This Calabasas, California-based quintet went from skateboarding and surfing their sun-kissed adolescence away to endlessly touring all-ages clubs. The band quickly caught the ear of metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne, and a gig on the 2000 Ozzfest tour propelled Incubus into the modern-rock limelight. With a new album, Morning View, on the way, Incubus doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon, even if singer Brandon Boyd wouldn’t mind a little peace and quiet. –Molly Priesmeyer

Your latest album, Morning View, is named after the street in Malibu where the album was recorded. What inspired you to record in a Malibu mansion?

When we made Make Yourself, we’d been on tour for almost two years non-stop and all of us were really tired. We came home and it was time to write a record and we were kind of at each other’s throats. We always have fun making our records, but that record was the most like pulling teeth we’ll probably ever experience. So we came back to write Morning View, and all of us were in vehement agreement that we were going to create it in an atmosphere that was very different than what we’ve ever done before. We wanted to make it in a house, write it and record it in a nice, beautiful house somewhere, a very cool environment.

This record seems more eclectic than previous ones. Specifically, "Aqueous Transmission" has a very Eastern-influenced sound.

Steve Vai gave Mike [Einziger, guitarist] a guitar, and to our knowing it’s a Chinese guitar called a koku. Michael had written this really cool guitar riff on it, and he sampled José’s [Pasillas, drummer] really simple, kind of Massive Attack[-style] beat behind it. It invoked imagery very quickly in me, and we kind of ran with that. It almost sounds like a Broadway tune. I can’t wait to see how people will rip that one apart. People are going to hate it, or they’re going to really like it.

You did the animation cells for the VMA-nominated video "Drive." Are there any other hidden talents you’d like to explore?

I think everyone has a few tricks up their sleeve. I love drawing, and I do plan on doing more of the animation thing. That was my first attempt, and it was pretty grueling. I have a couple of old film cameras, so I could do some stop-frame or claymation stuff, which would be really cool. When I’m older and wiser, I’d like to write. My mom’s in the process of writing a book. She’s always sort of been a closet novelist. It’s been very inspiring to see her really pursuing an old dream of hers. It sparks some cool ideas in me, too.

For now, though, your life must be everything you’ve ever wanted.

It’s a total double-edged sword when you start doing well. There’s a popular misconception that you get to, like, enjoy some of the fruits of your labor. And there are some things that I’m really, really happy about. But at the same time, we haven’t had a proper day off in I can’t remember how long. It’s a completely, all-consuming lifestyle. You either do it, or you don’t. Any occupation that you go into has its little thorns. And this one is, I think, the only [occupation] at this point in my life that I can do. So I can take the good and the bad.

Speaking of a double-edged sword, you’ve sort of become a new-millennium teen heartthrob. Is it weird to be something of a cover boy?

It’s flattering. I was a teenager once. When I was a teenager, I wasn’t reading Teen People or People. I was going to shows; I was going to watch Primus and Rage Against the Machine. I think that if I were to see them on the cover [of a teen mag] I would’ve been bummed out. It’s flattering to be recognized in any way. I’d much rather it be a band thing, you know?

Do you see any signs of the career whirlwind slowing down?

If we stopped right now, the train might derail. And not any one of us would want to be responsible for that happening. I’ve always been very adamant about protecting my health and/or sanity. Because it can very easily make someone like me lose it. Because I enjoy my privacy. I enjoy sitting and listening to the sound of nothing. I really enjoy being at home. And I really enjoy touring very much. But at the pace we go, sometimes it’s almost intolerable. For the past year, when we get on stage, it’s the closest thing to home we all have right now. And it’s the best part of the day, every day.