Adam Duritz 205487 223852514 2008-07-06T04:09:37Z Kaceyh 7428469 [[Image:adamduritz.jpg|thumb|right|Adam Duritz performing with Counting Crows in 2007]] '''Adam Fredric Duritz''' (born [[August 1]], [[1964]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]) is an [[United States|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"<ref name=VH1>{{cite news |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/counting_crows/bio.jhtml |title=Counting Crows biography |publisher=VH1.com |date=2005 |accessdate=2007-03-01}}</ref>and as "wordy introspection"<ref name=RollingStone>{{cite news |last=Kot |first=Greg |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/countingcrows/biography |title=Counting Crows: Biography |publisher=Rollingstone.com |date=2004 |accessdate=2007-03-01}}</ref> and his vocals "expressive."<ref name=VH1>{{cite news |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/counting_crows/bio.jhtml |title=Counting Crows biography |publisher=VH1.com |date=2005 |accessdate=2007-03-01}}</ref> He has also suffered from [[Clinical depression|depression]] and "a [[Dissociative disorders|dissociative disorder]], which makes the world seem like it's not real,"<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7315441.stm |title=Talking Shop: Counting Crows |publisher=BBC.co.uk |date=2008-03-27 |accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> which contribute to the duration between albums and the inspiration of many of his song lyrics. ==History== ===Early history=== Adam Duritz was born in Baltimore, Maryland and is of Jewish-Russian descent. <ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/19551179/why_cant_adam_duritz_get_any_respect/2]</ref> Early on he moved to [[Boston]], then [[El Paso, Texas]], and [[Berkeley, California]]. Duritz has lived in [[San Francisco]], [[Los Angeles, California|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, Berkeley]] and the [[University of California, Davis]], 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 (Ryan Adams album)|Gold]]'' and the song "Butterfly in Reverse" from ''[[Hard Candy (Counting Crows album)|Hard Candy]]''; with [[Peter Stuart]] on ''Propeller'' and ''[[Daisy (album)|Daisy]]''; with [[Live (band)|Live]] on ''[[V (Live album)|V]]''<ref name=Live>{{cite news |last=vanHorn |first=Teri |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1445123/20010712/live.jhtml |title=Tricky, Adam Duritz Guest On Fifth Live Album, V |publisher=MTV.com |date=2001-07-12 |accessdate=2007-04-23}}</ref>; and with [[Dashboard Confessional]] on the track "So Long, So Long" from ''[[Dusk and Summer]]''.<ref name=Dashboard>{{cite news |last=Moss |first=Corey |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1520484/20060110/dashboard_confessional.jhtml |title=Dashboard Confessional Singer Records Duet With Adam Duritz |publisher=MTV.com |date=2006-01-19 |accessdate=2007-04-23}}</ref> Duritz also contributed the songs "Spin Around," "You Don't See Me," and "You're a Star" to the ''[[Josie and the Pussycats (film)|Josie and the Pussycats]]'' soundtrack that were performed by the film's fictional title band. ===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 <ref>{{cite news |url=http://adamduritz.com/hesays.html |title=He Says |publisher=AdamDuritz.com |accessdate=2007-04-23}}</ref>, 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."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://adam.countingcrows.com/journal.php?uid=82 |title=CountingCrows.com news.journal |date=2004-07-07 |accessdate=2007-04-23}}</ref> ===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 (record label)|E Pluribus Unum]], an independent label. Before the label was purchased by [[Interscope Records]] in 2000, Duritz signed [[Joe 90 (band)|Joe 90]], [[Gigolo Aunts]], and [[Neilson Hubbard]] &ndash; 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|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|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 (film)|Burn]]'' (1998). He had a cameo in the 2007 mockumentary film ''[[Farce of the Penguins]]''<ref name=Penguins>{{cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/298301/castcrew.jhtml |title=Farce of the Penguins | Cast & Crew |publisher=MTV.com |date=2007 |accessdate=2007-04-23}}</ref> ==Notes== <div class="references-2column"><references/></div> ==External links== * {{imdb name|id=0244154|name=Adam Duritz}} * [http://adam.countingcrows.com Adam.CountingCrows.com] - Personal website * {{MusicBrainz artist|id=8a1980a4-0c81-4b0b-8319-15b2175210f6|name=Adam Duritz}} * [http://tyrannosaurusrecords.net Tyrannosaurus Records] -Record label {{DEFAULTSORT:Duritz, Adam}} [[Category:Counting Crows members]] [[Category:American rock singers]] [[Category:Jewish American musicians]] [[Category:Russian-American Jews]] [[Category:American bloggers]] [[Category:American male singers]] [[Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland]] [[Category:People from El Paso, Texas]] [[Category:1964 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[de:Adam Duritz]] [[es:Adam Duritz]] [[fr:Adam Duritz]] [[it:Adam Duritz]] [[nl:Adam Duritz]] [[no:Adam Duritz]] [[sv:Adam Duritz]]