Rich Robinson's Hookah Brown has broken up. The band, which Robinson started during the Black Crowes hiatus, was less than a year old, having played its first gigs in January.

"Due to some personal and business issues that we were unable to overcome, Hookah Brown is no more," Robinson said. "I thought we were becoming a really good band, but sometimes life gets in the way of people being able to make music together."

The band, which included Moke singer John Hogg, drummer Bill Dobrow and bassist Fionn O'Lochlainn, had spent much of the past year touring, and had plans to put together a debut studio album this year. Last year, Robinson told Rolling Stone that he hoped to take the band in a different direction than the volatile Black Crowes, who were put on ice in January 2001. "One of my goals is to keep Hookah Brown a four-piece," Robinson said. "I don't want to try and remake the Black Crowes. I want to take what I learned and try it in a different context."

ANDREW DANSBY
(May 30, 2003)