Driven by Incubus
December 22, 2006 | 12:00am
I’ve been an Incubus fan since shortly after their concert in Manila, on March 12, 2004. I was very excited when I found out that I was going to get the chance to interview one of the band members over the phone. I talked to Mike Einziger, Incubus’ lone guitarist. Michael Einziger was born on June 21, 1976, and with singer Brandon Boyd, drummer Jose Pasillas, and ex-bassist Alex Katunich AKA Dirk Lance, they started Incubus when they were 15 in high school. Since then, they’ve changed their bassist and added another member, Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore. Recently, they released a new album titled "Light Grenades" under the labels of Sony BMG Music and Epic/Immortal.
Einziger doesn’t believe Incubus has earned the title "alternative rock gods" yet. "I wouldn’t call us alternative rock gods in any sense of the word. We started out as any other group of high school kids, out of a love for music and a lot of boredom. We were partying a lot at the time, so something like a big boom and Incubus appearing in a flash of lightning might have happened. I can’t really remember. We started playing music since we were all friends with each other, we loved music, and initially it was something we did for fun. But I’d definitely kill Brandon, since he’s so f**king good-looking." Einziger says his guitar compositions just come out of nowhere. "It’s like a vending machine, except I have no choice over what comes out. I can’t control when or how or anything like that. There has never been one defining moment of my career. Everything I’ve done has been gradual over a long period of time, and I guess we should just consider ourselves fortunate enough to be traveling for 11 years. As long as we’re still interested in making music, as long as it still appeals to us, then we’re just going to keep doing what we do." Despite being the only guitarist in Incubus, he never felt that an additional one was needed. According to Einziger, their second album ("S.C.I.E.N.C.E.") stands for Sailing Catamarans Is Every Nautical Captain’s Ecstasy. "It was part of the stream-of-consciousness thoughts that came into my head in a vision after two weeks of smoking non-stop," admits Einziger. He says the band’s fondness for "lighting up" might have affected its sound. "When we were in high school, it really opened us up creatively. You can hear it in our music."
Einziger on why the album artwork is so retarded: "A friend of ours named Alan Aldridge, he did the artwork for the record, and we wanted a sort of carnivalesque interpretation of the lyrics and so each artwork is some unique take on one set of lyrics or another. It’s his version of the lyrics, put in drawings." Einziger would definitely want to collaborate with Lionel Richie, if given the chance. "I’ve always wanted to write a song with Lionel Richie, he’s a fantastic artist." He and the band have no solid plans for the future. "I don’t know where we’re going. We’ll pretty much go wherever our compass takes us. Where that is, I don’t know." Einziger wishes he could travel more. "There are more places in the world where I haven’t been but I’d like to visit. I’ve never been to China, never been to a lot of parts of Eastern Europe, never been to some parts of South America, never been to Egypt. I’d love to go to Egypt." However, at this stage in his life he feels like he’s done enough. "I feel very accomplished as a human being, since I get to stick with my best friends traveling around the world, doing what we love doing." Einziger then showed his sarcastic side: "In all my infinite wisdom, what would I say to you? I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t be the best person for that kind of thing. I would never act in a real movie. It’s not something I think I’d be good at. I would never describe myself, either. I’d leave that for other people to figure out for themselves. I don’t particularly enjoy describing myself."
On what he’d do if he was going to die the next day but could spend the remaining hours in any way he wanted: "I would probably eat some acid, and have sex with about five thousand women." He laughs. "And all at the same time. That’s as good an answer as any, right? It’s a damn good answer." Einziger confesses to a love for sweets. "If I found a hundred dollar bill on the ground, I’d buy a lot of sugar. I love candy." All of a sudden, a voice comes out of nowhere. "You have one minute remaining in this interview." A moment of silence passed. "I think that was God," said Einziger. Another pause. "I don’t know why I would say something like that. I don’t even believe in God. I’m an atheist. I believe in science. I’m a hardcore believer in science." Yet, he doesn’t have an e-mail address. "I’m vehemently against computers. It’s a personal philosophical choice." Philosophical choice, eh? Sounds like a philosopher hidden away in Mike Einziger somewhere.
