Vol. 5, No. 8, August 2008
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Interview with Adam Duritz & Adam Levine
The lead singers for Counting Crows and Maroon 5 talk with Casino Connection
Nearly five years after Maroon 5 and the Counting Crows’ last tour, they’re back on the road to show off the bands’ No. 1 hits and latest albums. Maroon 5 is touring in support of a two-CD deluxe edition of last year’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, while the Crows will offer songs from their critically acclaimed new CD, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. The Counting Crows were formed in Berkeley, California in 1991 by lead singer Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson. Their debut album, 1993’s August and Everything After, was an international success and featured the No. 1 singles “Mr. Jones” and “Round Here,” songs which have become staples whenever the band performs live. The Crows have recorded five studio albums and were nominated for an Academy Award for the song “Accidentally in Love,” from the movie Shrek 2. Of their latest CD, released in March, Duritz has said “Saturday night is when you sin and Sunday is when you regret.” Maroon 5, another band from California, came to prominence in 2002 with the album Songs About Jane. The album eventually went triple platinum and earned the band a Grammy Award. Maroon 5 toured extensively in the next few years and released their follow-up CD in 2007. Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and has gone on to sell 1.8 million copies. Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who come to Borgata’s Event Center August 8, talked to Casino Connection about their co-headlining tour. How did this tour come together? Duritz: People hedge to spend their money these days because there’s not a lot of it out there. People are not spending. So if you get a chance to see the Counting Crows and Maroon 5, that’s a full day. It’s a great way to spend a day in the summer. And both of us were going to tour one way or another. Levine: We’re happy to be touring with these guys because there are so few bands that are for real. It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors these days. We both go out and hit the road and do it the old-fashioned way. There’s not all this crap that’s around. The spirit of this tour is for real. Songwriter to songwriter, what do you appreciate about Adam’s music? Levine: I’ve been a fan for a long time. When that first record came out, I was amazed. It didn’t sound like anything. It was organic and simple. A lot of stuff at that time was overproduced. It seemed like a nice breath of fresh air. The coolest thing about Counting Crows is that they’re a no-nonsense band. Sometimes it’s hard to struggle in that MTV world and then go back to real rock ’n’ roll. They maintained a great amount of success and have always been a great touring band and make great records. That’s all they want to do, and that’s all we want to do. If you were going to cover a song from each band, what would it be? Duritz: Probably “If I Never See Your Face Again.” Adam’s a real singer. I don’t think live is better than records; I like to see a great version on record and delve into it even more live. I still don’t think there has been a quintessential version of “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” I would love to nail it out together. It would be really fun to do an encore of ridiculously cool songs, all of us singing them in our own way. That would be a fun encore. Levine: “Long December.” I love that song so much, it’s insane. I’m excited about this tour because there are so many great singers and musicians. I guarantee there will be some sort of collaboration. It will be a great summer. The Counting Crows and Maroon 5 co-headline Borgata’s Event Center 8 p.m. August 8. Tickets are $125 and $150.
