Incubus Members:
Brandon Boyd
Mike Einziger
Jose Pasillas
Chris Kilmore
Ben Kenney
Incubus is a five-piece alternative rock band based out of Calabasas, California. The band has enjoyed great success over their sixteen-year career, with singles like "Drive", "Are You In?", "Wish You Were Here", "Megalomaniac", "Talk Shows on Mute", "Anna Molly", "Pardon Me", "Warning" and "Dig" making them household names in today's musical climate. Incubus enjoyed multi-platinum album success with albums such as 1999's Make Yourself , 2001's Morning View and 2004's A Crow Left of the Murder. Incubus released their latest studio effort Light Grenades on November 28, 2006. On release, the album went straight to the top of the charts in the United States due to the success of first single "Anna-Molly". Their new hits include "Dig","Love Hurts", and "Oil & Water".
Beginnings and Fungus Amongus
Vocalist Brandon Boyd, drummer Jose Pasillas, and guitarist Mike Einziger met at various points in Calabasas High School. At the age of fifteen, they formed the band with bassist Alex Katunich. After being booed offstage at their first show under the name The Kansas City Shuffle, Mike found the word "incubus" in a thesaurus, and adopted it as the band's new name (the word is actually the name for a mythological demon that is believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women). Incubus immediately began writing music and started to play more and more frequently, graduating from parties to small clubs. While in the 11th grade, Mike found a $100 bill on the ground, and with that money, the band did their first "Pay to Play" gig in Hollywood at the Roxy. They also performed at dozens of shows at other sunset strip clubs such as the Whisky and The Troubadour. Many of these performances were sold out. Before producing "Fungus Amongus" the group recorded a three song demo tape titled "Closet Cultivation," which including the songs "Pillow my eyes," "Bathe in my Snot," and an early version of the song "Speak Free." Due to a personal problem it is speculated Brandon didn't wash his face for six weeks. In 1993, Incubus met Jim Wirt, a local record producer and musician. Wirt offered two record demos for the band during unbooked studio times and the band recorded their first album, (a compilation of the demos they had recorded between 1992-1994) the funk-based Fungus Amongus. However, due to lack of label interest, Incubus released their first full length album on their own label, with Einziger paying for the first pressing of 1,000 disks out of his own pocket.
Throughout 1994 Incubus were regular performers at the now closed San Fernando Valley music club "Mancini's", often playing all-ages free Sunday night shows known as "Club Engine Sludge". They also were on the bill for a sold-out show that featured the bands Skinflint and headliner Unwritten Law.
In 1995, Gavin Koppell saw the band play and asked if they would be interested in using some of his tracks, which incorporated the use of turntables. Gavin joined full-time after his first rehearsal. Shortly thereafter, Incubus' unusual amalgamation of styles and high-energy shows, combined with its growing fan base, attracted labels and put the band in the enviable position of a bidding war. Incubus finally landed a record deal with Immortal/Epic Records. Touring throughout 1996, Incubus established themselves as a top draw live act, gaining a dedicated following all over the United States. To start off the new year, Immortal Records released Incubus' EP entitled Enjoy Incubus on January 7, 1997. The EP featured re-recordings of four tracks from Fungus Amongus, plus two recently written tracks. These were the first recordings to include the newly acquired Gavin Koppell a.k.a. 'DJ Lyfe'. After the release of Enjoy Incubus, the band completed several mini-tours in its support. Their first major tour was with Korn in Europe.
S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
S.C.I.E.N.C.E., Incubus' second studio album, was released on September 9, 1997. "We like it when our stuff sounds as weird as possible," said Mike. "When we signed our record deal and started working on this album, we were worried that someone would come along and tell us to hold back, and try and make our songs a little more palatable. But that never happened. They kinda just said, 'Do whatever you want'. With that kind of support, we just let everything kind of run wild." Said Brandon Boyd, "S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was done in six weeks, straight through, at 4th Street Recording. Very different experience, but very important on this band’s existence."
True to form, Incubus was asked to play a handful of dates with 311 in support of the album. They had only expected to tour with them for 2 weeks, but things went well and 311 asked them to stay on for the remainder of the tour, totaling six weeks of arena-level shows.
In February of 1998, the band asked Gavin Koppell to leave the band due to personal and creative differences. Their attorney, Todd Cooper, recommended they check out Chris Kilmore of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to fill Gavin's position. Mike Einziger said that "After letting go of Gavin, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to acquire another member into the band, but then we met Chris and my opinion instantly changed." The band loved his style and attitudes on life, and asked him to join the band permanently. After a very productive first tour with the band Far, Incubus began tours with many other bands such as System of a Down and Black Sabbath, and participated in festivals such as Ozzfest and the Warped Tour.
Make Yourself
After constant touring throughout 1998, and after selling over 100,000 copies of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. without the support of radio or MTV, Incubus then took some time off to record their new album Make Yourself.
