Mike, Jose� and Brandon meet Alex (Dirk), who was playing in a jazz band at the time, and form the band Incubus.
Their first show was booked thanks to Mike�s good fortune when he found a $100 bill. He took the money to a promoter, bought the tickets, and sold them all to friends at high school.
1991-1995
Incubus plays all-age clubs, the Roxy. During this period they develop a local
following.
Asked about who Incubus played with back then, Brandon says, �we were opening up for serious glam-hair bands�I don�t even remember any of the names of them. They all wore lipstick and had their hair poofed up and high heels and shit like that.�
1995
DJ Lyfe (Gavin Koppel) hears Incubus at a party and offers his services to enhance the band�s sound.
Incubus releases Fungus Amongus on their own.
1996
Several labels get into a bidding war to sign Incubus, including Scott Litt�s own Outpost. Korn�s label, Immortal records wins.
Scott Litt, who later went on to produce both Make Yourself and Morning View, recalls, �I was offering them burritos and guacamole, but they went with someone who gave them Rolexes.�
January, 1997
Enjoy Incubus EP released. The band joins Korn on its European tour.
Brandon described the show in Paris, with an audience of 5,000: �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.
July, 1997
S.C.I.E.N.C.E. released.
Mike explains the name as follows: �Our album is called S.C.I.E.N.C.E. because we were able to experiment. We were able to take our time and get everything to sound the way we wanted it to � weird science and energetic funk.�
Brandon described two experiments, �We found out what it�s like to actually plug a phaser pedal into the wall while it�s on. 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.�
July, 1998
Incubus joins Ozzfest 98
Brandon: �The Ozzfest was like summer camp. Because we knew most of the bands on the bill from previous touring, it was just like a big group of friends kind of traveling around the country together and playing music and having a brilliant time.�
September, 1998
Incubus, System of a Down, Ultraspank, all vets of the Ozzfest second stage, tour together through mid-October.
October, 1998
Incubus takes over slot left vacant by departing Ice Cube on Korn�s Family Values tour.
Summer, 1999
Incubus spends every day for nine weeks recording Make Yourself.
Einziger comments, �There�s this formula of yelling and screaming over guitar riffs -- that�s not what we do well. We have a singer with an intelligent voice who writes great lyrics, and we wanted the music to be much more of a platform for him.�
October 26, 1999
Make Yourself released.
November, 1999
Primus headlining tour includes Incubus and Buckethead.
January, 2000
Incubus, System of a Down, Puya and Mr. Bungle on Sno Core Tour.
Live tracks from the tour appear on enjoyincubus.com once a week.
February, 2000
Incubus kicks off headlining tour, with Ultraspank.
Jose: �We�re all excited we get to play more songs. We�ll get to have the stage just the way we want it and play as long as we want, so it�s definitely something to look forward to.�
April, 2000
Incubus and 311 kick off tour in Charlotte, North Carolina.
311�s Nick Hexum on Make Yourself: �The new Incubus record is insane. It�s gonna be huge, and they�re the nicest group of guys. Great musicians, and Brandon�s a great singer, and that�s probably what I�m most excited about.�
June, 2000
Brandon lends vocals to �Divided� on tribute album �Strait Up� created in honor of Snot�s late singer, Lynn Strait.
July, 2000
Epic announces planned release of When Incubus Attacks Volume 1 EP, with only 100,000 copies.
Of the EP, Brandon says, �This is not a real record for Incubus. We wanted to give our fans something just for being so cool and supportive and patient with us.�
July, 2000
Incubus joins Ozzfest 2000.
September, 2000
Incubus, Deftones and TarpRoot head out for �Back to School tour.
November, 2000
Rerelease of Fungus Amongus (1995).
December, 2000
Film video for �Drive.�
December 16 & 17, 2000
Incubus joins Moby, Deftones, Papa Roach, No Doubt, Weezer, and others, for the 11th Annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas benefit concerts.
January, 2001
The members move into the Malibu mansion to begin work on new album.
January 19, 2001
�Drive� video is released, premiers on TRL.
Brandon: I�ve always been fascinated with experimental animation, and this video gave me a chance to bring together my passion for music and drawing.�
February, 2001
A NASCAR-modified car, known as the Incu-Car, races first on asphalt tracks, then dirt, in the short track circuit as part of Bucktown�s Powered by Rock and Roll Racing Team. Incu-Car may be first official incuword.