Adam Duritz

Yeah, so we went into the hotel in the foyer there, or in the foyer with the bar in the middle in the island, just drinking and just put it on my tab, put it on my tab.

And we walked in and Adam and Adam Duritz and the band, who are these guys, but we ended up chatting and we're going to about five in the morning.

You go with the full set.

Yeah,

here.

But it's Adam Duritz is the band, really.

It's him and the other guys.

But Adam Duritz is the face.

He's the singer.

You know what I mean? When people think of Counting Crows, they think of Adam Duritz.

had some big tracks off it obviously with mr jones around here and it begins uh mr jones is a funny little story obviously that song completely changed their lives but they didn't they didn't think it was going to be a hit all right there you go yeah they wanted to release rain king as the the lead track and the the it's not the label wanted to release, should I have it here somewhere? The label wanted to release one of the other songs, Sullivan Street or one of the other songs.

And so they went back and forth and then the label decided, okay, Mr. Jones is the lead track.

And I remember also staying in that hotel during the tour was counting crows and I was seeing a girl in Brisbane.

I got Adam Duritz to write a card.

Didn't do me any good.

But, yeah, so there were a lot of bands came

And then, finally, last night, we had Counting Crows on, which is a band I love.

And Adam Duritz was nice enough to come out and talk with me.

And August and Everything After was a real, like, I listened to that a lot in college.

And it's 20 years old this year.

Yeah, that is horrible.

Look, Adam Duritz, I love you.

I've written more positive things than anyone about Counting Crows.

That's awful.

Back in the 90s out of La La Land, AKA Berkeley, California, Counting Crows built a reputation as one of the era's defining alt-rock bands.

Fronted by singer-songwriter Adam Duritz, the group broke through with their multi-platinum 1993 debut, August and Everything After, and its hit single, Mr. Jones.

Of course, more acclaimed albums followed, Recovering the Satellites, which was my favorite, This Desert Life, Hard Candy, helping to define them as a melancholic guitar-driven band with a devoted alt-rock following.

And that's why it seemed really out of the ordinary and unlikely when DreamWorks would come calling for a song for an animated summer blockbuster.

That is nasty.

When the studio first approached Adam Duritz about writing something for Shrek 2, he pretty much turned it down flat out.

Writing to order for a big corporate movie didn't sit right with him.

It went against everything about how he usually worked, right? This was a guy that quit the band because Mr.

I've compiled a list of my favorite albums.

Each week, I welcome a fellow author, music journalist, friend, family member, musician, singer-songwriter, podcaster, or YouTuber to choose an album from my list and join me to celebrate and dissect it.

We might remind you of a record you love or introduce a new one for you.

Oh, and there are no live albums or greatest hits, compilations, nor soundtracks.

and also settling in the top ten of alternative and mainstream rock charts.

Despite its dark themes and long instrumental jams filled with aggressive guitars and drums, the record was a certified hit and became one of the most important albums to emerge from what was then dubbed the grunge movement on the successful heels of fellow Seattle bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden.

Join me to discuss this seminal album for both of us as my good friend, singer-songwriter, author, TEDx speaker, sometimes stand-up comic, and troubadour.

Mr. Stephen Kellogg.

But you've got me thinking now because I've seen a couple of these XRT ones over the last couple of years.

It was Adam Duritz and Emmer from Counting Crows at Shuba's, and they did like two or three songs.

But then Leon Bridges was at the Three Top Lounge at Salt Shed, which is, like, this little swanky lounge up above, all the way at the top.

And he did, like, 45 minutes.