|
Brandon Boyd (born February 15, 1976, in Van Nuys, California) is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band Incubus.
Life and careerBoyd graduated from Calabasas High School in 1994, and attended Moorpark College for two years before committing to Incubus.
Brandon grew up in Calabasas, California. His parents Dolly and Charles, both of whom had experience in entertainment, had nurtured his artistic side since he was a child. His younger brother, Jason Boyd, was also the lead singer of a band called Audiovent, which has since broken up. Other musical family members include cousin Robert Boyd "BertoChico" who is an accomplished Flamenco guitarist and composer [1]. He had first met Jose Pasillas in elementary school in the 1980s, but it was not until high school that he was asked to join a band that already included Pasillas, Mike Einziger, and Alex Katunich. Boyd's vocal abilities, which were for the most part self-taught (he had taken two lessons before he ran out of money, but he claims he learned everything he would need), proved to be the final essential element for the band.
Boyd designed concert fliers advertising their early performances. At first, Boyd had copied several drawings from a sex education book that Einziger's mother had given them, but he decided to stop using it after several prospective fans had been confused by their fliers ("What kind of band is this?")
. Boyd also plays the didgeridoo and djembe drum. He has also taken up some guitar parts during live performances.
His voice was part of what enticed Sony's Epic/Immortal Records, and the band was signed in 1996. The band's first two releases on the label, Fungus Amongus and S.C.I.E.N.C.E. went largely unnoticed, but subsequent releases Make Yourself and Morning View were commercial successes. The band's 2004 release A Crow Left of the Murder... has continued their success. On November 28, 2006, the band released Light Grenades.
Boyd was also the subject of controversy for a time, thanks to a deal as a poster child for GAP. Many fans felt this contradicted lyrics that Boyd has written in the past about not conforming to the norms of society. Boyd sang a cover version of Elvis Costello's "Alison" in this ad. His cover of "Alison" was released on a GAP in-store CD (the rest of Incubus did not contribute to the song).
Brandon Boyd has written two books. This first, written in 2003, was White Fluffy Clouds: Found Inspiration Moving Forward. It was published by Endophasia Publications and mainly consists of his artwork, photography, song lyrics from Incubus, and additional writings and thoughts. His more recent publication, From the Murks of the Sultry Abyss, was published by Endophasia in 2007.
In recent years, Brandon Boyd has focused on making fine art, specifically painting, and on September 8, 2008 celebrated the opening of his first solo show, titled "Ectoplasm", at Mr Musichead Gallery in Los Angeles, California.
TattoosBrandon Boyd is known for his mostly self designed tattoos. On his forearm he carries the widely known Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, roughly translated as "hail the jewel of the lotus", and under that is a koi fish in red ink designed by friend and fellow bandmate, José Pasillas. On the inside of his right arm he has several tattoos, one once again incorporating the Tibetan mantra and another designed after a crop circle. Following the release of their album A Crow Left of the Murder, he got an elaborate back tattoo featuring the common image of the All Seeing-Eye embedded in a pyramid. He also has a tattoo of the Eye of Horus on his right ankle. Other tattoos include his parents' names on his forearms, an owl on his back, one tear drop on his finger on both hands, and a picture inspired on Aubrey Beardsley famous art, "The Peacock Skirt" on his left arm.
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Brandon Boyd
|
|
Genre : Pop & Rock
| All Music
Photo by: images.43things.com
|
