I thought, 'Well, I want to be a professional musician, but I probably won't, so I'm going to go to college and study advertising, because maybe that's a more sensible career.' But the whole time, even in college, I was playing in five different bands and music was my life, but I got a few breaks and ended up out in L.A. 'I look back at that kid and I was a very pragmatic, reasonable kid. 'I didn't think it was actually going to be possible,' he says. He says he always knew he wanted a career in music.
Dusick left the band in 2006 and members Matt Flynn and PJ Morton have since joined the group. The band's major label debut didn't sell well and, after a hiatus, the group sought Valentine to flesh out the band and the band took on the new name Maroon 5. Members Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick had formed the group Kara's Flowers in Los Angeles in 1994 and signed with Reprise Records. We had all those songs out there, but I think as people got to know Adam as a person they started to connect as, 'Oh, that's the guy from that band and they sing this song and this song and this song.' It was kind of a multiplier effect.' 'We thought that was maybe an awful idea! But that helped people connect the dots. 'Adam joining up on 'The Voice' (in 2011), we really had no idea that would be such a positive for the band,' says Valentine. The band became nationally known in 2002 with the album 'Songs About Jane' and had hits with the songs 'Harder To Breathe,' 'This Love,' 'She Will Be Loved' and 'Sunday Morning.' With the release of the band's follow-up album, 'It Won't Be Soon Before Long,' the group had another stack of hits and earned a 2005 Grammy for Best New Artist, but Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine says it was lead singer Adam Levine's commitment to television that really put them over the top. If any band seems to have figured things out, it's Maroon 5.