Maroon 5

Maroon 5

Maroon 5 is a band from Los Angeles, California, and has won several awards for their debut album Songs About Jane. Released in June 2002, the album enjoyed major chart success, going gold, platinum, and triple platinum in many countries around the world.

On September 20, 2005, Maroon 5 released a live record called Live - Friday The 13th which was recorded on May 13, 2005 in Santa Barbara, California.

The band has been constantly touring since the release, which along with many accolades, caused the departure of original drummer Ryan Dusick in September 2006 due to injuries. He was replaced permanently by Matt Flynn. The band are readying their second studio album It Won't Be Soon Before Long for May 2007 release.

History

Kara's Flowers (1995-1999)

Main article: Kara's Flowers

Four members of Maroon 5 have known each other since attending junior high school together in Los Angeles. While attending Brentwood School, Levine and Carmichael hooked-up with Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick to form Kara's Flowers, a garage/grunge band that played its first gig at the Whisky a Go Go on September 16, 1995. (Adam Levine sang with a deeper "grunge" voice at this time.)

The band signed with Reprise Records while still in high school and released its only album The Fourth World in the middle of 1997 just as three of the four members were about to graduate (Ryan Dusick was completing his sophomore year at UCLA). A video was made for the opening track "Soap Disco", but it did not find success on MTV. Despite support slots on tours with Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, the album failed to take off commercially and in 1999 the band parted company with Reprise Records. (Due to the later popularity of Maroon 5, more copies of The Fourth World were sold after Songs About Jane's release than during the years prior.)

After being released from Reprise Records, the four boys attended different colleges across the USA. They discovered new musical styles and developed a love for Motown, pop, R&B, soul, and gospel, experiences that would greatly influence the style and sound of Maroon 5. The four original members of Kara's Flowers remained in touch and started playing together again in 2001. Jesse Carmichael switched from guitar to keyboards, so a need arose for an additional guitarist. James Valentine, formerly with the band Square, joined them to fill that void.

Formation of Maroon 5 (2000-2001)

When Valentine joined Kara's Flowers in 2001, the band adopted the name Maroon, changing it a few months later to Maroon 5 due to a name conflict. The band played showcase gigs in New York City and Los Angeles. Adam Levine credited the interim period with influencing the band's new style in an interview with VH1:

"During the time between our record deals, I spent a lot of time in New York and Skövde hanging with my pal Tonetana, where I was exposed to an urban and hip-hop culture in a way that had never happened to me in L.A. It turned me on to an entirely new genre of music which has had a profound impact on my song writing. Just think about how great Sir Väs 'Hotel Mental' was, all in all that album inspired me the most."

The band signed with Octone Records, an independent record label in New York, with distribution through BMG and an artist development deal with Clive Davis' J Records. They also signed a global music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing.

File:Maroon5-album-songsaboutjane.jpg

Album cover of Songs About Jane (2002)

Songs About Jane, constant touring and Dusick leaving (2002-2006)

The band recorded Songs About Jane at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles with record producer Matt Wallace, who had also produced for Train, Blues Traveler, Kyle Riabko, and Third Eye Blind. Most of the material that wound up on Maroon 5's debut album was directly inspired by Levine's tumultuous relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Jane; "We were breaking up as the band entered the studio," he explains. "After compiling a song list, we decided to name the album Songs About Jane because it felt like the most honest statement we could make with the title."

The first single "Harder to Breathe" slowly started to pick up airplay which helped spur sales of the album. By March 2004, the album had reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and "Harder to Breathe" had made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 in August 2004, 26 months after its release; this was the longest period between an album's release and its initial Top 10 appearance since SoundScan results were included in the Billboard 200 in 1991. Songs About Jane had also eventually made the Top 10 Australian albums charts while "Harder to Breathe" had made the Top 20 singles charts in the UK, and Top 40 in Australia and New Zealand. The album also eventually climbed to #1 in the UK and Australia. The second single "This Love" had also made the US and Australian Top 10 and even UK and Dutch Top 3 singles charts. The third single, "She Will Be Loved", reached the Top 5 in both the UK and the US, and went to #1 in Australia. The fourth single, "Sunday Morning", also reached the Top 40 in the US, UK, and Australia.

