Back in 1990, the Black Crowes were on tour with hard rock band the McAuley Schenker Group when Aerosmith put out the call for someone to open the summer leg of their Pump Tour.
The Crowes, who were just getting hot with their debut single “Jealous Again” and debut album Shake Your Money Maker, landed the gig, but according to guitarist Rich Robinson, there was some confusion about who exactly was going to join Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and company in arenas and baseball parks.
“We were playing in Boston and our manager was like, ‘They’re coming down to give you the Aerosmith tour.’ But for some reason [McAuley Schenker Group] thought Aerosmith was coming down to offer it to them,” Rich says.
As his brother Chris Robinson tells it, things got a little awkward between the Black Crowes and MSG. “They were like, ‘Nice to meet you kids, but we’re going on the Aerosmith tour,’” Chris says. “They were like, ‘You guys don’t really know what you’re doing and we’ve been doing this for quite a while, so enjoy your careers.’ We were like, ‘Enjoy your time off!’”
When the Black Crowes joined Aerosmith for their first show together, at the Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, they recall Aerosmith’s Perry being barred from entering the venue — because the guitar hero wasn’t wearing his backstage laminate.
“He’s there in leather pants, no shirt, and like a guitar, and they’re like, ‘You can’t come in, sir.’ It’s fucking Joe Perry!” Chris says. “He is like Joe Perry who ate an avatar of Joe Perry. That guy is only supposed to be reclining on a velvet cushion backstage.”
The Black Crowes released their latest album, A Pound of Feathers, on Friday. The Robinson brothers joined Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast to talk about recording the LP in Nashville, their strong feelings about AI in songwriting, and how much they got paid for those Aerosmith gigs. Spoiler: $350 a night. Watch the full episode below.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Kings of Leon, Carly Pearce, Breland, Bryan Andrews, Devon Gilfillian, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Ink, Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, Clever, and authors Marissa R. Moss, Josh Crutchmer, and Jonathan Bernstein.
