svelte

Incubus -- trying to stay on top By James Buell | Orlando CityBeat Writer Posted September 28, 2004 Incubus isn't metal. Incubus isn't funk. Incubus is just Incubus. The Calabasas, Calif. group formed in 1991 and finally broke into the rarified air of mainstream rock with their 2001 release, Morning View. They've left the shadows of their rap-rock past and gone on to diversify themselves in ways former brethren Korn and Limp Bizkit have been unable to duplicate. Singer Brandon Boyd has even become a catchphrase on ESPN's Sportscenter. Not bad for a band named after an evil spirit that has intercourse with women while they sleep. After 13 years together, it's clear to see Incubus is not a flash in the pan. The band makes a stop in Orlando on September 29 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in support of their latest effort, Crow Left of the Murder. Former Roots bassist and now newest member of Incubus, Ben Kenney, stopped to talk about high school reunions, Dave Matthews' crap and what life on the road is really like. Orlando Citybeat: The presidential election is coming up November 2 and a lot of artists are backing their preference with shows and tours. Why has Incubus shied away from the political landscape in 2004? Ben Kenney: Well because at the end of the day, we believe more in choice than we believe in telling people what they should be into. It's kind of like how we don't tell people how to interpret the lyrics of the songs. It's all really up to the individual. Most people think if you find your own way, you'll be happy and hopefully that's more important than following my way. OCB: Do you consider yourself politically active outside of the band? BK: In certain arenas - yes. But just like anything you've got to choose your battles. OCB: I'm sure you're asked this a lot, but your name means a demon that descends upon unsuspecting women and performs sexual intercourse with them while they sleep. How the hell did you guys come up with that? BK: The cool thing was that I just joined the band recently, so I had nothing to do with that. (laughs) The guys…when they started the band they were like 15 years old. And you know when you're 15 years old, certain things seem really cool to you that might not seem really cool to you when you're like 16 even? (laughs) So they started the band under that name and they just kind of rolled with it. It's hard to change the name of a band once you start getting people checking out what you're doing. OCB: Is it tough joining a group that's already reached a certain level of popularity and whose fans have come to expect a certain sound and stage presence? BK: It definitely puts different stresses on you than if you just started a band out of the blue. Especially because I'm walking into a band with 12 years of history. And you know, 12 years of fans that have come to be used to certain things. I've never really tried to compromise who I am for other people's expectations, because that's not living. That's pretending and that's not cool. Ultimately, there are different things that are hard about it. The guys in the band and everybody with the band helps to make that as easy as possible. OCB: Was the band frustrated being pigeonholed into the Korn, Limp Bizkit genre? BK: Oh yeah, the guys don't really dig that. (laughs) As with any artist, you kind of want people to listen to your work and not view it as a cover of a book. And that happens a lot. The first major label album (by Incubus) had a certain tone to it and people kind of just ran with it and said, "Well this is what they do." It's not really the case. The guys are all open to a lot of different stuff. And a lot of different stuff weighs in and influences the sound. OCB: Is that why this latest album, Crow Left of the Murder, is such a departure from your previous albums? BK: With that we just got together and we just wrote songs. We weren't really focused on trying to make any departure; it was just kind of where we all were. OCB: You're the bassist of an internationally acclaimed band, so you can pimp the benefits of your fame without being hassled and recognized in public as frequently as a band's front man. Does that have its advantages? BK: Oh yeah. It's a beautiful thing. (laughs) I cruise around and when it's my time – when I'm having my own personal time – I rarely ever run into any kind of interference. It's really cool. I have a really comfortable life out in California. I go shopping at the grocery store. I do all sorts of stuff without people asking me when the next time the band's playing. It's actually really cool to have that anonymity. And then it's wonderful to play a show and all the people that are into it and all the people that are concerned about what you do are there. It's like kind of having a switch and being able to turn it on and off. Where as, it's a little difficult for Brandon (singer) to say go to the mall and pick up a new pair of pants. Me…I just cruise. I love it. I'm grateful for it. Having seen how hard it is for other people…I'm down with it. OCB: Give me the rundown of a typical day on tour. BK: Wake up, for me…wake