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BLACK CROWES Sued By Former Drummer STEVE GORMAN Over Unpaid Royalties

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jszfunk
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https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/the-black-crowes-sued-by-former-drummer-steve-gorman-over-unpaid-royalties/

According to TMZ, former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman has filed a lawsuit against the paid over unpaid royalties.

In his complaint, filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against singer Chris Robinson and guitarist Rich Robinson and The Black Crowes Partnership, Gorman claims faulty accounting has resulted in him missing out on royalties from THE BLACK CROWES' albums. Gorman says he doesn't know exactly how much he is owed.

"For more than five years, my attorneys and I have made repeated requests to review the Partnership's books to confirm the accuracy of royalty payments and my share, but Chris and Rich have consistently ignored my rights under the Partnership Agreement," Gorman said in a statement. "I regret that it has come to this, as I remain incredibly proud of the music we created as a band, but their conduct has left me with no choice but to ask a court to order them to give me this information, which I'm entitled to under our partnership agreement and the law."

Gorman's attorney Michael Mortenson added: "Mr. Gorman's rights under the partnership agreement are crystal clear. He is entitled to review the partnership's financial information and confirm his earnings, but our repeated requests to do so have been denied."

Gorman, who penned 2019's memoir "Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes", is notably excluded from THE BLACK CROWES' current reunion, which recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band's classic debut album, 1990's "Shake Your Money Maker", with a lengthy U.S. tour. Joining Chris and Rich in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are returning bassist Sven Pipien, who played with the band live from 1997 up until the band's hiatus in 2015, along with Brian Griffin on drums, Joel Robinow on keyboards and Isaiah Mitchell on guitar, plus backup singers Mackenzie Adams and Leslie Grant.

Last August, Rich told the Los Angeles Times that he had no reaction to the release of Gorman's memoir. "It didn't really affect me or make me sad," he said. "No one really takes Steve that seriously. He was our drummer for a long time, and a long time ago, he was our friend. But he was also the one who kind of schemed the most and was more willing to allow a division between me and Chris." Rich added that he remembered Gorman "telling me that the scariest thing to him and some of the people in the band was when Chris and I got along, because then they couldn't change our minds."

Rich previously addressed Steve's absence from THE BLACK CROWES' current tour in a June 2021 interview with Long Island Weekly. At the time, he said: "Steve was one of the incredibly negative and manipulative forces in the band that we really didn't want to deal with. In order to get back, we really had to do this very specific purge where we focus on the two of us and let this be something that will be positive. We can be in charge of our own triggers, but if you have other people around that have an agenda, which a lot of the older people around did, it’s just going to crash and burn. We didn't look at this as a one-time thing. We want to focus and do it right for ourselves as human beings. For ourselves as brothers. For ourselves as writing and creative partners as well as the other reasons."

In a February 2020 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Gorman said that he was not surprised to see Chris and Rich teaming up with new musicians for a tour. "To me, it's been an inevitability for years," Steve said. "I think they both made serious efforts to establish themselves in solo careers that could sustain them, that could provide a living, and I guess that neither one of those really worked out. And so they were always gonna need to be THE BLACK CROWES again. And this tour is an indication of the fact that, to them, they always were THE BLACK CROWES. And to me, THE BLACK CROWES was a band. It wasn't about their band; it was our band. It was six people, or it was five people, or it was four people, depending on the year, but it was always a much greater thing than two brothers who wrote the songs. The success of that band had a lot to do with a lot more than just them, is my point. And the thing that was most special about that band, as I said before, was what six people were able to do when we were on the same page."

Gorman went on to say that he doesn't necessarily fault the Robinson brothers for wanting to keep THE BLACK CROWES brand alive.