After just 2 weeks in the studio with producer Jim Wirt, the band was unhappy with the recordings and opted to continue recording without a producer. After another 3 weeks of recording, REM/Nirvana producer Scott Litt took an interest in their songs and started taking part in the recording sessions, mainly focusing on songs like Drive and Stellar. According to the band, Scott's involvement in the record came mostly during the mixing process.
Make Yourself was released on October 26, 1999. Right after their album's release, the band went on tour with Primus and Buckethead, a tour which lasted for the remainder of the year. The first song that kicked off the album, "Privilege," was featured on MTV Sports: Pure Ride for the PSX. The band also released the single, "Pardon Me," but it was initially not well-received by radio stations. Brandon and Mike decided to perform a live acoustic version of the song at the few radio stations who were showing interest, and this in turn spread the word of the song. Many radio stations began to play the acoustic version, including the highly influential Los Angeles radio giant KROQ.
With sparked interest in the song, radio stations began playing the studio version of "Pardon Me." In response, Incubus made a video for the song and released a six song EP titled When Incubus Attacks (Vol. 1) on August 22, 2000. The EP contained the acoustic version of "Pardon Me." In its first week, the EP sold nearly 40,000 copies, and scored #41 on the Billboard Album Charts. To start off 2000, the band headed out on Tour with System of a Down, and Mr. Bungle until March, at which point they embarked on a headline tour in clubs until April.
Due to the success of "Pardon Me," Make Yourself hit Gold Status (500,000 copies sold) in April of 2000. Incubus continued to tour overseas, and returned home at the end of May to go on a tour of the United States with long time friends 311. "Stellar," the next single from the album was soon released, and its video received afternoon airplay on MTV and TRL, becoming a huge success on Modern Rock Chart. In July, Incubus were once again on the Ozzfest bill, until the late summer.
The band then took a short break after finishing the Ozzfest 2000 Tour, playing two acoustic shows at Artist Direct Studios. On October 5, 2000, Make Yourself went Platinum (1,000,000 copies sold), and shortly after, the band went on tour with Deftones. The band re-released Fungus Amongus on November 7, 2000.
On January 15, 2001, the band released "Drive," the third single from Make Yourself. It moved quickly up to the top of the Modern Rock Charts, eventually hitting the #1 spot. The single also found a more mainstream audience and received enough rotation to hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Morning View
The band took a break during the first part of 2001 before heading to a beautiful beachside mansion in Malibu, California, to record their follow-up album, which would later become known as Morning View.
They hit the road with Hundred Reasons in Europe from June until the first week of July. At this time, the band was invited to play with the Area Festival, which featured Moby, Outkast, The Roots, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, and Nelly Furtado. Also, in July, Make Yourself was certified double Platinum, selling 2 million copies. In August, the band got to play their first shows in Australia and Japan, before returning to the United States to begin their long-awaited headlining tour with their long-time friends from California, Hoobastank. Meanwhile, the band's video for "Drive" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best Group Video.
Continuing to tour, Incubus released their first single, "Wish You Were Here", from their upcoming record, Morning View, on August 21, 2001. The single instantly began to climb up the Modern Rock charts, reaching #2 by early September. The music video was released at the end of that month, after being re-cut to make it more viewable in the wake of the 9/11 disaster. The video earned viewings on MTV's TRL, VH1, and MuchMusic.
On October 23, 2001, the band released their third full-length major label album. The name was taken from the street on which the band's recording studio was situated. Incubus continued to headline dates after its release, and "Wish You Were Here" continued to sit among the top 10 on Billboards Modern Rock Charts. Morning View debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at the #2 spot (266,000 copies were sold in its first week). This was the highest ever placement for Incubus. At the same time, "Wish You Were Here" was at #2 on the Modern Rock Charts, and "Drive" sat at #48 on the Hot 100 chart. The band won an award for Billboard's Modern Rock Single of the Year for "Drive". By December, Morning View was certified platinum, "Wish You Were Here" was #4 on modern rock charts, and Morning View was #38 on top 200.
On December 11, Incubus released When Incubus Attacks (Vol. 2), a DVD that featured music videos for "Take Me to Your Leader", "A Certain Shade of Green", "Pardon Me", "Stellar", "Drive", "I Miss You", and "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity)", live footage, backstage video, and more.
To begin 2002, Incubus was #9 with "Drive", #12 with "Stellar", #20 with "Wish You Were Here", #75 with "Nice To Know You" and #31 with the album Morning View. On January 24, 2002, MTV's TRL premiered the "Nice to Know You" video, and Boyd called in from Europe where the band was on tour with 311 and Hoobastank. The band was then featured on MTV's Becoming, TRL, The Tonight Show, and played the Letterman show on February 14, 2002, all before heading off to play dates in Japan and Australia for the remainder of February and March. While in Sydney, the band shot the video for their next single, "Warning", from March 7 until March 11. The band then released the DVD Morning View Sessions on May 28, shortly before playing the Weenie Roast on June 8 for KROQ. To start off the fall months, Incubus released a single for "Circles" in early September (though this was a radio only single), and there were no plans for a video. Shortly after in September and October, the band went out for a long United States tour that began on August 31 in Reno, Nevada.
