In 1996 the known today as Maroon 5 was a Las Angeles , California grunge band made up of singer Adam Levine , guitarist Jesse Carmichael , percussionist Ryan Dusick , and bassist Michael `` Micky '' Madden , in which who are all in the band today except for Dusick . Maroon 5 is an American rock band from Los Angeles , California . While they were in high school , lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine , keyboardist Jesse Carmichael , bass guitarist Mickey Madden , and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara 's Flowers and released one album in 1997 .