Adam Duritz

After the overnight multi-platinum success of the Counting Crows debut album ("August and Everything After"). Adam decided to find a real job for a "reality check" between albums. So he bartended at the The Viper Room in Hollywood, which at the time was still owned by Johnny Depp.

Maria is the only one who's not completely real. She's just an idea of someone I came up with when I was writing "Round Here." I mean, she's me. It's through the eyes of a girl, but it's someone very much like me struggling at the edge, not sure if she's going to fall off on one side or the other. It's a theme that's stuck through songs. So she keeps popping up.