Interviews (235)

• August 13, 2024
• Colleen Johnson
• 372
• 0

As the summer cools down, which is a wild sentence to write, the fall is heralding a slew of insane tours spinning their way toward Boston. This summer already saw huge moments at Fenway, be it Green Day, Blink 182, or Foo Fighters, and a great way to cap off the summer for you can come in the form of catching Incubus on August 31st at TD Garden. A venue that will be home to countless massive shows this fall as well, the crew in Incubus will be bringing their recently re-recorded version of their iconic album, Morning View, with Morning View XXIII. Released in May, with newest member Nicole Row in tow, the band played a sold-out Hollywood Bowl show to kick everything off, and have already brought this tour to  Asia and Australia to the tune of massive crowds and a whole lot of feels.

The US run kicks off in just over a week or so in Detroit and will be capping off the first week of the run with their Boston date. Coheed & Cambria will be kicking off the experience every night, a perfect pairing for this run. I took the chance to sit down with the aforementioned newest member of the band, Nicole Row, recently to talk about everything from her involvement in the re-recording of the album to these first shows of the run and her time with the band so far. As well, Row has definitely put in her time, previously being in Panic! At the Disco for the last five years of that band’s run, and gave advice to young musicians just starting! Limited tickets can still be scooped here. Incubus’s set will consist of Morning View in full as well, of course, all the hits that fans have loved over the years, making it a no-miss show for fans of the band!

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New England Sounds: Obviously, a lot is going on for the band right now. This tour has already kind of gone through Asia and Australia. Maybe a soft one to start; how were those shows, and how was it to see this album come to life? And I’m sure these fans were so appreciative. 

Nicole Row: Oh yeah, the tour we just did overseas was so much fun. Their fanbase out there is pretty wild. So, a lot of fully packed shows, a lot of meet and greets. It was intense. 

NES: And you’re no stranger to this level of touring. I know you were previously playing with Panic! At The Disco for five years, you’re used to rooms of that size, and you officially joined Incubus this year. I know it’s probably been a whirlwind, but how has that experience been so far? 

Nicole: I’m very grateful for the opportunity. Coming from Panic!, which was such a wonderful team of people, and then to get so lucky to jump on board so quickly with a fellow team that’s just as great. Sometimes, you can land in camps with some tense spots or groups of people that don’t click fully. And I feel like I just keep getting lucky with these awesome crews. And then, for it to be on the way home from our final show with Panic!, I got reached out to by Mike (Einziger). So I wasn’t without or floating too long between those two. I’m trying to think of a woo-woo word for it that, but it just felt meant to be.  

And, of course, getting to play Incubus’s music is so funny. Because it’s albums that I remember listening to as a kid, it would be going to the lake with my dad, we’d be listening to Incubus on the boat. It’s really funny; I remember when we first hopped into the studio, my favorite thing, I laughed so hard; Mike just came up to me, we were all holding our instruments, and he goes, “So do you know any of our songs,” to like jam. And I didn’t react at the moment, but I giggled about it so hard later. Because I’m like, oh yeah, of course, yes I do. So yeah, it’s been really fun and easy to jump right into. They’re so wonderful, and the music’s great. They’ve kind of welcomed me in with open arms, too, to be a full collaborator on everything happening, which is really special. 

NES: Then as you mentioned before, you were a part of the recording process on this re-issued version of “Morning View XXIII.”  As someone who had listened to this album when you were younger, how has it been to see Brandon and the band back in that environment and revisit those songs? How was it to see that, experience it, and now be a part of it yourself? 

Nicole: Watching them go through it again felt very precious to them. They wanted to sort of re-imagine the songs; they didn’t want just to do it again. I know, looking back, like all the videos they’ve been sharing recently, being at the “Morning View” house and being kids and just recording the album at that time, where they were with their life, and some of those stories about the album. They’ll be like, oh, and when we were doing this, at this place, etcetera. And that was really beautiful to get to see, and it sort of made me want to treat it that way, too; it was very precious, and it made me think, where was I? It made me think about how can I put myself into it but also keep the texture of what it was. What it was when it was written, like keep that alive. And not just come in and bulldoze, like here’s me (laughs)! 

