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| Adam Duritz | |
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 Adam Duritz performing with Counting Crows in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 1, 1964 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Pop, |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Singer-songwriter, Producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano, Guitar |
| Associated acts | Counting Crows |
| Website | adamduritz.com |
Adam Fredric Duritz (born August 1, 1964 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American musician and record producer. He is the lead singer and founding member of the rock band Counting Crows. His lyrics have been described as "morose" and "tortured"1and as "wordy introspection"2 and his vocals "expressive."1 He has also suffered from depression and "a dissociative disorder, which makes the world seem like it's not real,"3 which contribute to the duration between albums and the inspiration of many of his song lyrics.
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History
Early history
Duritz was born in Baltimore, Maryland and is of Russian/Jewish descent. 4 Early on he moved to Boston, then El Paso, Texas, and Berkeley, California. Duritz has lived in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Amsterdam and, most recently, New York City. As a student, he attended Head-Royce School, the Taft School, the University of California, Davis and the University of California , but dropped out before earning a degree.
Musical history
Before forming Counting Crows in 1991 with guitarist David Bryson, he was lead singer for San Francisco Bay Area bands, Mod-L Society and The Himalayans. He was also involved in another San Francisco-based band, Sordid Humor.
He has collaborated with The Wallflowers (led by Bob Dylan's son Jakob Dylan) on the album Bringing Down the Horse on the track "Sixth Avenue Hearthache"; with Ryan Adams on Gold and the song "Butterfly in Reverse" from Hard Candy; with Peter Stuart on Propeller and Daisy; with Live on V5; and with Dashboard Confessional on the track "So Long, So Long" from Dusk and Summer.6
Duritz also contributed the songs "Spin Around," "You Don't See Me," and "You're a Star" to the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack that were performed by the film's fictional title band, and "Accidentally in Love" on the Shrek soundtrack.
Relationship with fans
Since coming to fame with Counting Crows, Duritz has maintained an unusually open relationship with his fans. This has taken various forms including a diary on AOL 7, and later a blog on the band’s official website. He also reads and responds to posts on the band’s messageboard, and recently started a feature called AskCrowsAsk where fans can email questions for band members to respond to. This relationship has not always been smooth; Duritz has clashed with some fans, chastising those involved in flame wars by quipping on his blog, "Some of you are [...] incredibly unpleasant people."8 Duritz is also very open and honest with his fans on his blog about his philosophies and views of the world, at times morbid.
Record labels
Duritz has made two attempts to get involved in the music industry as a record label owner: in 1997, Duritz co-founded E Pluribus Unum, an independent label. Before the label was purchased by Interscope Records in 2000, Duritz signed Joe 90, Gigolo Aunts, and Neilson Hubbard – all of whom he took on the road to open for Counting Crows.
In November 2006, Adam Duritz began production on Chicago pop punk band Blacktop Mourning's debut record under the name "The Devil and Bunny Show" alongside Counting Crows guitarist David Immerglück. He later announced, on January 15, 2007, that he was launching boutique record label Tyrannosaurus Records. His debut artists include Notar and Blacktop Mourning. The label also re-released the sole album by Duritz's former band The Himalayans.
Film
In addition to his musical pursuits, Duritz was executive producer for the films The Locusts (1997) and Burn (1998). He had a cameo in the 2007 mockumentary film Farce of the Penguins9
- Freeloaders' is a teaming with the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. The film will revolve around five guys and a girl who live in the lap of luxury in a rock star's mansion. But their sweet situation is threatened when the rock star decides to sell the home. The friends will do whatever it takes to maintain their roack and roll lifestlye, as hilarity and shinanagins ensue 10
Notes
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2005). "Counting Crows biography", VH1.com. Retrieved on 1 March 2007.
- ^ Kot, Greg (2004). "Counting Crows: Biography", Rollingstone.com. Retrieved on 1 March 2007.
- ^ Savage, Mark (2008-03-27). "Talking Shop: Counting Crows", BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 7 April 2008.
- ^ Why Can't Adam Duritz Get Any Respect? : Rolling Stone
- ^ vanHorn, Teri (2001-07-12). "Tricky, Adam Duritz Guest On Fifth Live Album, V", MTV.com. Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
- ^ Moss, Corey (2006-01-19). "Dashboard Confessional Singer Records Duet With Adam Duritz", MTV.com. Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
- ^ "He Says", AdamDuritz.com. Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
- ^ "CountingCrows.com news.journal" (2004-07-07). Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
- ^ "Farce of the Penguins", MTV.com (2007). Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
- ^ Siegle, Tatiana (2008-11-11). "Adam Duritz, Broken Lizard making film". Variety. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
External links
- Adam Duritz at the Internet Movie Database
- Adam.CountingCrows.com - Personal website
- Adam Duritz discography at MusicBrainz
- Tyrannosaurus Records -Record label
