#Mike Einzinger

[cryptocollectibles]

Incubus Die Cast Metal Hot Rod (2001) by Hot Tracks

[rock-a-noodle]

What if people made a Multi Animation Project and did animated versions of Incubus interviews or tour diaries or specials or MTV Cribs or some shit?

Like, give me the band members' eyes popping out of their heads or a stop motion Mikey with hair made out of tumbleweed idk

[patternsintraffic]

My 100 Favorite Albums of the 2000s: Honorable Mentions 1 of 2

As promised, I'm back for more, as 100 bands and albums could not accurately contain my overflowing love for 2000s rock. Maybe I have a problem, but I'll reflect on that later. For now I'm going to keep listing and blurbing about great albums from my coming-of-age decade. The 20 honorable mentions I am going to feature were all on my shortlist ("short" is a relative term) to make the top 100, but narrowly missed for one reason or another. They were difficult cuts, and I really enjoyed revisiting them all to expand this feature. Putting a few of these on made me feel like they should have been included in those top 100 spots, but at least now they'll get their recognition. These albums are not ranked, just in good old alphabetical order. Come reader, I shall drag you kicking and screaming through yet another slate of 10 records. Enjoy!

Audiovent - Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris (2002)

Audiovent was quite literally Incubus' younger sibling, featuring Brandon Boyd's brother Jason on vocals and Mike Einzinger's brother Benjamin on guitar. Jamin Wilcox (later of Under the Influence of Giants "fame") was the drummer for the group. With Incubus being one of my absolute favorite bands at the time and with a barnburner of a lead single in "The Energy," it was a no-brainer for me to pick up this album upon release. Incubus-lite is an obvious and not-particularly-charitable descriptor of their music, but it's not entirely inaccurate. They have the riffs, the powerful choruses, and the ballads of their more famous siblings. However, the songs don't need any familial context to stand on their own. Audiovent reformed for some reunion shows in 2019. Maybe one day we'll get the follow-up album that never materialized (legend has it almost 20 songs were demoed before the band split in 2004).

Boy Kill Boy - Civilian (2006)

This is the album that tipped the scales toward expanding this list to include honorable mentions. I recently revisited Civilian and it holds up exceptionally well. I don't know if I purposefully ranked this one outside of the top 100 when I first did this exercise or if I forgot about it completely, but it probably deserves a spot on the list proper. Another U.K. band with a relatively short career (they dissolved shortly after their sophomore album was released), this debut record is brimming with smart, peppy alt-rock. Singles "Back Again" and "Civil Sin" are probably the standouts, but almost every track on the album bursts with rhythmic guitars, synths, and commanding vocals. An album that is just as easy to dance along to as to sing along to. Trying to right my wrongs here. #justiceforboykillboy

Cartel - Chroma (2005)

Cartel's debut album is a scene classic for a reason. Will Pugh, one of the most technically proficient singers in the genre, deftly leads the band through a set of earworms with vocal performances ranging from soaring to delicate. Chroma is a collection of pop-rock tracks that never waver in quality. The interconnected three-song suite that closes the album and introduces some prominent electronic elements ("The Minstrel's Prayer," "Q," and "A") gives it the subtle nudge it needs to go from standout to something truly special.

Damone - Out Here All Night (2006)

In the mid-2000s, it was unfortunately still very rare to hear female voices in rock music. Damone not only featured a badass frontwoman (and great guitarist) in Noelle LeBlanc, but they rocked with the best of 'em. None of this should be remarkable or surprising, to be clear, but at the time it just wasn't something I'd been exposed to. The title track is the can't-miss song here, but the '80s rock riffs, ballads, and tunefulness don't let up through the entire runtime. Damone reformed and released a single in 2019. Here's to hoping there is more headbanging to come.

Driveblind - Driveblind (2006)

Growing up, my family would spend at least one week a year on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, staying with my grandparents and other extended family. In 2006 at 19 years old, I was fully obsessed with live music and discovered that there was a Candlebox show at Monkey Business, Hilton Head's premier seedy bar/concert venue, the week of our vacation. I knew maybe one Candlebox song (still rings true today), but it was live music and a night out, so I got a ticket. I don't remember much at all about Candlebox's set, other than being dumbfounded to hear them cover "Out Here All Night" by Damone, who literally just appeared on this list, but the opening band was a Scottish rock outfit called Driveblind who caught my attention in a big way. They were the perfect bar band, with loud guitars, an energetic frontman with a great voice, and a touch of southern rock DNA. After peeling myself off the back wall of the bar, which was where I camped out for the evening to prevent having to interact with anyone, I picked up their self-titled album at the merch table and got a lot of play out of it over the next months. The fast-paced songs like "Silhouette," "Tell Me," and "All I Want" are infectious, and the slower tunes like "Leave Home" and "Light Sleeper" are plenty captivating as well. Another one-album-and-done band that caught my ear by being in the right place at the right time. Singer Terry McDermott went on to place second in season three of The Voice. He's also in a band called Lotus Crush with members of Candlebox after meeting on this tour. Small world.

