incubus
Brandon Boyd—vocals/percussion Mike Einziger—guitars
Dirk Lance—bass José Pasillas—drums
DJ Chris Kilmore—turntables
THE BIO
by Brandon Boyd
As I was being lifted from the heap of twisted steel that was my car, I
asked myself, "Am I dead?"
Then, realizing that I was still very much alive, I looked up at my
heroes--the rest of my band, Incubus--as they lifted me to the curb, and
asked, "What song are you guys mixing?"
"Drive," they replied, after individual pauses for irony. And the record
continued to be mixed an hour later.
Now, no one likes having a one-ton Mercedes smash into them, and I am
no exception. But thankfully I am not gonna be needing that car anymore!
For we, Incubus--a five-piece musical outfit from Calabasas,
California--will be on tour in support of our new Immortal/Epic album,
Make Yourself, for the remainder of our twenties! And any vehicles that
try to collide will feel the wrath of a 40-foot tour bus, as opposed to a
mere Honda Civic.
When we come home, we will have sold 10 million copies; will have
played 500 live shows; will never want to see each other again; will have
changed the musical tastes and philosophical perspectives (for better or
worse) of an entire generation of youngsters; and will have bulging,
curvacious abdomens from years of truckstop dining and beer-guzzling
escapades!
Why Make Yourself, you ask? Well, even though we finally succumbed to
the forbidden urge to name your album after one of the songs, we did so
because we felt the song (and phrase) "Make Yourself" summed up the
vibe of the album and direction of its lyrical content. "Make Yourself,"
meaning don't let yourself be made. Not the "Make Yourself'" that your
dad may have taught you, but more along the lines of
"F**k-the-man-get-out-from-under-the-iron-fist-of-oppresion-
make-yourself!"
Know what I mean?
This new record also attests to the fact that as musicians, Incubus has
found happiness and contentment in being a hard rock band that didn't
feel the need to be the hardest, with the most strings tuned down, with the
riffs that made the crowds bounce the highest.
All of that is good and fun but I believe that, upon finishing this record,
Incubus has come to terms with where and what we always wanted to be
as a band: heavy, melodic, diverse, plugged-in yet detached,
thought-provoking, thought-out but spontaneous, observational, silly, and
slightly intelligent.
Yes, I realize that this is about as nebulous a description as a band could
give itself--but I believe that interpretations of things artistic are best left
up to those interpreting from the outside in.
A Brief History
Formed Incubus in a garage in Calabasas in January, 1991. Began
playing small clubs and parties, then graduated to Hollywood gigs
opening for ego/hair bands. Released independent record entitled
Fungus-Amongus and began making waves. Got signed about two years
out of high school. Put out a six-song EP of demos, Enjoy Incubus
(Immortal/Epic), and went on tour with Korn in Europe.
First full-length album, S.C.I.E.N.C.E., released September 1997
(Immortal/Epic). Toured behind S.C.I.E.N.C.E. for two years with Sugar
Ray, Limp Bizkit, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Korn, 311 and others.
Sold 200,000 units of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and Enjoy Incubus combined.
Came home and wrote new album for eight weeks. Had collective
nervous breakdown.
Make Yourself recorded every day for nine weeks in Summer, 1999 at
NRG studios. Album co-produced with Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana, Days
Of The New), mixed by Rick Will and Scott Litt. Going on tour with Primus
until 2000 AD (sheesh), beginning November 6, '99 in Cleveland, Ohio.
About (Some Of) The Songs
(Comments by Brandon)
Pardon Me - I was in a bookstore, browsing through an old Life
magazine, when I saw a picture of what the article called spontaneous
human combustion. There were an old guy's legs and shoes, perfectly
intact...then, right around his knee area, was just a pile of charred ashes.
I was going through some turmoil in my life, both good and bad, and the
image struck a chord, so...I wrote a song about it. You never know when
the inspiration for a song is gonna hit you, so you've gotta be ready.
Drive - Scott [Litt] had a big hand in arranging and producing this track
with us. The lyric is basically about fear, about being driven all your life by
it and making decisions from fear. It's about imagining what life would be
like if you didn't live it that way.
Stellar - The lyrics were inspired by my lover, Jo English girl I met in
France. It's about love as a transcendental feeling, like free-floating in
outer space. It's kind of a traditional song in that way.
Nowhere Fast - We've been exploring drum-'n'-bass here and there on
stage, playing little improvisational ditties in between real songs from the
records. José would start playing a drum-'n'-bass he'd made up, I'd play
my didgeridoo to it, and songs started forming out of live things like that.
That's how "Nowhere Fast" was written, through improvisational live
jams.
Battlestar Scralatchtica - We have two guest turntablists on this one,
DJ Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark. They're from Jurassic 5, a West Coast
hiphop group, very good--amazing, in fact. They're friends of DJ Kilmore
and this track is a three-way DJ battle. I don't know who wins, but we'd
love to recreate it on stage if we ever get the opportunity.
