Long before “The Voice” and fully-packed stadium tours, Adam Levine was just a young, wide-eyed rocker chasing a dream, with no tattoos in sight, only a hoodie, a shy smile, and the kind of hunger that shapes legends.
In July 2003, Levine was photographed backstage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles hanging out with fellow rising rock star John Mayer.
At the time, Maroon 5 was opening for the John Mayer/Counting Crows tour, and these now-iconic music legends were beginning to make waves. The photos, filled with early 2000s nostalgia, show the two bonding in front of the snack table, baby faces and all.
Mayer & Levine’s Friendship Dates Back to Berklee Days
Their friendship goes even deeper than that tour. Mayer and Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine first met in 1996 while attending summer school at Berklee College of Music.
That connection laid the groundwork for a friendship between Mayer & Levine that’s lasted decades.
Before the fame and flashing lights, it was just two guys, a stage, and a shared love of music.
Some friendships are indeed louder than the applause.
Why Adam Levine Is Done Getting Tattoos
(Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC)Fast forward to today, and Adam Levine’s transformation is jaw-dropping. Once ink-free, the pop-rock star is now known for his full-body tattoo art. But recently, he admitted he’s pumping the brakes on new ink.
“I covered up my sleeve with another sleeve. Who does that? What is wrong with me? Psychotic,” Levine joked to TODAY. “It really hurt. I’m kind of done with the pain…Now, when I get a tattoo, I’m like, ‘This hurts so badly.’ Like, ‘What’s wrong?’ We’re done.”
Inside the Love Song He Wrote for Wife Behati Prinsloo
(Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)Levine also opened up about the inspiration behind his new single, “Priceless,” which was written for his wife, model Behati Prinsloo.
“It was the first song that I wrote for the album,” he told People in April. “It’s just this really fun, summery, chill vibe song that always felt really good.”
“The song kind of, you know, being about my wife, was the first song out the gates that felt good, felt positive, really positive, and fun,” he continued. “It’s hard to explain, but it just instantly hit me.”
“I thought, well, if it instantly hit me, obviously it could hit everybody else.”
From backstage snacks to Berklee to love songs and ink, Levine & Mayer’s journeys have been anything but ordinary, and it all started with a hoodie & a guitar.
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See Adam Levine & John Mayer In Major Throwback Pic Over 20 Years Ago