Incubus Guitarist Plans A Symphony

It’s too early to break out the tux ‘n’ tails and the conductor’s baton, but Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger is working on a symphony.

The project began in March, after Einziger had surgery to relieve debilitating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. “I couldn’t play guitar for a few months,” Einziger tells Billboard.com, “so I just started studying music again. I started working on (the symphony), and I learned very quickly that there were a lot of gaps in my musical knowledge.”

Einziger began studying five days a week with a teacher and also spent time with a “musical mentor.” The symphony project remained his focus, and he’s working on it during INCUBUS‘ current headlining tour of North America to promote its 2006 release “Light Grenades.”

“I’m just kind of writing it in small pieces, ’cause it’s very intimidating to think of it as a whole body of work,” explains Einziger, who hasn’t titled the piece yet. “It’ll probably be three movements and 40 minutes of music, and that’s a lot of music to write.

“And I completely realize that it can’t just be interesting only because it’s the guitar player of a rock band writing it. It has to stand up to the work of other composers as well. It’s a pretty hefty task for me to endure, but I’m actually excited about it.”

Einziger says Incubus‘ road schedule should give him plenty of time to continue working on the symphony. After wrapping up on these shores, the group will hit Europe and South America in the fall, with Australia, Japan and other parts of Asia slated for 2008.

The next Incubus album is also on the quintet’s radar — especially since any leftover “Light Grenades” material has been used up for B-sides and bonus tracks.

“We’ll be starting completely from scratch,” Einziger says, “but that’s how we like to do it. We like to look at our albums as photo albums from a very specific time and place. We want them to be representative of where we were at a specific time, so including older songs would seem strange. Everything we do next time will be fresh and brand new.”

Credits for the info to Smnnews.com.

Comments

[Quicksand15]

that sounds pretty interesting!

[Incubus=Science]

alright, id listen to that. Even if it was like...classical.

[WarwickFunk]

I think it will be good. I mean he already did start using some symphonic elements in the new cd. Like the strings on quicksand when it meshes into a kiss to send us off.

[sadistic_monkey]

Awesome. He writes some great music, as we've already seen with Time Lapse Consortium.

[CommanderCool22]

This could be cool...too bad Incubus' new stuff sucks though.

[Pedalboard]

Awesome,I'm going to see them this sunday. It's good to know that at least one new band puts actually time and thought into writing music.

[mp3stalin]

lol mike einzinger is by far one of the greatest MUSICIANS (not just guitarist :P) of our time.

[Kartman]

As a violinist, I'm very interested. Go Mike!

[Son_of_Kyuss]

This makes sense since it sounds like Mike has been carrying Incubus since Dirk left on bass before A Crow Left of the Murder

[Cresspo]

cool incubus is nice

Checked.

[fluffylump2]

should be awesome.

[bassandcello]

cool, we need more musicians like him nowadays.

[the_deviant]

Great to see another great musician, not just some kid who learns two chords and plays them for the rest of his life...

[kryzay311]

bassandcello wrote:

cool, we need more musicians like him nowadays.

[AboveTheBridge]

Mike's an amazing guitarist and quite unique in style. It's nice to see him expanding his musical reportoire for the better.

[fizis]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
this is some funny shit

[Vrstone87]

i HATE Incubus, but that sounds really interesting can't wait to hear it

[yawn]

Sounds sweet. Hopefully it turns out well.

[Obie]

i just saw incubus play in my city and it was a great show. it rained for a short duration of the show but it was still amazing.

[burndttoast]

Kinda like Jonny Greenwood; I think he composed something too and got nominated for an award. I wonder what it'll sound like.

[str84ever]

fizis wrote:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
this is some funny shit

how is that funny?

[One Inch Man]

Sounds very interesting! Have to listen to that!

[sambargun]

He's good and has his own style. But he should push his current bassist to learn to duplicate alex's parts exactly as they are on the older songs. Which may include some slaps and other stuff.....

[pigmaggots]

sambargun wrote:

He's good and has his own style. But he should push his current bassist to learn to duplicate alex's parts exactly as they are on the older songs. Which may include some slaps and other stuff.....

