When Counting Crows released their seminal debut, “August and Everything After,” 23 years ago this month, they knew they were at the start of something special. The rest was a secret waiting to be told.
“When you start out in a band, you don’t realize what you’re up against,” says founding guitarist David Bryson. “The road you have to travel to become successful. You don’t think about that; you just do it. Doors kept opening up and we kept going through. Aside from having the good fortune to break through, we’re grateful that our fans still like us over these years. It’s not a given and it’s not something you think about when you start out.”
Sept. 11 | 8 p.m.
Grand Sierra Resort | Reno, Nev.
“I think we bring the challenge to ourselves. Sometimes we fall. But I think the benefit far outweighs the risk. I think we were always just trying to be ourselves.” -David Bryson
The truth of it is things really haven’t changed all that much since the beginning. According to Bryson, the band still tours every summer for the same reasons that inspired them way back when.
“When I think back to driving around the country in a van, to tow a trailer for a year and a half, it was unbelievably hard work, but nobody gave a s–t,” he says. “Ever since that first year, it’s felt the same, but in a good way. It’s never been a job; it’s always been a passion. That hasn’t gone away.”
Counting Crows are renowned for their live performances with lead singer Adam Duritz often stretching songs out and improvising the lyrics in astonishingly expressive and emotive ways. Somehow, the band always seems to follow seamlessly as if they are one singular creature.
“It keeps you on your toes,” says Bryson. “Just like any sports team that’s been together for a while, we can often anticipate where he’s going to go. That helps because he wants us to go with him.”
Bryson attributes the band’s longevity to the mutual respect and love they keep for each other.
“Adam’s the leader of this thing and he has a real loyalty to the people around him,” Bryson says. “There’s a sort of trickle down, if you will. We’re friends to a degree, but we are really more like brothers.”
Duritz has been remarkably upfront about his struggles with mental illness. He’s been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder that, as he has described, makes life feel like watching a movie. Although this may lend itself to the confessional and observational nature of his lyrics, it can also make it hard for him relate to others, which has led to severe depression.
Listen to the sound of Counting Crows
“I think it’s good that he’s so open about it,” Bryson says. “As far as the band goes, it’s been challenging. There have been some stretches when it’s hard for him to get up for touring, get up for albums and his head’s not in the game.”
Bryson sees Duritz’s idiosyncrasies as part of his creative genius.
“I think you don’t see consistency with those kinds of challenging, really creative people,” he muses. “There are very few extremely creative people who are totally normal. It’s not a combo you see that often. I think those people who have the ability to write great songs, make great art, be great actors; they are not always the nicest people or the sanest.”
Although Duritz’s instability has led to some precarious points, Bryson and the band have stuck through it together and this steadfast allegiance has pushed them ahead.
“For me, our last record (“Somewhere Under Wonderland” in 2014) was a big surprise,” says Bryson. “It had been eight-plus years without Adam writing anything. He went through a dry spell and it was definitely related to his mental health. This latest record is all brand-new material and I think it’s some of his best stuff. He’s gotten back to a really good place now and there’s lots more to come. We’ve all sort of given up on a struggle for power. We are just here to support him. We follow his vision. He reacts to our input. I think that is why we are still together.”
To sum it up, Bryson recalled advice the band received from the legendary T-Bone Burnett, who produced their breakthrough album: “When you go to see a circus and you see the tightrope walkers, do you want to see them prance across, do flips and make it looks easy?” he asks. “Or, do you want to see them almost fall? You want it to look difficult. It shouldn’t seem easy.”
“I think we bring the challenge to ourselves,” Bryson says. “Sometimes we fall. But I think the benefit far outweighs the risk. I think we were always just trying to be ourselves.”
For more information or for tickets, visit grandsierraresort.com.