Their new album is the bomb. The early portion of the interview was about their new album, but my digital voice recorder messed up and the part that covered "Light Grenades" was horribly drowned out by static, and I couldn’t understand anything being said afterwards. Here’s what Brandon Boyd has to say about it, taken from a recent interview with Kerrang! Magazine. "There’s a song called that on the record and it felt like the most pertinent conceptual aspect of the album, the idea of throwing ideas at problems and the ideas explode with light and good results and intention on consciousness. So I started imagining imagery of students in different countries protesting and throwing Molotov cocktails with masks over their faces. But there’s one brave student who runs up to the police line and, as opposed to throwing rocks or things that destroy, there’s this concept of that one courageous, lonely student running up and throwing ideas and having them actually change things. It just seemed kind of a cool concept -– the redefining of weaponry." Some of their new songs, like Dig, are too mainstream for my taste, but the rest is just wicked. It’s seriously good stuff that reminds you somewhat of their old material, but with a whole new meaning behind the melodies and the lyrics. If you had a choice between 10 free albums from your local music store or a copy of "Light Grenades," go for "Light Grenades." Unless, of course, your local music store had "Light Grenades" in stock, then I would recommend that each of the 10 free albums would be a copy of "Light Grenades." It’s that great. You won’t be disappointed. Paolo Bel
Einziger doesn’t believe Incubus has earned the title "alternative rock gods" yet. "I wouldn’t call us alternative rock gods in any sense of the word. We started out as any other group of high school kids, out of a love for music and a lot of boredom. We were partying a lot at the time, so something like a big boom and Incubus appearing in a flash of lightning might have happened. I can’t really remember. We started playing music since we were all friends with each other, we loved music, and initially it was something we did for fun. But I’d definitely kill Brandon, since he’s so f**king good-looking." Einziger says his guitar compositions just come out of nowhere. "It’s like a vending machine, except I have no choice over what comes out. I can’t control when or how or anything like that. There has never been one defining moment of my career. Everything I’ve done has been gradual over a long period of time, and I guess we should just consider ourselves fortunate enough to be traveling for 11 years. As long as we’re still interested in making music, as long as it still appeals to us, then we’re just going to keep doing what we do." Despite being the only guitarist in Incubus, he never felt that an additional one was needed. According to Einziger, their second album ("S.C.I.E.N.C.E.") stands for Sailing Catamarans Is Every Nautical Captain’s Ecstasy. "It was part of the stream-of-consciousness thoughts that came into my head in a vision after two weeks of smoking non-stop," admits Einziger. He says the band’s fondness for "lighting up" might have affected its sound. "When we were in high school, it really opened us up creatively. You can hear it in our music."
Einziger on why the album artwork is so retarded: "A friend of ours named Alan Aldridge, he did the artwork for the record, and we wanted a sort of carnivalesque interpretation of the lyrics and so each artwork is some unique take on one set of lyrics or another. It’s his version of the lyrics, put in drawings." Einziger would definitely want to collaborate with Lionel Richie, if given the chance. "I’ve always wanted to write a song with Lionel Richie, he’s a fantastic artist." He and the band have no solid plans for the future. "I don’t know where we’re going. We’ll pretty much go wherever our compass takes us. Where that is, I don’t know." Einziger wishes he could travel more. "There are more places in the world where I haven’t been but I’d like to visit. I’ve never been to China, never been to a lot of parts of Eastern Europe, never been to some parts of South America, never been to Egypt. I’d love to go to Egypt." However, at this stage in his life he feels like he’s done enough. "I feel very accomplished as a human being, since I get to stick with my best friends traveling around the world, doing what we love doing." Einziger then showed his sarcastic side: "In all my infinite wisdom, what would I say to you? I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t be the best person for that kind of thing. I would never act in a real movie. It’s not something I think I’d be good at. I would never describe myself, either. I’d leave that for other people to figure out for themselves. I don’t particularly enjoy describing myself."
On what he’d do if he was going to die the next day but could spend the remaining hours in any way he wanted: "I would probably eat some acid, and have sex with about five thousand women." He laughs. "And all at the same time. That’s as good an answer as any, right? It’s a damn good answer." Einziger confesses to a love for sweets. "If I found a hundred dollar bill on the ground, I’d buy a lot of sugar. I love candy." All of a sudden, a voice comes out of nowhere. "You have one minute remaining in this interview." A moment of silence passed. "I think that was God," said Einziger. Another pause. "I don’t know why I would say something like that. I don’t even believe in God. I’m an atheist. I believe in science. I’m a hardcore believer in science." Yet, he doesn’t have an e-mail address. "I’m vehemently against computers. It’s a personal philosophical choice." Philosophical choice, eh? Sounds like a philosopher hidden away in Mike Einziger somewhere.
Their new album is the bomb. The early portion of the interview was about their new album, but my digital voice recorder messed up and the part that covered "Light Grenades" was horribly drowned out by static, and I couldn’t understand anything being said afterwards. Here’s what Brandon Boyd has to say about it, taken from a recent interview with Kerrang! Magazine. "There’s a song called that on the record and it felt like the most pertinent conceptual aspect of the album, the idea of throwing ideas at problems and the ideas explode with light and good results and intention on consciousness. So I started imagining imagery of students in different countries protesting and throwing Molotov cocktails with masks over their faces. But there’s one brave student who runs up to the police line and, as opposed to throwing rocks or things that destroy, there’s this concept of that one courageous, lonely student running up and throwing ideas and having them actually change things. It just seemed kind of a cool concept -– the redefining of weaponry." Some of their new songs, like Dig, are too mainstream for my taste, but the rest is just wicked. It’s seriously good stuff that reminds you somewhat of their old material, but with a whole new meaning behind the melodies and the lyrics. If you had a choice between 10 free albums from your local music store or a copy of "Light Grenades," go for "Light Grenades." Unless, of course, your local music store had "Light Grenades" in stock, then I would recommend that each of the 10 free albums would be a copy of "Light Grenades." It’s that great. You won’t be disappointed. Paolo Bel
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