up in the tour bus around noon. Get out of my bunk and walk to the front of the bus and usually the only person that's still on the bus is Brandon. Everybody else gets up and starts their day way before I do. Brandon's usually sitting there eating cereal and watching TV. I'll sit there and kick it with him for a minute and eat some cereal. I go inside, break out my computer. Check my email and make sure the rest of the world is still functioning. Then I'll go and then do one of a bunch of different things. I might go play drums for a little bit. I might go play guitar for a little bit. Sometimes I'll go and record music. Usually Mike (guitarist) is recording music during the daytime and during the down time. Then eat lunch. Then go and do a couple of phone interviews. Then after that, go back to the dressing room, sit around and veg out for about 20 minutes. Go do sound check. After sound check, go back to the dressing room or go to the bus or go outside and maybe call my mom or my friends, call my family. Then around 6:00 we do meet-and-greets, so a bunch of people come up and they kick with us a little bit. That's usually over around 7:30 or so. So we sit around from about 7:30 to about 8:30 just trying to relax before we go on and play. And I guess we play from like 8:30 to about 10:30. Somewhere in that vicinity. I don't really keep track of the time, because it's same thing everyday. I don't really have to worry about it. I just know what's coming next. Then we hit the showers, like a football team. (laughs) Then if we're not leaving right away, we usually hang out and get rowdy, play music and kind of party for a bit. Then we leave. But sometimes if we have a lot of geography to traverse, we'll walk off stage, hit the showers, get on the bus and hit the road. OCB: What's the craziest story of stopping at someplace to eat in the middle of nowhere? BK: Usually we try to be careful about where we stop and where we roll to. We won't be on the turnpike in New Jersey, 10 minutes outside of New York, pull over and go, "Okay, let's stop here for an hour." (laughs) Like a week and a half ago though, we stopped at a TGIFriday's out in the middle of nowhere. I don't even know what state it was in. No wait, it was Texas. Texas! Texas is like it's own country. It's just huge. So we stopped at a TGIFriday's in Texas and we went in and got some burgers and were hanging out and we were skateboarding outside. And people started coming up and saying, "What band are you in?" and other people were like "Oh, you guys are the guys from Incubus." And maybe like 10-15 people said hi and came and took a couple of pictures. It was cool. But for the next week, at every show there was someone that said, "Yeah, my cousin said he saw you at TGIFriday's" in such and such town. We just kept hearing about it. I guess people went to work or went to school, wherever they went the next day, and were like, "Yo, did you know that Incubus came to Fridays?" (laughs) It's funny because it ain't a big deal to me, but… (laughs) Sometimes we get really rowdy. Sometimes we'll be real hyper and in the middle of the night we'll stop at a Pilot center. You know the truck stops. And we'll go in and just start buying random stuff. Buying CBs and all sorts of strange truck paraphernalia. It's really for our own entertainment. And usually that's about at four in the morning, so if anybody's up at that time, they're more likely to get in trouble than the rest of the people. (laughs) Me and DJ Koppel (DJ) like to roll into truck stops down in the deep south because we just kind of get looked at like, "Huh? Ya'll must be with the band." (laughs) OCB: When you were in high school, were you the cool guy? How would you describe yourself? BK: I hated high school. I was so miserable in high school. I got picked on by a lot of older kids and as I became an older kid I just hated everyone because I had already been picked on. I had a lot of good friends, but they were all kind of… no, I didn't have a lot of good friends. I had a few good friends and there were a lot of really cool people that I spent time with in high school. I definitely wasn't the cool kid. I've always been the dude that's kind of stood out in a weird way. OCB: Your 10-year high school reunion should be coming up in 2005. Do you plan on going back to check out how fat the cheerleaders have gotten and let everyone know you're rich now? BK: (laughs) Hell no. There ain't nobody there that I want to see. (laughs) Like for me, I have nothing to prove to anybody in that kind of sense. Some people are going back to their high school reunion and they want to catch up with people to have a good time and remember this, remember that, how are you doing now. And some people want to go back and brag like, "I'm doing this and I'm doing that." I just don't really want to see any of those people. Let them have their fun. That ain't for me. OCB: What are your aspirations outside of music? BK: I'd either be doing photography or digital imaging. Those are two things that I really enjoy a lot. I have an older brother that does both. He taught me a lot of it and if the music