The Herald-Sun from Durham, North Carolina • 60

PREV1EWFRIDAY AUGUST 1 1997 CROWS FROM 12 PAGE 20 life Most of his father's family still lives in Durham His father's job would eventually take the family away from North Carolina Mize spent his formative years in Mississippi and Georgia He got turned on to the drums from his cousin Mize picked up a pair of drumsticks and that was all she wrote don't know if it was because it was loud and obnoxious but ever since I was determined to have a drum Mize recalled kind of liked the solitary nature of it too I liked being able to go into my world and do my own thing I can sit there by myself and play for hours on end" like his father before him Mize was supposed to attend UNC but he got too excited about the Athens Ga music scene He went to college in Georgia played in bands and worked at the popular 40 Watt Gub in Athens There he met plenty of bands One group in particular would change his life Cracker was having personnel changes and were auditioning he explained members were friends of a woman who worked with Mize she insisted that they come to hear him play They asked him to sit in apaoaUBlhtHMM-Swi bers of the group are David Bryson Charles Gillingham Adam Duritz Dan Vickrey Ben Mize and Matt Malley HEADLINERS: Counting Crows will be the headliners for a concert at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre on Thursday Mem- for six weeks At the time he had two months off from the band he was in so when Mize won the gig it presented no conflict He did his six weeks and came back to Athens and soon his other band broke up But that wasn't the end of the story Early on the Counting Crows toured with Cracker One evening when Cracker was performing in Berkeley Calif the birthplace of the Crows members of the band showed up They were in need of a drummer and Cracker suggested Mize He was invited to audition must have been on their minds because according to the Counting Crows the guys in Cracker wouldn't shut up about me which was really Mize said was terrified I wanted it really bad They were the band I always wanted to be loved the instrumentation I loved that there were a lot of instruments interesting to remember when the Counting Crows came out there was a lot of subtlety to it when music was loud and I loved that There were a lot of people in the band and a lot of instruments and a full Before he flew to California Mize locked himself away for two to three feels like we do what cones naturally to each of us That's a good mesh We push each other a lot and each of us has creative domain over our instruments Someone can make suggestions but it's never been to the point where someone did something so out of touch with what a song Because he an original member Mize missed out on the fury that went with Mize called that record not a just successful but a He likes the position the band is in now The has proved to be successful in its own right they don't have to worry about the fluke factor watched the band grow We knew we wanted to do this tour this summer and part of being in a band that can play venues this big is you need a presence and an energy and an ability to translate that to 20000 Mize said part of the after-show talk We talk about moving around cm stage and being i have found a groove We want to be together 10 years from now We want to make 10 records wasn't a days 12 hours a day learning every Counting Crows song backward and forward Mize said he was surprised he got the job He had three days off then three days of rehearsals before he played his first Counting Crows show in front of 8000 people guys in Cracker said being in a band is 50 percent performance and 50 percent 'hang factor Joining a band is definitely a lot like joining a Mize said was in the band a couple of months before they finally made it official and said I was a member and that was what I hoped for They wanted to make sure there was that personal Just like for the recording of the band lived together in a big house to make The Mize said Duritz is the primary songwriter for the band but the other members make their own contributions lot of our songs come from Adam having a creative moment on the piano and being inspired and staying up all night or whatever 'A Long December is the best example of that 'Children In Is a band-oriented song a guitar-based Mize said Sum to 1fct Mmto-Sun NOT SHY: The Wallflowers will be performing along with The Counting Crows and that dog in a concert that begins at 7 pm Thursday at Walnut Creek Amphithe- bad thing We could have been written atre Members of The Wallflowers are (from left) Mario Calire Rami Jaffee Greg off as a early 90s phenomenon just Richling Jaftqlj Pylao anjf Mjphael Ward jraking recordvancl growing Ma turnd".