Incubus was a thrash/death metal band that formed in New Orleans in the mid/late 80's. They released a demo and 2 LP's with the name Incubus and now the Howard brothers (Francis and Moyses) are still creating music as Opprobrium, since a horrible pop band copyrighted the name Incubus.
Here is an interview with original vocalist/bassist Scot Latour that was originally printed in Paranoize # 25 (September, 2007).
So when and how did Incubus get started?
We actually started out as a 4-piece with Brian Jeffrey(Haate) on vocals.
We played a mix of covers and originals. We did a couple of shows
(remember "Waves" on Martin Behrman?) and some studio work. The style was fairly
Incubus, if I remember, was the first death metal band in the New Orleans scene. How was the response when you first started playing shows?
THE first? I guess that's arguable but, we were definitely ONE of the first. It was actually kind of cool in an era and scene that was full of hair-metal bands.
I had plenty of musician friends that played the "glam" stuff so the first 5 or 6
shows that we played, we opened for that type of band(Leonyne, Rex). We were generally
pretty well recieved because we were good musicians and generally had more energy
than the bands that we opened for. It was a real good way to cut our teeth on performing
in front of an audience. Hatchboy(ShellShock) actually gave us our start on the
metal/crossover scene. We opened up for them and got a pretty good response.
shows that we played, we opened for that type of band(Leonyne, Rex). We were generally
pretty well recieved because we were good musicians and generally had more energy
than the bands that we opened for. It was a real good way to cut our teeth on performing
in front of an audience. Hatchboy(ShellShock) actually gave us our start on the
metal/crossover scene. We opened up for them and got a pretty good response.
This is a tough one because I've always enjoyed playing live. It's hard to pick a favorite but, I always enjoyed playing at Storyville, great venue. My least favorite would have to be when I blew my Carvin head at the VFW Hall. Although I did get to use a sweet Ampeg tube head while mine was being repaired.
What do you miss the most from that era?
I miss the tighness of all of the bands and musicians. Everyone tried to help each other out. We were all breaking new ground in some way or another because the genre was still relatively new, and New Orleans turned out to be a big part of shaping what it became. There was this Exhorder and Incubus feud early on (long story), but I later was friends with all of them and we did a lot of partying together.
How was your "Supernatural Death" demo received in the underground?
The demo was traded like crazy! We would get mail from people all over the country.'
Tape trading was pretty big back then and we benefitted from it. We gave
Phil(Anselmo) a bunch of tapes and shirts and he helped to spread the word as well.
What's the story behind the label that released your "Serpent Temptation" LP, Brutal Records?
Brutal Records was a subsidiary of Metal Works Records. It was a small label. We signed a one record deal, and had a budget of 20 grand. We were able to get the record done and do a little advertising. To my knowledge Metal Works, along with it's subsidiary(s), went out of business in 1989.
Did you get any flack in the scene for the Christian lean in your lyrics?
No, and to be honest, I never really got any feedback concerning the lyrics. I have read some reviews that mentioned the christian lean but that's about it. We didn't make it a point to be that way lyrically, it's just how we felt at the time we wrote the stuff.
Wasn't there a 2nd guitarist in the band for a brief period?Yes. Very brief. We thought that it would thicken the sound by adding another guitarist. We tried out a few guitarists, and a guy named Jason Baas, played with us for about a month or so, but it just didn't work out.
What's your side of the story behind you parting with Incubus?Ah! It seems that there are 3-sides to every story. Well after touring for "Serpent", we started working on the new songs, a lot of which had already been written. There was a lot going on in my life at the time. we still had not gotten with a new label, and the brothers decided to fire our manager(there Uncle). I did not agree with the decision, but reluctantly accepted it. I was going through a lot emotionally because I had just lost my Father to cancer. It was right around that time that they came to me at practice and decided that they wanted Francis to be the vocalist. I knew at this point that I could no longer count on Michael(our former-manager) to take my side in matters. I decided to leave the band and get my life together before continuing my music career.
What is your opinion on the re-recording of "Serpent Temptation" with Francis on vocals?t was a money grab. In my opinion, that's all it was. I was never contacted in regards to re-releasing the original. Whether or not that was ever part of the plan, I don't know.
Everything that I wrote was changed so that they were not on the hook to give me any money or credit for it. Which is fine, I was never doing it for the money anyway. It's just the
principle of the whole thing. I just think that it was a pretty shitty thing to do overall.
After Incubus, you went on to play bass for Haate; how did this band get started?
I had a blast with Haate. We got started because we all knew each other from the bar
scene (Dino's, Last Stop, etc.). We were all friends/acquaintances already so it was a fun
and relaxing thing for me to get back into playing again. We started from the beginning as
strictly originals. We started out as a 4-piece(Me, Jay Gracianette, James Landry, Willie Larkin), and we wrote and practiced about 4 songs before trying out singers. When I found out that Brian Jeffrey was available, I immediately wanted him(we played together briefly in early-Incubus and I always thought that he was a better frontman than I was), but everyoneinsisted that we have tryouts. We tried out several and in the long run decided on Brian.The rest, as they say, is history.
What were your favorite and least favorite Haate shows?
I don't recall any least favorite shows. I enjoyed playing live with Haate. One of my favorites was when we played at City Park. It was as hot as hell but I had fun.
How did Haate come to an end?
As we started getting bigger in popularity we started to have some infighting, as every band eventually runs into. We had already become a 4-piece, when James left the band by mutual decision. I decided to leave the band and move to Atlanta in June of '91 for a change of scenery. I just felt that when it was no longer fun for me it was time to move on. I ruffled some feathers with my decision, and probably didn't handle it in the best of ways, but we're all still friends.
Which band did you enjoy playing for the most?Now this is a hard question to answer because, I enjoyed being in both bands. There were differences in the two, so I can't say that I have a preference. Haate was a lot more fun as far as practicing(less of a job), and life outside of the band. But because of the success
that Incubus achieved I had a lot of good times with them as well.
What are you up to nowadays?
I work for a large communications company in Atlanta. I've been married for almost 8 years,and have a son who turns 5 in September. I still love Metal and support as many metal bands as I can.
Thanks for the interview, Scot! Any final comments/suggestions/recipes/remedies/etc.?
Thanks to everyone who still shows interest in The Original Incubus, and continues to spreadour music around the world. Moyses called me about 4 years ago and asked if I would beinterested in doing an Incubus reunion. I told him that I would but, I haven't heard from himsince then. The debut album's twenty year reunion is just around the corner. I want fans outthere to know that it could still happen, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Continue tosupport metal on a local, national, and international level. Metal will never die! \m/
No comments:
Post a Comment