COUNTING ON THE UNCONVENTIONAL : AS BAND'S CO-FOUNDERS, `HEALTH NUT' BRYSON, COMPLEX DURITZ AT CORE OF HIGH-FLYING CROWS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

Counting Crows co-founder and rhythm guitarist David Bryson sometimes feels like an anomaly on the road.

While the other band members veg out until show time, Bryson laces up his running shoes and hits the pavement in strange cities during downtime between gigs.

His personal regimen, which includes such unusual rock 'n' roll pursuits as eating well, has earned the guitarist the tag ``health nut'' among the Crows.

But the friendly name-calling doesn't bother Bryson, who arrived home in Berkeley after a five-week tour late last week and immediately went out for a game of golf. Bryson - and everybody else - realizes his driving, inventive rhythm work is an essential component to the Counting Crows' rootsy, melodic rock.

Along with the voice and dark-night-of-the-soul lyrics of singer Adam Duritz on hits such as ``Mr. Jones,'' ``Round Here'' and ``Rain King,'' Bryson's ringing electric guitar is the band's most distinctive calling card.

``Yes, I'm the only one into exercise,'' Bryson said during an early morning phone call over the weekend. ``That's what's funny about Counting Crows - we're all very different people. I'm a sports nut, and the guys call me a health nut. I spend a lot of time outdoors and I try to eat well. And most of the guys don't do that at all. They don't do anything that requires breaking a sweat. I do that 20 out of 21 days, especially on the road, because the road forces you into this schedule where you have two hours between checking into the hotel and the sound check. You can sit in front of the tube or put on your running shoes and go outside.''

Counting Crows - Dan Vickrey (lead guitar), Charles Gillingham (keyboards), Matt Malley (bass), Ben Mize (drums), Bryson and Duritz - appears in sold-out shows tonight, Friday and Saturday at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles with opening act Dog's Eye View.

The Bay Area group's T-Bone Burnett-produced 1993 debut, ``August and Everything After'' (DGC), became one of the biggest hits of '94. The Crows'

expansive sophomore effort, ``Recovering the Satellites,'' debuted at the top of the albums chart, while current singles such as ``Angels of the Silences'' and ``A Long December'' are radio staples.

Despite the sales and acclaim, Duritz has come in for some stinging barbs from critics complaining about his close friendships with certain Hollywood starlets. Bryson says people just don't understand the dark side of fame for someone as recognizable as Duritz.

Duritz, incidentally, refused to be interviewed by the Daily News, apparently because this reviewer dubbed him a ``Big Ol' Sensitive Pooh-Bear'' in a review of the new CD.

``Adam is real sensitive to comments like that because of the backlash of people who don't like him or are jealous of him,'' Bryson said. ``People say mean things about him now. People tear him down for the most nonmusical things. It's funny, because on the first record there was none of that kind of thing. It didn't exist. Once we became successful, it's all over the place.

``People are so misunderstood on the Hollywood subject. The lyrics of `Mr. Jones' are Adam dreaming of being a big star, but nobody is aware of the hassles that go along with it if you are Adam Duritz or Jennifer Aniston or whoever. How do you sit on an airplane or go to a restaurant or go into the Gap and buy boxer shorts when everyone's coming up to you all the time? Everything becomes this enormous pain in the neck. I know there are some real nice things that go along with fame. But what better thing than to run around with people who have the same problem you do?''

OK, maybe he's not a big ol' sensitive pooh-bear.

``I see it secondhand because it doesn't affect anyone else in the band,'' the 35-year-old Bryson continued. ``Day-to-day life becomes this thing of hiding out (for those who are famous). What's that all about? For me, I think it's happened twice where I've been recognized. But how many people look like (Crows keyboardist) Charlie Gillingham? A lot. How many people look like me? A lot. We're just normal-looking guys. Adam happens to look different. So, he gets recognized.''

Even though many point to Bryson's chord work as the heart of the band, the guitarist passes the baton to Duritz. It was five years ago when Bryson and Duritz met in Berkeley and began adding musicians with a view toward recording a demo tape. That tape found its way to Geffen Records, which signed the band. Then, labelmate Robbie Robertson invited the then-unknown Crows to fill in for a no-show Van Morrison at the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner in New York, where the band shared the stage with Pink Floyd, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

``Adam is the genius behind Counting Crows,'' Bryson said. ``When I first heard him sing, I knew we had something that clicked. I thought my style was good for him. Beyond that, I believed in the music, but didn't imagine we could be the one band out of 10,000 to be successful.

``This band has always been about writing songs and playing with as much soul as we can. We did that again with `Satellites.' We put these songs together and found ourselves with 16 songs where we had 11 on the first album. So, we had the luxury of not using everything we wrote.''

One song Bryson is especially pleased with that did not end up on the new disc is ``Good Luck,'' which Duritz performed solo at the piano during the band's warm-up shows at the Hollywood Grand a few months ago.

``For me, the great thing about Adam's lyrics is they have this universal feel,'' said Bryson, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. ``When we're putting the songs together, I get the mood from the way he's singing. Then, I'll play a dark thing or a bright thing. But I base it on my interpretation, and I think everyone in the band works that way.

``People who like our music have the same kind of reaction. I don't think anyone knows exactly what the songs are about. But I think we can put a mood across.''

The facts

Who: Counting Crows and Dog's Eye View.

Where: Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. today and Saturday.

Tickets: Sold out. Try brokers.

Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Counting Crows - Ben Mize, left, Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Matt Malley, Dan Vickrey and David Bryson - topped the albums chart with ``Recovering the Satellites.''