Counting Crows return to Australia this April, playing at Bluesfest, as well as their own headline shows in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Fortitude Valley and New Zealand. Ahead of their trip Down Under Amnplify’s Pauli Dee spoke to the band’s Jim Bogios.

Paul: Hi Jim, you’re 2 weeks out from your Australian tour. How are you preparations coming along?

Jim: We’ve been touring so much, although we’ve had a big break that it’s kind of like riding a bike, we just get back in there!
It’s probably a good idea for everybody to go over a few songs & get their head into it. I always make sure that I stay really busy doing music when I’m home so it’s not a matter of getting your chops together, you just step right in & I imagine the first show’s going to be a little, you know, but there’s that excitement too & we’ve play so much together that we usually just step right in & it starts to happen pretty quickly.

Paul: We’ve been pretty lucky here in Australia. We’ve gotten to see you every couple of years. What are your stand-out memories of Australia?

Jim: I always think of the first time we came out there with the band, because I’ve been with the band for 12 years now and one of the very first tours I did was Australia which was around 2003 & I’d just left my gig with Sheryl Crow of 8 years, which was a big deal – You know, that was my gig and I left it to be a band member with The Counting Crows & I had just gotten out of a serious relationship. All this happened within a week & also my grandmother died. It was three things & then I went out on the road and that tour was just wild! Which is kind of rare for us, to have like a party tour, but that’s what it was & I’ll always remember that. I went a little crazy so I’ll always remember that! (Laughs) But we love the people out there and we always have great shows & it’s so beautiful & we just love hanging out there. There’s always such a great vibe, I look forward to coming out to Australia.

Paul: and we look forward to having you here!
You kick off the tour with Bluesfest in April, playing alongside bands like The Black Keys, Train, George Clinton, Ben Harper, some big names. Is there anyone in particular that you’re excited to be playing with?

Jim: It’s always fun doing the festivals because, exactly like you said, there’s so many different bands & so many different styles of music. I’d really like to see The Black Keys. I haven’t seen them, I really dig their stuff & just like last time we did the festival out there, you see musicians and friends that you’ve toured with and really the circles get smaller and smaller, you know Train are from the barrier, so as a matter of fact, I was just on the phone to their guitar player today so I’ll be seeing him out there and who knows who else from past tours, so that’s always a lot of fun. You get to see all your friends and share the music!

Paul: Will you have time, while you’re down here to do any sight-seeing or relaxing? Or is it an “all work no play” gig?

Jim: Well when we get days off, Adam is one of those types of singers that can’t really do too many shows in a row, which will work in our benefit for having a little time off, so we’ll usually play two in a row, then have a day off. Sometimes those days off are travel days, so it just depends on how inspired you are to get out there! I’m a tennis player so I always get out and hit balls and sometimes I’ll get to see things when I’m going there or I’ll sort of work something else into my day. Charlie, the keyboard player, he walks around every town we go to! It’s just his thing so you know; Adam will probably stay in his room a lot more, also because he has to protect his voice, so everyone’s different on what they need to do to keep them going out there!

Paul: Speaking of Adam; he has a bit of a reputation for frequently extending and rewriting songs live on stage and adding extra verses and alternate middle sections.
Is that hard to predict or play with?

Jim: It definitely is but it’s also… I love that part of the band & over the years drummers and singers really have to have a communication because you’re leading the band and the nature of the drums is to lead the band where the singer wants to go so I really have my eyes and ears tuned in to Adam. By this point I know where he’s going to go & I know the things he’s going to do just by listening so we have a really good repour & you never know when he’s going to take a left turn & I love that about our band. Just like the set-list, we’re always going to be mixing it up & we’re going to have sections in songs that just go off! Some nights are better than others but at least we’re going out there and trying to do something a little different & make some music instead of just doing the same thing the same way every night.

Paul: On the tour you’ll obviously be playing songs from the new album “Somewhere Under Wonderland” & I’m presuming there’s going to be some classics in there as well. Do you have a preference for which one you like performing better?

Jim: I like mixing it all up. I really do enjoy all the records & we try to change the set list every night, but at the same time, play songs from each album. That’s one of the prerequisites; that we do at least a couple from each record, so you’ll get to hear everything.

Paul: We’re excited about the new album “Somewhere Under Wonderland” can you tell us a little bit about it?