thing all of the sudden just ceased to exist, I'd love to get into that. OCB: As Incubus really started coming in their own these last few years, did any shady relatives hit you up for money? BK: No one hit me up for money, but every girl I ever dated made some kind of weird appearance. (laughs) And I have a huge, huge family and I had all sorts of relatives talk about how they miss me when there's probably only a dozen people in my family that I'm close with. And there's probably four dozen people that are in my family relatively close, but there's probably only a dozen people that I kick it with. So I had all sorts of people coming out, "Yo, I heard you're coming through this part of time. Let me get some tickets and we'll catch up." I'm like, "I came through that part of town with the Roots last year and you didn't call once." (laughs) Other than like family members and a couple of girlfriends popping up, that's pretty much been it. Everyone else, like all the kids I went to school with, they know that I don't really want nothing to do with them so they're not really checking me out. (laughs) OCB: Dave Matthews Band is being sued for dumping 800 pounds of human waste onto a boat of unsuspecting tourists in the Chicago River. How long do you have to tour to accumulate 800 pounds of crap? BK: (laughs) Well, it all depends on who you're with and whether or not you consider the people you're with shit. (laughs) I don't know if that's an appropriate answer. OCB: Do you think they dumped all of that crap on people just so they could laugh about it on the bus? BK: I haven't met the guys in the Dave Matthews Band, but I get the impression that they're all just real decent people and they probably were asleep when it happened. I think they have like a couple buses too. We need to find out whose bus it was specifically. (laughs) Like Dave. You know Dave was probably snickering up there like, "I'll tell you what!" (laughs) OCB: Is it harder for you to make friends outside of other bands and the music industry? BK: I would imagine that would be a problem. I've often thought about it. Like if I bump into people, I have to be really careful as to what they're trying to get at. Everybody's got some kind of end-game strategy, especially out in Los Angeles where I'm living now. But I don't really meet that many new people that I want to make friends with. Like I have a couple of friends that are dear and I'm really close to my parents and my brothers. Other than that I've got my squad together, so I'm not going out making friends all the time. And most other people just get filed under acquaintances and if they're trying to get something – good luck. I don't really have anything that they'd want. (laughs) OCB: What's your plan coming through Florida with all the hurricanes? BK: Oh man, I don't even know. I'm just terrified. We got hurricanes coming back for more. (laughs) It's kind of like the Gulf of Mexico has become a salad bar for hurricanes. (laughs) I don't really know though right now. We're just hoping everything sticks to the schedule. OCB: What's your one guilty musical pleasure? BK: I'm not really a big pop fan. I appreciate how pop songs work and what they do. I really like some new wave stuff. I'm a big Duran Duran fan. Men at Work. That's kind of my shit. OCB: You're in the midst of another arena tour and your new single is all over the airwaves. As a band, what does Incubus have left to prove?BK: The challenge is staying there. (laughs) Because it's difficult to get there, but it's really hard to stay there. It's exponentially harder to stay at a level than it is to achieve a level. OCB: When you're out on tour with a band that you really don't like, how do you avoid the inevitable awkward moments? Do you lie to them about how great their set was? BK: I used to get real stressed out about that and try to avoid it anyway possible. Just avoid the question. But now I find that people may get their feelings hurt initially, but ultimately you save yourself a lot of footwork and you save them any kind of guesswork and any kind of confusion when you say, "Listen. I'm glad you guys have a good time playing. Your music is not really my thing. I'm not into it." And that's the key thing to recognize. Just because you think don't think it's good doesn't mean it's not good. You can be like, "Listen, it's not really my thing. Personally, I like music that sounds good." (laughs) No, but if you just tell them it's not really your thing, people usually respect you for that. OCB: Give the reader's one good reason to come out to TD Waterhouse for your show Wednesday, September 29. BK: I guess the reason is because – if I can venture to say it – the band is kind of a different band now. To people who have seen the band before… I mean most of the people I come in contact with say it's a different experience now. It's a different thing. We're coming from a different place and playing new songs and playing with a different energy. I'm going to be there! (laughs) No, I'm playing. It's not the Incubus you saw last time, if you saw Incubus last time. And if you never saw Incubus, you should.

