Adam Duritz Recalls the Formative Period
The initial four records were mostly produced in homes situated in the foothills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After signified a significant step for the group, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. Each member got an upfront payment of $3,000; I used mine to buy a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and drove it to LA.
Each day, I would start by listening to a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles venturing into country music. Additionally, I was into a Benny Goodman album that my father had picked up 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 was a challenging track to complete. It lacked a clear direction at first. Neither a slow ballad or a fast-paced rock song; instead, it moves with a rhythm, requiring a real feel to perform. The style is soulful – more akin to the Memphis soul style than folk.
Our drummer struggled to grasp the song like the rest of us did – so the producer enlisted one of his idols to play it.
We considered several production candidates, but when I discussed things with the producer, he seemed to get where the group was at. There was a lot of promise, but I wasn’t satisfied with our sound – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. We removed all the synthesizers and effects pedals. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t sync with the song’s rhythm, so T Bone invited Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s favorites, to play on it. It’s a funny story, but it was hard on Steve back then.
My best friend Marty and I had played in groups together prior to Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, David Serva, had succeeded in Spain and was returning in the Bay Area performing a tour. Attended one of his shows and spent the night with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. The next morning, I went home and composed Mr Jones. It’s about our experience that night, wishing we were accomplished artists so we could connect with the girls more confidently.
I believe, it’s among the finest songs I’ve composed. We performed another track on SNL in 1994, the album jumped 40 spots each week for five or six weeks. Following that, the song became a major success.
The Multi-Instrumentalist Shares His Perspective
In the late 1980s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were living together in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. I had been playing with another band and was in an offshoot band called Monks of Doom.
One evening, Adam had a fresh recording he’d just done with Bryson. He played me this song called Mr Jones. Recorded with a basic drum machine that sounded like a arcade sound or popcorn popping, but his singing were exceptional.
Once T Bone got involved, it felt like a total reinvention of Counting Crows. The approach toward roots influenced by folk and soul legends.
Adam called me saying, “Listen, can you come down and play on this album?” By the time I got there, the producer had relocated us to a recording space in Encino, Los Angeles – previously used by Tito Jackson. There were instruments that Dylan had recently used.
He told me to perform behind the tempo the drums. His words were, “Playing too fast before the drums comes off like an adolescent hurrying.” He has a southern accent, and his guidance was to imagine relaxing on the mixing board and chewing gum during the performance.
The band was, to an extent, a reaction to grunge. The tragic end of Cobain felt like the culmination. Back then, everyone used heroin. The aim was self-destruction, not mind expansion. The nihilism had reached an extreme, and the pendulum swung toward something emotional and heartfelt. Their music blended acoustic and electric with a heavy dose of Van Morrison soul.
The song remains timeless. Sometimes, when I am rocking out with the singer, I remember that time when he played me the early version. Absolutely incredible.
