AN INTERVIEW WITH OF MAROON 5 On July 10th I spoke with Adam Levine, the front man for Maroon 5. On the eve of what is sure to become immense success, Adam reflected on the band's grass roots approach to success, experiencing fame and the annoying, repetitive questions he’s asked in interviews. |
ADAM: Yeah, what a novel concept right? It’s pretty incredible I think that the nature of the business is changing so much. You know at this point, I think the only way to survive as a band because… major labels can launch pop stars really easily. It just involves a lot of money and you know, throwing a lot of money at everybody and having a pretty face and a catchy song that you hire a songwriter to write. It’s simple… that kind of formula’s really easy but as far as a rock ‘n roll band… you gotta go hit the road and you gotta do so many things to develop yourselves as a band because nobody is going to give a shit about you if you try to just launch yourself without having any sort of background or history. So, it’s been amazing. I think you have to have a label that knows that the internet is a factor… that people are going to be downloading your record which is a good thing, you know? There’s a lot of different things that are changing that I feel like the record industry is opposed to but to try to go against the grain with is just silly, you know? You have to kind of go with the flow. Our label is very aware of all of the things that are changing about the business and that’s I think probably one of the reasons why they’re… why it’s working for them, for us.
NWMS: Well record labels have had the upper hand for so long and now everything’s shifting.
ADAM: Yeah, and the main…you know…. It’s like everyone’s whining and crying how everyone's like, ‘We’re losing control. The sales are down,’ but then, come on. They still have a lot of control. They should, rather than freak out and start trying to go guns blazing and regaining all the control they should kind of adapt so that they can use that as a tool. I mean, hopefully they… you know, I’m not pro-record business but they are smart.
NWMS: How has it been being involved in this situation as opposed to the way you were dealt with when Kara’s Flowers was signed?
ADAM: Well, Kara’s Flowers was pretty much the opposite of what we’re doing now. Like, how the label Octone is doing a grass roots approach and having us tour for a year before they want to… you know, before they try to blow us up and artist development and all that stuff. Kara’s Flowers was just floating up the wall beneath the sticks. Make a record quickly, put it out. No touring base, no nothing just… try to make it happen right out of the gates and it just doesn’t work and if it does work, it still doesn’t work because you may become famous or successful or sell a million records or win a Grammy but it will all die away so quickly and I just feel like to have longevity at this point, you gotta earn it. You gotta have a base. You gotta kind of suffer a little bit. Tour as a band for a year and do all of the shit that rock bands are supposed to do in order to achieve it. Otherwise it’s kind of this weird, flimsy, soulless fame that goes away really quickly.
NWMS: When I heard that the title of your guys’ record was Songs About Jane, I thought ‘okay it’s going to be a bunch of love songs’ but then when I heard it. The lyrics are really revealing and honest and the music has an edge to it.
ADAM: Thank you very much.
NWMS: So I take it that you and Jane weren’t in a very good place when these songs were written because it’s a great break up record. If you’re going through a break up, then this is the album to listen to. I’ve been listening to it very loudly.
ADAM: Yeah, well I did. That whole… it’s weird because it is definitely a concept record like if you really think about it. It was… not every single word is about her but it was just… I was trying just to with the record, lyrically with the record, trying to… making the statement, ‘This relationship isn’t working. It isn’t working. I hate you. You’re a bitch. Fuck you, but I love you and you’re amazing and I hope things can work out but if they can’t then fuck you.’ Then finally at the end it’s like, ‘Alright, it’s not gonna work out but let’s do this peacefully,’ you know? That’s really kind of what happened. I think that it’s a really nice story if you really pay attention to it.
NWMS: It’s sounds like it was able to just capture that moment in your life.
ADAM: Absolutely, it really did.
NWMS: What do you think the emotional or lyrical content would be like if you were to work on a new record today, at this point in your life?
ADAM: Oh God, uhm… there are a couple of lingering songs that I haven’t, we haven’t developed yet that lyrically are in the same theme and didn’t make it. But they were kind of just post Songs About Jane or not that didn’t make it, but just… I was still harping on things even shortly after we wrote lyrics for the record. There will be a couple more Jane songs probably but it’s kind of the end of that phase. So there will be a couple of those. I don’t know. I mean, I’ve written a couple of songs about… I’ve been kind of… I went through a period where I was kind of emotionally detached from everyone, especially girls so I wrote. I kind of started to focus on other people’s relationships to find inspiration because I wasn’t finding any in my own life.
