Incubus
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell; both of whom were eventually replaced by bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore respectively.
Incubus has received critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching multi-platinum sales, as well as releasing several successful singles. The band earned mainstream recognition with the release of their 1999 album Make Yourself. In 2001, Incubus became even more successful with the single "Drive" and their follow-up album Morning View. Their sixth studio album, Light Grenades, debuted at No. 1 in 2006 and has received Gold certification in the U.S. Incubus released their first greatest hits album Monuments and Melodies in June 2009, accompanied by a tour of the United States, Japan and Canada. The band's most recent album, If Not Now, When?, was released on July 12, 2011.
Incubus has received critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching multi-platinum sales, as well as releasing several successful singles. The band earned mainstream recognition with the release of their 1999 album Make Yourself. In 2001, Incubus became even more successful with the single "Drive" and their follow-up album Morning View. Their sixth studio album, Light Grenades, debuted at No. 1 in 2006 and has received Gold certification in the U.S. Incubus released their first greatest hits album Monuments and Melodies in June 2009, accompanied by a tour of the United States, Japan and Canada. The band's most recent album, If Not Now, When?, was released on July 12, 2011.
Albums
Fungus Amongus(1991- 1997) Incubus was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, bassist Alex Katunich and drummer Jose Pasillas, while the
members were in high school. They existed as a band for some time before they
gave themselves a name, having only chosen the band's name 'Incubus' when
required to supply a band name for an upcoming show. The band's early shows
were frequently at nightclubs on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, including
such well-known venues as the Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy and the
Troubadour.
Incubus
produced many of their early recordings with Jim Wirt and Chillum Records in a
Santa Monica studio, only able to work on their music during hours in which
they were not in school. In 1995, Incubus added Gavin Koppell (known by
his stage name DJ Lyfe) to the band and recorded their first two song EP, Let Me Tell
Ya 'Bout Root Beer. This was followed by the debut album Fungus Amongus, also
recorded with Wirt and released on Incubus' own label Stopuglynailfungus
Music. After the release of Fungus Amongus, Incubus signed with Immortal Records, later to
become Epic Records.
The 1997 six-track EP Enjoy Incubus
was the band's first major-label release and was created so the band could
represent a recording while touring with Korn in Europe.
Make Yourself(1999-2001) Due to the success of "Pardon Me", Make Yourself reached Gold certification (500,000 copies sold) in April 2000. Incubus continued to tour overseas, and returned home at the end of May to go on a tour of the United States with longtime friends 311. "Stellar," the next single from the album was soon released, and its video received afternoon airplay on MTV and TRL, becoming a success on Modern Rock Chart. In July, Incubus was once again on the Ozzfest bill, until the late summer.
On January 15, 2001, the band released "Drive," the fourth single from Make Yourself after "Privilege" was released (which then went to the top 20 where it stayed at No.3 for 6 weeks.) It moved quickly up to the top of the Modern Rock Charts, eventually hitting the No.1 spot. The single was a success and helped the band break into the mainstream. The single eventually reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. A Crow Left of The Murder...(2003-2004) On January 6, 2003, the band began writing for their next record. The next month, on February 7, the band began to renegotiate 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 three 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 Dirk Lance'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 vs. 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.
Hiatus and Greatest Hits(2008-2009) In April 2008 the band took a break from touring and recording while its members concentrated on school, family and other activities. Brandon Boyd enrolled in a university art program in Los Angeles, while guitarist Mike Einziger went to Harvard music school to study composition. Drummer José Pasillas was also "having a baby, so there's a lot of normal life stuff going on right now—school, babies, mortgages," Boyd said. "I'm of the mind to say it wouldn't be a bad thing to disappear for a year or two years," he said. "A lot of people would say culture moves too fast and you need to remind people, but I would argue there's not any rush."
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S.C.I.E.N.C.E(1997- 1998) S.C.I.E.N.C.E., Incubus'
second studio album, was released on September 9, 1997. After their album
release, they started opening for bands such as Korn and 311.
In February, 1998, Incubus dismissed
Koppel. They decided that with him in the band they could no longer be a
productive family. A friend recommended Chris Kilmore to fill the position. The
band enjoyed Kilmore's style and attitude to life and asked him to join the
band. Incubus participated in Ozzfest
and Family Values
Tour concerts and toured with System of a Down and Ultraspank during the
fall. DJ Kilmore (first name Chris) replaced DJ Lyfe.
Morning View(2001-2002) On October 23, 2001, the band released their fourth 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 Billboard's Modern Rock charts. Morning View debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at the No.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 No.2 on the Modern Rock Charts, and "Drive" sat at No.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 No.4 on modern rock charts, and Morning View was No.38 on top 200.
Light Grenades(2005-2008) On August 1, 2006, the band announced that album number six, Light Grenades, was soon to be released and that it was being produced by Brendan O'Brien. A few weeks afterward, the release date was confirmed to be Tuesday, November 28. Upon release, Light Grenadesdebuted No.1 on the Billboard 200, 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.
If Not NOw, WHen?(2011-2012) After the release of singer Brandon Boyd's first solo album, The Wild Trapeze on July 6, 2010, it was announced that Incubus would head back into the studio to begin writing and recording a new studio album, to be released on July 12. The band played a handful of South American tour dates in October 2010, also debuting a new song "Surface to Air."Incubus announced in March 2011 that the new album was complete and would be released in "August or September" according to Brandon Boyd. Boyd also stated that "this new record is different from anything that we've done."
On April 2, 2011, band manager Steve Rennie confirmed that the new album has been named, If Not Now, When?. It was released on July 12, 2011. The album's lead single is "Adolescents" and it was posted on the band's website on April 4, 2011. |