Where is Incubus from?
This Southern California quintet is originally from Calabasas,
a Los Angeles suburb west of the San Fernando Valley. Ben
Kenney is from New Jersey.
How many albums does Incubus Have?
Incubus has five official releases on Immortal/Epic Records:
Enjoy Incubus (EP)
S.C.I.E.N.C.E
Make Yourself
Morning View
A Crow Left of the Murder
And one independent release: Fungus Amongus
How did Incubus get their name? Hours before their first show, the band was forced
to come up with a band name. After rejecting Dirks' "Chunk
O' Funk" and Brandons' "Spiral Staircase", Mike turned to
a nearby thesaurus. The first word he came to was Incubus,
which means "nightmare" in latin. At 17 years old each,
the band all thought the name sounded cool, so it stuck.
Who is this DJ Lyfe guy I keep reading about?
Well, DJ Lyfe (A.K.A Gavin Koppel) is Incubus' original
DJ. He was a part of the band for two years, then Incubus asked
him to leave, due to certain issues, and replaced him with
Chris Kilmore. DJ Lyfe now goes by "DJ 1987."
What kind of guitar does Mike use?
For the recording of Enjoy Incubus, he used an Ibanez RG570.
Then he finally got some cash form the record company and
bought a Paul Reed Smith guitar for the recording of S.C.I.E.N.C.E
. For Make Yourself, he had custom colored PRS guitars made
for him. He takes three with him on tour. One silver colored
one, one black one he tunes down for the drop D songs, and
a natural colored PRS with two F-holes in it for the acoustic
style stuff. For the Time Lapse and new album material,
he has switched to a Fender Jazzmaster. Take a Look at Mike's
setup on his Bio page.
What are the Incubus albums "Beyond the Unknown"
and "Serpent Temptation"?
Well, there is actually another Incubus out there. This
is death metal, and in our opinion, not very good. There
are alot of people out there trying to sell this as a rare
'Incubus' cd, so be careful. Just make sure you check the
discography pages before you buy anything. We have also
heard rumors that there may be even a third 'Incubus' out
there. But, OUR 'Incubus' has the rights to the name, so
no worries folks, there will not be a name change anytime
soon.
Where did videos for "I Miss
You" and "Summer Romance" come from?
These videos were made by Brett Spivey, visual artist and
a friend of the band's. Summer Romance features artwork
by Jose and Brandon; I Miss You contains Japanese subtitles.
I found this song and heard it was by incubus, but
it doesn't sound like them?
Unless you see it in our
Song Index, you've been had! Be sure to note our list
frequently mis-identified songs.
Where can I find this rare incubus song?
Love Sick
My Soul, The Underground
Sylvester Polyester
The Milkman Song
Mr. Wiggly
These songs are among the bands first works and there are
no recordings of them as far as we know.
Have the members appeared on other bands' songs?
See the Song Index.
Who is the guy on the cover of Enjoy Incubus and
SCIENCE?
Check the section called: Chuck...
Was the girl in the 'Stellar' video really Brandon's'
girlfriend? How about the girl in 'Are You In?'
The girl in the 'Stellar' video is Joan English, Brandon's
girlfriend at the time. His current girlfriend, Carolyn
Murphy, appears in the 'Are You In?' Video.
Are those whales at the beginning of "The Warmth"? Yes. Chris used recordings of whale mating songs
for the intro to the song.
In the secret song (We're Smokin') on When Incubus
Attacks Vol. I, who is the guy Ted they refer to?
Ted is one of their Stage Managers/Tour Managers.
Whatever happened to Jose's glasses?
After the recording of Make Yourself, Jose got rid of his
familiar black-rimmed glasses by having corrective laser
surgery on his eyes.
Who does the Saxophone solo on Anti-Gravity Love
Song?
Jeremy Wasser, he used to play saxophone in the band Hoobustank.
I heard that Mike tried out for some girls band
years ago, any info on this?
When Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger was 17 in 1994 he tried
out for Alanis Morissette's band. Needless to say he didn't
get the part but he did comment about it, "I actually auditioned
for Alanis' band when I was like 17, before she got really
big. I was just like, Oh, this girl singing these songs
. . . and then a few months later it was on the radio, and
I was like, What? Damn, I should've tried harder!"