"This tour has nothing to do with me — it never did; it never would have," he explained. "THE BLACK CROWES are my past. Now, the music is still around. And if anybody goes to see this tour and decides that they love THE BLACK CROWES now, I think that's fantastic. I'm all for preserving the legacy of the band I was in. I think this tour has nothing to do with that. I think this tour is the two of them needing money. And to that I say — and that's fine. I know what it's like to be concerned about my finances; everybody does. And if you're in your 50s and you can make a living playing music, then, by God, you should be playing music, if that's what you wanna do. So, they're fully within their rights to do it — legally and ethically and morally; whatever. It's fine. It's got nothing to do with me. So, live and let live."

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."

"Shake Your Money Maker" was re-released in multi-formats sets in February 2021 through UMe/American Recordings. The album, fueled by singles "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard", "She Talks To Angels" and a cover of fellow Georgian Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", has sold over five million copies.

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 2, 2022 1:06 am
robertdee
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Yay!! Hope he wins. I figured he would sue after Chris said Steve is too negative and manipulative to be part of a new lineup of the Black Crows. 

 
Posted : April 2, 2022 7:57 am
Chain
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Posted by: @robertdee

Yay!! Hope he wins. I figured he would sue after Chris said Steve is too negative and manipulative to be part of a new lineup of the Black Crows. 

I suspect it has nothing to do with Chris' comments but more about Steve getting his original agreed upon share of the royalties.  And good for Steve for demanding an honest and transparent look at the finances.  He deserves it. 

 
Posted : April 2, 2022 12:01 pm
robertdee
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@chain Yeah I suspect you are right. Maybe Steve is difficult to have in the band. If so I guess I can understand Chris not wanting him in the mix for the reunion. 

 
Posted : April 2, 2022 1:37 pm
Lee
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I doubt that the Robinson brothers didn't read Gorman's book. If you haven't read it, you should. He tells it like it is through his eyes.. None of them were perfect and he admits to his own foibles but at least I think he was honest. I highly doubt that Gorman had (or has) anything to do with the brothers' problems with each other. As we know, both of them had their own bands and didn't seem too concerned about not playing together.

might see them this summer. I'm sure they are still entertaining. The last time I saw them they still were.

This post was modified 2 years ago by Lee

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : April 3, 2022 8:37 am
jszfunk
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Posted by: @lee

I doubt that the Robinson brothers didn't read Gorman's book. If you haven't read it, you should. He tells it like he is. None of them were perfect and he admits to his own foibles but at least I think he was honest. I highly doubt that Gorman had (or has) anything to do with the brothers' problems with each other. As we know, both of them had their own bands and didn't seem too concerned about not playing together.

might see them this summer. I'm sure they are still entertaining. The last time I saw them they still were.

Yeah, Steve's book is a good read. I hope he is able to look at the financial aspect of it and is able to get what is owed. Maybe others too? Johnny Colt might want to jump in also.

Speaking of him, he was on the State Of Amorica pod cast a few months ago. Interesting listen for sure. Its kinda long, but worth a listen.

https://podtail.com/en/podcast/state-of-amorica-a-black-crowes-podcast/episode-63-johnny-colt/

 

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 7:35 am
Lee
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@jszfunk 

Regarding Johnny Colt, what about all the other guys that have been in the band over the years? I kind of doubt Marc Ford would have a beef since he played with Rich in Magpie Salute. 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 9:35 am
jszfunk
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Posted by: @lee

@jszfunk 

Regarding Johnny Colt, what about all the other guys that have been in the band over the years? I kind of doubt Marc Ford would have a beef since he played with Rich in Magpie Salute. 

I guess I am thinking more of the "original" members maybe Jeff Cease too and maybe Ford.  Cant believe everything you hear/read on line, but the way Magpie ended was pretty abrupt.

 

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 10:07 am
Bill_Graham
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Posted by: @jszfunk
Posted by: @lee

@jszfunk 

Regarding Johnny Colt, what about all the other guys that have been in the band over the years? I kind of doubt Marc Ford would have a beef since he played with Rich in Magpie Salute. 

I guess I am thinking more of the "original" members maybe Jeff Cease too and maybe Ford.  Cant believe everything you hear/read on line, but the way Magpie ended was pretty abrupt.

