The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppel; the latter two were eventually replaced by bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore, respectively.

[2] Incubus was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, bassist Alex Katunich and drummer José Pasillas, while the members were in high school.

[3] The band's early shows were frequently at nightclubs on Los Angeles's Sunset Strip, including such well-known venues as the Whisky a Go Go, the Roxy and the Troubadour.

"Stellar", the next single from the album was soon released, and its video received afternoon airplay on MTV and TRL, becoming a success on the Alternative chart.

The band took a break during the first part of 2001 before heading to a beachside mansion in Malibu, California, to record their follow-up album, which would later become known as Morning View.

At this time, the band was invited to play with the Area 1 Festival, which featured Moby, Outkast, the Roots, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, and Nelly Furtado.

In August, the band got to play their first shows in Australia and Japan, before returning to the United States to begin their headlining tour with their long-time friends from California, Hoobastank.

Lance was quietly replaced by former the Roots guitarist Ben Kenney, who began working with Einziger on new songs for a psychedelic jazz-funk project called Time-Lapse Consortium.

The band, which had been signed to Epic/Immortal for seven years, cited the fact that state law limits the amount of time that an artist can be bound to a company.

[5] On March 1, Einziger, along with Scott Litt, Dave Holdredge, and Rick Will, was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Engineered Album (Non Classical)" category, for their work on Morning View.

A decision had been reached amongst members of Incubus in a face-to-face meeting at the end of the Morning View tour to discuss his involvement in the band.

Incubus toured worldwide in 2004 with many bands, including Ben Kweller, the Walkmen, Hundred Reasons, the Music, Brand New and Sparta, to promote their new album after their original support act the Vines pulled out due to exhaustion.

Among other things, the podcast featured the band's thoughts about their 2005 South American tour, some information on their new album, a mash-up of "Drive" and Tupac Shakur's "Better Dayz", a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", and a few live interludes.

Michael Einziger had been suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and although he had an operation that has corrected the problem, he needed to recuperate for a few months, hence recent tour plans were postponed.

In February and March 2008, Incubus hit the road again starting in New Zealand and headlining the Soundwave festival in Australia alongside the Offspring and Alexisonfire, and toured Asia performing to sell-out crowds.

Brandon Boyd enrolled in a university art program in Los Angeles, while guitarist Mike Einziger went to Harvard music school to study composition.

"[22] In mid January 2009, Incubus posted a video to their official site, describing what each band member was occupied with in the form of letters to each other.

[23] On March 11, 2009, Incubus posted an update to their official site detailing the new greatest hits album, Monuments and Melodies.

Disc one of the album included new singles "Black Heart Inertia" and "Midnight Swim" as well as the top radio hits of the last decade.

[32] To promote the release of If Not Now, When?, the band took part in a participatory media exhibit and real-time documentary called Incubus HQ Live that allowed unprecedented fan access and interaction.

In a radio interview while on the road with his solo band Sons of the Sea, Brandon Boyd announced that fans can expect some new Incubus music in 2015, followed by a tour.

[38] Subsequently, a few days following the images of the band in a studio, they announced they would be attending the 2015 Soundwave music festival in Australia, alongside Faith No More and Soundgarden.

[50] They simultaneously announced a concert at the Hollywood Bowl where they would perform Morning View in full, supported by Paris Jackson and Action Bronson, for the same day.

[50] On February 6, 2024, Brandon Boyd revealed via a Rolling Stone interview that while Ben Kenney had recovered, the bassist had decided to leave Incubus and that his tour replacement, Nicole Row, was now officially a member of the band.

[51] Las Vegas Weekly said that Incubus was a "funky, jazzy, experimental rock band, incorporating elements of hip-hop into its music before it was fashionable to do so.

[8] The Age wrote that Incubus "emerged bearing influences of pop, alternative metal and hip-hop, unusual for mainstream rock bands".

[55] Prior to finding mainstream success in the early 2000s, Incubus was often grouped in with the nu metal movement of the 1990s,[56] alongside other Californian bands such as Korn and Deftones.

"[56] When asked about his thoughts on the scene in a 2013 interview, Brandon Boyd reflected "Something I know that separated us from nu-metal was a lot of those bands had misogynist lyrics, and we never wrote stuff like that.

[59] The Los Angeles Times similarly wrote in 2004 that "Incubus always stood out from the rest of the mid-'90s alt-metal crowd, its positive lyrical approach and musical versatility far richer than the overworked wallowing in misery of such acts as Korn and later arrival Staind.

Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, these bands that were coming of age right when we were growing up, at that most important, kind of pliable time in your youth.