NES: Yeah, like wanting to have your touch on it but respecting the history of the band and the album. Then, this is to preview the Boston show, which is about a week into the run, with the US tour starting August 23rd in Detroit. It’s their first show in Boston proper since 2019. They’ve been in Mansfield since, but this will be a big one. The first time headlining such a huge room. How are you feeling, and maybe preparations going into the US run of this tour, with Coheed and Cambria as main support? 

Nicole: Oh yeah, Coheed and Cambria is an awesome band with an awesome live show. So I’m really excited to play with them again. They opened for us a while back. And in preparation for this, I mean, we’re super excited because the Hollywood Bowl show was so accidently awesome. I don’t think they anticipated that, and everyone showed up; the venue was fully sold out. The connection with the crowd and everybody, kind of re-living the album again, the show was so vibey (laughs). And I think everyone is ready for that. For them also, I imagine, to have a little bit of a switch-up from the usual thing. Touring can be a lot of the same feelings, the same familiar set list, things like that. And this is very much a unique presentation. And not just the fact that the venues are all massive, doing well, selling well, the rooms will be full, which creates a really high energy show in those places, which is so much fun. So I think everyone’s really excited to get out and get into that for sure. 

NES: Perfect. Then I wanted to ask. This is small, but I live in New England, and during your time with Panic, you also played with Mike Naran (ex-Panic, ex-Sparks the Rescue), who had a similar call. He used to be a local New England musician; I know he’s in LA now. At the time, he was in a band playing day shows, and I know when he got that call, it was massive for him. Maybe advice to people, like young musicians, to keep going? You’re playing on huge stages and now a permanent member of this iconic band. But maybe advice to people just getting started? 

Nicole: Yeah! What advice would I have given my younger self? The music industry is completely unpredictable, right? Just going into the music industry with a sense of doing what it is that you like, playing the way that you want to play, is going to carry you so much further. Then, do what you think you’re supposed to be doing. There’s always those stereotypical things like, “Get out! Play! Be seen. Social media is big right now, so you have to stay on top of that.” And not everybody loves it; I mean, I don’t love it, but people think that we do. And somebody told me when I was young to do every single gig when you’re starting out. Just keep working and working, and as long as you’re keeping your own creative sense, you can still do all these gigs, and it warps into this awesome tornado of momentum. But, just people who, I struggled with this, kind of hideaway, just play in their room and not get out. That is a really hard wall to get past and one of the most important ones. So, for anybody who’s young and trying to get into it, it’s just really networking, getting out, and performing. And just play the things you like for sure, and it all just sort of clicks that way. 

NES: And Incubus is one of the few bands still touring at this point, from 1991, that are still playing at this massive level. So I’m sure they would have a similar viewpoint, to keep at it. When they started Incubus, they were so young, too. 

Nicole: Oh yeah! I can’t speak for them, but I’d imagine they are a great example of people who do what feels good to them. And I think that is a large part of why they’ve been able to stay together, unlike so many other bands. They’ve kind of been able to happily keep it going successfully because they enjoy it. It’s this very exciting, wonderful feeling when we all just get into the studio to rehearse and do something simple. We’re never coming into it, saying, “Oh, we have to do this, deal with these responsibilities; it’s not that at all. If there’s something that they don’t feel or they don’t like, we don’t do it. And I think that’s important for anything in life, right (laughs)? When you’ve been doing something for such a long period of time. 

NES: Then we know what’s coming; we have this big US tour for the band, and the re-issue was only two months ago in May. Maybe if you can say, I’m sure there are some things under wraps, but maybe hopes or goals for the band in these next few months as they take on the US leg of this tour. 

Nicole: For this tour, hopes and goals are to soak it all up. I mean, everybody imagines everything is going to be just like the Hollywood Bowl show. We’re hoping to have a really good time, present songs in the way that we recorded them, and just share them with the audience. And try to have everybody kind of jump back in time with us. And then we’re still creating right now, so making new music, and all that stuff, to come. Everybody’s in hit-the-ground-running mode, ready for the rest of this year, this tour, and next year to blossom into something else.

 

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Remaining Incubus Fall Dates: 

08/23: Detroit, MI (Little Caesars Arena)

8/24: Chicago, IL (Allstate Arena)

8/27: Philadelphia, PA (Wells Fargo Center)

8/29: New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden)

8/31: Boston, MA (TD Garden)

9/3: Tampa, FL (Amalie Arena)