In Conclusion
DJ Kilmore is a turntablist, José Pasillas is a drummer, Dirk Lance plays
the bass and golfs with passion, Mike Einziger fondles six guitar strings
like he's in love, my name is Brandon and I sing. For information on who
is on drugs, who's in love, who spit on who, who'll be running for
president in 2012, and or any other inquiries related herein, please don't
hesitate to contact us.
"Thank you, drive through..."
P.S. The record is called Make Yourself. It will be on shelves October
26th , 1999.
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Mr.bungle
Mr. Bungle
Trevor Dunn: bass
Danny Heifetz: percussion
Clinton (Bär) McKinnon: tenor sax, clarinet, keyboards
Mike Patton: vocals
Trey Spruance: guitar, keyboards
Mr. Bungle was formed in 1985 in Eureka, California. The original line-up
included Trevor Dunn on bass, Mike Patton on vocals, Trey Spruance on
guitar, and Jed Watts on drums. The band took its name from two short
films which appeared in early episodes of the "The Pee Wee Herman
Show," in which an ill-mannered, un-hygienic puppet clown
demonstrated how good grade-school kids should not behave (only later
did band members learn, through Faith No More bassist Bill Gould, that
the porn flick "Sharon's Sex Party" also stars a character named Mr.
Bungle).
Mr. Bungle's first demo tape, "The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny,"
was recorded in 1986. It featured a low-fi, fast, death metal style that also
managed to incorporate the sounds of bongos, a trainwhistle, a
saxophone, and a kazoo.
In the next year at least two
versions of a tape called "Bowel of Chiley" were recorded and
distributed by Mr. Bungle, mainly to local radio stations. One of these
was reproduced and sold without the band's permission (on tape in
1991 and on CD in 1997), creating one of the more popular Mr. Bungle
bootlegs, the erroneously-titled "Bowl of Chiley". The music of
"Bowel of Chiley" was radically different than that of "The Raging
Wrath of the Easter Bunny," mixing the sounds of ska, swing, and
funk. By this time drummer Jed Watts had been replaced by Hans
Wagner, and the band's new sound required the employment of Scott
Fritz & Theo Lengyel as horn players.
In 1988 Fritz was out, Luke Miller was in, and Mr. Bungle released
"Goddammit I Love America!" Similar to "Bowel of Chiley" (described
by band members as "a Fishbone rip-off"), but with a tighter sound,
two of the seven tracks on "Goddammit I Love America!" would find
their way onto Mr. Bungle's first major label release.
1989's "OU818" was the band's final demo tape before finding
themselves with a major label record contract. It was also the first to
feature drummer Danny Heifetz & tenor sax player Clinton "Bär"
McKinnon, and contains tracks that make up half of Bungle's first major
label release. Combining songs from earlier demos with new ones, it was
a little lighter on the ska, and had a heavier overall sound than the two
previous releases.
Having established a strong following in Northern California, and with
the hiring of vocalist Mike Patton by popular Reprise rock group Faith No
More, Mr. Bungle was signed by Warner Bros. Records. Their first album,
produced by John Zorn and titled "Mr. Bungle," was released August 13,
1991. There were several new songs on it, but the sound was much the
same as that of "OU818," commonly described as "funk metal" by music
critics. The album sold well, and Mr. Bungle toured North America
successfully to support it.
A multitude of side-projects and artwork delays contributed to the the
four-year gap between the self-titled album and the release of "Disco
Volante" in October of 1995. It was made up almost entirely of new
songs, and musical styles combining jazz, techno, tango, and death
metal, to name a few, set it apart from all previous efforts. Tours
(featuring guest percussionist William Winant) of North America, Europe,
and a wildly popular tour of Australia followed its release. They were
finally wrapped up with two shows in San Francisco in November of
1996.
Mr. Bungle's latest album, "California," was released on July 13, 1999.
Theo Lengyel does not appear on it, and is not expected to be involved in
any future Mr. Bungle projects (management cites "creative differences"
as the reason for his departure). A supporting tour of North America
began in Santa Cruz, California on July 12, however, a conflict between
Mr. Bungle's record company & past
distributors prevented "California" from being available overseas (other
than as an import) for several months. Overseas touring was put on hold
long enough to allow three consecutive North American tours in support of
"California" to take place, including an opening spot at Sno-Core 2000
(some European and Australian festivals had been possibilities until Red
Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Keidis voiced his objections; Bungle
retaliated by dressing as the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a Halloween show in
Pontiac, Michigan).
And while you try to survive the latest four-year wait until a new Mr. Bungle
album, you may find some of the band members' side-projects entertaining.
For information on Dieselhed (with Danny Heifetz), visit Dieselhed.com.
Trey Spruance's Secret Chiefs 3 has several websites devoted to it,
including Trey's own WEB of MIMICRY, Heather Scott's Secret Chiefs 3 site,
and The Australian Secret Chiefs 3 site by Corey Morton. The Selected
Discography of Trevor Dunn has audio samples and contact information to help you acquire some of the
many recordings featuring Mr. Dunn. The adventures of Mike Patton & his Fantômas cohorts are always
chronicled at Caca Volante. We don't know what Bär does in his spare time, but we'd like to.
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fantomas