Q&A: Adam Levine of Maroon 5
As teenagers in the mid- to late-’90s, Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick trudged their way through the music business in the rock band Kara’s Flowers.
That band caused a stir in college radio with their Reprise Records debut, “The Fourth World,” before deciding to re-invent itself.
With the addition of guitarist James Valentine, the group opted for a funkier sound and renamed itself Maroon 5. Its first album, 2002’s “Songs About Jane,” immediately spawned the hit “Harder to Breathe,” which became a VH1 staple.
Lead singer Levine talked to SoundSpike about the name change, “Songs About Jane” and his sexual prowess.
SoundSpike: Why did you decide to change your name from Kara’s Flowers to Maroon 5?
Adam Levine: To make a fresh start. We wanted to start over. We felt like the music was so different. We went through so many changes that we thought the name Kara’s Flowers was no longer appropriate.
What brought on the change in musical style?
Natural progression. New things started turning us on. You do a lot of growing up from age 15 to age 21. There’s a lot of new influences. Our minds became more open. We’d been together for more than 10 years.
Did you realize when you were recording “Songs About Jane” that it would be a hit?
We felt like [there] was really a place for it in the world. It took a long time to get there but we finally got there, you know? When we were finished making the record, I was like, ?This has potential. I really hope people get to hear this.’ I’m really passionate about it. The whole band feels that way. We’re just so, so happy.
What do you think makes “Songs About Jane” so special?
It’s the most emotion, the most soul I’ve ever poured into anything in my whole life. I’m so happy [and] comfortable with what we had to say, musically and lyrically and all that. We’ve been through so much over the last 10 years--turbulent relationships and stuff was rocky with the band, a lot of different things. I feel this record is definitely a culmination of all those things.
What was it like to work with producer Matt Wallace?
It was kind of like working with your dad. He’s just a family man, a kind of goofy bald guy. We love him. He’s a great guy. We all had a lot of ideas, we’re all pretty passionate. He just kind of curbed our ideas. I look back on it with a lot of fond memories. Of course, I was drunk a lot of the time.
That explains the primarily sexual lyrics.
Well, yeah, I’m a sexual dude anyway. A lot of my songs have to do with sex. Then you get drunk and it just multiplies.
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