Incubus will ride into Baltimore on a metaphorical wave from its recent chart-topping “Light Grenades,” its sixth studio album.
The band that formed when a group of Los Angeles teens fell in love with music they heard at the Whiskey, the Roxy and other clubs has truly come into its own.
“This was no overnight success,” lead singer Brandon Boyd said. “We had to form a stubborn self-reliance to get this far.”
Almost 16 years after setting about to emulate their idols, which included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus is now a trendsetting band in its own right. Perhaps that?s because latching onto the others? musical creativity was only a starting point for launching its own sound. Boyd likens the creative path the band took to a wandering stream.
“We?ve definitely carved our own path,” guitarist Mike Einziger, the band?s primary songwriter, told the Indianapolis Star. “Our music is always kind of … stylistically ambiguous.”
Boyd seems somewhat humbled by the success the band enjoys talking about the continual struggles the band endured as it climbed the charts.
“There are definitely instances that I look back on with less-than-fond memories,” he said. “We were continually struggling, facing one upset after another. But when there was even a glimmer of hope, that is what kept us going.”
But Boyd dwells more on the positive of the camaraderie of the members as they toured, recorded and started to make a name.
“The first couple records, I didn?t know what I was doing,” Boyd said. “They said OK, you have long hair. You?re the lead singer. I was peeing into a high-powered fan, but I was having a lot of fun.”
Although the band has matured artistically and musically, they have not fallen into any rote pattern, as evidenced by the various directions taken in their albums.
“We very much embrace the idea that art is a moving target,” Boyd said. “That?s exciting to me, not to have to be any one thing at one time. We choose our target, so to speak.”
IF YOU GO
Virgin Festival
>> Incubus; 3:25-4:20 p.m. Sat.; North Stage
>> Panic! At the Disco; 3:45-4:45 p.m. Sun.; North Stage
>> Where: Pimlico Race Course, 5201 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore
>> When: 10 a.m. throughout the day Saturday and Sunday
>> Details: $97.50 to $450; virginfest.com
