Maroon 5, with V.V. Brown, MIGGS and Kris Allen
WHERE: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., in Kettering
WHEN: 7 pm Tuesday, Aug. 31. Gates open at 5 pm
COST: $40 lawn/terrace, $55 orchestra
MORE INFO: (937) 296-3300 or www.fraze.com
ARTIST INFO: www.maroon5.com
Since forming in California a decade ago, Maroon 5 has focused on creating its own singular musical cocktail. As practiced by Adam Levine (vocals, guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, vocals), James Valentine (guitar, vocals), Mickey Madden (bass) and Matt Flynn (drums), the key ingredients are equal parts danceable pop-rock and steamy blue-eyed soul.
Maroon 5’s third album, “Hands All Over,” is set for release on Sept. 21 and features steamy vocals, disco guitar riffs and funk-flavored keyboards. The material, recorded in Switzerland in late 2009, was produced by the legendary Mutt Lange (Shania Twain, AC/DC, Def Leppard) and is the group’s most mature work to date.
“Working with Mutt was really great,” Valentine said. “He’s an amazing guy. He’s so down to earth. He’s been at it for so long, through all these different eras, so he’s got this really amazing perspective. I really think that helped us shape these songs into something that’s better than anything we’ve done previously.”
Lange is a very hands-on producer, which was new for the members of Maroon 5. However, they’re happy with the results.
“His hands were all over this record,” Valentine said, cleverly working the album title into his response. “That’s the first time I’ve even come up with that. I’ll probably be using that again. It’s horrible, sorry.”
Valentine chuckled before continuing.
“He is very hands on,” he said. “We worked with Mutt and his engineer and partner, a guy name Olle Romo, who was the drummer in The Eurythmics. It was just those two guys in the studio, so they were there tweaking everything. We’d record some stuff and then we’d see Mutt bent over the console for hours EQ-ing each individual little thing. It was a long process. He has a lot of patience.”
Maroon 5 performs at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Tuesday, Aug. 31. It was announced on Friday, Aug. 20, the concert was being moved to this facility from its original location at Fifth Third Field.
“I hope people are encouraged to come out and see it live,” Valentine said. “If you’re familiar with the records or the songs on the radio, and if you like them even a little bit come out and see the show. I think people continue to be surprised by the live show we put on.
“It’s not always what people expect,” he added “We get to stretch things out a little more and it’s a little more of a rock show than people expect, so give it a shot Dayton, Ohio.” CONTACT contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
About the Author