Maroon 5 – Downtown Magazine

During the fall and winter seasons, you are most likely doing all of your reading indoors, commute included. When the weather gets warmer in New York, reading is something that many people choose to do outdoors, whether at the beach, at a park or on a rooftop. In turn, Downtown has some books to recommend to its readers:

1) Beachside Bohemian: Easy Living By the Sea – A Designer Couple’s Refuge for Family and Friends by Robert Novogratz, Cortney Novogratz & Michelle Billodeau

Well-known to reality TV watchers of HGTV, Robert and Cortney Novogratz known how to redesign living spaces of all kinds. This hardcover book offers up plenty of design tips, no matter the size, locale and/or climate of your home.

2) Salad For President by Julia Sherman

A unique cookbook, Salad For President is a wonderful collection of inventive recipes and conversations with architects, musicians and all sorts of artists. Artist spaces all over the world are visited by Julia, as Laurie Anderson, photographer Willie Wegman, The Boredoms’ Shinji Masuko, and ceramicist Yui Tsujimura all participated.

3) Hal David: His Magic Moments: There Is Always Something There to Remind Me by Eunice David

Hal David co-wrote some of the biggest love songs of all time, including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” “There Is Always Something There To Remind Me,” and “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before.” Hal’s wife Eunice has written a book in tribute to her late husband, offering insight into how some of his biggest hits were written and what it was like being married to the legendary lyricist.

4) Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol by Steve Jones

It is often said that without The Sex Pistols, there would be no punk rock, and as the founding guitarist of The Sex Pistols, a lot of rock music’s roots go back to Steve Jones. In this memoir, the host of Jonesy’s Jukebox covers all facets of his life — he has done plenty as a musician, producer, actor and host since the Pistols disbanded for the first time in the late 1970s — and fortunately, for our entertainment, he writes just like he speaks.

5) Meat On The Side: Delicious Vegetable-Focused Recipes For Every Day by Nikki Dinki

Chef Nikki Dinki has a major fanbase as a result of her many appearances on television. But unlike many chefs, she has a wonderful story about learning how to eat well. Meat On The Side isn’t preaching for anyone to become a vegetarian — quite the opposite — but it does show how anyone can easily start eating more vegetables and wind up loving it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SodcS-WDroY

6) Toys “4” Cheap: The Magic Of Toys Will Shut Up Your Child by Asterios Kokkinos & Jimmy Hasse

Asterios Kokkinos is a prolific podcaster and writer, and this faux-catalog has hundreds of jokes within its 56 pages. Anyone who read toy catalogs — or even classified ads — during their formative years will love the attention to detail shown in Toys “4” Cheap. As an aside, Asterios’ followers on Patreon can get a podcast made exclusively for them.

7) From Cradle To Stage: Stories From The Mothers Who Rocked And Raised Rock Stars by Virginia Hanlon Grohl

As the mother of Foo Fighters founder (and Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl, Virginia Hanlon Grohl helped raise one of rock’s biggest names. For this book, Virginia speaks to the mothers of Dr. Dre, Amy Winehouse, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, The Beastie Boys’ Mike D, and the Haim sisters, sharing a lot of heart-warming tales in the process. And of course Dave wrote the book’s foreword.

8) Total Excess: Photographs By Michael Zagaris edited by Dagon James

California native and photographer Michael Zagaris photographed nearly every big name in rock that came through San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s, including The Clash, The Grateful Dead, Blondie, Eric Clapton, and Led Zeppelin. This collection — which awesomely-features Lou Reed on the cover — contains a lot of previously-unseen work and is said to be the first in a series of collaborations between Michael and Reel Art Press.

9) The Complete History Of Black Sabbath: What Evil Lurks by Joel Mciver

Black Sabbath may have recently wrapped its farewell tour, but the British quartet remains popular as ever in 2017. This coffee table book looks beautiful, containing over 150 photos within its glossy pages. The whole pre-farewell history of Black Sabbath is tracked in What Evil Lurks, which contains a foreword from Machine Head’s Robb Flynn.

10) Slayer: Repentless #1 by Jon Schnepp & Guiu Vilanova

If Black Sabbath isn’t as heavy as your metal goes, then check out the debut comic from the band Slayer. The story was based on Slayer music videos. Available in print, Kindle and comiXology formats; beyond this comic series, the band will be on tour with Lamb Of God and Behemoth this summer.

A Chicago native who studied music at the University of Southern California, Ross Golan has worked with many of music’s biggest artists. His credits include Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Michael Bublé, Keith Urban, One Direction, Idina Menzel, and Linkin Park. Ross has also had multiple record deals as an artist, and is the writer of Ovation Award-winning musical The Wrong Man, which will soon be recorded and released by Interscope Records.

Those credits would be enough for most artists, but Ross is also the host of the And The Writer Is podcast. Launched in January, And The Writer Is — as produced by fellow hitmaker Joe London (Thomas Rhett, Jason Derulo, Pitbull) — features exclusive conversations with other notable songwriters. The first episode, for example, featured Benny Blanco, as known for his work on Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t,” Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok,” Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” In turn, listeners get to hear great creative minds talking shop and plenty more.

Ross can be followed on Twitter via @RossGolan, while more on his podcast can be found at www.andthewriteris.com.

How did you wind up in the co-writing game? When did you realize it exists?

Ross Golan: There are two kinds of songwriters — the ones that were artists and the ones that want to be artists. Both Joe and I were in bands. We had been collaborating with other musicians for years but you get in the game when someone introduces you to the game. For me, it was Evan Bogart and Ryan Tedder. Evan, who wrote “SOS” for Rihanna and “Halo” for Beyoncé, was my booking agent and Ryan, lead singer of OneRepublic, and I played shows around L.A. While I was handing out CDs at shows one club at a time, their songs were getting played around the world. Songs tour faster.

What was your first cut that had you excited?

RG: I co-wrote a song called “Here Comes Trouble” for the band Honor Society. They were opening for the Jonas Brothers during their prime arena days. They named their headlining tour Here Comes Trouble. That was like getting called up to the pros from the minors and pinch hitting a single. In itself, it didn’t move the needle much. But it assured me that with enough at bats, I might be able to hit one out.

When it comes to songwriting, do you treat it like a day job where you can do it anytime? Or do you need to feel inspired?

RG: Amateurs look for inspiration. If you’re an artist, you can do whatever you want. But if you want to be a professional writer, act like one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NSZ2-aajsI

How many songs a month do you write on average?

RG: Depends on the month. Anywhere from one to twenty. But never zero.

What was the impetus for this podcast? Has there been a highlight for you so far?

RG: I have a book that everyone signs at the end of a session. It’s basically my yearbook. It has signatures from Bon Jovi to Michael Buble and Lamont Dozier to Max Martin. These people are fascinating. What are the odds that a kid from the north suburbs of Chicago would end up in a room with them? I suppose that’s the question I’m trying to answer. So, in that sense, all of the interviews are highlights.

Podcast aside, what’s coming up for you career-wise?

RG: The Wrong Man, my musical, signed to Interscope at the end of last year. We’ll be recording it this summer. That’s a 15-year project that keeps on ticking.

When not busy with music, how do you like to spend your free time?

RG: I’m a husband. I have a pug. I play ice hockey and golf. I eat. I drink. I feel like there’s a concept in all that.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?

RG: Morimoto, if you’re paying.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

RG: The ONLY thing in the music industry that matters is a hit song. You get that, and all of the other things will follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHTzhBKTFug