost since the band’s inception. “But our definition of rock and roll has always been blues plus country equals rock and roll. We have incorporated those sounds into [our music] for years.”
The band is now on tour to promote its latest album “Before the Frost,” which will be released at the end of the month. Those who buy the album also will receive a free download of 9 songs, “Until the Freeze,” recorded at the same time. A limited-edition album with all 20 songs will be available Sept. 1.
The album was recorded in five days before a live audience that was invited to watch as band members finalized and recorded the 11 songs on the album.
“We had 200 people there with us,” said Gorman of the recording sessions in February and March at Levon Helms Studio in Woodstock, N.Y. “We weren’t putting on a show; we were letting people see how we record. My wife said later, ‘Watching those people’s face as you guys worked was [interesting]. The way you guys never even say full words to each other but know exactly what you’re saying to each other.'”
That almost telepathic communication is the result of Gorman and the brothers Robinson (Chris and Rich) melding with the other plays into a cohesive unit not unlike a close family.
Although the band members don’t always agree on personal issues, they are very like-minded when it comes to music and the ever-advancing sound they want to present as The Black Crowes, he said.
“It’s great when bands do one thing and really love it,” said Gorman citing AC/DC as a group that presents one unique sound that can’t be replicated by other bands. “The rule for us, starting in 1987, the unwritten rules, was we just put down a new song, what’s next? Let’s keep moving. That is how we’ve always been.”