Eisley - Combinations (2007)

I saw Eisley open for Mutemath right after Combinations was released, and at the time I would always check out the opening bands before attending a show. I was familiar with a few songs from Eisley's debut album, but this was my first time listening to a full record, and it was surprisingly great. The opening three-song run of "Many Funerals" (the heavy guitars in that chorus are something I never knew I wanted from Eisley), "Invasion," and "Taking Control" is my favorite in the band's discography. While those tracks bring the energy and the darkness, we still get the delicate and enchanting songs the band are known for in "Go Away," "Come Clean," and "Combinations." That Mutemath-Eisley show was one of the rare occasions where I left the venue with new t-shirts from two of the bands on the bill.

The Exit - Home for an Island (2005)

"Lonely Man's Wallet" from The Exit's debut album was a standout New Music Mart find in 2002. While I never checked out that album in full, I sprung for their second record Home for an Island on the strength of singles "Don’t Push" and the title track. I was really drawn to their blend of reggae and indie rock, which stood out from anything I was listening to at the time. It was an interesting sound that saw the band open for Taking Back Sunday, Muse, 311, and OAR over their seven-year existence. Maybe it ultimately led to their downfall since they didn't fully belong in the rock world or the reggae world, but if you want something unique with great grooves and great hooks, I've got an album for you.

Fuel - Something Like Human (2000)

It's funny how you reevaluate music over time. In 2000, I was completely infatuated with Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)," the lead single from Something Like Human. This was before I had the ability to download music, so "The Nine at Nine" on WHFS was appointment listening for a week or two so I could hear the song at least once a day. I got the CD when it was released and enjoyed most of it at 13 years old. But within a few years I was pulled into the world of emo and indie and a "radio rock" band like Fuel was no longer respectable in my mind. I even banished the CD to my closet because it was not worthy to be displayed alongside the more sophisticated and lesser-known albums that comprised my collection. I've since come to the realization that being popular doesn't necessarily equate to being bad, and I've come back to a lot of those first albums that I bought based off of big radio singles. Something Like Human is a great album, Fuel singer Brett Scallions had a jaw-dropping voice (Seriously, check out some YouTube videos of Fuel performances in the late '90s and early 2000s. The power and control! Drool.), and "Hemorrhage" is still, like, one of the best songs ever, IMO.

Good Charlotte - The Young and the Hopeless (2002)

I will admit that I haven't listened to this one in a very long time, though I have been pleasantly surprised by Good Charlotte's most recent albums Youth Authority and Generation Rx. There's just no denying how attached I was to The Young and the Hopeless in 2002 and 2003. "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous," "The Anthem," and "Girls & Boys" were inescapable at the time, and even "Hold On" and the title track were getting airplay in my home state of Maryland, where the band hails from. Listening back now, the nasally vocals and songs about parents and high school crushes seem simplistic and dated, but at the time I lived and breathed it. The Young and the Hopeless was my perfect gateway album to emo rock.

Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV (2005)

Hard-Fi was another mid-'00s U.K. import that seemed huge across the pond for a brief time but didn't make much noise in the U.S. The album spawned five great singles (What's with U.K. bands releasing so many more singles than bands do in the U.S.? They have way more b-sides too!) in "Tied Up Too Tight," "Hard to Beat," "Better Do Better," "Living for the Weekend," and the hip-hop adjacent "Cash Machine." Any of the 11 tracks could have been singles, really, because there isn't a bad hook on here. I remember being in Ocean City, MD with a friend on one of our first trips without parents around the time this album was released. We were driving down Coastal Highway blaring music way too loud, and "Hard to Beat" became the unofficial anthem of the trip. Whenever we were in the car and there was a moment of silence, it was quickly broken by my friend hollering "HARD TO BEAT!" and the opening guitar line pulsing through the speakers. We were idiots, but those are great memories.

[fullfillmyfantasy-blog]

I’m gonna miss it this way.

Today it was announced that Wojtek “Łozo” Łozowski and Grzesiek “Dziamas” Dziamka are leaving Polish band Afromental. I’m not sure if you can even see the video, because the content might be blocked outside of Poland, but if you can, check it out.