time to re-live june 22nd, 2004

DJ Kilmore of Incubus speaks of the 'crow' I think that more rock bands should have DJs, because they got the goods on the band in a subterranean way. They have the insider take without the hard protective shell that say the lead singer or other pronounced musicians in the band might incur. Plus, they just say really off-the-hook stuff. As it turns out, I had the opportunity to interview the illustrious Chris Kilmore aka DJ Kilmore of the band Incubus. He's the dude with the killer dreads and always sporting a signature precocious smirk. Before the album "A Crow Left of the Murder," there was "Morning View," and before that there was "Make Yourself," which is about the time that, along with a few other fans I'm sure, like to refer to as, "The Awakening." It was during this era in 1999-2000 when people starting catching on to Incubus when their album "Make Yourself" made waves with "Pardon Me," "Stellar" and of course, "Drive." "Make Yourself," would mark DJ Kilmore's entrance with the band. He had recently signed on with the band after their previous release, "Science," when their former DJ was fired due to "creative differences," and Kilmore was hired as the replacement. As to Kilmore's thoughts on the switcheroo he explained, "They called me up sort of out of the blue. I tried out, and we just sort of clicked as people. My DJing was good enough for them, and now here we are, seven years and three albums later." First things first, Kilmore and I talked about the title of the new album, "A Crow Left of the Murder." Upon researching, it has been understood that a murder was a group of crows. Kilmore went on to explain the crow left of the murder was a symbol in itself when it came to understanding the present state of the band. "I just feel that the most important thing is the crow that's the lone crow. That's sort of the meaning of the album - us trying to separate ourselves from the rest of the groups out there." The first two songs released off "Crow," "Megalomaniac" and "Talk Show on Mute," have produced some controversial music videos which have some thinking that the band has taken a turn down a political road. When approached with the notion, Kilmore mentioned, "I think it's more important that people listening to the music make up their minds and interpret the songs how they feel. I think that's the great thing about Brandon [boyd], our front man, because he's an extremely well-versed writer, and he can directly talk about an emotion that he's having but at the same time leave the ends open." The type of music Incubus plays stretches from one end of the electromagnetic spectrum to the other. From saucy, electrostatic grooves like, "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)" off "Science," raging scream-tracks like "Pardon Me," to sweet, methodical piano ballads such as, "Here in My Room," off "Crow." Incubus reveals their penchant for various styles on each of their albums. So to try and classify these guys would be like trying to define pi. Early on in their career some people made that mistake and deemed them nu-Metal, a misnomer that I'm sure the band wouldn't mind living down. Talking to DJ Kilmore helped to make light of this situation. "I would say we're a rock group? Maybe an alternative-rock group. It's hard to classify something that we make, because it really doesn't come from any genre, so it's sort of hard for us. I think that the metal category is sort of insulting a little bit, because if you listen to our music there's not too much metal in there." All and all, Kilmore suffers from complete coolness. His is a genuine personality, and he has no qualms about being the DJ. He loves what he gets to do on a daily basis and realizes that. He sees the simplicity in things even in reference to himself. "I'm sort of just the vinyl guy," he says. Where most DJs these days are catered out to hip-hop, he's a rocker. He says, "Being a DJ in a rock group is cool. It's a little more free; there's less boundaries." His role is a unique one, and he takes it very seriously. "I'm sort of like a dry sponge when it comes to music, because I soak up everything. That's how I am. When I go into a music store I'm dry; when I come out totally wet, I'll be into everything ... I think being a DJ, part of your job is to be that sponge, to soak up as much information about music as you can," he explained. Did I find out what was behind the smirk? I think so. DJ Chris Kilmore, in the flesh. Not some megalomaniac or a sponge, but the real deal. A person like you or I who happens to be in a rock group. So the next time you see him spinning up on stage wearing that precocious smirk, it's just because he's loving life. No more, no less.

