Chris Robinson Brotherhood Kick Off ‘Big Moon Ritual’ in June

After a year and 118 shows, Chris Robinson is ready to kick off the next phase of his post-Black Crowes career by introducing listeners everywhere to Chris Robinson Brotherhood, a new musical collective that plans to release a pair of albums and tour heavily in 2012.

The band's debut album, titled 'Big Moon Ritual,' is scheduled for a June 5 release, with a follow-up release, 'The Magic Door,' planned for September. In between, the Brotherhood is getting ready to hit the road, with an announcement regarding new dates promised in the near future.

"This music is unashamedly what we're into," said Robinson of the band's psychedelic rock sound. "It's not a psych band because you have a Prince Valiant haircut and wear Beatle boots. It's psych because that's where our heads are. We want to make music that blossoms. We want to make music that sounds cosmic."

For Robinson, the Brotherhood's journey was all about putting together a crew of like-minded musicians (including guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, drummer George Sluppick, and bassist Mark Dutton), and watching them develop on the road. "Part of the master plan was not to do anything besides touring the wheels off the thing for the first go-around, and it worked for us and allowed us to figure out who we were," he explained.

"One of the best things about the lack of a proper music business is if you have an idea, you can do something. If everybody is on the same page, and it's not about the dough on the table, and it's really about something you believe in, then you can get there...When we got to these cool sonic spaces we took advantage of them. It was totally the most radical recording session I've ever done, especially in terms of aesthetics."

'Big Moon Ritual' track listing
'Tulsa Yesterday'
'Rosalee'
'Star or Stone'
'Tomorrow Blues'
'Reflections on a Broken Mirror'
'Beware, Oh Take Care'
'One Hundred Days Of Rain'