Afromental is a Polish band which started off by making the musical hybrid of pop, soul, funk and hip-hop and slowly developed more of a rock sound. The rock sound had it’s peak on their latest record “Mental House” which was released in 2014. The song in the video is from the album. The guitarist Alek Milwiw-Baron and singer Tomek “Tomson” Lach are judges is “The Voice of Poland”. They are an energetic mix of dynamic personalities and great talents. The guitarist was chosen to play for Hans Zimmer tour next to Incubus’ Mike Einzinger and Johnny Marr formerly of The Smiths, so I’d risk saying that this young Pole is one of the most talented guitar players in Europe at the moment. Check them out, it’s so worth it.

[myincubusupdate]

@Skrillex and @incubusofficial new collaboration seems to be well underway By David Klemow · @daverighteous1 Feb 21 2017 Following Jack Ü’s live performance of “Where Are Ü Now” at the Grammy Awards alongside Incubus’ Mike Einzinger, a collaboration between the rockers and Skrillex seemed like it would just make sense. Recently, news officially broke that the OWSLA boss was in the studio with legendary alt-rock outfit, assisting with their eighth studio LP. These developments have all shaped up rather quickly. Skrillex festival bookings have been few and far between on the spring 2017 circuit, he had just recently reunited with his former group From First To Last, and with plenty of hip-hop, pop, and house-leaning accents in his catalog, Sonny seemed to be taking another diversifying pivot, this time back towards his roots with some good old fashioned hard rock. Since reports of Skrillex’s studio stint with Incubus broke, the band has put out the first single from their impending record, aptly titled 8. Now, with new photos of Skrillex and Einziger stationed in front of a mixing console with the producer fixated on his laptop, it seems the group’s new collaboration may be in the final stages of production. The band also confirmed to Zane Lowe on Beats 1 that their album is slated for an April 21 release date. There’s two months left until Incubus’ first offering since 2011’s If Not Now, When? officially lands, but hopefullly, the Skrillex and Incubus joint effort will be heard before then. Source: http://www.dancingastronaut.com/2017/02/skrillex-incubus-new-collaboration-ready-sooner-think/

[gkgmusic]

This was a different song for us. most of what we did would consist of clean guitars in verses and distorted guitars in choruses. This was distorted guitars through out. It also has a different feel from other things we were playing at the time.

This song used my favorite chord progression. I love any chord progression that starts out as i-VI. Sometimes I’ll go back to i. sometimes i’ll go to IV after VI. If the song is in a major key, then i’ll do I-vi. 3 of the songs on this recording use that exact same progression in some form or fashion.

When I discovered turning the VI into a maj 7 chord, when the key is minor, or if the key was major making it iv sus2, my world was blown. Thanks Mike Einzinger, you changed my life. This is specifically an awesome sound when you play in the key of Emaj or Emin. In other recordings you’ll hear me don this a lot in Dmin from drop d tuning.

Song by me, lyrics by Andy

[bluefoxradio]

Incubus’ Mike Einzinger Shares Photo Of Band In Studio With Skrillex http://dlvr.it/NRWCW0

[thevampiremistress]

WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL I STARTED LISTENING TO INCUBUS BC OF MY COUSINS AND SINCE THEN I NEVER STOPPED LOVING THEM

[pedrolvna]

Yuna x Mike Einzinger "I Miss You" (Incubus Cover)

[mimi2210]

1991! I still wasn't born... I really love this video!

[grungebook]

ANOTHER UPDATE! In response to a Spin story entitled "Pearl Jam Not Recording Strings With Incubus' Guitarist," Mike Einziger tweets: @SPINmagazine to clarify. My girl is a violinist, and she played on a PJ track. I was a spectator & never said anything about collaborating. (Thanks to musicboxblog for bringing this to my attention.)

[echoofcosmicserenity]

x

[punkrockskylines]

Stream CoHeed And Cambria's remix of Dark Side Of Me feat. Mike Einziger;

Check it!;

Please follow http://stoppushingiknowwhatimdoing.tumblr.com/

support music.

[yazzziepants]

omg the way i was obsessed with incubus

they were the first band that i bought every single album from and the first song i learned to play on guitar was southern girl and tbh i used to tape pictures of brandon boyd to the wall beside my bed so i could turn over and kiss them and he would be the first person i saw when i woke up (MIDDLE SCHOOL TINGZ) and in high school i stalked them when they came to toronto and eventually mike said hi to me and i diedddd and chris kilmore started my fetish for dj arms and dreads and ugh if i ever meet a boy who reminds me of brandon i am man-wifing his ass SO HARD and training him to sing echo to me all day everyday

[nachaaameneses]

by me. 

[mimi2210]

Great!