A Maroon With a View
It is a great start to any interview: downing champagne at three in the afternoon. Maroon 5 is celebrating. "You know, I'm getting kind of buzzed," confesses guitarist Jesse Carmichael, taking a swig from a rapidly emptying glass.
With sell-out shows, a platinum album to their name, and lingering chart success (current single This Love has charted at number three in both America and the UK) their mix of funky, radio-friendly chords has proven irresistible to a rock-hungry public. If Franz Ferdinand proved the rags-to-riches success of last year, then LA-based Maroon 5 is certainly looking like the Cinderella tale of 2004.
While Songs about Jane marks the band's début as Maroon 5, guitarist Jesse, drummer Ryan Duswick, Adam Levine (vocals), James Valentine (guitar) and bassist Mickey Madden are by no means fresh-faced and naïve about the industry. Originally a four-piece called Kara's Flowers (minus James), they were signed straight out of their LA high-school like every teen-with-a-guitar's dream come true. Soon playing local venues and recording their first record, they fervently waited for the big time hit. But it never came.
"It was a great learning experience to put out a record everyone said would succeed and to watch it fail," Jesse tells me with a shrug. "We were just kids: 17, 18.
"We were Beatles fans, running around the studios like chickens with our heads cut off, going: let's put an orchestra in here, let's do some harmonies. There was no depth to what we were doing." The band was dropped and went their separate ways to college, but instead of being disillusioned about the process, they reinvented themselves and picked up a new member and a different sound.
"James added to the band. It was a relief to have fresh blood to the whole equation - we were going into a different musical direction." Their fusion of rock and infectious bass chords won them a new deal, and, having already tasted their share of failure, the group set out to make their second attempt work.
"Because of that experience, everything that's happened has been much more appreciated. We know how easy it is for it not to work out."
In the current climate of the music industry, where the first single is often a 'deliver or die' event, Maroon 5 has been lucky to join a label with patience.
"We put out the song Harder to Breathe in America, and it took over a year and a half for it to do anything. We are not familiar with the fast paced world of pop success."
The name of the album is a reflection of the personal nature of the record, with the poppy tunes disguising surprisingly vitriolic bitterness, threats and veiled sexual references which have clean-cut fans singing along unawares.
Adam regrets naming it so explicitly, as he is now continually expected to field questions about what remains an obviously painful break-up. Others, however, are more positive. "This record was mainly a collection of songs about one girl, so it was really the most honest and straightforward name we could have given it. The fact that her name happened to be Jane also worked out, because it could be any girl: Jane Doe."
So what about the famed expectations of the next 'sophomore' record? Many a rock act has managed a breakthrough debut, only to have the follow-up fade away under criticism.
They remain unconcerned, as James explains: "I'd say I'm not feeling the pressure, simply because it's such a different place to where we were two years ago. I mean, we've already written songs that are going to be singles off our next record." Jesse agrees, "The pressure is off, man! Honestly, the pressure was on us first time, like that was our one shot.
"Now we've proven ourselves - we've had a couple of legitimate hits." The band is now looking forward to fortifying their sound, and have even come up with the exact formula for success. "Alcatraz," says James, "Radiohead," Jesse adds, "Red Hot Chilli Peppers meets Frank Zappa...meets DiAngelo." I try hard to look impressed.
As well as the endless touring and preparation for the new record, Maroon 5 is putting its influence and wide audience to good use in the political arena. "Get Informed, Take Action" is an initiative by the band to get their fans involved in world issues.
"On our website there's a section where people can go find information about any kind of charity event or issue," Jesse explains. "Elections, links to candidates so you can get informed, and once you're informed you can do something about it. The most important thing is just to get out and vote. Definitely it's about using any kind of influence we have to 'rock the vote'."
Aren't they cautious about inspiring the kind of backlash that other liberal musicians have faced in America? They remain defiant.
"There's no risk in speaking your mind about things. I have no fears about being honest. Just look around: anyone who is even remotely intelligent can see the deception that goes on in the world of politics. So speak out about it, talk about it with your friends and if you've got any ability to influence people, use it.
So who do they personally want to win the upcoming election? "Somebody whose name is not George W. Bush." Jesse grins, slyly.
"Somebody whose initials are J. K...We can start moving in the right direction, and the right direction is left."
13th May 2004