Some people
say science just isn't fun. They see it as dissecting a frog, determining
the theory of relativity, or having to share your microscope with the geek
who invests in pocket protectors.
Some
people just don't know better. They've forgotten about experimentation,
fusion and fission, and big bangs and blowing things up. They've forgotten
science can be fun.
In
the Incubus form of fusion, the nuclei of funk, thrash-rock and hip-hop
are joined together, or fused, at temperatures evoking pleasurable sweat,
to form a single heavy nucleus called S.C.I.E.N.C.E., ejecting twelve powerful
sonic neutrons in the process. The difference in mass of Incubus' first
full-length experiment, S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (Immortal/Epic), resulted in pure,
clean energy and a lot of phat, big bangs like the metallic "My Favorite
Things," the light-speeding "Nebula," the chanting and heavy grooves of
"Redefine," the far-out bedtime story "Magic Medicine," and the '70s-sounding
pornographic-in-a-"Love Boat"-way "Antigravity Love Song."
While
there is experimentation and intellect involved, Incubus, whatever their
name may imply, is not a team of scientists, nor spirits searching for
new ways to suck the life out of sleeping people, nor a devil-worshipping
death-pop band. Incubus is five musicians from Calabasas, California, a
semi-rural bedroom community north of Los Angeles who began playing music
together out of natural friendship.
Vocalist
and percussionist Brandon Boyd and drummer Jose Pasillas went to elementary
school together. In middle school, they met guitarist Mike Einziger, who
spent most of his time playing guitar in his bedroom; then, in high school,
the trio became friends with bassist Alex Katunich, who was playing in
a jazz band. In 1991, in the 10th grade and still too young to drive, the
four friends decided to form a band simply because they loved music, from
Primus and Rage Against the Machine to Ella Fitzgerald and Santana to S
teve Vai and Iron Maiden. It was a big day when the oldest, Brandon, turned
16 and got his driver's license.
Within
a year of their earliest party gigs, Incubus were playing all-ages clubs
in the San Fernando Valley and at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip, thanks
to a hundred dollar bill Mike found on the ground. "That's when you had
to buy tickets and sell them in order to play the Strip. That day I went
to the Roxy, bought the tickets, booked the show, and then we sold all
of them." The band's tireless self-promotion expanded its audience from
high-school friends to fans from across the Valley and Hollywood.
In
1995, DJ Lyfe saw Incubus play live and asked if Incubus would be interested
in using some of his hip-hop tracks. Lyfe joined full-time after one rehearsal.
"We didn't want the turntable to sound like somebody scratching a snare
drum, like it sounds on a lot of rap records," explains Mike. "We wanted
it to be more of an instrument with its own sounds, like that of a keyboard
player or another guitar player."
"As
a rapper, Lyfe is very rooted in hip-hop," adds Brandon. "But since he
learned to spin discs with a live band, Incubus, rather than with pre-recorded
music, he's got a different approach."
Incubus'
unusual amalgamation of styles and high-energy shows, combined with its
growing fan base, turned label heads and put the band in the enviable (although
somewhat embar- rassing) position of a bidding war. Immortal Records emerged
the winner by understanding that Incubus is a touring live band, not an
out-of-the-box, hit-single sensation, and intent on building its following
from the ground up. With this strategy in mind, in January '97 the quintet
released the EP Enjoy Incubus (containing six remixed songs previously
recorded as demos) and completed several mini-tours in support of it. During
this period, Incubus perfected the new songs for their full-length debut,
S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
"Our
album is called S.C.I.E.N.C.E. because we wer e able to experiment," notes
Mike. "We were able to take our time and get everything to sound the way
we wanted it to -- weird science and energetic funk." The band again enlisted
producer Jim Wirt, who produced their early demos: "He helps us come up
with strange stuff and he likes it when we do. He doesn't try to change
what we do, he tries to enhance it." In six weeks at 4th Street Recording,
using "old analog gear with phat sounds and spider webs," Incubus recorded
the twelve tracks of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. with the traditional bass, guitar,
drums and vocals along with turntables, didjeridu, djembe, and
well, other
things.
"We
found out what it's like to actually plug a phaser pedal into the wall
while it's on," explains Brandon. "It sounds like a laser gun, and that's
the first sound you hear in 'Nebula.' And we used these walkie-talkies
for children that have this Slinky-like coil between them. When you talk
through them and hit the coil, it makes this natural reverb, like talking
in another dimension."
The
lyrics, all penned by Brandon, carry an underlying positive theme through
stories of space, relationships and socio-political issues. His beliefs
are expressed most strongly in "Redefine," New Skin" and "My Favorite Things."
"'Redefine'
is about the creation of your own reality and your own world. The metaphor
I used was humans being like Magic Markers. For so long, they painted black
and white pictures in their life because that's all they thought they could
do. But they can paint with a different color and make a very vibrant and
beautiful picture if they take control."
"In
'New Skin,' I attribute a scab to the present state of society. The way
the scab looks in its worst state is gross and chaotic and horrible, that's
now, but when it breaks away, there's a brand new piece of skin that's
stronger than before. It's like creation out of chaos.
"'My
Favorite Things' is my personal beliefs about religion and how it oppresses
the thi ngs I enjoy the most. Unfortunately, the simplest things, such
as thinking for myself, creating my own reality and being whatever the
hell I want to be each day of my life, are a sin. To be a good Christian
basically means to give up the reigns of your life and let some unseen
force do it for you."
Incubus
has already taken their new songs on the road: A 1997 European tour supporting
Immortal labelmates Korn was capped by a show for more than 5,000 fans
in Paris. Brandon: "We had never played in front of a crowd that big, and
the response we got far exceeded any response we've ever gotten. To play
in front of a crowd that has no idea who you are, and then you start playing
and they understand the energy of it and start freaking out, it's quite
an experience."
Even
so, Incubus is aware that there will always be those ready to criticize.
No matter: "People are real quick to put labels on music, so I'm sure they're
going to do that with us. But we think we're doing something cool, and
judging from the responses that we've gotten from all over the world, others
do too," surmises Brandon. "We have the music gods on our side."