Jim: Well we hadn’t done a studio album in quite some time, which I’m sure a lot of people are aware of and all of a sudden Adam just had a… everybody in the band writes but Adam has to have the original inspiration & he’ll bring something to the rest of the group & then we’ll go from there & as he usually does, he’ll write one song and then all of a sudden in a week or two have an explosion of ideas and so a lot of creativity happens in a short amount of time. We really went for the live performances as we do with this band and we recorded in an old school way where everybody’s playing together and we’ll get that main take, then do some over-dubs from there, but bands just don’t make records that way anymore, I mean there’s something to me about a bunch of musicians in a room playing music together that has been lost. You know; everything’s done in a click track & they may not even be together playing. I’ve done records where you’re not in the same room or you never even meet the person and it can be done that way but I think it kind of takes something out of the music.

Paul: You’ve worked with some big names; Stevie Nicks, Dixie Chicks, Ben Folds and as you mentioned Sheryl Crow. What would be the highlight of your career, if you could put it down to one or two things?

Jim: Wow! That’s a hard one! I think I’ve had highlights with each of the artists I’ve played with. With Sheryl I did some of the biggest things I’ve ever done just at that time, but being back in a band and being with some of my true friends in Counting Crows. I mean, when I say ‘true friends’ there’s a couple of people in this band that I have such a history with, it’s just amazing to be doing these huge gigs and you’re looking over at one of your mates that you’ve known since you were a kid, that’s a real gift and doing a record as a band, that’s always a highlight & I put a lot of emphasis on what’s going on now, although I enjoyed a lot of things I did in the past, right now the highlight for me is doing “Somewhere Under Wonderland” My soul is in that record & oddly enough my daughter, my first kid was born during the recording of the record so that will always make it a little special & I remember; we were in the studio & it was right at the very beginning and she was supposed to be born before we went in the studio but of course that didn’t happen & my wife went into labour, but I had some time… but I wanted to finish a song before I went to the hospital, and there was kind of this pressure!!! Because you know; I knew they were going to let me go for a while but I wanted to finish something so they could kind of work on it & it wasn’t going well and I went outside for a sec and they were about to let me go & I said “just give me a moment to get my head together” and I went outside and I said “alright – forget the things everyone’s telling you just go in there, trust your instincts” and then “BAM” we just blew through this song and then in the joy of that we actually recorded another song right after so I was able to record two songs and then rush off & see the birth so the stuff that’s going on right now, you know; I’ve had quite a year!

Paul: I saw a photo you posted on Facebook recently of your daughter playing on a drum kit.
Is a music career something you’d encourage if she chose that path?

Jim: Phew… that’s another interesting and great question. Oddly enough my Dad was a musician. He played in the San Francisco symphony for 49 years & I was banging on the pots and pans from the time I was born & as I started to do music later in life, I realised my dad never really pushed me or did any of that. I could’ve been this, like, prodigy or something & then when I quizzed my dad about it, there was a part of him that really didn’t want me to go in to music because it’s such a difficult field & there’s so much competition & I remember when I was 12 years old he told me “look, if you’re willing to practice your butt off & learn all the different styles, MAYBE you can make a living in music,” he said “if it’s worth it for you for that then you’re in the right field, if not, you could put half the energy in to something else and do a lot better so don’t bother” and it was pretty tough to be hearing that at 12 years old but it was great advice, so I would say for myself yes, I would encourage her because I just think it’s a real gift if you find something that you really love, whatever that it and you owe it to yourself and your religious or spiritual beliefs to seek that out and see where it goes, I mean there’s a lot of people out there that haven’t fund something that clicks with them so if you find something, you gotta go for it.

Paul: Definitely. Well you’re going to be touring for the next three months. After Australia, you’ve got Canada and Europe. Have you got any other plans for later in the year?

Jim: Well then I think we’re going to do another tour of the states & that will take us through to November. So it’s going to be a busy year!

Paul: Are you bringing the family down to Australia?

Jim: Aargh! I can’t this time. My daughter’s 15 months & we just did a short trip to Palm Springs & it was, at that age… when they’re a little younger, they’re a little easier to travel with & when they’re a little older, but at this age, they’re mobile, they want to run everywhere & they can’t speak to you but they’re going to let you know that they’re pissed off or they’re tired! So we barely flew over an hour and I’m like; I’m exhausted from the whole trip, I mean to go to Australia would be a bit much, but I’ll get her out when we’re in the U.S and we’re going to have our breaks between tours and I’m just going to have to Skype and Facetime with them and do our best. The good news is before this tour, I was home for 3 months straight so it evens out.

Paul: Well thanks for chatting to us & enjoy your trip Down Under.

Jim: Oh man, we always do.

Paul: I’m hoping to come to your Melbourne show so I’ll try and get back & say hello to you and catch up there!

Jim: Please do, this was by far my favourite interview today man, great interview, great questions and great talking to ya.