Who Are All of the Members of Maroon 5 Other Than Adam Levine?
Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine, is well-known around the world. Along with being the band’s lead singer since the ’90s, Levine supercharged his fame after serving as a coach on NBC’s The Voice for 16 seasons. However, while Adam Levine has propelled himself into becoming a household name, the other members of Maroon 5 are still relatively unknown. Read on to learn more about the history and evolution of Maroon 5, along with more about each band member.
Before Maroon 5, there was Kara’s Flowers
The origin story of Maroon 5 begins in the halls of the Brentwood School in Los Angeles. According to Country Living, four of the original band members met during their high school days at Brentwood and came together to form their first band in 1994. Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusickdecided to call their band Kara’s Flower. The four teenagers decided to name their band Kara’s Flowers after a girl that went to their high school they all collectively had a crush on.
Kara’s Flower proved relatively successful for a teenage rock band. After self-releasing an independent album called We Like Digging?, Kara’s Flowers signed to Reprise Records. In 1997, their second album called The Fourth World was released. Sadly, the album tanked, and the band was dropped from the label. This left the young band members to focus on college for the next four years. In 2001, after their studies were done, Kara’s Flowers reemerged. However, this time the band rebranded as Maroon 5.
After college, the band rebranded as Maroon 5
After taking on a new vibe and rebranding as Maroon 5, the band found rapid success. The band signed with Octone Records, and their first studio album titled Songs About Jane was released in 2002. Over a year after the album’s initial release, songs from the album finally begin to hit the radio. Two songs from the album, Harder to Breathe and This Love, rose to the top of the charts to become number one hits. By the end of 2004, over 2.7 million copies of Songs About Jane had been sold.
Maroon 5’s success has only grown over the years. Throughout their success, the band has also experienced some growing pains. Some of these growing pains include a changing of bandmates over time. According to The Sun, the original five members of Maroon 5 included Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, Ryan Dusick, and James Valentine. Valentine, a guitarist out of Lincoln, Neb., was the only original member of Maroon 5 that had not been a part of Kara’s Flowers. Of the original members of Maroon 5, only Levine, Carmichael, and Valentine remain. In 2006, Ryan Dusick, the band’s former drummer, left the band after sustaining serious wrist and shoulder injuries from constant touring. Former bass player Mickey Madden made the decision to leave the band in 2020.
Meet the members of Maroon 5 today — other than Adam Levine
As of 2021, there are currently six active members in Maroon 5. Of course, Adam Levine is the face of Maroon 5 and provides the lead vocal for the band. Of the original Maroon 5 members, Jesse Carmichael is still a keyboardist for the band and James Valentine provides backup vocals and plays lead guitar. The three original Maroon 5 bandmates are now joined by Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar.
In 2006, Matt Flynn, out of Woodstock, N.Y., officially joined the band on drums and percussion following the exit of Ryan Dusick. Before joining Maroon 5, Flynn played drums for The B-52’s, Chicago, Gavin DeGraw, and Gandhi. PJ Morton, out of New Orleans, La., joined the band in 2012 as a keyboardist and backup vocalist. Sam Farrar, the latest member of Maroon 5, joined the group in 2016, providing guitar, bass, percussion, and vocal services.
Ultimately, the band has seen many changes over the last two decades. Despite changing members, conflicts, and creative differences, Maroon 5 is still going strong. The band released their latest album in June 2021, which can be found on Spotify today.
