Chris Robinson says he apologized to his brother Rich earlier this year to try to make amends after THE BLACK CROWES ended five years ago over what Rich saw as Chris's unfair business practices. "I apologized for my anger and negativity and that underneath it all, I would like to think I'm a very kind person and that it was unfair for me to attack him," Chris told Rolling Stone in a new interview. "But I was in a negative place. I was in a marriage that was failing. I had exerted all this effort and energy in a band that I loved and the experience that I loved. Doing AS THE CROW FLIES [a band composed of Chris and primarily former CROWES members performing BLACK CROWES songs], I was with my friends and people that are really talented, but you know what? That's his thing [points to Rich]. There was something missing that I didn't even know. And it doesn't diminish our work or experience outside of it. For his part, Rich said that he accepted Chris's apology immediately "because I knew what he was going through. All of it comes from sadness and stress and hurt, and that's life; when people behave the way they behave, a lot of time, they're going through a lot of shit," he said. "You have to cut people slack. I could see what was happening and I understood it, and there was really nothing I could do about it, and it was something he had to go through on his own. Being in [THE MAGPIE SALUTE] and solo the last few years, it was interesting to see a lot of things that I did that were annoying that I didn't even know, but was so grateful to see it." Chris added: "What did we know? What is our perspective? You put us on the treadmill, and it's, like, we knew one thing: We don't want it to stop. But then you're traversing relationships and women in your life and money and egos and, in my case, drugs. I'm not ever on the ground. In my poetic construct and art that I'm interested in, after 2013, I needed to just go to the fuckin' wilderness. I didn't want to dance anymore. I didn't want to sing. I wanted to do something else. I was writing more. I had to do it. "I don't mean to be morbid, but we're lucky we're still here," he continued. "We've said goodbye to a lot of people, and that would have been a real shame. But better late than never in terms of just being here for [Rich]. If I can make up for all the shit and be his brother as we move along and any way lessen the load for him and be there for the good times and the bad times, that's more important." When THE BLACK CROWES announced their split in 2014, Rich issued a statement saying that he loved his brother and respected his talent but that "his present demand that I must give up my equal share of the band and that our drummer for 28 years and original partner, Steve Gorman, relinquish 100 percent of his share … is not something I could agree to." In a 2018 radio interview, Rich insisted that the situation was so "toxic" between him and Chris that they hadn't spoken to each other since THE BLACK CROWES broke up. "Being in a band that seems a lot more functional now, I wouldn't ever really want to wish to play in the CROWES again. It's too toxic," he said at the time. "I don't have a brother anymore. I don't speak to him. We don't speak. I haven't spoken to him in four years. And I think that that is what it is. So I would never wanna go down that road again." Earlier today, Chris and Rich Robinson announced that they were teaming up with new musicians to perform THE BLACK CROWES' entire debut album, "Shake Your Money Maker", on a 30th-anniversary tour next year. The new BLACK CROWES lineup features Chris, Rich, EARTHLESS guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, former TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND bassist Tim Lefebvre along with ONCE AND FUTURE BAND members Joel Robinow on keyboards and Raj Ojha on drums.
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