With David Letterman's long-running Late Show coming to an emotional close this week, and with Counting Crows' 1994 debut on the show now heralded as one of its most memorable musical moments, it only seems right to hear how Adam Duritz is feeling about Dave's departure.
In an interview with Craig Fitzpatrick ahead of their Royal Hospital Kilmainham show on June 24, the Counting Crows frontman talked about how their performances of 'Round Here' on Saturday Night Live and The Late Show made their career. The band went on to become regular Late Show guests and favourites of Dave's.
Duritz says he will miss him, "but not just from that part."
"I was a kid in college when that show first started up and it was required watching every night," says the 50-year-old. "It was insane and revolutionary and amazing. I really loved it. When we got to go on it, it was a huge deal for me.
"For a few years there, I think we were his favourite band. I don't know if we remained his favourite band – I don't think we got any phone calls in this last year! – but to me, he's one of the great geniuses of comedy in our time. He's truly amazing. In his own way, just as important as Richard Pryor. For one thing, he fostered a lot of comedians. But also, changed the way we watched comedy on television with the bizarre nature of The Late Show and his own show at first. just incredible to me. I think he's very important.it also makes me sad in a way that mass culture never fully embraced it the way that I hoped it would. But maybe that's part of the nature of who he is – it was never going to be for everyone."
For years, Letterman was routinely beaten by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, a situation that comedy fans viewed with plenty of bemusement
"For a while there, he was beating Leno. Then after Hugh Grant... But I get that, suddenly that night TMZ was on the Tonight Show: 'now we're going to talk about a guy getting a blow job in a car!' That's one of the differences between Letterman's show and other shows. It wasn't about that stuff. It was about whatever the fuck was going through his crazy ass mind."
Pick up the next issue of Hot Press (out Thursday May 28) for an in-depth interview with Duritz, who talks about that upcoming Dublin date, their latest album, battling the major labels' mindset and much, much more...