Chris Kilmore

Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California.

The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppel; the latter two were eventually replaced by bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore, respectively.

Nicole Row replaced Kenney in 2024.

Incubus has attained commercial success, reaching multi-platinum sales, as well as releasing several successful singles.

Incubus was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, bassist Alex Katunich and drummer José Pasillas, while the members were in high school.

They existed as a band for some time before they gave themselves a name, having only chosen the band's name "Incubus" when required to supply a band name for an upcoming show.

The band's early shows were frequently at nightclubs on Los Angeles's Sunset Strip, including such well-known venues as the Whisky a Go Go, the Roxy and the Troubadour.

Early on the members of Incubus bonded over Phish and Primus and used their grassroots approach as a model for their career.

Incubus produced many of their early recordings with Jim Wirt and Chillum Records in the Santa Monica studio 4th Street Recording, only able to work on their music during hours in which they were not in school.

After their first two albums, Fungus Amongus (1995) and S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1997), the band earned mainstream recognition with the release of their 1999 album Make Yourself which spawned several hits, including the band's highest charting song "Drive".

In 1995, they recorded their first two-song EP, Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout Root Beer.

This was followed by the debut album Fungus Amongus, also recorded with Wirt and released on Incubus's own label Stopuglynailfungus Music.

Incubus then added Gavin Koppel (known by his stage name DJ Lyfe) to the band.

In the following year, Incubus signed a seven-record deal with Sony's Immortal Records, later to become Epic Records.

The group was spotted by Epic/Immortal A&R Paul Pontius, who was also responsible for signing Korn to the label.

The 1997 six-track EP Enjoy Incubus was the band's first major-label release and was created so the band could present a recording while touring with Korn in Europe.

S.C.I.E.N.C.E., Incubus's second studio album, was released on September 9, 1997.

After their album release, they started opening for bands such as Korn and 311.

This album marked a stylistic departure from the band's early material, featuring heavy guitar riffs, slap bass and turntables to create their most nu metal album.

In February 1998, Incubus dismissed Koppel (DJ Lyfe).

A friend recommended Chris Kilmore (DJ Kilmore) to fill the position.

The band enjoyed Kilmore's style and attitude towards life and asked him to join the band.

Incubus participated in the Ozzfest and Family Values metal festivals and toured with System of a Down and Ultraspank during the fall.

After constant touring throughout 1998, and after selling over 100,000 copies of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. without the support of radio or television exposure, Incubus took a break for two years and then released their critically acclaimed third album Make Yourself.

After just two weeks in the studio with producer Jim Wirt, the band was unhappy with the recordings and opted to continue recording without a producer.

After another 3 weeks of recording, R.E.M./Nirvana producer Scott Litt took an interest in their songs and started taking part in the recording sessions, mainly focusing on songs like "Drive" and "Stellar".

According to the band, Litt's involvement in the record came mostly during the mixing process.

Make Yourself was released on October 26, 1999.

The album marked the beginning of a more commercially acceptable pop rock and alternative rock sound for the band, although several songs from the album still included elements of nu/alternative metal, such as downtuned riffs and layers of electronics.

Right after their album's release, the band went on tour with Primus and Buckethead, a tour which lasted for the remainder of the year.

The first song that kicked off the album, "Privilege", was featured on MTV Sports: Pure Ride for the PlayStation.

The band also released the single, "Pardon Me", but it was initially not well received by radio stations.

Brandon and Mike decided to perform a live acoustic version of the song at the few radio stations who were showing interest, and this in turn spread the word of the song.

Many radio stations began to play the acoustic version, including the influential Los Angeles radio giant KROQ-FM.

With sparked interest in the song, radio stations began playing the studio version of "Pardon Me".

Success continued with the albums Morning View (2001) and A Crow Left of the Murder... (2004).

Their sixth studio album, Light Grenades, debuted at No. 1 in 2006 and was followed by Incubus's first greatest hits album Monuments and Melodies in June 2009 and the band's 2011 album, If Not Now, When?.

Incubus also released an EP, Trust Fall (Side A), in early 2015, and two years later, the band released their eighth studio album, titled 8, on April 21, 2017.

A second EP, Trust Fall (Side B), was released on April 17, 2020.

As of October 2022, Incubus has generated 12.4 million U.S. album consumption units and over 23 million records worldwide.