Incubus issued a limited edition version of Morning View on October 1 to coincide with their fall headlining tour. The new version of the album contained a DVD dubbed the "Morning After View Session". It featured the U.K. video for the group's track "Are You In?", tour footage, new artwork, behind the scenes material, and more. Incubus' last performance in 2002 (on November 1) brought several eras for the band to a close. Their last show of the tour would be their last show touring behind 2001's Morning View, as the band looked on to playing new music. The show would also prove to be their last with bass player Alex Katunich, who left the band due to personal differences.
Katunich was quietly replaced by former The Roots guitarist Ben Kenney, who began working with Einziger on new songs for a psychedelic funk project called Time-Lapse Consortium. Incubus ended the year on the charts, having "Wish You Were Here" (#10), "Warning" (#16), and "Nice To Know You" (#26) on the Alternative Rock Format Chart, joining "Wish You Were Here" (#25) and "Nice To Know You" (#36). Morning View was the 40th best selling album of 2002.
A Crow Left of the Murder...
On January 6, 2003, the band began writing for their next record.
They were also featured on MuchMusic's "Celebrity Taste Maker" on January 24. Einziger, Kenney and Pasillas appeared at the Roxy Theatre on January 24 with Suzi Katayama and Time Lapse Consortium. The act, which featured an 11 piece orchestra, also included Neal Evans of Soulive. Suzi Katayama had worked with Incubus in the past on orchestral arrangements, specifically, in "Aqueous Transmission" and 2000s Almost Acoustic X-Mas performance. The show was the first performance of the group, which described its music as "an instrumental voyage into the world of psychedelic funk." On February 7, the band began renegotiations on their record contract.
The band, which had been signed to Epic/Immortal for seven years, cited the fact that state law limits the amount of time that an artist can be bound to a company. The band had been signed to the label for 7 years, and used California's "Seven Years Law" as a negotiating tool with Epic/Immortal. After releasing 3 highly successful albums, the band had been compensated poorly compared to the revenue that they had generated for Sony. The band entered a lawsuit against their label in order to break from their contract, to which Sony responded with a lawsuit of their own.
On March 1, Einziger, along with Scott Litt, Dave Holdredge, and Rick Will, was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Engineered Album (Non Classical)" category, for their work on Morning View. On April 3, after weeks of circulating rumors about Alex Katunich's departure from the band, an official announcement was made by the band. A decision had been reached amongst members of Incubus in a face-to-face meeting at the end of the Morning View tour to discuss his involvement in the band. The band said that the split had become necessary due to "irreconcilable creative differences".
Almost immediately after the announcement of a new bass player, the 2003 Incubus v. Sony case had been settled. The two sides settled on a new contract that delivers three albums to Epic/Immortal with an option on a fourth. The first album would be worth $8 million in advances to the band, with another $2.5 million for each one thereafter.
In the summer of 2003, the band was booked to play the newly resurrected Lollapalooza circuit alongside Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, Jurassic 5, and Queens of the Stone Age. On this tour, they debuted two new songs, "Megalomaniac" and "Pistola". In October, the band released Live at Lollapalooza, whose proceeds went to their Make Yourself Foundation.
The album featured the song "Pistola", which hadn't been released at the time. After its release the band set out to play the 17th annual Bridge School Benefit on October 25 and 26th at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. Neil Young organized the annual concert, which aides the Bridge School in its outreach to children with severe speech and physical impairments. Incubus performed the acoustic show along with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Willie Nelson, Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, Wilco, Dashboard Confessional, and others. "A Crow Left of the Murder" and "Talk Shows on Mute" were debuted during the acoustic event.
By December the new album, which was recorded at Southern Tracks Recording Studios in Atlanta, GA and was produced by Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine) was completed and scheduled for release. Titled A Crow Left of the Murder..., was to be an enhanced CD with behind-the-scenes video. In the videos, Einziger and Boyd discussed their new songs. Einziger described them as "like the old shit, but older. It's very different. It's very energetic and fast, and a lot of it is more technical. I guess maybe in the vein of more of our older songs; they don't sound like our older songs. They are more exploratory."