 

 Gorham would not be the first musician where the band they were in stopped paying royalties. Axl stopped paying Slash and Duff at one point and they sued and were told it was an accounting error. The Stones stopped paying Mick Taylor and I not sure if he sued them or not.

I was really disappointed when Magpie Salute ended as I thought they put out some good music but I can understand why Rich pulled the plug and reunited with his brother.

I went to see them in a small theater  in Rhode Island and there must have been about 100 fans at the show. They just weren't pulling in enough people to make any money I think.

From reading the interviews with the members if Magpie they were not to happy the way Rich ended things so I wonder if they would be willing to play with him again including Marc Ford.

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 11:47 am
jszfunk
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Posted by: @bill_graham
Posted by: @jszfunk
Posted by: @lee

@jszfunk 

Regarding Johnny Colt, what about all the other guys that have been in the band over the years? I kind of doubt Marc Ford would have a beef since he played with Rich in Magpie Salute. 

I guess I am thinking more of the "original" members maybe Jeff Cease too and maybe Ford.  Cant believe everything you hear/read on line, but the way Magpie ended was pretty abrupt.

 

 Gorham would not be the first musician where the band they were in stopped paying royalties. Axl stopped paying Slash and Duff at one point and they sued and were told it was an accounting error. The Stones stopped paying Mick Taylor and I not sure if he sued them or not.

I was really disappointed when Magpie Salute ended as I thought they put out some good music but I can understand why Rich pulled the plug and reunited with his brother.

I went to see them in a small theater  in Rhode Island and there must have been about 100 fans at the show. They just weren't pulling in enough people to make any money I think.

From reading the interviews with the members if Magpie they were not to happy the way Rich ended things so I wonder if they would be willing to play with him again including Marc Ford.

Yeah, I was kinda bummed about Magpie. They have some good live down load shows. I really liked Rich's solo stuff.  Would not have bothered me if he stayed that way, but I get why they fired BC back up.  No doubt the brothers can write some music and tend to be more formidable when together.

Well Sven is back in the band. As far as Marc wanting to play again, who knows.  I thought I heard him mention he was working with John Hogg. I listened to  the State Of Amorica podcast last summer and they had fans call in to the show and they would give reviews of the concert. The new players , drummer and guitarist, got solid marks, keyboardist very favorable  comments.  Its nice to see Chris getting back more into the Rock and Roll front man scene. Never cared for his trippy dippy traveling  space hippy solo thing.

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 1:08 pm
Lee
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I saw them in a small Chicago club on the north side. They were damn good. But I'm a sucker for Marc Ford.

I never heard why they broke up but I do remember it kind of came out of the blue. Does anyone know what happened?

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 1:41 pm
Bill_Graham
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Posted by: @lee

I saw them in a small Chicago club on the north side. They were damn good. But I'm a sucker for Marc Ford.

I never heard why they broke up but I do remember it kind of came out of the blue. Does anyone know what happened?

The Black Crowes reunion happened

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 1:57 pm
Lee
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Magpie Salute.

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 2:15 pm
Bill_Graham
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Posted by: @lee

Magpie Salute.

If you are asking why Magpie broke up it was because Rich wanted to reunite with Chris to start up the Crowes again.

He never really explained this to the members of MS and it sounds like they are justifiably not happy with him.

https://relix.com/articles/detail/spotlight-marc-ford/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CW e'd%20gone%20at%20it,the%20way%20it%20ended%20up.%E2%80%9D

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 2:37 pm
jszfunk
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Posted by: @bill_graham
Posted by: @lee

Magpie Salute.

If you are asking why Magpie broke up it was because Rich wanted to reunite with Chris to start up the Crowes again.

