http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26793229/from/ET/

Incubus rocks many worlds with its charity

Band encounters ‘truly good people’ through Make Yourself Foundation

Each month, we highlight a celebrity’s work on behalf of a specific cause. This month we speak with Brandon Boyd, the lead singer of the band Incubus, about his group’s charity organization, the Make Yourself Foundation. Through the foundation, Incubus donates a portion of the proceeds from its concert tours, record sales, online auctions of merchandise and special events to a range of worthy groups and causes selected by the band members, including the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, California Wildlife Conservatory and Camp Painted Turtle, among many others. They also maintain an emergency fund for international natural disaster relief.

Question: When and why did you decide to found the Make Yourself Foundation?

Answer: I think it was 2003. … All of us kind of realized how we had sort of arrived at this place of visibility, I guess you could say. … I know from personal experience that we really paid attention to the bands that we were listening to. … (Many of them) were promoting certain things at their shows -- booths you could go to here you could find out about certain causes or certain organizations they were working with. … It kind of made it OK as a teenager to get involved with something. … It was an interesting way to be introduced to philanthropy, I guess you could say. So we started really realizing that we had a wonderful chance here to raise awareness about some important things that were going on, (but) where do we start? We figured we would just raise money for and raise awareness towards things that were important to us, which started around some, humanitarian causes that we’ve worked with on small scales and then some environmental causes that we’ve worked with on small scales, like the Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay and whatnot.

Q: Was there a specific catalyst for the initial start-up?

Read the rest of the interview here

From Brandon Boyd:

Over the past few years, we have been so fortunate to watch the Make Yourself Foundation grow from its humble beginnings to a full fledged source of assistance and influence in the world. Through all of our combined efforts, MYF was able to reach its first long term goal of One Million dollars late last year. Dozens of important causes were held up with your hands, Incubus' largest tour to date was able to almost completely erase it's carbon footprint, and not the least of the accomplishments, together we were reminded that 'many' is more powerful than 'few.'

It has been really wonderful meeting the people all over the world whose love of art and music inspire them towards acts of selflessness. And we look forward to continuing this process further; setting new, larger goals along the way. The accolades granted to Incubus this last year, (EMA Award, Ebay Giving Works Award) are dedicated to those of you who spent your hard earn coin donating to MYF. Without your participation, we wouldn't be where we are today! So, what I guess I'm trying to say is, thank you! And the charities to whom those moneys went to thank you as well.

So on behalf of everyone in Incubus and once again, the organizations to which we all donated our time and resources, cheers! It has always been my observation that to live by example is the most admirable way to walk the Earth! See you all soon

11/2/08 Pontiac Garage Dallas, TX

11/3/08 Emo's Austin, TX

11/6/08 Eagle Theater Pontiac, MI

11/7/08 Strummers Pittsburgh, PA

11/9/08 Black Cat Washington, DC

11/10/08 Ram's Head Annapolis, MD

11/11/08 The Blender Theater New York, NY

11/12/08 Hard Rock Boston Boston, MA

11/14/08 Pearl Street Northampton, MA

11/15/08 The Asylum Portland, ME

11/17/08 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ

11/18/08 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH

11/22/08 Martini Ranch Scottsdale, AZ

11/23/08 The Beatles Revolution Las Vegas, NV

11/24/08 House of Blues San Diego, CA

11/25/08 House of Blues Los Angeles, CA

Dear Friends:

We would like to remind you that Brandon Boyd will be debuting his new art exhibit, "Ectoplasm", at Mr. Musichead Rock Art Gallery from Sept 8 - 27.

Mr. Musichead is located at:

7511 W. Sunset Blvd. (at Gardner)
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-876-0042

Gallery hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 AM - 6 PM

11/2/08 Pontiac Garage Dallas, TX

11/3/08 Emo's Austin, TX

11/6/08 Eagle Theater Pontiac, MI

11/7/08 Strummers Pittsburgh, PA

11/9/08 Black Cat Washington, DC

11/10/08 Ram's Head Annapolis, MD

11/11/08 The Blender Theater New York, NY

11/12/08 Hard Rock Boston Boston, MA

11/14/08 Pearl Street Northampton, MA

11/15/08 The Asylum Portland, ME

11/17/08 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ

11/18/08 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH

11/22/08 Martini Ranch Scottsdale, AZ

11/23/08 The Beatles Revolution Las Vegas, NV

11/24/08 House of Blues San Diego, CA

11/25/08 House of Blues Los Angeles, CA

*more dates to come*

Brandon Boyd will debut his new art exhibit, “Ectoplasm”, at Mr. Musichead Rock Art Gallery from Sept 8 – 27.

Mr. Musichead is located at:

7511 W. Sunset Blvd. (at Gardner)

Los Angeles, CA 90046

323-876-0042

Gallery hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM

Tickets for “End.>vacuum”, the original orchestral piece composed by Incubus guitarist Michael Einziger, have officially gone on sale.

The performance is on August 23rd at UCLA’s famed Royce Hall. The piece consists of nine musical movements and will be performed by a chamber orchestra led by renowned Los Angeles conductor and Michael’s longtime collaborator Suzie Katayama.

The show also includes a guest appearance and lecture from renowned British physicist Dr. Brian Cox, the Scientific Consultant on the Danny Boyle film Sunshine.

Purchase tickets HERE.

Don't forget to access the "End.>vacuum" presale.  Get your tickets before the show sells out.

The presale will be live until Friday, July 25 at 6 PM Pacific.

Get your presale tickets HERE.