Why though? What would be the point in that..he's a different bassist with a different style, so its cool he adapts them to suit himself.

As for the symphony, sounds wicked..the solo stuff i heard from him was quite cool, so the symphony will probably be aswell if it ever gets completed!

[MetallicaNRoses]

way back in january i decided it would be cool to go see incubus live. little did i know they had just played here less than two weeks before.

[Teufel]

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

[HavokStrife]

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.

[Teufel]

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.

I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.

[Arkane]

fizis wrote:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
this is some funny shit

if anyone is capable of this Mike is...hes one talented mofo. and btw, Einziger could play circles around any of you ****erss.

[TheforumTroll]

Anyone disrespecting Mr. Einziger clearly doesn't know what they are talking about. It's quite sad that the only thing that appeals to the cromagnons that inhabit this site are ridiculously fast hammer ons and the like. He is a very capable musician.

[GuitarJunkie]

cool idea...i hope it dosn't suck though, cause i like him so much as a guitarist. If he does do this i hope it's worthy of him putting his name on it

[raidernixon]

good to hear this...mike rules. very creative guitarist.

allot of bitter little high school children must live at this website...it seems no matter what band or subject matter is at hand, there is always some **** trying to put everything down

[the jakester]

Teufel wrote:

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.


I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.

ok damn teufel u apparently like giving a little too much of ur opinion to a bunch of ppl who dont want to hear it. if u think that tremonti is over-rated thats neat. and if u think that mike is a bad guitarist than whatev. but the man is writing a ****ing symphony which means he knows a great deal of music, im willing to bet more than u. and i do believe he is a better guitarist than u b/c i have never heard of u before until u stuck ur dumbass into these threads. so stop posting idiotic stuff when ppl are wanting to discuss music. thanks u ****head.

hope the symphony goes well for this guy... word on teh street is they're hard to make

[Snakexe]

The same people bashing Mike are probably the same people that think Kirk Hammett is the best ever because he plays really fast.

But on topic, I'd be very interested to listen to this.

[Musicislife539]

VITAMIN WATER- TRY IT!!!!!

[cuthbertallgood]

Really interesting. Can't wait to hear it.

[Teufel]

the jakester wrote:

Teufel wrote:

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.


I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.

ok damn teufel u apparently like giving a little too much of ur opinion to a bunch of ppl who dont want to hear it. if u think that tremonti is over-rated thats neat. and if u think that mike is a bad guitarist than whatev. but the man is writing a ****ing symphony which means he knows a great deal of music, im willing to bet more than u. and i do believe he is a better guitarist than u b/c i have never heard of u before until u stuck ur dumbass into these threads. so stop posting idiotic stuff when ppl are wanting to discuss music. thanks u ****head.

hope the symphony goes well for this guy... word on teh street is they're hard to make

Please, before you attempt to retaliate next time, take some english courses. As I said, my opinion is my own and your opinion is your own, bash me not because my opinion and I shan't bash you because of yours. Good day.

[Teufel]

because of my*

[kbr]

yes, this will be interesting, and yes, mike is a great guitarist. i was a huge fan back in the day, and he inspired me to get a PRS. but i do agree w/some of you here that incubus kinda sucks now. after fungus amongus, science and make yourself, they pretty much went in a direction i didnt like. of course this is my opinion. and i dont really need rebuttles talking about how bands grow, experiment and that shit. theyre just not good anymore. they sound like they sold out to a more mainstream public. im sure many of you will be angry w/these comments, so humor me w/responses. but mike is a good guitarist.

and guy up there that made a reference to kirk hammett...you think he's a bad player??? im not the biggest metallica fan, but i wouldnt go saying what it sounds like you are implying.

[sum41freak8733]

kbr i dont think he meant it that way its just there are those people in the world that thing playing fast tapping and arpeggios every 5 seconds is being god on guitar.....just to note thats stereo typing , and 2nd you dont have to play the most complicated shit in the world to be a good sounding guitar player

[fruit lover]

this could be interesting but it isn't really an original concept many people have done similar things: Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Yngwie, deep purple, and Paul Mccartney it is also extremely difficult to get a large scale orchestra to perform your music and even though he is a pretty good guitarist like most symphonys arranged by rockers don't expect to be that amazed

[failsaferemedy]

Teufel wrote:

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.

