The Himalayans

In late 1990, a new band hit the scene of San Francisco by the name of The Himalayans. Members of the band were Dan Jewett, Chris Roldan, Dave Janusko, Adam Duritz (pre-dreadlocks), and Marty Jones. The five were trying to develop a new sound in the bustling music scene.

It all started when Dan Jewett and Chris Roldan, long-time friends and bandmates, made an attempt to start another band after several failed attempts. Keeping the name 'The Himalayans', Jewett and Roldan went to work with Jewett on the guitar and Roldan on the drums.

Soon, they added a third member: Dave Janusko, playing the bass guitar. Janusko and Jewett began writing songs together immediately. The Himalayans then decided to search for a singer and lyricist to complete their songs and give a face to the new music.

Adam Duritz, now best known as lead singer of the group Counting Crows, replied to the ad and became the frontman and fourth member of the band.

Months later, a fan of the band and childhood friend of Duritz, Marty Jones (inspiration for the Counting Crows song 'Mr. Jones'), joined the band as the new bass player and fifth member while Dave Janusko became the second guitarist. He also brought new writing talent to the group.

One of the ways that the Himalayans stood out from the rest of the Bay Area bands was their extreme emphasis on live sound quality. The Himalayans often spent as much as or more than they made on a gig on a personal sound engineer. This, along with lively performances, caused The Himalayans to quickly rise in the Bay Area scene.

By the middle of 1991, The Himalayans had decided to make their own demo tape. It included the songs 'Round Here', 'Diamonds and Babies and Cars', and 'She Likes the Weather' and was produced by future Counting Crows guitarist David Bryson. Incidentally, while 'Round Here' is best known as a song by Counting Crows, it was originally written and cut by The Himalayans.

Along with increasing popularity in the San Fransisco area came increasing interest from record companies. The Himalayans started sending out copies of their demo tape. In addition, Adam Duritz, who had always made it clear that he wouldn't neccessarily stay with The Himalayans, cut a demo tape with David Bryson and sent it out as well.

The ultimate decision was in favor of the Counting Crows' sound, and thus indicated the end of The Himalayans; however, they banded together for one final attempt at recording their music. These recordings, plus their original demo and a few radio interviews, can be found on their only album: 'She Likes the Weather'.

After Duritz left the band, there were no further attempts to resurrect it, and The Himalayans disbanded.