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Blame it on Stevie Wonder. Back in 1999 the members of Maroon 5 were just another bunch of junior high buds in a fledgling L.A. rock band called Kara’s Flowers. They got as far as releasing a sturdy debut called The Fourth World - things were looking up. Then singer Adam Levine caught a serious Stevie jones, and headed to New York in search of the funk.
While Levine discovered what songs in the key of life were all about, band mate Jesse Carmichael started pumping the jazz. The guitarist traded in his six-string for a keyboard, and suddenly Kara’s Flowers realized their collegiate post-grunge sound didn't really fit them any more. They left their label, added guitarist James Valentine, and replaced one silly name with another. Maroon 5 was born.
George Clinton said that if you freed your mind, your ass would follow. What followed for Maroon 5 was the bun-bouncing debut Songs About Jane. Nerdy romantic angst put on its party clothes, and Levine gleefully developed a sexed-up strut. Maroon 5's panache is infectious, and Jane’s rubber rhythms started rocking tour buses belonging to fans like Michelle Branch and John Mayer.
The current darlings of the strum set aren’t working to half-empty houses any more. The clipped guitars and sensitive machismo of “Harder to Breathe” has landed Maroon 5 on both Top 40 radio and VH1. But while Levine, Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden and drummer Ryan Dusick may now wear sharper suits and haircuts, life isn’t exactly a brand new bag.
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