In the early \u201990s, a new Bay Area band called Counting Crows asked David Immergl\u00fcck to join, and he turned them down. Even though he\u2019d been friends with their singer, Adam Duritz, for years. <\/p>\n
Oh, Immergl\u00fcck still played on Counting Crows\u2019 debut album \u201cAugust and Everything After.\u201d That multi-platinum 1993 disc was propelled by the band\u2019s Van Morrison-esque sound and Duritz\u2019s poetic lyrics and emotional vocals, as heard on era-defining hits \u201cMr. Jones\u201d and \u201dRound Here.\u201d <\/p>\n
Previously, Immergl\u00fcck had been a multi-instrumentalist with Camper Van Beethoven, at the end of that iconic alt-rock band\u2019s initial \u201980s run. So why after that did he decline to join his pal Adam\u2019s clearly talented band? \u201cI\u2019d love to ask myself that question,\u201d Immergl\u00fcck says now. \u201cI don\u2019t know that guy anymore. I mean, I\u2019d been doing stuff with Adam for years before there was ever any Counting Crows. But for some reason something felt wrong in my gut, and I didn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Immergl\u00fcck joined singer\/songwriter John Hiatt\u2019s band for four or so years. \u201cThat was like a masterclass,\u201d he says, \u201cin learning how to make records and learning how to play in bands and how to play live.\u201d<\/p>\n
He remained in touch with Counting Crows. If they and Hiatt were in the same town, Immergl\u00fcck would sit in with the Crows. He also contributed to Counting Crows\u2019 sophomore album \u201cRecovering the Satellites,\u201d featuring melancholic gem \u201cA Long December.\u201d Immergl\u00fcck, affectionally known as Immy, finally became an official Counting Crow for third album \u201cThis Desert Life.\u201d That 1999 release boasted hip-shaking hit \u201cHanginaround.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAdam just sort of insisted,\u201d Immergl\u00fcck says, \u201cthat I come down and get really involved in that record. And then it was just sort of obvious. Like, why aren\u2019t we in a band together? This is stupid. And that\u2019s when I joined full-time.\u201d He\u2019s been with them ever since.<\/p>\n
Along with Sheryl Crow and Black Crowes, Counting Crows form the holy trinity of \u201890s-famed Corvus-named rockers. Counting Crows\u2019 discography also includes hits released this century, including Joni Mitchell cover \u201cBig Yellow Taxi\u201d and \u201cShrek 2\u201d soundtrack hit \u201cAccidentally In Love,\u201d an Immergl\u00fcck cowrite.<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s eighth album, \u201cButter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!,\u201d dropped this spring. Their impressively stable lineup also features guitarists David Bryson and Dan Vickrey, keyboardist Carlie Gillingham, drummer Jim Bogios and bassist Millard Powers. <\/p>\n
On Saturday, Counting Crows\u2019 \u201cThe Complete Sweets! Tour\u201d comes to Huntsville\u2019s Orion Amphitheater. New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem, known for anthemic 2012 single \u201c45,\u201d open the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets via axs.com.<\/a> <\/p>\n Immergl\u00fcck grew up idolizing musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac. On a recent morning, he checked in from a hotel in Fort Lauderdale for a videocall interview. Edited excerpts below. <\/p>\n David, listening to new Counting Crows songs like \u201cWith Love, From A – Z,\u201d they sound like they could be from the band\u2019s early days.<\/p>\n David Immergl\u00fcck: Yeah, other people have told me that as well. I mean, we are Counting Crows, so we should. We\u2019re not trying to reinvent the wheel or work with the latest \u2026 We\u2019re just continuing to do what we do. <\/p>\n Counting Crows is a funny band. It\u2019s loved and loathed in equal measure. Although we\u2019ve been around so long now that the love is strong. But especially in our hometown it was not cool to like Counting Crows because they got so successful and some of my best friends can\u2019t stand Counting Crows. And that\u2019s fine with me. <\/p>\n My little brother makes fun of me all the time about Counting Crows, you know, and it\u2019s just funny I don\u2019t take it personally. But now for this particular record, some of the haters are coming out and just saying, like, I hate to admit it but this record\u2019s really good. And it just kind of cracks me up.