## Adam Duritz, songwriter, vocals
Our first four records had been mostly made in houses in the hills above Los angeles.August and everything After was our first major label album, so it was a pretty big deal. Our advance was $3,000 each; I bought a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia convertible and drove it to LA.
I would get up every morning and listen to Pickin’ Up the Pieces by Poco, which is like the Beatles doing country music.I also had this Benny goodman album that I was listening to a lot – my dad had picked it up as a free giveaway at a Texaco station when I was a kid.
Mr jones was on a demo we sent to all the record companies, but it was a very difficult song to finish. We didn’t have a great handle on it. It’s not a slow song, but it’s not a straight ahead, fast song either. It gallops along, so you have to get a real feel for it. It’s soul music – closer to Stax Records than it is to country.
We looked at a few different producers but when I talked to T Bone burnett about where the band was at, I felt like he really got it. We had a lot of potential,but I didn’t like the way we sounded – we hadn’t learned to be a band yet.We took away all of the synths and guitar effects. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t hear the song how the rest of us did and so T Bone brought in one of Steve’s heroes, Denny Fongheiser to play on it. It’s a funny story now, but it was rough on Steve.
marty Jones was my best friend and we played in bands together before Counting Crows. his father, David Serva,had made it as a flamenco musician in Spain and he was back in the Bay Area doing a bunch of shows. We went to see him play and hung out wiht the flamenco troupe from bar to bar, all night. The next morning,I went home and wrote Mr Jones. it’s about me and Marty out that night,wishing we were cool musicians so we could talk to the girls.
Counting Crows’ “Round Here”: A Reflection on reinvention, Influences, and a Shift Away From Grunge
Counting Crows’ 1993 hit “Round Here” remains a resonant track, and its creation involved a pivotal shift for the band, guided by producer T Bone Burnett. Guitarist Dan Vickrey reflects on the song’s origins, the band’s reinvention, and the musical climate of the early 1990s in a recent interview.
Vickrey describes Burnett’s influence as a return to foundational sounds, citing inspirations like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and The Band. Burnett invited Vickrey to contribute to the recording, moving the sessions to a studio in Encino, Los angeles – previously used by Tito Jackson and, notably, Dylan himself. The studio even retained the guitars Dylan had recently used, adding to the atmosphere.
Burnett’s direction to Vickrey was unconventional, yet effective. He instructed the guitarist to play behind the tempo of the drums, offering a memorable analogy: “If you rush ahead of the drums you sound like an adolescent jacking off too quickly.” He further advised Vickrey to imagine relaxing – “feet up on the mixing board and chewing gum” – while playing, aiming for a laid-back feel.
The emergence of Counting Crows coincided with a reaction against the dominant grunge scene. Vickrey points to Kurt Cobain’s death as a symbolic end to the era, characterizing the grunge movement as focused on “obliteration, not mind expansion.” he contrasts this with Counting Crows’ approach, which blended folk, rock, and the soulful influence of Van Morrison, offering a more emotionally resonant and human alternative. The band aimed for something beyond the nihilism that had permeated the music scene.
Vickrey emphasizes the enduring power of the song, recalling moments on stage with Adam Duritz where he’s reminded of the impact of the original demo.
Counting crows are currently touring the UK and Ireland, with dates beginning on October 21st. https://www.countingcrows.com/tour