The Green Room: As The Crowe Flies (Solo)

Onstage, Rich Robinson may look aloof, indifferent, even angry, when he's playing guitar.

But it's just a look, one imagines, that reflects the intensity he feels for the music.

In conversation, Robinson is a gentle, decent dude, who even puts up with the most far-fetched questions a journalist can throw at him. 

And his new solo album, "Through A Crooked Sun," due out on Oct. 11? That was a piece of cake, he says.

"This was maybe the easiest album that I've ever made," Robinson said. "The songs just flowed. So, it's a surprise to hear from you, my friends, even my dad, that the tunes are so different from the stuff I do with The Crowes."

He will, no doubt, be sharing plentiful amounts of songs from this disc when .

"I really just wrote and played the new songs naturally," Robinson said. "Everybody is telling me that they love them and they're unlike a lot of things I've done before."

Not that what he's "done before" is bad, or anything.

Robinson is normally with The Black Crowes, one of the truest, finest and least compromising rock and roll bands America has offered up in the past 20 years. Since their 1990 platinum debut, "Shake Your Moneymaker," The Crowes have been both Stones-y rock band and honorary member of the Jam Band Nation. They've written great songs, but also changed cast members more often than Saturday Night Live.

Rich and brother, Chris, he of the band's soulful singing voice and charismatic stage presence, have had a couple of minor disagreements about things. But no more than, say,  President Obama and The Speaker Of The House. Still, the Crowes will be flying again, for certain. Meanwhile Robinson is out with his band, letting his 'Sun' shine.

"What was really important to me about this album, was strictly the songs," Robinson said. "Even with all the great players in the world, I feel that songwriting has taken the biggest hit in music today. When the Beatles and The Stones and The Who were starting out, they didn't know it, but they were writing rules for other songwriters to follow. And not enough people today are following those templates, trying to write great songs. Even Salvador Dali said, 'You need to follow the masters,' and then make your own thing. People aren't looking to the masters much, anymore."

On "Through A Crooked Sun," Robinson has clearly been listening to those giants. Whether it's his nod to 60s psychedelic pop on "Gone Away," or the ominous, acoustic "It's Not Easy" (which sounds like Carlos Santana sitting in on "Riders On The Storm"), this high-flying Crowe has fashioned an album of actual songs, where guitar playing and percussion are there to enhance the melody, not replace it.

And a veteran himself, is there anybody new he has also been checking out?

"I really like the Fleet Foxes," he said. "There's something very honest and cool about what they do. And they've managed to make the records they want to make and succeed at it. You can actually still go your own way in this business and not be pushed around commercially. They've made it clear."

Robinson will be touring behind 'Crooked Sun,' with his band, but he makes it clear that The Black Crowes are still extant and in fighting trim. Playing live with them and his own band are what keep drawing him back to the world of music. No matter how weird the business gets.

"When you're on stage and people are really listening, they really get something for their money," he said. "And, in a way, so do you. There's no substitute for all these people being in a room or a hall, hippies, bankers, kids, grown-ups and everyone being in the same place and also being in the moment. That's what music does for people. It's wonderful to make records, but the live experience? How good it makes everyone feel? It might be the most satisfying part of this whole deal."

Rich Robinson and his band will perform at 10 p.m. Saturday a, 227 Maple Ave E., Vienna. Opening is Dylan LeBlanc. Tickets are $18. For more information call 703-255-1566.