Adam Duritz Shares the Beginnings
Our first albums were mostly recorded in homes located in the hills above Los Angeles. Their debut major label album signified a major milestone for the group, as it was their first release on a large record company. Each member got an upfront payment of $3,000; I used mine to buy a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and traveled to LA.
Each day, my routine included by listening to a Poco track, which resembles the Beatles venturing into American folk. Also, I frequently played a jazz record that my father had acquired as a complimentary item at a gas station when I was young.
The song Mr Jones was part of a demo tape that we submitted to labels, but it proved a challenging track to finish. It lacked a clear direction at first. Neither a slow ballad or a fast-paced rock song; instead, it moves with a rhythm, demanding a deep understanding to perform. The style is soulful – more akin to the Stax Records sound than country.
The band’s drummer struggled to grasp the track like the rest of us did – thus T Bone enlisted one of his idols to play it.
We looked at several production candidates, but when I discussed things with T Bone Burnett, he really get where the band was headed. There was a lot of promise, but I wasn’t satisfied with our sound – we were still learning how to be a band. We removed all the synthesizers and guitar effects. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t sync with the tempo, so the producer called in Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s heroes, to lay down the drums. Looking back, it’s amusing, but it was tough on Steve back then.
Marty Jones and I had played in bands together prior to Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, a flamenco musician, had made it in Spain and was back in the Bay Area doing a series of shows. Attended one of his performances and spent the night with the flamenco troupe bar-hopping. Next day, I returned and composed Mr Jones. It’s about me and Marty that night, dreaming we were accomplished artists so we could talk to the girls more confidently.
In my view, it’s one of the best songs I’ve composed. We performed Round Here on SNL in 1994, the record climbed 40 spots weekly for five or six weeks. Following that, Mr Jones turned into a huge hit.
The Multi-Instrumentalist Shares His Perspective
Back in the 80s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were living together in a industrial building in Berkeley. I had been playing with Camper Van Beethoven and had an side project named Monks of Doom.
One evening, I found Adam with a new demo he’d just done with Bryson. I heard this track titled the now-famous tune. It was done with a basic drum machine that resembled a video game or popcorn popping, but his singing were exceptional.
After the producer got involved, it felt like a total reinvention of Counting Crows. The approach back to basics echoing Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Band.
I got a call from Adam saying, “Listen, can you join us and play on this album?” By the time I arrived, T Bone had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – formerly used by Tito Jackson. There were guitars that Dylan had recently used.
He instructed me to perform behind the tempo the drums. He said, “If you rush ahead of the drums comes off like an teenager hurrying.” He has a Texas drawl, and his advice was to imagine putting your feet up on the console and chewing gum while playing.
Counting Crows was, to an extent, a response to the grunge movement. The tragic end of Cobain seemed the culmination. At the time, everyone used heroin. The aim was obliteration, not enlightenment. That negativity had reached an extreme, and the trend shifted toward something more human and heartfelt. Counting Crows combined acoustic and electric with a heavy dose of Van Morrison soul.
Mr Jones remains timeless. Sometimes, when performing with the singer, I recall that moment when he played me the demo. It’s insane.
