Adam's got soul and a sense of humor

Posted October 13, 200717 yr

By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | October 12, 2007

He's sung with Stevie and Kanye, about love and sex, but two weeks ago Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine found himself crooning a love song to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, in a "Saturday Night Live" spoof. It takes a special kind of pop star to take himself so unseriously, and Levine is that kind of pop star.

Since ditching the Seattle sound of his first band, Kara's Flowers, which was composed of the same group of friends who make up Maroon 5, for the sunnier, sexier soul pop of Maroon 5, things have gone swimmingly for Levine. There have been hit singles - including "This Love" and "Wake Up Call" (from the new album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"), Grammy Awards, and the graduation from clubs to arenas. The band plays the TD Banknorth Garden on Monday.

We spoke with Levine from a Chicago tour stop about the view from the top, his "SNL" short, and how a nice Jewish boy from Los Angeles went from alt-rock to soul in a single bound.

Q. How's it going in the big arenas?

A. Pretty amazing. It's definitely bigger and more intense than it's ever been and so much fun. I'm surprised with the sheer amount of energy that's being put out by fans during shows. It's all you ever want when you write music and play in a band.

Q. The "SNL" sketch with Andy Samberg was very amusing, and the best part was how serious you looked.

A. It was really hard to be that serious, because I kept cracking up in the middle of takes because it was so unbelievably funny to shoot.

Q. You go in a lot of different directions on "It Won't Be Soon" from soul pop to new wave. What's the most challenging part of songwriting for you?

A. The whole process of writing a song is difficult. I don't even know where it comes from. It's strange, because no matter how many influences [we have] or how inspired we are by a certain artist or band, it always winds up somehow coming off as original. I think that's the most difficult thing to do is make sure that you're not just being a copycat, making sure that there's some unique quality to what you're doing that makes it new.

Q. When does inspiration strike for you?

A. In my sleep, in the shower, almost never when I'm sitting with an instrument.

Q. When did you discover your voice?

A. I always knew that I could sing, but I didn't know how to play to my strengths and figure out what type of singer I was until five or six years ago.

Q. Since it happened so recently, did the abilities of your voice necessarily dovetail with the style of music you wanted to play?

A. I think that deep down I always wished that I could sound like Eddie Vedder. But my voice is literally the polar opposite of his, so I think I gave up the dream . . . and cut my hair and got real and stopped wearing flannels. I think that when I started listening to Stevie Wonder, his voice was so miraculous and so amazing and I thought to myself, 'Wow, I could do that. I have a high voice. I think for a white boy, I've got a decent amount of soul in me, so I'm going to try this.' And it really just changed everything because I'd just never really done that.

Q. In an interview one of your fellow bandmates was quoted as saying fame justified your personality. You may love them like brothers, but when they say stuff like that, what do you think?

A. I think it's totally accurate. Trust me, whenever the band says something about me or I say something about the band members, it's true. I've always been a little bit of a pain in the ass and slightly diva-ish, but that's just how it is. I'm not gonna deny that.

Q. Isn't that necessary to an extent for what you guys do?

Q. Yeah, it makes us a complete band. You wouldn't be a complete band without a slightly cocky frontman, would you?