(Photo courtesy of the Volkswagen Newsroom)
I’ve been into cars my whole life as well as a fan of the band Counting Crows for about 25 years. In all that time, aside from jamming out with some high school friends to the “This Desert Life” album in a 1997 Ford F-150 or listening to a great live version of “Have You Seen Me Lately?” during an autumn drive, those two passions have never intersected. But that recently changed when I saw lead singer Adam Duritz on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast talking about his beloved Volkswagen Karmann Ghia cabriolet.
Given the long-form nature of the podcast, Rogan’s interview with Duritz goes on for quite a while—nearly three hours. If you’re a fan of Counting Crows but you don’t know the story of Duritz’s early days and the genesis of the band, you’ll learn a lot; I know I did.
Of course, I was aware the songs “Mr. Jones” and “Round Here” were major propellants of Counting Crows’ rocket ride to superstardom in the 1990s. What I didn’t know were the particulars of how Duritz and his fellow bandmates structured the deal for their first album, “August and Everything After.” As Duritz explains it, when he and his band signed with Geffen in the early 1990s, they accepted a paltry sum of an advance in exchange for complete creative control and higher royalty payments. Instead of the millions of dollars in advance cash that other companies offered, each member of the group went home with $3,000. What did Duritz spend his money on? “I bought a convertible red 1970 Karmann Ghia and drove it down to L.A. to make the record.” (I wonder if he had Ben Folds on his radio when he did.)
According to Duritz, his VW drop-top is largely original, but it does have newer parts such as the steering wheel and mirrors. Although he’ll never sell his Ghia, Duritz currently has a long-distance relationship with it because it’s being looked after by a friend at the Elyse Winery (which he co-owns) in Napa, California, while he lives in Manhattan.
The entire interview is great but, if you want to get to the meatiest car-related chunk of it, check out 2:01:06–2:04:00. It turns out Duritz is an owner or fan of at least several other cars that don’t have their engines in the front. Any guesses as to what they are?