<\/p>\n It helps that Adam\u2019s voice has held up well.<\/p>\n That does help. It\u2019s really quite something. He\u2019s on top of his game right now.<\/p>\n On the new album, he\u2019s still writing really good lyrics too. <\/p>\n I thoroughly agree. Only getting better. <\/p>\n Looking online at setlists from this tour, I saw \u201cMr. Jones\u201d is in the third slot. How long have you all been playing it that early in the show?<\/p>\n It\u2019s moved around a lot. There were years there where Adam didn\u2019t want to play it at all and we didn\u2019t play it. That stopped about 10 years ago maybe. <\/p>\n When we landed on having it early in the set, it sort of stuck there. Like, oh, this is the best place for this song because after that you can kind of do anything. And we usually put a weird one out right after it.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the band\u2019s approach to how many songs off a new album to put in a live setlist, so it feels good for the band and the fans? That\u2019s an interesting dynamic for bands who have songs people want to hear but also still make good records.<\/p>\n Our song catalog grows, but the amount of time we have on stage remains the same, so it gets trickier and trickier. This time out we\u2019re playing five new songs every night because we love playing them. And, as a matter of fact, we haven\u2019t had this kind of response from new songs since I can remember, honestly. <\/p>\n There\u2019s certain staples that we always play, that we want to play and that fans want to hear us play. And then there\u2019s certain parts of the set that we monkey around with every night. Those monkeying-around moments are a little shorter this time. There\u2019s only a few slots that we\u2019re like, OK, let\u2019s play this tonight instead of that.<\/p>\n In live videos I\u2019ve seen online of Counting Crows, you\u2019re often playing guitar. What are some of the songs you play other instruments onstage with the band?<\/p>\n On \u201cAugust and Everything After,\u201d I played a lot of mandolin on that record and so the mandolin turns up a lot. I play bass on some, like on the record I play bass on \u201cElevator Boots\u201d but live I play guitar. On the record I play guitar on \u201cUnder the Aurora\u201d but live I play bass because of how we arranged it for live.<\/p>\n For me, it\u2019s all just one instrument. But if you just caught me on the street and said, what instrument do you play? I\u2019d say I play guitar.<\/p>\n What do you remember about the first time you met Adam Duritz?<\/p>\n In my early 20s I had gone off to Europe by myself with the Eurail pass. It was sort of like a Bay Area Rite of passage. We all did this. You know, go get a backpack, get a Eurail pass, travel around Europe for a bunch of months. <\/p>\n But I come back and the first thing I do is call my friend Dan. What\u2019s going on? What\u2019s happening musically? This is in Berkeley. \u201cOh, I\u2019m playing in this new band and we\u2019re rehearsing in my apartment. Come by and hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n I did, and this band\u2019s singer was Adam, then we met and were very friendly, and then that band played a gig like three nights later. I went to that gig and there was a party afterwards. <\/p>\n We\u2019re all getting, you know, smashed, and Adam and I start arguing about music. He was a big Bruce Springsteen fan. I was not. I was into Miles Davis and Captain Beefheart and things, just really crazy stuff. <\/p>\n But Adam was very opinionated, and I liked that. He\u2019s one of those people who\u2019s very passionate about and well read about music. We just had differing opinions.<\/p>\n Then a couple days later at my apartment there\u2019s a knock on my door. It\u2019s like 12 noon, and there\u2019s this guy I just met, Adam, and he\u2019s got this pile of records. Bruce Springsteen\u2019s entire catalog. Amoeba Records was five blocks away and he bought them and gave them to me. <\/p>\n He said, \u201cHere. Listen to these and then we\u2019ll talk,\u201d and I\u2019m like, wow, awesome, alright. We\u2019re still arguing today, 40 years later. And I like Bruce Springsteen now.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. 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