NWMS: Writing third person, or…
ADAM: Yeah… well I was just kind of looking at it from a different perspective. Looking down on something, getting perspective on other people.
NWMS: Well you wrote ‘She Will be Loved’ from your friend’s perspective, right?
ADAM: Yeah.
NWMS: One of the ways your music is being introduced to people is by opening for a lot of major acts like Matchbox Twenty, Sugar Ray and now you guys are touring with Counting Crows and John Mayer. How are the egos in situations like that when there are that many musicians sharing a common stage?
ADAM: The egos? The egos are probably just fine because they’re all in successful bands. We’re just rookies but I mean, we’re opening up for them so I don’t think there’s any real problem. Everyone on the tour has been unbelievably cool to us. They’ve all kind of… they’ve all believed in what we’re doing. It’s been really harmonious. Everyone has been awesome. There have been no ego problems, at least, not that we’re aware of. I don’t think you have much of an ego… well maybe you do have ego problems but when you’re headlining a venue with like ten thousand people screaming your name, I’m sure they’re pretty confident in what they’re doing.
NWMS: So your guys’ album came out a year ago. Have you noticed a shift in things yet like more people at the shows, more recognition?
ADAM: Definitely. That’s the most amazing thing in the world to experience. You know, the fact that we can be playing in an arena at this point and there’s a substantial amount of people who know who we are and they’re cheering. They’re singin’ the words. It’s like not real. I can’t get my head around it. It’s crazy… You never believe it. You never believe that out of that many people there’s going to be a chunk that’s gonna be able to make enough noise or make a dent all the way for you to hear. You know what I mean? You’re like, oh my God. These are actually for us? It’s crazy.
NWMS: Well you’ve been playing in front of crowds for a while now. Since you were fourteen playing around LA, right?
ADAM: Yeah, totally. I mean, there was always the fact that we were just in high school, you know? We were in a band and we had long hair. That was like, enough.
NWMS: When will you know you’ve made it? What’s a situation or experience that could happen that would make you feel like, ‘Okay, we’ve definitely made it.’
ADAM: Probably never. I mean, it’s weird ‘cuz I am so grateful and appreciative of every step of the way of what we get and can maintain. But, I’ll probably never be fully… I’ll never probably… There will never be a moment where I say, ‘I’ve made it’. Maybe there will be. I mean, I think that I’m so constantly dissatisfied, always wanting more which is terrible and I need to get over that.
NWMS: I think a lot of us are that way.
NWMS: It must be surreal to be going back to your hometown of Los Angeles and be playing the Staples Center. ADAM: Yeah, it’s just like I’m incredibly competitive because I grew up playing sports and then I switched to music so it’s a part of my nature so I still wanna kind of be the best which is awful because it has nothing to do with music so I gotta kind of get over that. But I think I’ll definitely reach a day where I say, ‘I’ve made it’. I think to a larger extent we already have made it, you know? We’re touring in a bus and we’re selling records. People are buying our record and coming to our shows screaming our names, giving us gifts and drawing pictures of us. I think that’s definitely success on a certain level.
ADAM: That’s going to be great.
NWMS: That must feel amazing.
ADAM: That’s one of the… you know, I guess I could say, ‘Oh well, I guess we haven’t really made it until we’re headlining the Staples Center.’ We’re just imposters. We’re just opening but whatever. We’re playing the Staples Center. Fuck you guys.
NWMS: I’m sure you’ll be headlining soon. Everyone I know who has heard the record has told me how much they love it.
ADAM: I know it’s crazy. People like this record. It’s very, very odd. I mean, it’s weird too because I truly think when you hear it you hear… I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything but every single person that we’ve ever talked to who says they love our record has said, ‘You guys are going to be fuckin’ huge.’ It’s a crazy thing to hear it. I think that we’ve actually believed it all along so it doesn’t make our heads any bigger but it’s crazy. What a crazy thing to think about, us being really huge and the fact that everybody that has our record believes that too. It’s so unfathomable in so many ways. I’m so excited. We’ll talk again when we are huge.
NWMS: Yeah, we will.
ADAM: We’ll talk about how crazy it is.
NWMS: But at that point don’t you think you’ll have gotten to a place where you’re used to it and you’re kind of over it when it becomes just a way of life?
