Maroon 5’s James Valentine Says He Carries a Studio in His Backpack

Shockingly, yhere are other members of Maroon 5, besides the headline-making frontman that is Adam Levine. Guitarist James Valentine told Billboard that he hopes the band will follow up their latest album 'Hands All Over' sooner rather than later. Since he and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael employ Apple Logic recording software, which means they effectively "carry studios around in our backpacks," that goal shouldn't be too hard.

The guitarist said, "We're going to turn around a lot quicker and hopefully have something out by next year, earlier next year. We've got a mobile recording rig. We're gonna try to start writing songs while we're out here on tour, so hopefully that'll go well."

Valentine acknowledged that in the digital era of recording, all you need is a laptop. "You can do a tremendous amount with just your laptop," he said, noting that whole laptop-in-backpack thing. "So we're always able to create no matter where we are -- literally on airplanes, on buses and a lot of hotel rooms."

In case you were wondering how Levine's role as a coach on 'The Voice,' which catapulted Maroon 5 into the national cultural conversation, affects the band, turns out, it's all positive -- even if the singer's bandmates give him grief for his newfound role as a reality star. Valentine commented, "There's been a huge bounce for us. We were really nervous about the show. It didn't seem very cool to us when we first heard about it, and we were really worried. But it turned out to be such a great thing. You're exposed to a whole new audience."