Made famous in--well, you KNOW what movie/ song I'm talking about--the Valley really is all about shopping malls and teenage angst (this writer grew up there and knows from liquid black eyeliner and looking sullen at the mall record store), but it's not exactly a hotbed for birthing local musical talent. Calabasas, Calif., one of the more affluent towns of the area, is even less likely of a place for budding rockers. Nevertheless, it's the spot that housed what would eventually become the members of Incubus.

Elementary-school pals Brandon Boyd (vocals) and Jose Pasillas (drums) met up with Mike Einziger--a guitarist who most likely worried his parents with his long antisocial hours of solitary musical practice--in junior high. Upon entering high school, the trio added jazz bassist Alex Katunich to their clique. By 1991 and the 10th grade, the four young musicians naturally decided they were ready to start a band...

Conveniently ignoring the fact that none of them could drive yet (Boyd claims it was a 'big deal' when he, the oldest, finally turned 16), the newly-formed Incubus (named for an evil spirit that has sex with women while they sleep--remember, these are teenage males, and by Boyd's own admission 'it had to be gnarly') began plotting a circuit of gigs at area parties. Within a year, they moved up to all-ages clubs in the Valley. On one fortuitous occasion, Einziger found a hundred-dollar bill on the ground. He used it to book an Incubus gig at a well-known Hollywood Sunset Strip club, buying up a rasher of tickets to sell to friends and fans. A worthwhile investment: the band's popularity had rapidly spread throughout the Valley and every ticket was promptly snapped up.

Four years later, Incubus was still persistently gigging wherever they could. At one such live show, Gavin Koppel, a disc-master also known as DJ Lyfe, was in the audience. He liked what he heard and asked the guys if he could drop some hip-hop in their heavy sound. Within a short period, Lyfe was a permanent part of Incubus--and proved to be the catalyst that nudged the band over to the big time. By the end of 1995, Incubus had won a deal with fellow heavies Korn's label, Immortal Records.

Intent on further building their following before blasting out with a debut full-length record, Incubus released an EP called Enjoy Incubus and completed several mini-tours in support of it, while perfecting a collection of new songs for their full-length follow-up. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was released in 1997, and the band has since toured with Korn, Sugar Ray and on the hard rock extravaganza Ozzfest.