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Music

A timely return

Tom Petty and the Black Crowes rocked the music world a decade ago. Now the musicians plunge into a new tour, with new music and some new band members.

By PHILIP BOOTH
Published June 9, 2005

[Times photo: Thomas M. Goethe]

Tom Petty

	[AP photo]
	Chris Robinson

Tom Petty, a verifiable roots-digging rocker, hasn't released a new CD since 2002's The Last DJ, a pessimistic examination of the state of rock 'n' roll and pop culture that failed to make a dent on the pop charts. The Gainesville-bred rocker and his Heartbreakers bandmates - including keyboardist Benmont Tench and guitarist Mike Campbell - nevertheless are out on the road again, with a tour that kicked off Tuesday in Fort Myers and touches down Friday night at the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa.

With any luck, fans will be treated to the jangling 12-string guitars and sturdy rock rhythms of The Waiting, Breakdown, American Girl, Refugee and a few of the lesser, latter-day hits. Don't be surprised if Petty also previews several tunes from his forthcoming CD.

Petty, although outspoken about recording-industry practices and tightly controlled radio playlists, otherwise is notoriously shy of the press.

Here's what he had to say to Rolling Stone on the proliferation of high-priced VIP seating at concerts:

"I don't see how carving out the best seats and charging a lot more for them has anything to do with rock 'n' roll. A lot of the time, some corporation's bought up these seats with someone's money who doesn't even know it's being spent - and they are going to use it to entertain clients. "What you see from the stage is a group of people just talking to each other, not really interested in being there at all. And the poor guy who really is interested, he's sitting way in the back."

Want more? Check out Conversations With Tom Petty, a book-length interview due this fall from Omnibus Press. Subscribers to Sirius satellite radio get immediate gratification: Petty is host of a show, Buried Treasure, that features tracks by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Jimi Hendrix, according to Rolling Stone.

The Black Crowes, after a three-year hiatus, are back together and on the road with Petty. Lead singer Chris Robinson, 38, and wife, actor Kate Hudson, had a baby, and he released two solo albums, New Earth Mud in 2002, and This Magnificent Distance last year.

His brother Rich, 36, the Crowes' guitarist, painted, toured with the four-piece band Hookah Brown and released a solo album, Paper, last year.

The new Crowes' lineup includes the Robinson brothers, guitarist Marc Ford (who left the group in 1997), keyboardist Eddie Harsch, bassist Sven Pipien (who left the group in 2000), and Bill Dobrow, who takes the place of former Crowes drummer Steve Gorman.

It has been 15 years since the Black Crowes' infectious tune Hard to Hold had rock fans everywhere valiantly struggling to decipher the mumbled chorus - and making up lots of lyrics along the way.

But after that breakthrough hit tune off 1990's album Shake Your Money Maker, the band gained multiplatinum status and released several more albums before it went on "indefinite hiatus" in 2002.

Times wires were used in this report.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with the Black Crowes, 7 p.m. Friday, Ford Amphitheatre, Interstate 4 at U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $29-$59. (813) 740-2446.

[Last modified June 8, 2005, 10:18:05]