The Crowmatix: Levon Helm's `Good Little R&B Band'
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 16, 1998) -- When Levon Helm describes his new band, the Crowmatix, as "a good little R&B band, good singers all of them, good pickers, good writers, and they're easy to play with," it's not without a certain degree of irony, as if to say it's all he ever wanted.

Indeed, it's an apt recipe for most of the ensembles Helm has played with over the last 40 years, beginning with his stint backing Arkansas rockabilly king Ronnie Hawkins in the Hawks. That group -- minus Helm for the most part -- went on to fuel Bob Dylan's electric folk-rock revolution, and, with Helm back on drums, resurfaced as The Band in 1968, the archetypal Woodstock ensemble that went on to carve out a niche as the premiere purveyors of rootsy Americana-rock.

Now, with the Crowmatix, a loose assemblage of Band-related musicians, spouses and friends who will perform tomorrow night at 9 at the Studio in Pittsfield in a double-bill with jam-rock band Max Creek, Helm seems to have brought things full circle, back to the hogs and grits essence of the original Hawks, in its day known as the greatest bar band in the land.

Not that Helm has turned his back on The Band's legacy. "We do some of The Band things for The Band fans," he said in a phone interview last week from his Woodstock home. "The people I've played for for years know I'm going to do that delta stuff, some kind of bluesy thing, and these people are blues-heads too, so it'll be in that flavor."

Indeed, a promotional recording by the Crowmatix called "Souvenir" (Woodstock Records) has the feel of some of Helm's post-Band solo and group efforts, such as the late, lamented RCO All-Stars, an R&B supergroup that included Booker T. and the MGs, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield and Helm. The new CD blends old Band favorites like "Don't You Tell Henry" and "Rag Mama Rag" with classic and obscure blues and R&B chestnuts like "Milk Cow Boogie."

The main difference is that Helm is the only member of the original quintet that recorded in the '60s and '70s under the moniker The Band. The Crowmatix includes drummer Randy Ciarlante, who has toured and recorded with the revived version of The Band in the '90s, as well as keyboardist Aaron Hurwitz, who has produced The Band's '90s recordings. The group is filled out by Hurwitz's wife Marie Spinosa on vocals, and Woodstock musicians Jim Eppard on guitar and Mike Dunn on bass.

"We enjoy playing together, and I can fit the mandolin in with them, or the harmonica or the guitar or play the drums," said the multi- talented Helm, who has been known to play all those instruments and more with The Band. "It's been a lot of fun, and they let me sing a few. Marie helps me sing some, and I help Marie and Randy sing some, and Jimmy Eppard is a terrific singer."

When it comes to selecting the songs to play, Helm has one of the greatest catalogs in rock from which to choose. In addition to classic songs by The Band such as "The Weight," "Ophelia" and "Chest Fever," Helm is deeply steeped in blues and R&B.

"I like those old tunes, they're still good songs," said Helm. "Music don't get old to me. Sometimes if I don't feel like doing something I might take a pass on it. But usually I don't mind. It's nice that they remember."

As for his former Band-mates, Helm said Garth Hudson and Rick Danko are both busy playing music. Danko made headlines last spring when he was arrested and imprisoned in Japan on heroin possession charges. He was subsequently released and is back performing solo in this country, but the event seems to have spelled the end, at least for now, of The Band.

"I don't know," said Helm, when asked about The Band. "It's possible that The Band might record again sometime in the future. It's hard to say. You just never know. I don't try and put any of it in stone. Right now there's not anything happening with The Band. But who's to say? I just don't know."

Perhaps it's reading too much into things, but the Crowmatix CD might have a hidden message intended for Danko. The second track features Helm singing one of Danko's few compositions, "Java Blues," an ode to one of life's more innocuous addictions.

Coffee, anyone?

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Jan. 16, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]