The Human Behind the Voice: Adam Duritz’s Journey with Counting Crows

In the newly released HBO Max documentary “Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?”, frontman Adam Duritz opens up about the complex journey that has defined his career and personal life since the band’s meteoric rise in the early 1990s. The film, which debuted on December 19, offers a raw and unflinching look at the creative force behind some of the most beloved alternative rock songs of a generation. Through intimate interviews with Duritz, his bandmates, and former romantic partners, viewers gain unprecedented insight into the mind of an artist whose creative brilliance has often been accompanied by significant personal struggles. The documentary doesn’t shy away from exploring how Duritz’s uncompromising leadership style shaped the band’s success, even as it occasionally created tension within the group. As bandmate David Bryson candidly admits, “Over the years, he’s pissed a lot of people off… He’s in charge of the band, he makes decisions, he doesn’t really consult anybody about it. One of the reasons we’ve stuck together over the years is because we accept that. It’s OK. Sometimes it’s not OK, but mostly it’s OK.”

Behind Duritz’s poetic lyrics and distinctive voice lay a deeply personal struggle that few fans fully understood at the time. The documentary reveals that Duritz battled an undiagnosed mental illness throughout much of the band’s early success, experiencing dissociation and derealization that made his sudden fame all the more disorienting. “A lot of my songs are about difficult moments in people’s lives, but they’re also always sort of leavened with the idea of hope,” Duritz explains in the film’s opening moments. “I know I’m the kind of person who thinks about things being hopeless in a lot of situations, and I especially was when I was younger.” He describes how his mental health deteriorated around age 21, experiencing sensations like being “on acid” that persisted for an entire year. During the grueling three-year tour following their debut album, his condition worsened to the point that he began self-harming. “And the worst part about cutting yourself is you do it and it works,” he reflects with painful honesty. Eventually diagnosed with a dissociative disorder that causes derealization and depersonalization, Duritz admits the condition never fully disappears, though proper medication has helped him manage it.

The film also explores Duritz’s complicated relationship with fame, which amplified his existing mental health challenges. When Counting Crows was offered the cover of Rolling Stone early in their career, Duritz recognized it as a pivotal moment that would forever change his life. “Magazine stands were everywhere and Rolling Stone was at the front, and that’s your face… Your anonymity is f***ing gone,” he recalls thinking. This newfound celebrity status proved particularly difficult for someone already struggling with dissociative episodes. A notable incident that highlights Duritz’s uncompromising nature occurred during the band’s 1994 appearance on Saturday Night Live, when producers attempted to cut their performance time. Duritz held firm, insisting they get their full time slot to perform “Mr. Jones” and “Round Here.” While they ultimately got their way and delivered a memorable performance, the band hasn’t been invited back to the show since. As fame intensified, Duritz’s hometown of Berkeley became overwhelming, with fans camping on his lawn and triggering panic attacks that threatened to turn him into “a shut-in.”

A chance phone call from Johnny Depp inviting Duritz to Kate Moss’s 21st birthday celebration at the Viper Room marked a turning point. Duritz found refuge in Los Angeles, a “town of dreamers” where he could reinvent himself. He began bartending at the Viper Room regularly, finding comfort in this new environment when he felt disconnected from his identity as a musician. When his bandmates called about making another album, he initially responded, “I’m not in a band now.” However, his Hollywood experiences eventually inspired him to return to music, saying, “I lived a completely different life, then I moved to Hollywood and met all these really cool people and I wanted to make a record about it.” This period also coincided with Duritz’s high-profile romantic relationships with several celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, whom he dated briefly in 1995. With disarming candor, he explains how friends orchestrated their meeting: “When I met Jennifer Aniston, my friends lied to me and her friends lied to her. They told us we both were really into each other.” He admits he knew little about the “Friends” star at the time, saying he was “busy during prime time” and unable to watch the popular sitcom.

Perhaps most revealing are Duritz’s comments about his relationship with Courteney Cox, whom he began dating in 1996 after she appeared in the band’s “A Long December” music video. Bandmates describe this as one of the few times they saw Duritz “deeply in love,” though his friend Randall Slavin observes, “I don’t think their relationship was the healthiest thing in the world because Adam wasn’t the healthiest thing in the world at that point.” Duritz himself reflects on why they ultimately parted ways: “Courteney was probably my longest relationship, but I don’t know whether we were really together for a lot of it. We were very, very different people. And there were moments that were absolutely wonderful together and there were moments where it was really hard.” Actress Mary-Louise Parker, who dated Duritz in the late ’90s and maintained a friendship with him, offers perhaps the documentary’s most candid assessment of his romantic history, noting, “He could have done without a few of those girlfriends, I think. I could have shaved a few of those off the list, very happily.”

The documentary concludes with a glimpse of Duritz’s current life, including his relationship with partner Zoe Mintz, whom he met in 2017. Mintz speaks with clear affection about Duritz’s evolution, particularly his decision to finally cut off his signature dreadlocks—a visual identity that had become both shield and barrier over the years. “They were a barrier, and when I could get through them and see his face, I just love his face,” she explains. “He’s got beautiful eyes and my favorite smile in the world.” When Duritz finally shaved his head, marking a symbolic fresh start, Mintz was “stunned and so happy for him… He was ready for a new era. He was ready to be a new version of himself and a more exposed version of himself.” This moment of transformation serves as a fitting metaphor for Duritz’s journey—a willingness to shed protective layers and embrace vulnerability, both as an artist and as a human being. “Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?” ultimately delivers a portrait of an immensely talented but deeply complex man whose struggles have informed his art and whose perseverance has allowed him to continue creating decades after his initial success.