You might not know it, but the rock world has its share of brainiacs. Tom Morello, Rivers Cuomo, Brian May - all hold degrees from top-flight universities. Soon you can add Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger to that list. The 32-year-old is headed to Harvard. Not too shabby, eh?
"I'm going to study music theory and composition and, hopefully, the sciences - physics, cosmology. I've taken some college credits before, but I haven't studied anywhere in 12 years."
Einziger decided to get serious about his studies after assisting in an article about evolution. "My friend was the author of the article and I was a participant along with an evolutionary biologist, who is the head of the biology department at Brown," he says. "So I went and spent some time over there while we were doing this article and I just felt like I needed to get back into a classroom. It really kind of hit me that I wanted to be studying."
Einziger's plans aren't the only thing throwing a monkey wrench into Incubus: Singer Brandon Boyd, too, intends to continue his studies. "I'm of the mind to say it wouldn't be a bad thing to disappear for a year or two years," Boyd says. "A lot of people would say culture moves too fast and you need to remind people, but I would argue there's not any rush. Maybe they'll be a sex scandal or an arrest or something to keep us in the news."
Or, at the very least, a commencement ceremony.
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Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
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