Friday 7 January 2011

Second Draft of Double Page Spread

With influences such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Beatles and Prince it comes as no surprise that Maroon 5 have excelled in their passion and become the pop rock sensation that they are today.        

Standing on the  mobile stage in their local bar as drunken men slur along the lyrics of their latest track, which they thought up whilst knocking back gin in an old dusty garage. These are just the blurred memories of Kara’s flowers that Maroon 5 carry with them.
     Jessy Carmichael, Mickey Madenn, and Adam Levine were just in their 20's when they formed their first band, Kara's Flowers. The reformation of Maroon 5 came about in 1999 after the split of Kara’s ­Flowers. Kara’s Flowers came together in 1991 but were short lived and split in 1998 after releasing just one album of which only 5000 have been bought since. Many rumours escalated for the reasons of their split and it is still unknown. One girl who has followed Maroon 5 through their ups and downs expressed how:
Kara’s Flowers “were too young and musically weren’t ready.”         
     Change is inevitable whilst growing up however there is no doubt in   saying that it came as a surprise when the boys bounced back in 2001. They had formed a whole new look, sound and attitude. Maroon 5 was born. Adam Levine, Jessy Carmichael and Mickey Madden were joined by Matt Flynn and James Valentine in the musical group, instantly bonding after being inseparable in high school. As they were all old friends, they clicked instantaneously and bonded emotionally as well as musically.
     After much hard work and commitment they released their first album, Songs About Jane, in 2002. However it wasn’t until 2003 that one of their  singles actually became popular. ‘Harder to Breathe’ and ‘This Love’ both got a spot on the top 10 They took on many different audiences, ranging from OAP’s to young pop-rock wannabe’s. Their songs spread like a rash; they became more and more popular each day as they excelled in the charts. This resulted in them being awarded MTVs New Best Artist award in 2004 after their single “Harder To Breather” hit the number one spot in 2003 and their second single “This Love” got into the top 10. Later on that year, they also picked up an award for ‘World’s Best New Group’.
    As the years have gone by, technology has developed and the band members have gotten older. With this, their musical attributes change too. Maroon 5’s music has changed exceptionally, yet it still has that ever growing burning passion it has always had. Stacey, 27, has been a fan since the very beginning of Kara’s Flowers and followed them through to where they are now she said:
“I like all of their music but I like their more recent sound more, it’s more upbeat and up to date.”     In comparison to their gigs a few years back, the gigs Maroon 5 are performing now are phenomenal. It is safe to say that Maroon 5, as a whole, have it all when it comes to performing. They let their confidence shine and their skills burst, they even add a few dance moves here and there. Each and every one of them has absolutely sensational stage presence.
     Lisa, 17, and a group of friends travelled all the way to Glasgow from Liverpool a few  months back just to experience the band live after falling in love with their latest album. Lisa said
“As the smoke drew thin, their figures became clear. Electricity ran through their audience; their crowd; their followers. It was magical.”

Thursday 6 January 2011

Audio Clips of Interview with Fans

To help me write a detailed article, I interviewed a few fans of Maroon 5.

First Draft of Double Page Spread Article

S
tanding on the mobile stage in their local bar as drunken men slur along the lyrics of their latest track, which they thought up whilst knocking back gin in an old dusty garage. These are just the blurred memories of Kara’s flowers that Maroon 5 carry with them.
     As the smoke drew thin, their figures became clear. Electricity ran through their audience, their crowd, their followers. From that moment in the MEN on September 26th 2001, they had become something real Maden told us how he felt  that Karas Flowers, the band set up in the 90’s “wasnt ready, musically or emotionally. But when he was on stage that night something clicked.           
     Valentine, Carmichael, Madden, Flynn and Levine went through a dramatic change, together.   they described their new look and sound as “rock-pop-soul”. Evidently a mix you found appealing.
     After an 18 month break, at their most recent local gig in the town of Leicester; Valentine expressed his feelings towards their speedy recovery from their biggest ever drunken argument which caused a breakdown of the group  and a near split/ But admiteddly, it inspired their most recent track ‘I won’t go home without you’ which got to #1 in just two weeks.
     The after party of this gig was quite different to their usual. Especially the one’s of Karas’ flowers, which were held in one bed roomed flats, full of smoke and alcohol. This was something special. With stars such as Jimiriquai, The Red Hot chilli Peppers and Justin Timberlake, who happen to be three of Maroon 5’s biggest inspriations and influence, giving their support  and showing their excitement of their comeback. The band made a speech together, proclaiming happiness about how far they had come in such a short time, the tightness they had gained with one another since their bust up and also the love for their families, friends and influences.               
     They stated their change was tough, and at one point they didn’t think that they’d be able to get out from an all time low, that they wouldn’t find the right look, the right sound to save their career together. But after meeting the boss of JRecords, they had found a the best deal of their lives and were signed to a contract that would change their lives for the better.
      In 2001 they went on tour supporting Kanye West after he became massive fans and very close fans with the five. However, their time was cut short when Levine and Valentine became ill after drinking contaiminated water! It is very clear that these guys had never really had the best of luck. But that was all soon to change when Carmicheal was out in a bar in June 2002. It is a well known fact that after a few bears, Carmicheal comes out of his shell. Majorly. He recalls ranting about the latest sound of music. 'It's all the same, what happened to alternative? To the real stuff?'. This was the line that formed a special bond between Carmicheal and Kanye West. who took a shine to him. After listening to thier latest recordings, Kanye set Carmicheal and the other band members up with JRecords. This was the end of Kara's Flowers. But the beginning of Maroon 5.

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Development of my front cover

animated gif maker
Animated gif maker

I have created an animation to show the development of my front cover. For this task, I had to take screenshots of the actions I had been taking in order to create my front cover.