Incubus finished a hugely successful European tour with completely sold out concerts, especially the sold out London concerts seem to please the band enormously.

"London is kind of a stepping stone for every musician or for every band, it's not easy to be successful there.To be honest we weren't really sure if we could sell out 1 show, but then 2 shows sold out in a row, that's pretty cool". Speaking of success, of course it is not a little thing to be part of the Ozzfest lineup, where quite a few bands made their mark.

"Yeah, we did the Ozzfest tour over 2 years ago and we did the Black Sabbath Reunion tour which was pretty cool as well. It was mind-boggling to realize that I knew every single song and they'd start a song an I'd know every single word and it was like I had Black Sabbath albums but I had friends who were more into Sabbath and Ozzy and it was just crazy to be watching them." "We always enjoyed heavy bands like Led Zeppelin, even if they are not classified as heavy now, but I think they were often described as the first metal band, even if they were never really metal in my book. Some people might consider them metal,I don't but that doesn't take anything away from the fact that they're a great band!" Incubus' last album Morning View has already sold more than 2 million copies and seems to be their most melodic release. Small wonder that it gained such a following.

"It's not like we are selling much more albums now, but a lot more people seem to come to our concerts and that is great. I can't believe we've sold out Wembly Arena. I can't believe we've sold 10,000 tickets especially in London where we don't really get strong support from radio or MTV or even the record company that much. It's a good feeling because we know we've worked hard and it really seems to pay out now. It's a great feeling but I'm always careful not to let it get to my head, but I've got to admit that when we found out about 3 times as much people came to our concerts we did have a party."

With the growing success of Incubus it is quite normal that Brandon doesn't do as much interview duty as he used to do but Brandon Boyd hastens to reply why.

"About 3 years ago when things started to happen, the media took some interest in us and we had to do more promotion, I tried to do everything myself until I almost got crazy, it just got too much and I can be such a perfectionists. That's when we decided to share the interview duties and that's pretty good. After all we're a band and so everybody has to pull some weight.I don’t know, I always think the singe of a band is the most boring person anyway, I mean if you look at all the different magazines, there are magazines for guitarists, bassists, drums, DJs but as far as I know there isn't one for singers, maybe because it would b the most boring magazine of all!" laughs Boyd.

Since Brandon Boyd writes most of the lyrics for Incubus and they all seem to be rather personal, one can't help but wonder how he feels being in front of thousands of people and singing about personal problems, but according to him its not really a problem.

"In a way, it's pretty strange but in another way I find it quite positive and refreshing, think about it, I man who are we? We're a bunch of guys who worked hard and got lucky, a lot of other bands didn't have that much luck. We take the stage and we do sing about things and there are a few thousands people who even like to listen to it. I'm quite grateful for the way it is!"

Brandon admits that one of his passions is painting and sketching and that it used to be his creative release long before he started writing songs and singing, and- surprise, surprise- that singing didn't come easy to him.

"I don’t know, I think I always painted or sketched something, at least as far as I can remember. I was always kind of doodling away, it was my way to express myself. Only when I was 15 I started to write songs and lyrics, before that it was painting. But to be honest, painting and music is very similar to me, I think that it comes from the same source within a person, only the way it expresses itself is different. I think music is easier to share, easier to understand. You know, sometimes I really do labor over a painting and almost cry in frustration, and then I show it to a friend of mine and they usually just nod and keep on talking. Music’s much easier and much more universal, at least I got 4 guys who like my work and they're always around." He grins. Brandon isn't even scared that the success of Incubus could end tomorrow, he has a rather firm view on things and believes things should be enjoyed while they last.

I know nothing lasts forever, especially not in the entertainment industry and I always tried to keep a clear and healthy perspective on things. We're going to enjoy it as long as it lasts but there are much more important things in life than success in the music business. Sooner or later it will end, we all know that and we're prepared. I don't think that we're going to be one of the bands who try to hang on just for the sake of hanging on and being in the industry, that's not our style. They seem to have such a relaxed view about it, that they even write songs about it, but it seems t be a bit early for Incubus to think about being yesterday's news when in fact they seem to be the flavor of the month, if not the year.

"Things do change an in the music business and the entertainment industry they do seem to change even faster than other industries and walks of life- apart from marriages maybe, but that's just being cynical- and being the flavor of the month is a double edged blade, the next minute you can be completely forgotten. We’re all enjoying our success but we always keep in mind that it's not quite normal. I think we're all quite aware that we shouldn't miss the moment when it’s all gone, because there's nothing more ridiculous than someone whose trying to hang on. But you know, there is a great side to it, when I'm an old and ugly grandpa I can show my videos and pictures to my grandchildren and tell them,” Look, I was cool once..." Ha ha! My grandparents are probably going to say, “Oh heavens, he's talking about his past glory again!" And then they're probably going to run for shelter, ha ha!" "Right now I'm single and quite frankly it suits me. During the past 10 years I was permanently in relationships, once 7 years and once 3 years. We had some great times and it was great, but now I need some time on my own, I need to experience some things on my own. We used to share everything and when I was single again, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was thinking "What am I gong to do with myself? What is she doing now?" and so on. That was about 9 or 10 months ago and I must admit I did learn more during those months than I learned in the 10 years I was in relationships. And you know, music was always a great release!" Which brings us back to the question if it isn't hard to stand in front of an audience and sing about your ex-girlfriend.

"I never mention any names in my songs. Never, especially not the name of a woman I once loved. That would be extremely bad taste and I pride myself on having some style. But I think if I keep things general, I can help some people who are going through similar experiences and probably can identify with what am singing about!"

Thanks to Nice to Know You UK