Counting Crows' Adam Duritz on new album, 'Once'

Tuesday October 23, 2012 11:00 AM By Steve Knopper

Photo credit: AP | Act: Counting Crows
Date: Oct. 23
Info: Adam Duritz (pictured) and company stopped by the Port Chester theater to play music from their latest album, "Underwater Sunshine," as well as beloved '90s hits like "Mr. Jones."

On Monday, Counting Crows promoted their new album of cover songs, "Underwater Sunshine," as guests on the SiriusXM show of Howard Stern, who kicked off his DJ career in Briarcliff Manor. Tonight, they play Port Chester's Capitol Theatre as part of their U.S. tour, which also includes local stops in New York City and Huntington.

Since the Counting Crows first became rock stars with 1993’s “August and Everything After,” dreadlocked frontman Adam Duritz, 48, has struggled with intense psychological highs and lows. Through Twitter, Facebook and interviews with journalists, he has spelled out a difficult process of cutting out medications he’d taken for a confusing mix of emotional issues. The fast-talking, intensely self-deprecating frontman recently spoke to Newsday in anticipation of his local tour stops.

You recently reported on Twitter that you’ve been “feeling a bit stuck inside myself lately” and that the “Once” musical helped you get unstuck. Why were you feeling stuck?

I can be crazy sometimes, and that’s part of life for me ... I think I did very well when I was touring, [with] the structured nature of it, playing every day. I missed being home, but when I got home, I found I wasn’t sure how to live a normal life.

What about the musical helped you break out of that?

I have a lot of very strong memories about Dublin, in particular — people I knew, a girl I once very much cared about. You know, had a couple drinks before the show, and I was with some friends, and that show very much starts off — in the audience, there’s drinking, and the band’s playing, like you’re in the pub ... It’s a good show, too, though. I never saw the movie, but I liked the show.

How come the Counting Crows decided to make an album of other people’s songs?

I spent years opening my gut on the floor for everybody, and I liked that it wasn’t that form. It’s so weird to only be collaborating with the same songwriter all this time — and that one guy happened to be me. It was really nice and great to push the envelope in all those different directions — different rhymes, different chord patterns, all kinds of different ways to perform music. We got way better as a band due to playing this record.

IF YOU GO:

When: 8 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.), Tuesday, Oct. 23

Info: Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 914-934-9362; www.thecapitoltheatre.com; $55

Tags: Port Chester , Counting Crows , Capitol Theatre , Westchester , concerts , music , events