We were lucky enough to still a quick phone call with David “Immy” Immergluck of Counting Crows. They kick off their North American tour tonight in Vancouver. For more information about the band and their tour dates, check them out here.

Concert Addicts: You guys are out on tour behind Somewhere Under Wonderland, released this past September. How have the live shows been going? How have the live crowds been responding to the new songs?

David “Immy” Immergluck: You know, we played some of the new songs last year before the record came out. We have kind of rabid fans. Because of YouTube and things like that, people in the audience knew the lyrics to the songs before I knew them. So you could see them singing along. This would have been about a year ago. People like the new songs, and we certainly love playing them. I hazard to say it’s a rebirth, because we have always prided ourselves on a really great live show. Its great to have the whole infusion of new material that we love playing.

Concert Addicts: Its amazing with technology like YouTube and other streaming services. You know, any band plays a song live, and before it gets a “physical” release of the actual version, people know all the words. Already out there singing along.

David “Immy” Immergluck: Its incredible. We have great fans. We have very passionate fans.

Concert Addicts: I’ve heard that. Anyone that I know that is a fan of the Counting Crows, always has every album, every poster, every t-shirt. So its definitely true from what I have seen.

David “Immy” Immergluck: It’s very funny. We are loved deeply, and then loathed deeply by those that don’t like us, its one of those funny things. On that other subject, on the previous record, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, we were playing a lot of those songs for quite some time before we recorded them. I remember the first time we played this extremely difficult song, its called Cowboys. We don’t play it live very much. We debuted it at a show, and the next day it was up on YouTube. This is like 2 years before the record came out, and this is the first time we ever played it live. We were like “okay lets give it a go and see if we can do it”. To my horror there it was up on Youtube, with like 20,000 views in like 25 minutes or something. I was just thankful, when I watched it, that it was not bad, it came off and it looked pretty good. For us it was a great way for us to see how the song was coming off as well. That’s the flipside of the new technology. So kids, you better be good.

Concert Addicts: Everything is on demand now. No matter what you do, somebody is going to put it all out there. Everything you do, everyone can see it. Just touching on, I know you guys just released an album but are you guys dabbling with any other new material you haven’t released yet? Stuff that you might possibly be playing live.

David “Immy” Immergluck: You know we have a wide catalogue of music. Most of it we’ve recorded, but there is always something new going on. I think as this tour goes on, were gonna be starting to work out material for the next record. When I say ‘this tour’, I mean this tour that goes on until October.

Concert Addicts: Ya, just that little your that will be going on for the next 6 months of your life.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I literally just left my apartment in Los Angeles yesterday, and I wont see it again until October 11th. It’s a little daunting.

Concert Addicts: That’s has to be stressful on your body and on your mind, from just being out there every day.

David “Immy” Immergluck: On the same token, the road life has its own very particular routine. Once you get into it, it has its own ease. I’m at day one here, and I jumped right back into my routine.

Concert Addicts: You guys are kicking off your North American tour in Vancouver. I think you haven’t played here in nearly 16 years.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I believe it was, would have been ’99. That would have been the last time we did an extensive Canadian tour as well. I mean we have played in Toronto pretty much every year, and that’s about it. I mean we have played Winnipeg a couple times as well. Fortunately we are spending an entire month up in Canada starting today. I’m excited to see some spots I have never been to, especially some of those in the Maritimes. But I mean It’s been a long time since we have been to Vancouver. You know Vancouver, being a band from California, was just always one of those touring spots, because you’d go North before you went East. For a band out of San Fracisco, Vancouver was part of the tour. You know like the Town Pump and I want to say the Railway Club. This is way back in the day, I’m talking like the mid-80s. It’s been way too long since we’ve been there.

Concert Addicts: Do you think it is more to do with logistics, as to why you haven’t been to Vancouver? I notice just more and more bands will only hit Seattle.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I’ll be the first to say, no one is more mystified then me. It just seems to be a spot we should often hit. I mean we are always up in Seattle, but It just never seems to be in the itinerary. Hopefully that will be changing.

Concert Addicts: I just wanted to switch gears and talk about Monks of Doom a bit. I was just doing a little bit of digging around, to see if you guys had anything new coming out, and it looks like you do.

David “Immy” Immergluck: We actually do. We just finished a brand new album and it just needs a solid master on it. I pretty much took three months off, we stopped around Christmas. We were just down in Australia for two weeks, last month. But I had basically 3 months off to finish this off. We’re waiting for it to get mastered now. Its’ very, very different then Counting Crows.