He never really explained this to the members of MS and it sounds like they are justifiably not happy with him.

https://relix.com/articles/detail/spotlight-marc-ford/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CW e'd%20gone%20at%20it,the%20way%20it%20ended%20up.%E2%80%9D

Yeah the breakup or him returning to the BC happened right before the release of they're 2nd album. I have not heard  any members comment on that situation. Marc was on the BC podcast , but it was never discussed.

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 2:45 pm
jszfunk
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Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 4, 2022 2:46 pm
Bill_Graham
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Posted by: @jszfunk
Posted by: @bill_graham
Posted by: @lee

Magpie Salute.

If you are asking why Magpie broke up it was because Rich wanted to reunite with Chris to start up the Crowes again.

He never really explained this to the members of MS and it sounds like they are justifiably not happy with him.

https://relix.com/articles/detail/spotlight-marc-ford/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CW e'd%20gone%20at%20it,the%20way%20it%20ended%20up.%E2%80%9D

Yeah the breakup or him returning to the BC happened right before the release of they're 2nd album. I have not heard  any members comment on that situation. Marc was on the BC podcast , but it was never discussed.

Around the time of the Crowes reunion announcement I read that John Hogg was pretty pissed off that the band was left hanging similar to what Marc mentioned in his Relix interview. I will post the article I read if I can find it.

This post was modified 2 years ago by Bill_Graham
 
Posted : April 4, 2022 3:11 pm
jszfunk
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https://relix.com/articles/detail/spotlight-marc-ford/

 

When the Magpie Salute veered off the road in February 2019, after two years of hard touring, guitarist Marc Ford returned home to California, knowing something wasn’t quite right.

“We were all pretty burnt at that point,” he says, calling from his San Clemente home. “We’d gone at it hard and the band was great, but it’s discouraging when you throw everything that you can at it and, for whatever reason, it isn’t working. Rich was making all the decisions with Magpie. He ran it the way he wanted to run it—good, bad or whatever—and it ended up the way it ended up.”

 

The “Rich” he is referring to, of course, is Black Crowes cofounder Rich Robinson. Ford did two tours of duty with the Crowes (1991-1997 and 2005-2006) and his renewed friendship with Robinson was the nucleus of The Magpie Salute’s 2016 formation.

But, after a few successful runs with The Magpie Salute, Ford started to feel that something wasn’t quite right. Beyond financial issues, there was a vibe hanging over the band, which the guitarist still can’t quite describe.

“We’d been told we weren’t touring again in 2019,” says Ford. “And that’s all any of us knew. Rich and I still talked about things now and again; but, little by little, we were talking less and less. And then, one day, I tried calling Rich and he’d changed his phone number.”

By the time that The Magpie Salute’s second studio album High Water II was released last October, the band members were starting to wonder what was going on. A month later, they found out the answer along with the rest of the world: Rich Robinson had reconciled with his brother Chris and reformed The Black Crowes with a totally new cast of players.

“It’s too bad that it was handled that way,” says Ford. “The rest of us were just waiting around for Magpie to start back up—if we’d known there was no future for the band, we would’ve done other
things. Nobody else was calling us—as far as they knew, we were busy with Magpie.”

“But,” he adds with an air of California Zen, “you just gotta move on.”

Over the winter months, it appeared that part of that moving on process would involve forming a new recording and touring project with Eric Lindell. Lindell—a Bay Area-born, New Orleans-based singer/songwriter/bassist/guitarist known for his mix of blues, soul and funk—first crossed paths with Ford when they both played the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in 2007. Twelve years later, Lindell reached out to Ford about getting together again for some recording and touring. They dubbed their new venture the West Coast Reunion.

“Eric came to me with the idea of doing something,” says Ford. “We weren’t even sure at first what it was going to be, but it began to morph into something… We were starting to write new music together and book gigs.”

And then, as suddenly as it started, the West Coast Reunion ended, just a day before their spring tour dates were set to be announced.

“It started with Eric and it ended with Eric,” says Ford. “I couldn’t really get a real reason from him. He just said, ‘This ain’t happening—I’m out.’”