What's up with the secret track on the ENJOY EP?
The secret track on the Incubus EP, Enjoy Incubus, was recorded
on Mike's brother Ben's birthday. During track, you hear
a "slowed-down" sample of Mike wishing his brother a Happy
Birthday.
What about that backwards message on 'Azwethinkweiz'?
Brandon is saying, "Thursday Night we smoked indica, and
Azwethinkweizm was born"
I heard something about Mike's brother being on
Make Yourself?
Ben also joined his brother Mike during the recording of
the Incubus song, Nowhere Fast. During the intro, when the
distortion begins, there are two guitars. One of them being
the sounds of Ben's PRS.
I know who Vent (Audiovent) is, but I read that
Mike recorded some of their songs, is this true?
Mike recorded the music for the VENT songs Back And Forth
and Remedy at Ben's house on an 8-track recorder.
What is up with the secret track on SCIENCE?
The track is a mix of crazy stuff. Gavin (DJ Lyfe) almost
erased one of the songs while filming. Some of the noises
are beats, bass, guitar, etc etc. There is even an loop
of an old arcade game being played. The title for this "secret
track" is: "Jose loves Kate Moss. Part 1" This, along with
'Magic Medicine' mostly Mike messing around.
I heard something about Brandon getting in a car
accident?Brandon was involved in a major
car crash during the recording of the band's album "Make
Yourself". Ironically, the band had just finished mixing
the song, "Drive."
What does SCIENCE stand for?
It doesn't really stand for anything in particular. They
give a million different things, kinda like the "CHUCK"
thing. They have different stories every time. Here are
some thoughts...
'Sailing Catamarans Is Every Nautical Captain's Ecstacy'
'Social Chronology Includes Everyone: Neanderthals, Cannibals,
Everyone'
'Southern California's Incubus Enters Nevada Carrying Enstruments'
Who did the artwork in the Drive video?
Brandon and Jose, they spent over 50 hours working on it!
I heard something about Brandon and Mike bring in
the Strait Up Video?
Brandon and Mike both appear briefly in the Strait Up video
for "Angels Son."
I may have heard someone on ESPN say Brandon's name,
any idea on this one?
On "NHL 2 Night" on ESPN there was a reference on Wed. 1.18.01...
Host John Buccigross said, "Rob Blake is to the (LA) Kings
what Brandon Boyd is to Incubus." Brandon's name was used
again on subsequent shows.
Were Incubus on some video Dare Devil show?
Incubus was featured on MTV's Senseless Acts of Video, where
a guy really performs computer enhanced stunts, only for
real. On this episode, a man set himself on fire breaking
the world record by 7 seconds, which means 2min 14 sec,
to compare it to Brandon on fire in the Pardon Me video.
I've heard that Incubus has gone into therapy in
the past? Incubus became one of the first bands to employ
mediated "band therapy" before the recording of Make Yourself
and A Crow Left of the Murder. The sessions were designed
to allow the bandmates to come closer and improve the dynamics
of living together on the road.
What is that Oriental Instrument on 'Aqueous Transmission'?
The instrument is called the Pipa, an oriental stringed
instrument that Mike borrowed from Steve Vai. Previously
the band also refered to the instrument as the kyoto and
the ko-kyu.
Is it true that there is a picture of Chuck on the
Morning View Album cover?
It is rumored that he appears on the first 100,000 copies
of the album, but this is totally untrue.
What's With the 10:24 in the 'Warning' vid? How
about 2012 AD?
The number 421 has seemingly become the bands official number,
and 10:24 is 42:01 backwards.
Ancient Mayan Prophecy predicts that the end of the world
will occur at the time of the winter solstice on December
21, 2012 AD.
Somebody told me that Incubus has had to change
the way they write their name? There is a false rumor that the band has had to
change the way they capitalize/write their name after a
bandmember is removed/added. The band is under no such obligation.
