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Incubus - July 18th, 1998
Jen Garber and David Harpe interview Incubus backstage in Somerset, Wisconsin.
Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger, Jose Pasillas and Chris Kilmore were present for the interview.

Jen: Tell me about the difference between playing in the daytime versus night time?

Brandon: I can't be as scary as I normally am.

Mike:
None of us can be.  You see, during the daytime, we all look like a bunch of sissies.  At night, we turn into big, angry, ugly monsters.

Brandon:
I'm just kidding.  I actually like playing in the daytime.  It lets me breathe oxygen rather than sultried air mixed with cigarette smoke.

Chris:
I like night.  I'm like a technical fiend.  I like to see all my lights and turntables and find points on the record.  I have these lights that tell me different points in the record and in the daylight when the sun's out it's hard to see.

Mike:
Yeah, same with me.  My guitar effects pedals and stuff I can't see.  I can't see my tuner to tune my guitar up.  It's tough.  There are certain obstacles you have to overcome when playing during the day.  But playing during the daytime is really fun.  There's usually a good vibe.

Chris:
It has a barbecue-ish vibe.

Brandon:
And the sound is usually better.

Jen: Are you playing club shows on the nights off?

Brandon:
Just two so far.  One was in Des Moines, the other was in Norfolk.  We played with System of a Down and Snot in Des Monies, and Soulfly in Norfolk.

Dave: Did you know those bands before you played Ozzfest?

Mike:
We knew Snot.  We've known Snot for a long time.  I was aware of System of a Down but we'd never toured with them or really met any of them or anything like that.  But they're a great band and really nice guys, too.

Jose:
And Soulfly...actually.  We met them in Europe when we were doing the Dynamo festival in Holland.  But this is the first time we've actually done a show with them.

Jen: How does this compare to the festivals in Europe?

Mike:
It's different.  It's very different.  Different types of energy.

Brandon:
Each have their qualities that are uniquely amazing but I say for me, I prefer European festivals because the kids are just so much more ready to freak out and lose their heads to music as the kids are here.  Kids in America almost want to be impressed more.  I'm probably the same way.  Jaded.  Because all of the American bands go to Europe and the kids freak out and pushes the band to different levels because you're seeing thousands of people.

Chris:
They're not afraid to not be cool in Europe.  They just do whatever.  Here they'll look at their friends and say, "Should I do that?"

Jen: What does S.C.I.E.N.C.E. stand for?

Brandon:
Sailing Catamarans Is Every Nautical Captain's Ecstasy.

Jen:
Really?

Brandon:
Or Social Chronology Includes Everyone:  Neanderthals, Cannibals, Humans.

Mike:
Southern California's Incubus Enters Nevada Carrying Equipment.

Brandon:
Sometimes we just sit around and come up with these for laughs.  In other words, there's not just one meeting, it's just food for thought.

Jen: What do you guys do to pass the time during drives between shows?

Everyone:
Playstation!

Chris:
Tekken 3.  We've already mastered Tekken 3.  Collectively as a band, we can take anybody out!  That's not the only thing we do.  We do push-ups,  ab-rolls....

Mike:
Yeah, you walk in hear and you hear a lot of grunting and "Yeah, do another one!"  Physical fitness.  We have a lot of really bad 80's movies, "Better off Dead", "Commando"...

Chris:
"Karate Kid" yo!

Brandon:
We also like to read as a collective.  Usually one of us doesn't.

Mike:
There's school time when we all read.  There's color time when we all do projects....

Jose:
We have satellite tv.  We were actually lucky enough to watch the World Cup.

Brandon:
We have Rice Crispies!

Dave: Speaking of food, what's the worst bus food you've had so far?

Mike:
Actually the catering on this tour is pretty good....

Brandon:
Well, we were on the Warped tour for awhile, and they had like hot dogs, and that's it.  And I don't eat meat.  So there's like nothing for me so I went hungry for like three days.

Mike:
Man, being vegetarian.  That's not punk at all.  It used to be.  But not now.

Jen: How does Ozzfest compare to Warped?

Mike:
No comparison.  Blows it away.

Brandon:
This tour is awesome.

Jose:
The bands don't conflict with each other on this tour.  Like on the Warped tour, you have a bunch of bands facing each other, playing at the same time.  For this, the bands never overlap one another and it just seems very tight and organized.

Mike:
The difference between the Warped Tour and Ozzfest is like the difference between the kiddie pool versus like the big, crazy high-dive jumping pool.

Brandon:
There's cool people on the Warped Tour, though...

Jen: What's happening after Ozzfest for Incubus?

Brandon:
Soulfly.  Going out with Soulfly for two weeks.  Soulfly and System of a Down.

Mike:
Maybe take a week off and then start a headline tour across the nation.