Ford pauses with a dry chuckle. “Two scenarios in a year where things weren’t handled well and I kinda got left out to dry.”

Regardless, Ford is still excited about all he has coming down the pipeline. In the near future, he will release his 2010 solo album Fuzz Machine—which is true ambrosia for guitar enthusiasts—on vinyl. He’s also jumped back into production work—his past credits include albums for the PawnShop Kings, Ryan Bingham, Steepwater Band, Chris Lizotte, Jonny Burke, Phantom Limb and Republique du Salem—and he is already slated to work with Texasbased singer-songwriter Red Shahan.

Ford explains that, in his role as producer, he’s “really just a trusted opinion. People are paying me to have an outside perspective and to be a problem solver for anything that might come up. I’m kind of an interpreter, I guess—that’s how I see it. It’s not always going to be the best-sounding record, or it might sound better than most. But at least, hopefully, the record will let the artist tell their story and get their ideas across.”

Another project that Ford has been involved with showcases his guitar prowess. “That one’s for my buddy Dan Moore [co-writer of “Devil’s in the Details” on Ford’s 2017 album The Vulture]. Dan’s a really great songwriter; a bunch of us went into the studio and played through 10 of his songs in two days.”

And, of course, there are live dates being booked with the Marc Ford Band, which will likely include drummer Phil Jones and bassist Michael Mennell.

“I know we’re looking at some East Coast dates” says Ford. “We’ll see where things go from there. It’s all good.

Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,

 
Posted : April 5, 2022 8:25 am
Chain
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Posted by: @jszfunk
Posted by: @bill_graham
Posted by: @jszfunk
Posted by: @lee

@jszfunk 

Regarding Johnny Colt, what about all the other guys that have been in the band over the years? I kind of doubt Marc Ford would have a beef since he played with Rich in Magpie Salute. 

I guess I am thinking more of the "original" members maybe Jeff Cease too and maybe Ford.  Cant believe everything you hear/read on line, but the way Magpie ended was pretty abrupt.

 

 Gorham would not be the first musician where the band they were in stopped paying royalties. Axl stopped paying Slash and Duff at one point and they sued and were told it was an accounting error. The Stones stopped paying Mick Taylor and I not sure if he sued them or not.

I was really disappointed when Magpie Salute ended as I thought they put out some good music but I can understand why Rich pulled the plug and reunited with his brother.

I went to see them in a small theater  in Rhode Island and there must have been about 100 fans at the show. They just weren't pulling in enough people to make any money I think.

From reading the interviews with the members if Magpie they were not to happy the way Rich ended things so I wonder if they would be willing to play with him again including Marc Ford.

Yeah, I was kinda bummed about Magpie. They have some good live down load shows. I really liked Rich's solo stuff.  Would not have bothered me if he stayed that way, but I get why they fired BC back up.  No doubt the brothers can write some music and tend to be more formidable when together.

Well Sven is back in the band. As far as Marc wanting to play again, who knows.  I thought I heard him mention he was working with John Hogg. I listened to  the State Of Amorica podcast last summer and they had fans call in to the show and they would give reviews of the concert. The new players , drummer and guitarist, got solid marks, keyboardist very favorable  comments.  Its nice to see Chris getting back more into the Rock and Roll front man scene. Never cared for his trippy dippy traveling  space hippy solo thing.

If Steve Gorman is to be believed, and I for one do believe him, Chris Robinson’s hippy persona was farcical and contrived and appeared practically out of the ether just in time for his attempt at a solo career. 

It suited Chris just long enough to realize he was never going to make the kind of coin or have the popularity and success within the “Jam Band” scene that he had achieved in the arena Rock and Roll world of touring with the Stones, Jimmy Page, etc. and when the Black Crowe’s became headliners of their own.

I will say that I still to this day enjoy the two New Earth Mud cd’s I own.  Good stuff to my ears whether or not Chris is an actual hippy...lol.

 
Posted : April 5, 2022 11:05 am
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