Incubus' very talented guitarist is Mike Einziger and he was born on June 21, 1976 !!
So let's learn how talented, diverse, and educated the guy with whom we share the same nationality.
1. His full name is Michael Aaron Einziger and he was born in Los Angeles, California.
2. Until the second grade, he studied and was educated in a Jewish school called "Kadima".
3. He held his bar mitzvah party at "Valley Beth Shalom" and continued to attend a Jewish school three times a week in the afternoon.
4. His mother was a piano teacher and he grew up with music circling him at all hours of the day.
(Photo: Incubus)
5. At the age of eight he started taking guitar lessons but quit very quickly because the teacher taught him children's songs and Mike wanted to learn to play rock songs. He returned to play the guitar at the age of 12 and taught himself to play by hearing. The first song he learned to play was the theme song from the James Bond movies.
6. In 1991, during his studies at Calabasas High School, he formed with his friends Brandon Boyd, José Pasillas II, and Alex Katunich the band "Incubus".
(Photo: Con Keyes)
7. They started playing in clubs around Los Angeles as they formed themselves their very special musical identity.
8. In 1995 DJ Gavin Koppell joined the band and they released their first EP "Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout Root Beer" which included two songs.
9. The band's debut album "Fungus Amongus" was released in 1995. The album was heavily influenced by the punk metal style, they even wrote in the album booklet thank you note to the bands Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, and Mr. Bungle. They also gave themselves fake names like Happy Knappy, Salsa, Fabio, and Dirk Lance.
10. A year later, the band signed a seven-record contract with Epic Records.
11. In 1997 the band released their second EP called "Enjoy Incubus" which aimed to promote the band during their tour as an opening show for the band Korn.
12. Later that year Incubus released their second album (and the first on a major record label) called "S.C.I.E.N.C.E." Here the band began to change its direction to heavier sound with riffs from Nu Metal. The album was not a great success but sold relatively well for an album that did not receive airplay on radio or television.
13. After a short break, the band released their third album "Make Yourself" in October 1999. This is the breakthrough album with the hit single "Drive" which was played all over US radio stations. Here the band has already started to go more in the direction of alternative rock and Pop Rock.
14. In 2001 the band released their fourth album "Morning View" which was also a great success with
the singles "Wish You Were Here" and "Nice to Know You".
15. That same year, Mike composed the soundtrack for a romantic comedy film called "Sol Goode" released in 2003.
16. In 2003, Mike and his friends founded an organization called "The Make Yourself Foundation" which aims to support and contribute to various charities and organizations for the benefit of the environment and society in the United States and around the world.
17. That same year, Mike formed the band "Time Lapse Consortium" which created psychedelic and funk jazz-style music. They have performed in several clubs and even released one album.
18. In the same year Mike participated in Ziggy Marley's debut album called "Dragonfly".
19. In 2004 the band released their fifth album "A Crow Left of the Murder..." (an album we unfortunately did not manage to review yet) and it continued the band's success with the previous two albums.
20. In 2006 the band released their sixth album "Light Grenades" which was their first album to reach number one on Billboard.
21. In 2007, Mike produced Coconut Records' "Nighttiming" album. A musical project by actor Jason Schwartzman that combines elements of rock, pop, and electronic.
22. Mike is a graduate of Harvard University where he studied the history and philosophy of physics (how to say... it's not rocket science... yes it is!).
23. And if that's not enough then he also went back to study music theory there !! This is what motivated him to write classical music.
24. In the early 2000s Mike began to develop a disease called "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" which causes severe pain to the point of inaction on the palms of the hands. Around 2007 during a performance in Munich his condition deteriorated to the point that he could no longer play, out of frustration he began to break his guitar on stage and went down before the end of the show. That day he realized he needed surgery and indeed that year he underwent surgery and fully recovered.
25. During that period he was not allowed to use his hand and therefore also not play, so he invested in a project called “End.> Vacuum”. This is a composition project for an orchestra, classical music. The composition consists of four sections and its total length is 40 minutes and was performed by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
26. In 2009 the band released a compilation album called "Monuments and Melodies".
27. In the same year, Mike recorded the role of guitar on Thirty Seconds To Mars' album "This Is War".
28. In 2011 the band released their seventh album called "If Not Now, When?" Which is a completely different album from anything the band has released up to that time.
29. In 2012 he collaborated with musician Avicii and together they created the song "Wake Me Up!" Released on the album "True".
30. In 2017 the band released their eighth album called “8”.
31. Mike is known as a guitarist who likes to use analog effects. Between the guitar and the amplifier are connected a variety of instruments, some ancient and some modern, mostly analog, with which he creates the crazy sounds in the band's albums and especially in live performances.
Listen to Incubus' latest album on: Spotify, Apple Music