On December 15, 2003, the first single, "Megalomaniac", was released. It raised controversy when it was said to be an attack on the Bush administration, and was banned from daytime view on MTV (despite the band saying that it was not an attack on a particular person, rather a comment on some people's negative attitudes). However, the band was actually pleased with this nighttime viewing restriction. Says Boyd, “When we heard our video had been relegated to late night rotation, I think that all of us were secretly like, ‘Yes!’ ”. Pasillas reflected Boyd's sentiments, saying, "I think it's okay if people think that we're trying to make a political statement. Whatever anyone conjures up or takes from our music is good; I mean, our point is to get people thinking."
A Crow Left of the Murder... was released in 2004, showcasing a new turn for the band. It combined the more experimental leanings of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and Fungus Amongus with the mainstream rock of Make Yourself and Morning View.
The second single released was "Talk Shows on Mute", featuring a video that was inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm. After this release, Incubus hit the road again. As both "Talk Shows on Mute" and the earlier single, "Megalomaniac", reflect, Incubus' new album was a very politically oriented album. It reflected many of the band's political views, stressing critical thought, independence from the media, and nonviolence. Said Boyd during an interview in Lisbon, Portugal, "I think that the concept of war is archaic to a fault; it's completely outdated, and we need a new way of resolving dilemmas in the world."
Incubus toured worldwide in 2004 with many bands, including Ben Kweller, The Walkmen, Hundred Reasons, The Music, Brand New and Sparta, to promote their new album. One song left off the album, the 27-minute long instrumental entitled "The Odyssey", was later featured on soundtrack for the Xbox game Halo 2.
In November 2004, the band released a live DVD entitled Alive at Red Rocks, filmed in Red Rocks Park, Colorado, during their world tour for A Crow Left of the Murder.... Along with the DVD came a bonus CD featuring five tracks, including a studio version of live favorite "Pantomime", "Follow" (a lyrical version, different from the First Movement of the Odyssey version), and the U.K. B-Side "Monuments and Melodies". Two live tracks were also included.
In December 2004, at a gig in Los Angeles the band played The Police hits "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", "Message in a Bottle" & "Roxanne" with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers from the former band. This follows performances of the songs at most shows throughout the fall.
Light Grenades
In the spring of 2005, the band went back into the studio with Brendan O'Brien. Three new songs were released in late July 2005 as part of the soundtrack album to the Sony film Stealth. The track "Make a Move", was released to radio in late May, and song reached #17 (Modern Rock Charts) and #19 (Mainstream Rock Charts). Fan reaction towards "Make a Move" was lukewarm, but the other two new songs, "Admiration" and "Neither of Us Can See" (a duet with Chrissie Hynde), seemed to be much more well-liked. A fourth song is said to have been recorded, but there has been no word on the details of the song.
In January 2006, the first of a series of Incubus podcasts was released by the band via internet. Among other things, the podcast featured the band's thoughts about their 2005 South American tour, some information on their new album, a mash-up of "Drive" and Tupac's "Better Dayz", a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", and a few live interludes.
In May 2006, the second Incubus podcast was released via internet. It contained many live covers of other bands, the favorite among many fans being the cover of Alice in Chains' "Would?". It also stated that many titles for the new album were being considered. Jose Pasillas, Incubus' drummer, jokingly said it could be titled "Jose and the Silhouettes". In November 2006, a third Incubus podcast was released and it featured Brandon and Mike providing commentary to tracks on the album as they listened to it.
On August 1, 2006, their latest album was confirmed to be titled Light Grenades and to be produced by Brendan O'Brien. A few weeks afterwards, the release date was confirmed to be Tuesday, November 28. Light Grenades debuted #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time Incubus has ever sat atop the album charts, despite only selling 165,000 copies (their lowest debut for an album since Make Yourself) in the first week.
In November, Incubus played two exclusive European shows in Berlin and London. These were both in less than 2000 capacity venues — a special occasion for the band and the fans (due to Incubus's mainstream success, the band now usually plays at large arenas worldwide). The band used these shows to showcase new material from Light Grenades.
Incubus has just completed their tour around the United States and Canada to support this album with Albert Hammond, Jr. A worldwide tour will begin in March and dates have been confirmed in Iceland, Portugal, Israel, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Ireland, United Kingdom (including a three-night stand at Brixton Academy, London), Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
The band will play mostly smaller theaters during its early year run, a decision that was intentional on the group's part, guitarist Mike Einziger told Billboard.com in October, 2006: "We haven't played theaters in a very, very long time, and we just decided it was a really good time in our career to kind of just step back. We were playing in these massive arenas for, like, the last five years, and it was fun, but it just seems like it needs to be small again, and special for us."[1]
On December 27, 2006, Incubus launched the "I Dig Incubus" contest, in which participants cut together clips of the band performing their single "Dig," to form a complete music video. On February 1, 2007, five finalists were announced for the "I Dig Incubus" contest. In a video interview on Blender, bassist and vocalist Ben Kenney said, "It's almost something that will happen whether or not we want to do it. People will make their own videos for songs. It's kind of a cool way for us to get together with fans out there who are artistic.