some captures of a video the guys put together during their asian leg of the world tour...

time for some incubus art... Jose Brandon

They’re No Messiah But thanks to the success of the single Megalomaniac, these five guys have proved that Incubus only gets better with age. Imagine that you and your high school buddies are, like, still talking to one another. Then imagine that you’re all still in the same band after five albums and are certifiable A-list rock stars. The picture in your head may look a little something like the band Incubus … minus Brandon Boyd, of course. (Sigh.) Anyway, despite the fact that three of the guys from Incubus (frontman Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger and drummer José Pasillas) went through puberty together, there have been changes to the San Fernando band’s lineup over the years – original bassist Dirk Lance has been replaced by The Roots’ bass-playing madman Ben Kenney, and DJ Kilmore jumped onboard after the band parted ways with DJ Lyfe in the late 90s. But what really sets Incubus apart from the rest of the record-spinning, alternative music-making pack isn’t their loyalty to each other. From the minute you heard Drive on the radio back in 2001, you knew these guys were different. They were rap-rock without the rap; a group with a hip hop DJ who also had modern rock sensibilities. In short, Incubus quickly became an alternative to the bourgeoning Britney Spears-esque radio fodder. Thank goodness. Enough with the pseudo-poetry – we like Incubus because they rock. And also because they started a fund called the Make Yourself Foundation, for which they aim to collect $1 million by the end of this year for charitable groups like the Surfrider Foundation, The Painted Turtle and Sweet Relief. (OK, we also dig them because of Brandon. So sue us.) With that said, stick the band’s latest album, A Crow Left Of The Murder, into your nearest CD-playing device. Then don’t forget to read our interview with drummer Pasillas, who chased away lizards and fought phonal static to get his message across. PULSE WEEKLY: So what are you doing now that you’ve got a week’s break – just kicking around the house? JOSÉ PASILLAS: Yeah, I’ve got a friend over and we’re chillin’ out. I’m going to go watch a movie with my dad in a little bit. PW: When you’re hanging out with the band, can you go out in public, or do too many people stop you on the street? JP: No, that’s never really a problem. I’m sort of your average-looking skater kid, so I can go unseen. Brandon’s definitely identifiable. Actually, everybody in the band is more identifiable than me. It’s kind of nice; I think that’s a perk that I have. Even when we’re playing shows, I can cruise around with a hat and no one can tell who I am. B could do that with glasses and a hoodie and still get spotted. PW: So do you guys have a pre-show powwow or anything that you do to get in the zone? JP: I usually drink a beer, that’s about it. Actually, there is one thing that we’re starting to incorporate into our pre-show ritual – we play this game called Halo on Xbox. So we kill each other before we kill each other onstage. PW: So what’s your space like on the bus? Are you a messy person or a clean person? JP: I’m pretty clean; I’m pretty anal. My house is spotless. I like organization. I don’t pick up after anybody; if they make a mess, it’s cool, they deal with it. For the most part, we’re a clean band. PW: How weird was it when The Vines decided not to open up for you guys on this tour anymore? Was that something that you were secretly hoping would happen, since they’d been fighting onstage and stuff? JP: Personally I’m not really a fan of their music, so I was sort of indifferent about the whole thing. But to be honest, I thought that something was going to happen midway through the tour, [whether it was that] they broke up or they beat each other up or something, so it really didn’t surprise me. It made us scramble for an opening band for about a week, but it’s OK. That stuff happens. PW: Has anyone ever showed up to an Incubus show that you never would’ve expected to see there? JP: Janet Jackson came to one of our shows, which was pretty cool. We did the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas a couple years back, and she wanted to meet Brandon. About a year later we did our L.A. show and she hung out in our dressing room before we played. She was totally cool, not what you would expect, not like a diva or something like that. We were cracking jokes; we were taking prom pictures with her. It was definitely unexpected. PW: As long as no boobies pop out, everything’s kosher, right? Well, I guess that’s all the questions I had ... JP: [yells at his cat and then explains to PW] My cat is on a lizard rampage right now; she’s trying to bring it in the house. PW: Did you say a lizard? JP: Yeah, sorry. She gets these lizards and she’ll let them run around for a little bit and then she’ll catch them and play with them. This is the second one today. Augh! I stepped on it. Dammit. Hold on. Oh, it’s a blue-belly. Poor thing.

