Incubus are returning to New Zealand, alongside US rock band Live, co-headlining two shows in Christchurch and Auckland in April.
Incubus are returning to New Zealand, alongside US rock band Live, co-headlining two shows in Christchurch and Auckland in April.
Armed with a rumour and some advice on Kiwi slang, The Hits broadcaster Ben Boyce sits down with Incubus member Chris Kilmore ahead of the band’s New Zealand show.
Did Incubus party with Ronan Keating in a New Zealand hotel lobby in 2012? That’s the burning question I wanted to ask Chris Kilmore, aka DJ Kilmore, DJ and keyboardist from American rock band Incubus. My mate tipped me off about this secret hotel bash in New Zealand, and Kilmore just laughs when I mention it. “I don’t think I was there,” he says.
He does admit, however, that there were many nights he’d find himself hanging out with someone unexpected. “And you’re like how’d that happen?”
So, maybe it wasn’t true? Or maybe Kilmore had followed Keating’s famous words of wisdom – that you could say it best when you say nothing at all?
But with these two powerhouses teaming up, I was eager to know who gets top billing – Live is listed first on promotional material, perhaps to avoid confusion – and who secures the best dressing room and tastiest backstage snacks? “Well you know, we are all weak and chill, and non-confrontational so I’m sure Live is going to take all that stuff,” jokes Kilmore.
Even though I’ve been doing it for years, I’m always nervous before interviewing rock stars, worrying that I’m not cool enough. But with Kilmore, there’s no need to worry. He’s incredibly friendly and laid back as he chats from his home in Los Angeles.
His dreadlocks, now reaching floor length, are tied up behind his head because, as he puts it “they get caught in everything”.
His DJ decks are just an arm’s length away, not surprising considering he takes them everywhere, even claiming to set them up in his hotel rooms on his world travels. I jokingly tell him that must make him a nightmare to room with.
Kilmore has been to New Zealand shores with the band a few times and looks forward to returning to Christchurch in particular. They played there the year after the 2011 earthquake and Kilmore recalls the scene vividly. “You could still see the clean-up effort was still going on,” he reflects. “It was good to be down there to play shows in an environment like that because music heals. We played in NYC after 9-11 and when things like that happen and people don’t know what to do and they’re mourning, it’s good to come in and try to cheer them up and give them a little bit of hope.”
Incubus shot into the mainstream spotlight in 1999 with their album Make Yourself, featuring the massive hit Drive. Further hit singles and hit albums followed, earning a Grammy nomination in 2004 and selling more than 23 million records worldwide.
The band, initially formed in 1991 as a group of high school friends, added Kilmore to the mix in 1998 and they were off like lead singer Brandon’s shirt in a music video. “My life changed instantly,” remembers Kilmore. Just days after impressing the band, he was on tour doing a whopping 315 live performances in a single year. “No one had cell phones back then. I was chilling in LA and next thing you know I was gone. All my friends were like where are you? What happened?”
Incubus’ global presence was undeniable during that period. One of the most unexpected places Kilmore heard one of their songs was in a Russian elevator after checking into a hotel for a gig. “The hotel had no idea who we were and what we were there for. But we get into the elevator and they’re playing Drive. This is weird!”
More than 20 years later, love for Incubus still resonates worldwide, with both New Zealand shows nearly sold out. “We’re all getting a little older. But we still have the spunk, we still have the fire. And we feel fortunate we can still play big shows and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Their fanbase has evolved too: many are now parents who bring their children to the concerts. “You’ll see three generations of a family at a concert,” he notes. I mention that new bass player Nicole Row, from Panic at the Disco, was born in 1991 the same year the band first formed in high school. “She brings our collective age down,” jokes Kilmore.
A self-professed adrenaline junkie, Kilmore checked off the Auckland bungee and Sky Tower jump from his New Zealand bucket list during previous visits. This time around, he’s looking to step things up. “We gotta get out and do the really big ones,” he says excitedly.
As our time together winds down, I decide to teach Kilmore a couple of New Zealand slang terms to use while he’s here. However, when I mention “choice as”, he mistakenly thinks I could be complimenting his behind. And every time I say “DJ deck” in my Kiwi accent, there’s a good chance he thinks I’m referring to another part of his anatomy. We think it’s probably best to wrap up our conversation with Kilmore’s message to Incubus fans in New Zealand: “We’re so stoked to come down and get our tour started. We’re excited to play.”
Incubus and Live will perform at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on Tuesday, April 2, and Auckland’s Trust Arena on Thursday, April 4.
