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

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.

Dear Incubus Fans,

Thanks for your enthusiasm in response to the contest announcement for Mike Einziger’s orchestral debut, “End.>vacuum”. It has come to our attention that some fans have had a difficult time entering the contest for a number of reasons: computer limitations, shyness on camera, upload issues and so on. Whatever your poison, we have decided to alleviate your headaches by loosening the presale qualification requirements. If you just want to buy a pair of tickets before the general on-sale, all you have to do is send an email to contest@endvacuum.com with your name and location (state for US citizens / country for international citizens). Once your email has been received, we will send you a unique password, which will enable you to access the presale from July 22 – 25 on www.ticketmaster.com.

For those hardcore Incubus fans around the world who still want to win the TWO FREE TICKETS, you must abide by the initial rules posted here:

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/news/debut-original-orchestral-composition

As for the Incubus fans who have already entered the contest by following the express guidelines, we have received your submissions and you do not need to enter the contest again. You’re great, we love you, please keep being you.

Finally, if you wish to see Mike’s interview with Incubus fan and un-official videographer, Matt Ryan, regarding the “End.>vacuum” project, go here:

http://www.misterfilms.com/frameset.htm

Thank you all for your patience and continued support.

INCUBUS GUITARIST MICHAEL EINZIGER PENS ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION

TO BE PERFORMED AT ROYCE HALL ON AUGUST 23

Michael Einziger, guitarist from the Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rock band Incubus enters a new realm with the debut of his first original orchestral composition, “End.>vacuum,” at UCLA’s famed Royce Hall on August 23.

The piece consists of nine musical movements (approximately 40 minutes total) and will be performed by a chamber orchestra led by renowned Los Angeles conductor and Einziger’s longtime collaborator Suzie Katayama.

The evening will begin with British physicist Dr. Brian Cox, who will be giving a 20-minute lecture about particle physics and the exciting scientific experiments being conducted at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Dr. Cox was the Scientific Consultant on the Danny Boyle film Sunshine. His commentary on the film is now available on the DVD. He also writes on scientific issues, most recent credits include the New Statesman and The Times. His ability to present science in an exciting and interesting way has made him a popular television & radio presenter, broadcaster and writer.

Einziger has been crafting “End.>vacuum” for more than a year, following surgery in March 2007 for carpel tunnel syndrome, a repetitive-strain injury to his left wrist undoubtedly due to a lifetime of playing guitar.  The condition forced him to take a hiatus from the band and his instrument.  It would be the longest he’d ever gone without playing, and enabled him to follow some other musical, as well as outside, interests.

“Live musical performance is what I’m most familiar with,” says Einziger, who will play various different instruments throughout the piece.  “So I think it was natural for me to gravitate in that direction.”

The piece was inspired by such iconoclastic modern and avant-garde composers as Igor Stravinsky, George Crumb, Samuel Barber, Krzysztof Penderecki and Frank Zappa.

According to Einziger, “End.>vacuum” makes reference to his perception of the outer edge of human understanding, “the finite place where rational scientific knowledge stops and pure speculation ensues…The event horizon between what we know and what we don’t know is what keeps me awake at night, but also gets me out of bed every day.”

A major portion of the piece’s inspiration resides in Einziger’s love of science.  He has recently participated in articles with Brown University evolutionary biologist Dr. Kenneth Miller, British physicist Dr. Brian Cox and Pulitzer Prize-winning science historian Dr. Ed Larson.

Einziger has been accepted at Harvard, where he will begin to study musical composition this fall.  He hopes to study subjects such as Physics, Cosmology and Evolutionary Biology.  You know, the easy stuff.

A ticket presale will take place from July 22-25.  For details on how to qualify for the presale, please visit www.endvacuum.com.  Tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 1st through www.ticketmaster.com.

INCUBUS AND TENACIOUS D JOIN "VH1 Rock HOnors" lineup WITH APPEARANCES BY RAINN WILSON

THE NIGHT WILL FEATURE AN UNFORGETTABLE LIVE PERFORMANCE BY THE WHO

as well as by tribute bands PEARL JAM, FOO FIGHTERS AND THE FLAMING LIPS

 "VH1 Rock Honors: The Who" Premieres Thursday, July 17 at 9pm*

on VH1, VH1 Classic and MHD