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James Valentine | |
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![]() Valentine performing with Maroon 5 in 2016 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | James Burgon Valentine |
Born | Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. | October 5, 1978
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1996–present |
Member of | Maroon 5 |
Formerly of | Square |
Spouse(s) | Alexis Novak (m. 2023) |
James Burgon Valentine (born October 5, 1978) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the pop band Maroon 5.
Valentine was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and has three sisters and one brother. His mother is a former beauty queen, who was a school teacher before becoming a stay-at-home mom to raise her five children. His younger sister, Amanda Valentine, has been a contestant on Project Runway two times starring in Season 11 and Season 13, as well as Project Runway All Stars once in Season 6. James is an Eagle Scout. [1] He was the president of his high school Lincoln Southeast High School's student council in Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and attended Berklee College of Music.
In addition to guitar, Valentine is also a percussionist, playing in orchestra and jazz band in his youth.[ citation needed ]
Valentine played in Lincoln bands: Montag, Kid Quarkstar, Mondello and Happy Dog. In 2000, Happy Dog changed its name to Square and he moved to Los Angeles from Anaheim, California, where he taught private guitar lessons out of his home. Valentine had also played with Reel Big Fish, firstly when guitarist Aaron Barrett broke his hand and later in 2001, when Barrett fell down some stairs. Valentine displayed a picture from one Reel Big Fish show he played during Maroon 5's appearance on MTV Cribs . Eventually the members of Square and Kara's Flowers became friends and when Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick began looking for another guitarist, Valentine was approached. The band Kara's Flowers changed their name to Maroon. Personal tensions in Square helped the decision to join the band and shortly afterward, Kara's Flowers became Maroon 5.
Valentine is a friend of John Mayer, whom he met in 1996 at Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts. [2] Valentine once tried to get Mayer to move to Lincoln to play guitar for the Lincoln blues rock band Baby Jason and the Spankers. An opening slot on Mayer's 2003 summer tour helped bring widespread exposure to Maroon 5. [2] Valentine contributed guitar work to Mayer's September 2006 release Continuum on the songs "Stop This Train" and "In Repair."
Valentine also played guitar on Jenny Lewis' 2006 solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat with The Watson Twins and has appeared in her music video for the first single, "Rise Up with Fists!!".
Phases (originally called JJAMZ) is a band composed of James Valentine (Maroon 5), Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley/Conor Oberst), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), Michael Runion (solo), and Z Berg (The Like). The group was started at karaoke night at Guys in Hollywood. The band name was an acronym using the first letter of each member's name. The group was means of escape from each member's respective bands. "[Phases] started at an interesting time in all of our lives. We all needed some kind of escape from relationships or our other bands. It was a tumultuous time, and the lyrics just came out. It was like word vomit. I can't remember." said Z Berg, lead vocalist for the Like. The band played their first concert at the Echo Plex on January 27, 2009. They released their debut album Suicide Pact on July 10, 2012. Later, Valentine left the band due to work with Maroon 5 and the band changed their name to Phases.
Valentine married yoga instructor Alexis Novak on February 6, 2023. [3]
Rilo Kiley was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock.
The Execution of All Things is the second full-length album released by Los Angeles-based indie pop band Rilo Kiley. Expanding on their previous musical sound that mostly incorporated guitars, vocals, percussion and pianos, the album contains heavy electronica sampling mixed into the songs in a rather unusual and displaced-sounding way. Also, unlike their previous tracks which were written in very traditional manners, the lyrics to the songs on Execution are very wordy and read like prose. Musically, the record has a very sunny disposition, with bouncing bass lines and simple melodies complemented by lead singer Jenny Lewis's vocal style, but the upbeat music is generally counterpointed by the often dark and morose subject matter that the lyrics reference. The album was released by Saddle Creek Records in Omaha, Nebraska, and the aforementioned features show the influence of that studio's associated Omaha Sound. It was recorded at Presto! in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist and bassist Sam Farrar. Original members Levine, Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick first came together as Kara's Flowers in 1994, while they were in high school.