Incubus: Road Warriors From messing with opening acts to playing in front of hostile audiences, the guys explain what its like to spend the year touring. Tue. June 01.2004 Touring is as much a part of Incubus' life as making records and surfing. A year after they released their third album, 1999's Make Yourself, the Californian quintet was still on the road, bringing their funk-rock sounds to the masses via the Ozzfest and Sno-Core tours. By 2001, the word-of-mouth helped them score a hit single, "Drive," and they were on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the country. When Incubus takes the stage, their fans have a chance to reconcile the band's contradictory elements. Singer Brandon Boyd is a bongo-playing dreamboat; his female followers now expect him to remove his shirt at each show, or else. Frizzy-haired Mike Einziger caters to the more musically inclined, peeling off the wiggiest guitar solos this side of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their new album, A Crow Left of the Murder, shrugs off the mellow jamming of past records. Instead, it seethes. Boyd wails as often as he croons, as on the politician-baiting single "Megalomaniac" and the savage finale "Leech." The band tests a few new musical styles, too, like the classic '70s balladeering of "Southern Girl." Fans have embraced the change, sending the record to No. 2. The rocking may be more refined, but Incubus hasn't lost their work ethic. A tour bus will be their home for the next five months, and those unpredictable Australians the Vines are in tow - could be an explosive combination. Boyd and Einziger sat down with VH1 to explain the ins and outs of the gigging life, getting sick to Skid Row, and why it's a good idea to bring your own towel to the show. VH1: What was the first concert you both went to? Mike Einziger: When I was 12 years old, I went to see the Grateful Dead. I was in pure culture shock. There were naked people running around; hairy, smelly people everywhere; people selling drugs ... I never experienced anything like a Grateful Dead concert before. It was cool. I smoked a little weed that night, got high ... Brandon Boyd: At 12? [Laughs] Awesome, Mike, that is ... not that cool actually. Mike: It was definitely a life changing moment. Going back to school the next day, everybody seemed just a little more normal to me. Brandon: Mine is not as good as that. I went to Bon Jovi and Skid Row with my brother and sister. I remember Sebastian Bach's hair flying all over the place and being self-conscious about the poncho I was wearing, 'cause it didn't feel as "rock" as what the guys around me were wearing. I felt sick 'cause I drank some of my sister's beer, so I was kind of like "Uhhhhh." Someone threw up next to me, and some lady was sleeping in their throw-up. I was like, "This is cool ... sort of." [Watch Clip] Mike [To Brandon]: Dude, you were supposed to say that Black Flag was the first show you went to! Brandon: Yeah, hold that! [Laughs] VH1: Who was better that night - Bon Jovi or Skid Row? Brandon: I remember Skid Row a little more 'cause he was just cussing up a storm, throwing his hair everywhere, and saying stuff like "This is f**king awesome, this is f**king rock and roll!! You need to make out with whoever you are next to right now!!" I looked at my sister, and I'm like, "Noooo ..." I looked at my brother and I'm like, "Noooo ..." I didn't go to any concerts for a while after that. VH1: Evanescence and Seether are touring together. Their lead singers are also dating each other. Is this wise? Brandon: That is just a bummer waiting to happen. What if one has a bad night? Or what if one of them has a cold? "Hey baby, I had a really bad gig. Give me a kiss." "No, stay away from me – I have to sing tonight!" That's a recipe for disaster. Or worse: "There are no towels in my dressing room!" "The support band took all the towels." "Oh no, he didn't!" Can you imagine? That would be awesome. We should try it some time. VH1: Do you ever play pranks on the support act? Mike: Oh yeah. The most fun thing to do is to take their instruments away from them. Like, if there is a drummer playing, you go up and take his kit away piece by piece, to where they are just left with like one thing, and they're just sitting there. Brandon: We did that to Jason Schwartzman when he was in Phantom Planet. On the last show of our US tour with them, we all went on stage and took his drums away except for like his snare or high-hat. He just kept playing. He didn't even flinch. He's a good actor! VH1: The Manila Times described your show there this year as 'mass hypnosis