INCUBUS
The interview was done with Alex (bass player) and Jose (drummer) on the Incubus tourbus ,on January 21st 1998 ,when the band played in Milan supporting Sugar Ray...
Me:Last time we saw you was with Korn.....and now you are here 12 months
later with Sugar Ray.What happened in the meantime?
A:Last year we finished the tour with Korn,and then we came back to the
States and we made the record S.C.I.E.N.C.E.....and that took a couple of
months.Then we toured through the rest of the year,from summer to the
fall....
Me:Touring,touring and touring...
A:Yes,basically we stayed on tour for the last 8 months
Me:Cool....and this time you didn't cover only the California area but all
the US...
A:We went all over the country 3 times,and actually we came back to Europe
to play some festivals....but we didn' t have the chance to play in Italy.
Me:You toured the US with 311 and Sugar Ray,which was a big chance for
you.Many people got to know the band,and you won some new fans......How was
that experience?
A:It was a good chance for us to play in front of a lot of people.Each
night was basically in front of a few thousands kids,from 2000 to 6000...it
would take us 3 times and maybe more to play in front of all those
people.It was really cool,because those bands are awesome...Sugar Ray is
great and 311 is amazing.The whole tour was really really cool.
Me:311 recently cancelled their European dates.....what about you,are you
planning to came back soon?
A:I know from them (311) that they tend to focus on the US.I want to be
able to
focus on the United States and on Europe,but it is so expensive to come
over
here that sometimes it takes some time.It's the 3rd time we' ve been here
so far,and i' d like to come at least 3 times a year.Hopefully sometime
towards the end of the summer we'll come back to play festivals again.And
then at some point we' ll come around and we'll do our own club tour where
we' ll spend a lot of more time in each country.
Me:What about the definition many people give you...."funk-metal".How do
you
deal with that?
A:It's always difficult to take something that is really complex and try to
sum it up in two or three words.Yeah,it probably is "funk-metal" in the
sense that there is a lot of funky stuff on the record and there are songs
that are hard....but i think there is a lot more in that,like
jazz.....People try to sum up 20 songs in two words,but i don' t think you
can really do that.I don' t really know how you could sum up 45 minutes of
music into 2 or 3 words.
Me:What about the new Californian scene?Bands like Korn,Human Waste Project
or Deftones started in local clubs over there,and now they are bringing
their music all over the world....but in the early 90's the scene seemed
dead....
A:It really was.In the early 90's there was nothing in L.A. and the scene
has just started to come back.They always talk about Southern California
and Orange County for ska and punk music....but i think that anywhere
you go in L.A. you can have a good mix,and up to me that is what a good
scene is.There was a time when all you had was hair bands doing heavy
metal stuff......There was nobody really coming out of L.A..What started
bringing L.A. back even before Korn was Rage Against the Machine.
Me:So.......any new band you would like to reccomend us?
A:Good question......i would say (Hed)pe,a new band from Orange
County.Then....Human Waste Project,System of a Down....
The conversation is now interrupted by Incubus drummer Jose,who helps his
bandmate to find some cool band to mention...
J:Snot....
A:I am trying to think about the bands we played with....
J:Sevendust?
A:Oh yeah...they are good....but i would definitely say (Hed)pe.
The couple is thinking.....and the silence is broken by one name....
A:Far!!
Me:I heard you released a vinyl with them.Could you tell us more?
A:The record company decided that it would be a good idea for us to put out
something together as a promotional thing.We did a 7" with a song from us
and a song from them,and you can buy it over the Internet.The new Far
record is amazing.......really really good.
J:I can see them doing really well over here.
Me:What about the lyrics on the record....who writes them?Are they as
important as the music?
A:Brandon (singer) writes basically all the lyrics.Obviously,i have my take
on what he writes and my own personal interpretation,which maybe is a
little bit different from his.....But when it comes to writing,usually the
music comes first and then Brandon would try and match it with something
that is already written or he would write something new,based on what we
came up musically.We are not like other bands that write the lyrics and
then try to put music to it......for us the music comes first and that is
where he (Brandon) gets the inspiration.
Me:What's next for Incubus?
A:We are gonna spend hopefully half of ' 98 supporting the new record and
trying to get people to be aware of us.We are gonna try to come back here a
couple of times and play,and to get people to know the name,to hear the
record and hopefully to start enjoying the music.....
Me:Tell us about the title of the new record.....does it have any
particular meanings?It reminds me of A.D.I.D.A.S. from Korn....
A:It stands for a lot of different things.....like....
J:some cocks in Everglades/Europe never come easily (big
laugh)...or....sucking cocks is every necrophile...
A:It's basically anything you want it to be......we did it because anytime
anybody ever asks us about it we can make up something different
everytime...but S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was a cool word and a cool way to describe
what we thought the record was and putting the periods just made it
better....