Imagine starting a world-conquering rock band with your brother, not speaking for eight years, then running into each other at the airport hotel. That's exactly what happened to Chris and Rich Robinson — the famously quarrelsome brothers at the heart of the Black Crowes.

Those crossed paths eventually led the singer and guitarist to reconstitute the Crowes for the 30th anniversary of their hotcakes-selling 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker. (They're the only two original members of the band; bassist Sven Pipien's been with them on and off since 1998's By Your Side.)

Fans ate up those Shake Your Money Maker gigs — and now, the GRAMMY nominees are a truly creative entity once again. Their new album, Happiness Bastards — out March 15 via their own Silver Arrow Records — is their first in 15 years, and an inspired reset, drawing from the same stew of blues and boogie they lapped up hungrily than three decades ago.

As you absorb tunes like "Bedside Manners," "Wanting and Waiting" and "Kindred Friend," read on for a quick breakdown of what the Black Crowes have been up to during all the time off.

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood Forged Ahead — For A Time

Whenever the Crowes' wings were clipped, Chris Robinson tended to reembrace what he calls his "farm-to-table psychedelic band," which featured Crowes keyboardist Adam MacDougall, guitarist Neal Casal, and other close compadres. (Robinson's also brought Crowes songs to the stage solo.)

Robinson clearly thought the word of Casal, a close collaborator with Ryan Adams; when Casal tragically died by suicide in 2019 at only 50, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood closed up shop for good. But before that…

Old Songs, New Wings

Around this time, Chris Robinson also started a satellite band, As The Crow Flies, which performed his old band's tunes — full stop. Former Crowes Audley Freed and Adam MacDougall joined the singer, as did guitarist Marcus King and drummer Tony Leone.

By all accounts, his intentions were pure. "I'm not out to redo the Black Crowes or outdo the Black Crowes or anything like that," he said at the time. "I just want to sing the music." 

Rich Robinson Soldiered On Solo…

Amid his older brother's musical adventures, Rich Robinson pressed on as a solo artist; he'd released his first solo album, Paper, in 2004.

During their most recent hiatus, Rich released 2016's Flux, which he described as a "very eclectic record and that it draws from all of my influences. It takes you on a journey and that's what records should do.

…And With Another Band

That year, Rich Robinson formed the Magpie Salute, which also contained Crowes alumni in Pipien guitarist Marc Ford. Their first album, High Water I, was released in 2018; it got a II in 2019.

Lots more happened outside of the Robinsons. Their drummer, Steve Gorman, released a tell-all memoir in 2019: Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes, co-written with music writer Steven Hyden.

Tragically, Eddie Harsch, their keyboardist from 1991 to 2006, passed away in 2016 of unreported causes; word was that he overdosed.

Despite these lumps, the Black Crowes are back in business, with Happiness Bastards and an attendant tour on the immediate horizon. They'll be joined by keyboardist Erik Deutsch, guitarist Nico Bereciartua, drummer Cully Symington, and backing vocalists Mackenszie Adams and Lesley Grant.

The Crowes may look different these days, decades after "Twice as Hard" and other tunes put them on the map. But on Happiness Bastards, they've still got southern harmony in spades — and they're still your musical companions.

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