like no other.' Fair comment? Brandon: It worked! [Laughs] Manila was nuts. We had never even been to the Philippines before. There was like 20,000 people in this big open field, and it was just us playing. We kept looking at each other going like, "Are you sure they know who is playing? Have they got the right band?" Mike: We tricked everyone into thinking we were someone else. Brandon: Mass hypnosis - it does work. VH1: When was the last time you played in a hostile audience? Brandon: Probably the 2000 Ozzfest. It was fun to be on the tour, but there was a definite sense of feeling out of place. We were sandwiched between a bunch of bands where it was like Cookie Monster singing to loud down-tuned mush. We would go out and play at like 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the place would be like half full for us. There was definitely that feeling that they were waiting for Pantera or Godsmack. It was humbling, which is always a good thing to go through. VH1: What do you absolutely have to bring on tour with you? Brandon: Caffeine. Mike: Marijuana and caffeine. Brandon: Really nice tour buses. We have one for the band, and we live in it. Luckily we are all very close friends, so it is not like sharing a dorm with a stranger. For 95% of the time, we are having a blast. That short 5% here and there when we're getting worn out, you can just crawl into your bunk and go to bed. VH1: How do you know when you have been on tour for too long? Mike: Every record we have ever put out we have toured for like two years. It's become what is normal for us. But we enjoy it. We wouldn't do it if we didn't enjoy doing it. There are much less constructive ways we could spend our time then traveling around the world playing concerts. You know when you have been on the road for too long when it feels like a job. Brandon: The first two weeks are the most difficult, 'cause you're just readjusting to that time in the bubble. It's like life in a bubble: living out of a suitcase, washing your face in different sinks every night. You get used to it. People live in much worse conditions. VH1: What happens at the end of one of those two-year long-distance jaunts? Brandon: The first thing we do to decompress is sleep for a couple of days. Mike and I go surfing. That's the best thing in the world. I think that everything we do – the band, the traveling - is all to help facilitate more surfing. We've been able to surf more on the road then we have ever been able to [before]. In Florida, we go to this wave pool in Orlando, and it's a hoot. Just us and a bunch of friends for like four hours. It's awesome. VH1: On the bus do you all retreat into your iPods or do you fight over what music to put on the stereo? Brandon: For the most part, headphones save your life when you are on tour. We all have our iPods, our laptops and stuff, so when there is music being played aloud it's usually the DJ Chris [Kilmore] and bassist Jose [Padilla], when they do their iTunes party shuffles. They invite a bunch of friends and play music for a couple of hours. VH1: Are there certain songs or albums you associate with different tours? Mike: Whenever I hear Reggatta de Blanc by the Police and Homogenic by Bjork and The Color and the Shape by the Foo Fighters, I'm immediately brought back to when we were touring for a couple of years in the van, with no crew, people, no tour manager, nothing! Brandon: The first European tour that we did, I was listening to Ani DiFranco's Not So Soft. I remember sitting on the top lounge of the tour bus watching the European landscape for the first time, and [it was] the soundtrack to that. It wasn't the most appropriate soundtrack, but at the time for what was going on in my life, it was perfect. VH1: Do you guys do the brown M&M thing when it comes to putting together the tour rider? Brandon: What no one really knows is that whatever is on the rider is paid for by the artist. It's coming out of their paycheck. So if you're asking for Cristal and sushi every night or you're not going to show up, it's coming out of [your] pocket! A lot of artists don't even know that. All that Cristal is being taken out of their record sales. So we go with like a case of Corona, Diet Coke, some ginger ale, peanut butter and jelly, some deli meats... VH1: So somewhere Limp Bizkit must have a warehouse with 8000 towels in it. Brandon: We're very thrifty. We bought like a dozen towels and take them on the road with us. We wash them and then use them again. Mike: Venue towels can get scary sometimes. They leave like white little fuzzy things on you. Brandon: Amongst other things.