Where are the songs,
Police Car
Anything
Puzzle
I Dream of Fiji
Little Cat, Big Litter Box
According to Mike, during the recording of Morning View
there were no tracks cut after being recorded. This means
that these tracks were alternate names or songs that never
progressed to the recording phase. The last was a song made
by Chris and Brandon. The lyrics appear in Brandons book.
Where Can I Get Brandon's Book, A Life Less Lived?
Somebody went and took Brandon a little too seriously here
(see: Brandon's Bio). There actually is an author named Brandon
Boyd with several books to his credit, but it is not the
same person. Brandon has published only one book, White
Fluffy Clouds, in 2003.
What happened to Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich?
At the end of the 2002 Morning View tour, the group made
the decision that Dirk leave the band. The reasons behind
him leaving came down to creative and personal differences.
What is the Time Lapse Consortium?
The Time Lapse Consortium is a side project started by Mike
and Suzie Katayama. Jose, Ben, Neal Evans, Brandon, and
a small orchestra are involved in the group, which plays
its own unique brand of Jazz-Funk.
Battlestar Scralatchtica and J-5 While recording Make Yourself, Incubus shared the
building with the group Jurrasic 5, who were recording their
own album: Quality Control. The two groups spontaneously
collaborated on the track Battlestar Scralatchtica during
a studio improv session, which includes DJ's Nu mark and
Cut Chemist from Jurassic 5. The three DJ's reproduced
their efforts several times on the 2003 Lollapalooza
tour. On J5's track Quality Intro, Brandon can be heard
as the second to last person to say "Quality". The band
can also be seen reproducing the end of J5's Monkey Bars
on the Morning View Sessions DVD.
Nuggets
The first song Mike ever mastered was "Welcome Home
(Sanitarium)" by Metallica.
Jose's favorite artist is Maxfield Parrish; Brandon's is
Mark Ryden. One of their favorite authors is Tom Robbins.
The metaphor "Like a Waking Limb..." in "Nice to Know You"
was inspired by a specific event: one of Brandon's fingers
'fell asleep' for two weeks while on tour.
Longtime tourmates Incubus and System of a Down used to
formally proclaim their enjoyment of marijuanna on the site
"420Bands.com". The band admits to casual, recreational
use of this drug, but claims not to use any others.
At the beginning to the song "Make Yourself" Brandon is
singing through the pick-up of Mike's guitar.
Mike and his bandmates have shown a particular affinity
for several artists throughout their career. During
the recording of their earliest works through SCIENCE, the
band was particularly fond of Mike Patton's bands "Mr. Bungle,"
Primus, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. During the
recording of Make Yourself and Morning View, many of the
guitar parts were inspired by Steve Vai. During the recording
of Morning View, Mike was particularly enthralled by Bjork.
Brandon stated in 2004 that Jeff Buckley is one of his vocal
influences, and the entire band has used The Police as a
muse over the years, which was finally crowned by a performance
with Andy Summers and Steward Copeland in December 2004.
For the recording of Morning View, Incubus took a different
appraoch by renting a mansion on the beaches of Malibu.
The bandmembers drew names for rooms in the giant house,
and spent a summer surfing, recording, and enjoying the
scenery. Frogs inhabiting the area were recorded for use
in the song "Aqueous Transmission", and the album takes
its name from the street on which the house was located.
The sounds of Flea's (from RHCP) trumpet can be heard on
the 3rd Movement of the Odyssey.
Mike, Brandon, and Ben are vegetarians. Specifically, Ben
is a Vegan.
Incubus are friends with Ozzy Osbourne and the Osbourne
family, and have been since performing on their first Ozzfest.
The band can be seen walking with their surfboards briefly
on an episode of MTV's "The Osbournes", collaborated with
Kelly Osbourne for the demo of her cover of "Papa Don't
Preach", and are said to be one of Jack Osbournes favorite
bands.
The Koi fish on the Morning View disc was drawn by Jose,
and also appear on his right and Brandon's right forearm.
I heard _____ rumor about _____ band member, is
it true? This one should go without saying, but
please, dont believe any rumors about the band, bandmembers,
or their personal lives unless you see it here on this site!
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