I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.

Then listen to Fungus Amongus again. You'll find quite a bit of jazz theory in his guitar work, as well as in the bassist's basslines. I think Morning View also displays a more developed and unique sense of playing that may not be technically difficult, but is certainly more melodic and inspiring.

[failsaferemedy]

Oh, and may I add one of the jazziest songs off of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. , Deep Inside, has, what I consider, to be a rather technical guitar solo based on sweep techniques. Summer Romance(Anti-Gravity Love Song) also displays his use of jazzy arpeggios.

[Musicislife539]

i hate it when people say "youll never be as good as him" its annoying.

Musicislife539 wrote:

i hate it when people say "youll never be as good as him" its annoying.

I hate that too. That has nothing to do with how something sounds. I might not like some music that some people make, but "you'll never be as good as them" has nothing to do with whether I like it or not.

Checked.

[redhotsexmagic]

sweet

[ratzgame]

I'm soooo excited to hear this. I'll be looking forward to hearing it! Einziger IS my roll model for guitar playing XD

[HILIKUS!]

I will be looking forward to hearing this, yeah Light Grenades was definitely lacking that "classic" incubus sound but I can imagine their next album being amazing. Mike Einziger and Incubus is the reason I got into music and I will be forever supportive of these guys.

[kbr]

failsaferemedy wrote:

Oh, and may I add one of the jazziest songs off of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. , Deep Inside, has, what I consider, to be a rather technical guitar solo based on sweep techniques. Summer Romance(Anti-Gravity Love Song) also displays his use of jazzy arpeggios.

deep inside is an excellent song, probably my favorite, probably my favorite album

[Vomitorator]

Teufel wrote:

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.

I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.

Listen to the song "Echo", "Leech" and "Quicksand" and all of science. Hes quite dexterous, but he comes up with the really original ideas that always seem to work. Like... Quicksand is in a time signature that I cant even count no matter how hard I try but I still get a good grasp of the melody. Musicianship shouldnt be how fast your fingers can move. That would mean that Dragonforce may actually be considered musicians. Its about translating an emotion into something musical, and to me, thats what being a virtuoso is about and feel like Mike E is one of the most talented guitarists of our time.

[Vomitorator]

failsaferemedy wrote:

Teufel wrote:

HavokStrife wrote:

Teufel wrote:

Musical knowledge? What musical knowledge? It certainly doesn't show in his guitar work.

He's no Michael Angelo Batio, but he's a lot better than you are. No doubt.

I find that hard to believe as the material I've heard was very uninspiring and unoriginal.
Then listen to Fungus Amongus again. You'll find quite a bit of jazz theory in his guitar work, as well as in the bassist's basslines. I think Morning View also displays a more developed and unique sense of playing that may not be technically difficult, but is certainly more melodic and inspiring.

I really agree with the fact that morning view is more melodic and inspiring. But for me by far, make yourself, the whole cd is the inspiration anthem, lol. Songs about personal responsibility and going out and doing what you want to do in life.

[PAsistem]

gimmick

[Havenspear]

Damn, that's ambitious.

[fxt_fella]

Like... Quicksand is in a time signature that I cant even count no matter how hard I try

Well it has a bar of 7/8, then a bar of 10/8. That's just how I find it easiest to count it when I drum it.

[drumbum4life]

this is going to be sofa king cool!!!!

[rifftnstrings]

Sounds potentially awesome. I'm interested.

[twistedmaggot]

drumbum4life wrote:

this is going to be sofa king cool!!!!

haha lol

[JordanT01]

Incubus is the coolest and Mike is an amazing musician. He plays real music not all that new music of today like bullet for my valentine and stupid paramore punk emo crap. Incubus is the only music I need in my life. Keep playing Mike!!!

[Sloane]

Ok where are these B-sides that they mentioned? I'd like to get a hold of those.