“Round Here” is the first song on the first album by Counting Crows. “Round Here” was the first song the band performed on “Saturday Night Live” on January 15, 1994. That appearance sparked a rapid rise for their debut album, August and Everything After, from the lower rungs of the Billboard 200 album chart to a peak of No. 4 in early April of that year. The album stayed on the chart for 93 weeks.

In the course of two-and-a-half months, Counting Crows went from a striving baby band to a top-selling act, and frontman Adam Duritz became a bona fide rock star.

I was set up with a 20-minute phone interview to advance Counting Crows’ show at The Baycare Sound. Because Duritz, 60, is thoughtful and verbose, I asked him if he minded ditching the standard tour-press interview and instead take a deep dive into one song. He readily agreed, and let me choose.

“Round Here” begins as a smoldering ballad and slowly escalates into several spine-tingling crescendos. “It was probably the signature song of the band at that time,” Duritz says.

In May, The Crows released their first studio album in 11 years: Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!. It’s the band’s best collection of new material since 2002’s Hard Candy.

During our interview, Duritz never once steered the conversation toward promoting the new release, a standard tour-press tactic. I found that refreshing.

Tickets to see Counting Crows play the BayCare Sound in Clearwater on Sunday, July 20 are still available and start at $53.

Here’s Duritz’s commentary about “Round Here” and related stuff, edited for length and clarity.

But first, a reminder:

YouTube video

Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Jason BiggersProfession: Director of Technology for Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners Other boards/organizations: Lived in Hillsborough since: 1972 Notable references: Three friends Registered party: Republican Biggers’ application—the only one redacted—says they, “Strategically reduced FTE counts for the Information Technology Department each fiscal year while improving technical outcomes and employee morale.”
Jason BiggersProfession: Director of Technology for Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners Other boards/organizations: Lived in Hillsborough since: 1972 Notable references: Three friends Registered party: Republican Biggers’ application—the only one redacted—says they, “Strategically reduced FTE counts for the Information Technology Department each fiscal year while improving technical outcomes and employee morale.”
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Counting Crows plays MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida on Aug. 9, 2023. Credit: Photo by Dave Decker

Additional Slideshows

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...