‘The song never gets old’ … Adam Duritz, back right, in 1994. Photograph: Dave Tonge/Getty Images Adam Duritz, songwriter, vocals Our first four records had been mostly made in houses in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After was our first major label album, so it was a pretty big deal. Our advance was $3,000 each; I bought a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia convertible and drove it to LA.