|
by: jasongutierrez After a two-year hiatus, modern rock/pop superstars, Maroon 5 are back and quite possibly, better than ever. A month before their chart-climbing hit, “Makes Me Wonder” hit the radio, the group signed with new record label, A&M/Octone. Since then, the band has been stirring up a storm for loyal fans and new listeners. It almost makes us wonder, what was life like before the boys were in our lives? Competing for radio play while striving for individuality in a cookie-cutter industry, Maroon 5 has made their mark, mostly due to the inimitable vocals and onstage charm of lead singer and guitarist, Adam Levine. While Levine is the front man of Maroon 5, each musician gives a unique flair to the synergy of the band. But it is Levine’s vocals and sometimes sexually charged lyrics that have fans swooning.
Having collaborated with inspiring talents such as Alicia Keys, Natasha Bedingfield, the infamous Kanye West and hip-hop stars, The Ying Yang Twins, Levine is at home with Maroon 5. Born in Los Angeles, the 28-year-old musician, along with his childhood friends, Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden, as well as new friends, James Valentine and Matt Flynn, have become a unified household name.
On the road for two consecutive years in support of their debut album, Songs About Jane, the guys decided they needed a much-needed break. The time away has made the group anxious to tour and showcase their new album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. In fact, the band wanted to get back into the swing of things by playing a few small club dates before embarking on a nationwide stadium tour.
“That’s kind of how it started, so we need to get back to our roots, so that we can expand from there again, so the jump isn’t so big, that we get overwhelmed and implode on ourselves,” Levine says.
Selling out shows wasn’t always in the cards for Maroon 5. In fact, at one point the group had a hard time getting radio play for their first single “Harder To Breathe,” let alone a decent paying gig.
“I think that there weren’t a lot of bands out there that sounded like us when our album came out, so radio stations and MTV didn’t jump on it right away,” Levine says. “We had to build up a following by touring for the first year. And then slowly, but surely, radio stations would start adding it.”
Becoming a household name isn’t a small accomplishment by any means and the band knew it. However, when stepping back into the studio they approached their sophomore album with a level sense of creativity and no pressure added.
“I don’t think we could possibly feel the pressure we felt initially with our first album because there was so much more riding on it,” Levine says. “We didn’t have any money and no idea what we were going to do, had this not worked out. So, that’s real
pressure ... I think the record is going to do great, but you know, there is pressure, I can’t deny that there is.”
When it was time to start recording the new album, the guys decided to move in together for creative purposes.
“We spent a few months just making music every day and seeing what came out of us. We always try and have our musical output be really sincere and just spontaneous,” he says.
Although the band is pumped and ready to hit the road, they are heading out without good friend and former drummer, Ryan Dusick, who developed a nerve injury in his shoulder over the years of touring. Matt Flynn has now replaced Dusick.
“That’s a difficult thing in itself to get over just emotionally. Then on top of that, there’s the whole musical and personality/chemistry thing that a new member brings to the situation,” he says. “So luckily, Matt really fit in and definitely changed the sound of the band with his style of drumming, which is a bit more upbeat and energetic. So I think the whole record feels a bit more urgent than the first one.”
Levine goes on to explain that the new album has more “fist-pumping” songs, one of those being the first single “Makes Me Wonder,” which jumped from number 64 on the Billboard charts to number one, or as Levine calls it, “the history of all leaps,” thanks to the prerelease of the song on iTunes.
“The cool thing about iTunes, which is so amazing, is it’s completely driven by people that go online and purchase music because they love it,” adds Levine.
Another added bonus of the music-downloading phenomenon the group found was it allowed them to give a little something special to their digital downloading fans.
“This is such a cool time right now where people are getting all the information that they need from the Internet and we can spread music that would be B-sided,” he says. “It’s just more music for our fans to appreciate, hopefully. That’s the good part, more music.”
Although “Make Me Wonder” is the first single to hit the airwaves, it wasn’t the easiest song to get down on paper and into the studio.
“We just didn’t have all the parts together,” Levine admits. “We actually were missing the chorus part until the very end. Yes, it was this great song, but it didn’t have a chorus. I have a bad attention span when it comes to music, absolutely. It’s my fatal flaw and my greatest gift. Then we went to Vegas and I met a girl and wrote a chorus. It was amazing. All of a sudden, I had a girlfriend and I had a great song.”
Once the song was ready to be released on the Internet, it needed to be promoted. Guys, welcome to the world of online promotion via MySpace.
“MySpace is like a double-edged sword because on one hand, it’s very nice that people can become involved with bands that they like on a personal level,” he says. “I think that it’s one of the coolest things in the world to ever happen for bands because it’s that step before (prepromotion of a song or album) that hasn’t existed for so long. I think that you can do things; you can market your band, you can have your music online, you can create a buzz. You can get people to your shows and you have a legitimate network to do that with.”
While the band is riding high on their wave of success, they are soaking up every ounce of the experience, and not wasting the thrill of being at the top.
“The coolest thing about what’s happened with us and the reason why we’re so happy and confident going into this next record is because we toured for a long time before anything really happened,” he says. “And a lot of times when bands release a record in the summer, and then by fall they’ve sold a million copies, it’s really difficult to know why people are there for that moment, maybe. You can’t predict the future; there are no certainties in this life regardless of how much success you have or think you’re going to have.”
But of this we can be certain; Maroon 5 has definitely earned their long awaited success. {EM} |
