There are few people who wholeheartedly inspire me more than Brandon Boyd. He’s the lead singer of Incubus – my favorite band since I was 15 – and their music is what I’ve know exclusively as the constant soundtrack in my life over the last 8 years. Aside from being an incredible lyricist and musician, he’s also an artist and creative thinker. He’s one of the few artists that I not only have great respect for, but whose artistic style has visibly influenced my own. Recently, I found THIS article, containing an interview from Subvert Magazine where he talks about, among other things, being creative. He is so smart, and I think I especially identify with him because his artistic style, and general attitude are something I very much see myself in. Here’s some of my favorite soundbites and images, but I’d encourage anyone to read the full article.
On people making excuses why they can’t start a creative career:
“In my opinion, there never has, never was and never will be a shortage of things to be inspired by! And the biggest thing holding one back is usually a bad attitude”
On Success:
“I didn’t grow up idolizing rock stars so much as I did romanticizing the idea of living a creative and expressive life.”
On longevity and patience in a creative career:
“The bottom line is, if you are in it to make money, try a different line of work. If you are in a hurry, write pop songs and make a sex tape.”
On Dealing with Fear:
“In my experience the best way to handle fear is to treat it like the attacking bear; Stand and face it…Some experts would argue that ‘playing dead’ is the best defense against the bear, but I say fuck that shit. That’s boring. And what in the world can you accomplish from playing dead?”
On art vs. music:
“I am as enamored with sound as I am with color, line and concept. Music has always seemed to me to be as much an artistic journey as painting a picture. It’s like choosing paint over clay, or something like that. I knew that the feeling inherent in composing a song was almost identical to that of painting a picture, baring the obvious exceptions.”
Man. Don’t you love smart, inspiring, creative people?
If you look at our art side by side, especially his earlier works, you can see how much he influenced my style…Brandon’s work:
My Work:
Brandon working in his studio:
The piece Brandon is working on in the Photo above:
Reminds me of one of my favorite pieces of art, Mucha’s “Job”
Finally, just one more reason I think Brandon Boyd is awesome- kick ass tattoos. A beautiful red “Om Mani Padme Hum” in Tibetan script is on one forearm, and then Aubrey Beardsley (another one of my favorite Arts & Crafts/Nouveau era artist) piece on the other:
Be sure to check out Incubus, and Brandon’s website
4 Comments
December 2, 2008 at 5:27 am
the similarity between yours and his is pretty crazy.
December 7, 2008 at 8:50 am
someday people will see the woods for the trees.. good luck on your journey to your creative living.
“society must let the artists go to wander-off into the nebula..” – Boyd
March 25, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Coool !!!! i like this!!
see U…..julien from paris
May 14, 2009 at 11:45 am
Love your artwork
Chanced upon your blog cuz I was searching for tattoos that would say “Love is a verb” 
As for Brandon, any amount of appreciation is less. Big big fan of Incubus, they helped me give a new dimension to my songwriting. Can’t thank them enough!