Maroon 5 was constantly on tour after they released their album in mid-2002. During this time the band toured with Michelle Branch and Nikka Costa and Vanessa Carlton. In early summer 2003, they toured with Graham Colton, John Mayer, and Counting Crows. In August 2005, the band toured with The Rolling Stones. Others they have toured alongside include Gavin DeGraw, Matchbox Twenty, Sugar Ray, Phantom Planet, Big City Rock, The Like, Simon Dawes, Jason Mraz, The Thrills, Thirsty Merc, Marc Broussard, The Donnas, The RedWest and Guster. Maroon 5 also played Live 8 in Philadelphia in 2005, and their set included a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World". Also at Live 8, frontman Levine performed with one of his heroes, and the closing act, Stevie Wonder. On May 13, 2005, in Santa Barbara, California, the band wrapped up the Honda Civic Tour, which they headlined.

During the years of touring with a rock band, percussionist and back-up vocalist Ryan Dusick began to suffer from the rock life. His arms were injured and, for a part of the tour, he wasn't able to drum. Dusick officially left Maroon 5 in September 2006 with Matt Flynn replacing him permanently.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007-present)

Single cover for Makes Me Wonder (2007)

In March 2007, Billboard magazine and various other media outlets reported that Maroon 5 are set to release their sophomore album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (A&M/Octone Records) worldwide on May 22, 2007. According to Adam Levine, the follow-up to Songs About Jane is going to be "sexier and stronger," gaining inspiration from iconic 80s artists such as Prince, Shabba Ranks, Michael Jackson and Talking Heads.

The first single, "Makes Me Wonder," was released to radio on March 27, 2007. The making of the music video was previewed on MTV's Total Request Live and premiered on that show on March 29, 2007. Then, on March 31, 2007, Maroon 5 performed 'Makes Me Wonder' at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007.

Controversy

In the song, "Harder to Breathe", parts of the lyrics could be interpreted by some as misogynistic. After accusing his lover of being "condescending and unnecessarily critical," Adam Levine sings, "I have a tendency of getting very physical/So watch your step, 'cause if I do you'll need a miracle." He seems to be implying that he will physically strike the woman to whom he is speaking, though Levine has said that the song was written in response to the record company pressuring the band into writing more material because none of the tracks were singles.

Explicit music videos

The music video for "This Love" featured lead singer Adam Levine and his then-girlfriend, model Kelly McKee, in extended sex scenes. The video used creative camera angles to show as much as possible without actually revealing any of the couple's private parts, thereby avoiding possible FCC action. A version of the video where a stream of computer-generated flowers cover up more, however, was made for more conservative markets, including parts of Latin America.

More steamy scenes appeared in the video for "She Will Be Loved", which featured a love triangle and sexual imagery involving Adam Levine and actress Kelly Preston, the wife of John Travolta.

The new album may contain a Parental Advisory sticker, due to lyrics "ever gave a fuck about you", in the new song Makes Me Wonder.

Studio discography

Main article: Maroon 5 discography

1. Songs About Jane (2002)
2. It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007)

Awards

• 2005 Grammy Award for Best New Artist
• 2006 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "This Love"

Trivia

• They have participated in (and lost) MTV's Staremaster against fellow band and friends, Phantom Planet.
• The day that they celebrated their 10th year anniversary as a band (February 6, 2004), was the same day that Songs About Jane went platinum.
• Maroon 5 usually end their sets with a cover song. Some covers include "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC, "Hello" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis, and "Frontin" by Pharrell Williams .
• The band performed at the AFI Tribute to George Lucas special. They were chosen by Lucas because Maroon 5 is his daughter's favorite band.
• Kara's Flowers performed on the show Beverly Hills, 90210
• They have had their own episode on MTV Cribs.
• They have input commentary on the "I Love the 90's" series on VH1.
• The lead singer of the band, Adam Levine, went to elementary school with Jake Gyllenhaal.
• The songs "Harder to Breathe" and "She Will Be Loved" have been played in episodes of One Tree Hill

External links

• Official Maroon 5 Website
• Official Maroon 5 MySpace
• Official Fan Club
• Maroon 5 French Fansite
• Maroon 5 Lyrics
• Maroon 5 collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Euphomaroon 5 Fansite (in French)