Concert Addicts: It looks like you are crowd funding this album, with Indie Go Go.

David “Immy” Immergluck: Partially. I don’t know how that played out. We used that money, and then we use some of our own money as well.

Concert Addicts: So that was just to help get it through the door?

David “Immy” Immergluck: Oh ya, absolutely. I’m not sure what venue its gonna come out on. We’re going to have to see. Either form a light label myself, which is not out of the question because I have a few records in the can. I also have a solo record by my other guitar player in Monks Of Doom, who also plays in Camper Van Beethoven. We’ve got an acoustic solo record of his in the can. Just got a bunch of records in the can, were trying to figure out what to do with. The Monks record I’m really excited about, it’s a really crazy record. It was very difficult to pull off because the drummer live ins Sydney, Australia. And that group doesn’t exist unless it’s those four people. So he came out a couple times and we tracked. And then when Counting Crows were on tour this last time in Australia, not this recent time, I recorded him for this part for this Monks song. So its pretty crazy how this record was put together.

Concert Addicts: That’s amazing that you have to go around the world to get this thing put together.

David “Immy” Immergluck: It is incredible. I didn’t think I was going to be doing it that way when I was seventeen years old, but there you go.

Concert Addicts: You’re a busy, busy man.

David “Immy” Immergluck: Ya, you know, I’m a workaholic when it comes to music.

Concert Addicts: Like you said you’re involved with Counting Crows, Monks of Doom and other projects. Is it hard to get any downtime?

David “Immy” Immergluck: Me personally, I kind of surrender to it. The vocation of being a musician I take very seriously, personally. My idea of downtime is playing different then what I’ve been doing. So if I’m out on tour with Counting Crows, when I stop its not that I want to stop playing music. I just want to play a different type of music, with different people. When I’m in Los Angeles I have a group of people I play with every week. So we get together and play two nights a week, these four hour sets of music. I flew in from New Zealand, and the next day I was playing a four hour show with that band. Its blocks away from where I live, so I just walk down. I have gear that lives there, so its no skin off my back. I like to play. For me it’s a muscle that you gotta keep up. Its like going to the gym, you gotta exercise it, and its good to have variety. It informs what I do with Counting Crows, if I play with other people. I’d recommend that to any musician who takes it seriously. Its good to play with a lot of different situations. Also, I find it fun. I really, really enjoy it. So my idea of a vacation after coming off a tour with Counting Crows is go on tour with Camper Van Beethoven as the bass player or something. Its not for everybody.

Concert Addicts: Getting out there and doing something you love.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I feel if I have the opportunity and I love it, I shouldn’t squander that.

Concert Addicts: You play all over the world. You were just talking about Australia, and I know you guys played Europe. Is there any big difference in the crowds around the world? Or are they all pretty consistently the same?

David “Immy” Immergluck: Well, we haven’t been everywhere. We haven’t been to South America and we haven’t been in Asia at all, I really want to go there. I love going to places that we’ve never been. That’s why I’m excited about this Canadian tour. I’ve never been to Halifax, and I’ve never been to Newfoundland, and I;ve never been to New Brunswick. I’m really kind of excited about that. You know people say audiences in Australia are mellow, but we’ve had some wild parties in Australia. German audiences are reserved, they say. That’s not true at all, they’re insane. You know people make a lot of generalizations. When people are confronted with spontaneous music, which is what we try for. Something genuine, that’s happening right then as opposed to an x-marks-the-spot type of Broadway show. We change our set, every night we play a different set. So its always different, and its always fresh for us. So when people are confronted with that, they respond. They love to see a band fuck up on stage, and then recover. The humanity on stage, people respond to that the same way all over the world I’m pretty convinced. I mean certainly in all the places we’ve been.

Concert Addicts: You know its hard to predict what you’ll get unless you’re there. So in a live setting, you can get a different vibe no matter what someone has told you it should be like in advance.

David “Immy” Immergluck: That’s it, and we like to have an element of mystery and danger it what we do. Because it keeps us on our toes. I think that is why we are still standing at this advanced date. But like I said, I can’t generalize, because there is many more places we have to go.

Concert Addicts: You just need to hit those Asian Markets and then South America, and you have played everywhere in the world.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I’ll report to back you on how it was.

