| Bourgeois metal, metal nouveau, turn-of-the-century metal. Call Incubus anything you like, just don't call them nü metal. These sensitive rockers from Calabasas, California have toured with Korn, Limp Bizkit and the like, but their sound has grown from the crunch of heavy rock to a more refined, melodic sound. Building on the success of their slow-burn 1999 breakthrough, Make Yourself — which featured the hits "Drive" and "Pardon Me" — the group retreated to a rented house in Malibu to record the follow up, Morning View. Inspiration struck the band — singer Brandon Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, bassist Dirk Lance, drummer Jose Pasillas and turntablist DJ Kilmore — in the form of songs like the sweeping single "Wish You Were Here." Boyd said the track is about taking a moment to appreciate the joy of spending time with his friends making the record. MTV News' Iann Robinson dragged the boys off the beach long enough to find out why they had to reshoot the "Wish You Were Here" video, what it feels like to have 10,000 sweaty metalheads singing along to a Madonna cover and what to do when critics obsess over your killer abs. *** Iann Robinson: You're a real rock band — you write, you rehearse, you play instruments, you've been together for a while. Still, the media has focused a lot on what you look like with your shirts off. Does that get frustrating? Mike Einziger: It feels violating in certain ways, because these people [in the media] have had nothing to do with this band from its inception to this point. It's like, "Who are you to comment on what we've been doing for the last 10 years?" You kinda take the good with the bad, though. We're in a position now to be judged and scrutinized. But I can't complain. I get to play music and I don't have to go to an office every day and put on a tie and deal with a boss. Dirk Lance: Ultimately, the only thing that matters is, is there integrity in your music? Are you really proud of what you do? The fact that you have bitchin' abs is completely irrelevant. Brandon Boyd: Are you saying I have bitchin' abs? Einziger: I think we should kick Brandon out of the band and get some really big, fat, ugly guy. Then the critics will like us.
A band that lives together jams together, forging a totally new sound and kicking Pink Floyd's butt ... NEXT >>
|