ADAM: Over it? I don’t know about over it. Maybe used to it or accustomed to it. I don’t think Beyonce’ goes home everyday and says, ‘Can you believe I’m famous? Oh my God, it’s so crazy. I can’t believe it.’ She’s just famous, successful, sold billions of records and she is probably very appreciative of it but probably used to it at this point. Maybe she goes home and freaks out everyday. She can’t believe it. I doubt it though.
NWMS: Maybe she goes home and freaks out in front of her mirror.
ADAM: (in a high voice) ‘I’m on TV!’ But I… hopefully I don’t think… it’s ideal if you just never really lose that innocence and get excited about things. Like if you’re going to be on TV or you’re going to be doing something you’ve wanted for a long time to not take it for granted and be jaded and say, ‘Oh God, I gotta do this shit again?’
NWMS: What experiences have you had with hearing your single ‘Harder To Breathe’ on the radio?
ADAM: We finally saw our video last night. We stayed up until four in the morning just to see it on VH1. I’ve been determined to do it. So that was exciting kinda but kinda lackluster. I’m not crazy about the video.
NWMS: What don’t you like about it?
ADAM: It’s just boring. I don’t know. It’s alright.
NWMS: You’re probably a lot more critical of yourself though.
ADAM: Oh extremely, (laughs), very, very much so. It’s alright. I don’t wanna… I don’t dislike the video. I just don’t love it, you know?
NWMS: I understand that Stevie Wonder has been a huge influence on you.
ADAM: Huge.
NWMS: Have you had a chance to meet him yet?
ADAM: No. My girlfriend just met him though. I can’t believe it. She was doing a charity event and she just shook his hand and he said, ‘Hello I’m Stevie’. ‘Hi, how you doing?’ It was so cool. She played music… he played live. She called me from the place. It was like just an intimate gathering. It was like the shi-shi benefit thingy. She called me and he was playing ‘Higher Ground’. He was… that was just Stevie Wonder playing live and I was like, ‘God!’ Uhh! I’m really bummed that I missed it. It was crazy. But yeah, I have not met him yet. Hopefully… I’m sure I will meet him someday.
NWMS: So maybe that’s when you know you’ve made it. Stevie Wonder calls you and says he wants to work with you.
ADAM: If Stevie Wonder calls me I will know that I’ve made it! If Stevie Wonder knows who I am. If Stevie Wonder knows… has heard of, knows of our music, I will know I’ve made it.
NWMS: If Stevie Wonder says ‘I have to work with Maroon 5’.
ADAM: Yep, (laughs) Yeah right. He’ll say, ‘Hey these punks are rippin’ us off’. No, hopefully he’ll love what we’re doing.
NWMS: My last question for you is, what is something you want to accomplish in your life that doesn’t involve music?
ADAM: Something I want to accomplish that doesn’t involve music? (pauses) Oh no, you’re taking me out of my element.
NWMS: And aren’t you happy I didn’t even ask you about the musical transition from Kara’s Flowers to Maroon 5?
ADAM: Okay yeah, we don’t need to talk about that.
NWMS: When I was doing research, every interview I read they asked you that.
ADAM: I don’t want to talk about it!
NWMS: I don’t blame you. There’s a point where you need to find some originality and realize that people evolve, people change.
ADAM: I’m gonna just be like, ‘You know what?’ Next time someone asks I’m just gonna be like, ‘Listen, I really don’t want to talk about that. Let’s talk about Maroon 5.’ I mean, it was so long ago. The interview is for Maroon 5. I understand people want to talk about it. It makes perfect sense but I’m just sick of talking about it. I’m so sick of ‘How did you guys meet?’ You know, dah dah dah dah dee…
NWMS: Who’s Jane?
ADAM: Exactly. I like you so, so much. You’re my favorite person in the world.
NWMS: Well I’m going to be photographing you guys at the Gorge tomorrow. Have you been there yet?
ADAM: Oh my God yes. It’s beautiful.
NWMS: It’s amazing. That and Red Rocks are supposed to be the two most beautiful venues in the country.
ADAM: I’m so excited to see that. We’re playing… I mean, we play it early too at like 7:30pm so we’re going to see the most beautiful time of day too when we’re on stage.
NWMS: You are, the sun should be starting to set. When were you there before?
ADAM: We were there with the Sheryl Crow tour but we were on the second stage so we had to be in like the gravel parking lot, which was a sin because it was so gorgeous on the main stage.
NWMS: Well you’re on the main stage tomorrow so you’re already evolving.
ADAM: Oh I know. I am aware…
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