Songs About Jane is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Maroon 5. The album was released on June 25, 2002, by Octone and J Records. It became a sleeper hit with the help of five singles that attained chart success, led by "Harder to Breathe", "This Love", and "She Will Be Loved". This is the band's only album to feature founding drummer Ryan Dusick.
The Fourth World is the second studio album and major label debut by the band Kara's Flowers, who later achieved greater success under the name Maroon 5. The album contains 11 tracks, plus one bonus track on the Japanese edition.
Alex Greenwald is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the California rock band Phantom Planet.
Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
Adam Noah Levine is an American singer and musician who serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and sole continuous member of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which he was the lead vocalist and lead guitarist. After the commercial failure of their only album, The Fourth World, the group was reformed in 2001 as Maroon 5 – with James Valentine replacing him as lead guitarist. In 2002, they released their first album, Songs About Jane, which went multi-platinum in the US; since then, they have released six more albums: It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), Hands All Over (2010), Overexposed (2012), V (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021). As part of Maroon 5, Levine has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards.
Jesse Royal Carmichael is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the pop rock band, Maroon 5. He is one of only two remaining original members of the group, along with frontman Adam Levine. He also has a solo project called 1863 and a side project titled Circuit Jerks.
Nate Walcott is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's The Fault in Our Stars. He is a member of the band Bright Eyes, and has played in Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band and with singer-songwriter M. Ward. Between 2016 and 2019, Walcott was the touring pianist and keyboard player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, during their The Getaway World Tour.
Square was a short-lived musical trio from Lincoln, Nebraska who moved to Southern California in early 2000. It was composed of Sean Beste, James Valentine (guitars) and Ryland Steen (drums). Their sound has been described as including elements of rock, pop, and jazz fusion.
"Not Falling Apart" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5 from the group's second studio album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007). Although the original version wasn't released as a single, a remix of the song was released as a single and charted at number 3 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was written by band frontman Adam Levine, with production of the song helmed by Mike Elizondo, Mark "Spike" Stent and Maroon 5.
Whispertown is an American indie music project from Los Angeles, California, fronted by singer-songwriter Morgan Nagler. They have toured or performed with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis, the Breeders, She & Him, Maria Taylor, M. Ward, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's and the Elected.
Under the Blacklight is the fourth and final full-length studio album released by American alternative rock band Rilo Kiley. It was released on August 20, 2007, in the United Kingdom - three years and three days after the release of their third album, More Adventurous. Warner Bros. Records released the album one day later in the United States. "Silver Lining" was No. 27 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
Michael Allen Madden is an American musician and a former bassist for the pop band Maroon 5.
Michael Evan Bloom is an American musician, singer, composer, producer and mixer who has performed, produced or recorded with artists such as Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis, Julian Casablancas, Johnathan Rice, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, and Rachael Yamagata. He was a co-founder of The Elected. Bloom plays guitar, bass, lap steel guitar, keys, drums, banjo, and harmonica. He is also a composer and has served as music supervisor for films and TV shows. He is the younger brother of actor/writer Brian Bloom and actor/producer/writer Scott Bloom.
Overexposed is the fourth studio album by American pop band Maroon 5. It was released on June 20, 2012, by A&M Octone Records. The album was recorded between 2011 and 2012 and was driven after the moderate success of their third album, Hands All Over (2010), and later by the enormous success of the re-released edition, which was promoted by the single "Moves Like Jagger", recorded as a collaboration with Christina Aguilera. It is the band's only album not to feature keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and background vocalist Jesse Carmichael, who took a temporary break from performing with the group to focus on his studies and was replaced by musician PJ Morton. The band worked with different producers, such as Max Martin, who serves as the album's executive producer, Ryan Tedder, Shellback and Benny Blanco. Guitarist James Valentine only has four writing credits on the album.
Elizabeth Anne "Z" Berg is an American musician. She was a founding member, guitarist, and lead vocalist of the indie rock group the Like. Berg's father is former Geffen Records A&R exec/record producer Tony Berg.
Rkives is a compilation album released in 2013 by Los Angeles–based band Rilo Kiley.