Concert Addicts: Of course, we’ll touch base after that.

David “Immy” Immergluck: There you go.

Concert Addicts: So it sounds like everything is going great. The tour sounds like its going to be great. There is one last thing we like to ask everybody we talk to. Is there any artist or band that is kind of lesser known that you are really into, that you think people should be tuning into and checking out?

David “Immy” Immergluck: Well you’re talking to a guy that listens to music 24/7, and I’m always listening to new stuff and I’m always listening to old stuff. My favourite record this year is Laura Marling – Short Movies. She’s a British folk singer, but the new record is a little more diverse, she plays a lot of electric guitar on it. She’s just an incredible writer and a great singer, and I just love her record. I mean she is kind of a new discovery, I discovered her last year. I love the new Alabama Shakes record, but everyone knows about that. I like the Courtney Barnett record that just came out.

Concert Addicts: It’s a beauty.

David “Immy” Immergluck: It just came out, and I think that’s fantastic. I think she’s really incredible. A lot of women, the women are coming with the goods these days. Where are the men. The Panda Bear record, you know, that is pretty good. But the women are definitely coming with the goods right now. Its all my favourite stuff. I think all the men are trying to figure out video games or apps or something. Not really focusing on music, I don’t know. Wake up boys! That’s all I have to say.

Concert Addicts: I agree there is a ton of great female artists out there. Artists period, but there is definitely an influx of some pretty fantastic women.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I noticed that over the last couple years. Julia Holter, I don’t know if you remember her.

Concert Addicts: No, I don’t.

David “Immy” Immergluck: Its much more serial. She made a record last year that I really loved. There’s just good stuff coming out all the time. I usually compile an end-of-the-year round up of my top twenty records of the year. And already, its only May, and I already have about 15 records in my list. Looking like its going to be a good year.

Concert Addicts: The last couple of years have been really great for music.

David “Immy” Immergluck: They really have. I will have a really hard time keeping the list to twenty. Just a lot of really great records coming out. Even in the face of all the naysayers saying how the records is dead, its just not true at all.

Concert Addicts: The marketing models may have changed, but bands are still putting out great compilations. They are just coming out in different ways.

David “Immy” Immergluck: Oh, now I can think of some guys I like. I like Sleaford Mods out of Nottingham, England. That was my favorite records from last year, its called Divide And Exit. That’s a great one. Its abrasive, but genius.

Concert Addicts: You’ve listed a few bands there I am going to have to check out. I mean Alabama Shakes are great. Courtney Barnett is amazing, fresh on the scene in the last year and half or so.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I got to see here live a couple of times. She was really, really great.

Concert Addicts: That’s what I am waiting for is her to come back up here.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I think shes coming out on tour right now. We were trying to get her to tour with us in Australia, but it just didn’t happen.

Concert Addicts: That would have been quite the billing.

David “Immy” Immergluck: I actually met her in Milan. I was at her show in Milan, Italy, and I like attacked her after the show. “I’m a huge fan”, I was quite nervous. I told her I played for Counting Crows, but I don’t even think she knew who the Counting Crows was. It was awesome. She was probably like – who is this weird guy? I like The Pop Group record that came out this year, its called Citizen Zombie. And I actually liked the new Bob Dylan record. As insane as it is. As usual it’s a very divisive record. But I will say it again, my favorite records this year is Laura Marling – Short Movie.

Concert Addicts: Its hard,, there is just so much music. Even playing music all day, and then you’ll discover some band that’s been around for two years. Its hard to keep up.

David “Immy” Immergluck: For me I love being a musician, but I’ve spent a lifetime being a music fan. I spend a lot of time looking for inspiration, looking for stuff to get excited about. There is nothing more I like then getting excited about someone doing music. Someone doing music now. I love discovering old stuff I didn’t know about, but I am really excited when I am like – Okay its still going on, we’re still doing great stuff.

Concert Addicts: It seems like there is a lot of fresh faces out there, and fresh new music. But again the Counting Crows, you guys are putting out stuff that sounds so fresh anyway. You guys are reinventing yourselves.

David “Immy” Immergluck: We strive to be great, that’s all we can do. We shoot for the moon. If you shoot for the moon you’ll hit something.

Concert Addicts: You guys sound like you’re doing great. Your tour kicks off tonight in Vancouver. So, we can’t wait to check that out. I want to thank you for your time

David “Immy” Immergluck: Thank you , it was wonderful talking to you.