Travis SchneiderMaroon 5 will launch their Red Pill Blues tour at the end of this month, but guitarist James Valentine says when it comes to making up the setlist, the group has an unusual problem: They simply have too many hits.
Speaking about the band’s latest single, “Wait,” James tells ABC Radio, “We’ve just recently found out that’s our 17th top 10 Billboard song, which is crazy! So we basically have a full set list of just singles, and singles that have done well and entered the public’s consciousness.”
James says the issue now is trying to figure out how to cram enough hits into the set to please casual fans, while also catering to the needs of their ride-or-die longtime fans.
“It becomes a real challenge to balance, ‘OK, we’ve gotta play those singles’ — there’s certain songs that fans are always gonna wanna hear — but we also wanna make the more hardcore fans happy by playing some of the deeper cuts,” James explains. “But, y’know, there’s only so much time in the set!”
As for their latest hit, “Wait,” it’s about about a guy who’s apologizing to his girl and asking her to come back to him. Judging from the lyrics, it sort of sounds like he’s gone as far as disrupting the girl’s wedding — Adam Levine sings, “Dirty looks from your mother/Never seen you in a dress that color, no/It’s a special occasion/Not invited but I’m glad I made it.”
“I mean, I think this is pretty familiar territory for Maroon 5….this sort of like ‘I screwed up, give me another chance’ [thing],” notes James. “I think we’ve all felt like that at certain points.”
Maroon 5’s Red Pill Blues tour kicks off May 30 in Tacoma, WA.
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