S-CURVE RECORDS TO RELEASE FIRST-EVER JOSS STONE DVD, 'MIND, BODY & SOUL SESSIONS LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY,' ON DEC. 14. NY POST DECLARES: "YOU'D HAVE TO BE MADE OF STONE NOT TO HAVE GOTTEN GOOSEBUMPS" On December 14, S-Curve Records will release 'Mind, Body & Soul Sessions Live In New York City,' Joss Stone's first ever DVD. 'Mind, Body & Soul Sessions Live in New York City' reveals a sizzling Irving Plaza show from September 9, 2004. In a glowing review of the Irving Plaza show, The New York Post's Dan Aquilante wrote, "Joss Stone tore the intimate club apart... She delivered her music with the kind of gospel power and sultry vocals passion that invite comparisons to both Aretha Franklin in her prime and the late, great Janis Joplin... Stone has a fresh stage effervescence that's infectious to both her backup band and the audience. Even though she's still very young, she understands how to draw everyone into the music... you'd have to be made of stone not to have gotten goosebumps." The DVD also features music videos for Stone's hits "Super Duper Love," "Fell In Love With a Boy," and "You Had Me." An exclusive, behind-the-scenes mini-documentary is also included, featuring never-before-seen footage of Joss on the road, in interviews, and on stage. 'Mind, Body & Soul Sessions Live In New York City' Track Listing 1. Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' On Me) / 2. Jet Lag / 3. Don't Know How / 4. The Choking Kind / 5. You Had Me / 6. Spoiled / 7. Don't Cha Wanna Ride / 8. Victim Of A Foolish Heart / 9. Less Is More / 10. Right To Be Wrong / 11. Fell In Love With A Boy / 12. Some Kind Of Wonderful / 13. Dirty Man (Acoustic) Joss' band: Ray Angry (keyboards and vocals), David Gilmore (guitar), Caesar Griffin (drums), Peter Iannacone (bass), Ellison Kendrick (backing vocals), Artia Lockett (backing vocals), Abel Pabon (keyboards), and Antonia Williams (backing vocals).

Joss Stone - Mind, Body & Soul Sessions 01. Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' On Me) 02. Jet Lag 03. Don't Know How 04. The Choking Kind 05. You Had Me 06. Spoiled 07. Don't Cha Wanna Ride? 08. Victim 09. Less Is More 10. Right To Be Wrong 11. Fell In Love With A Boy 12. Some Kind Of Wonderful 13. Dirty Man (acoustic) Additional content Music videos for "Fell In Love With A Boy", "Super Duper Love" and "You Had Me." Mini-documentary filmed while traveling the US and Europe in 2003 & 2004. "Mind, Body & Soul" documentary video.

The Week in Weird Joss a good bet Of all the ways an extended family can show its love, we can't think of any quite as heartwarming as wagering hard-earned dough on one of its members. Relatives of Brit singer Joss Stone apparently feel the same way, particularly now that a fistful of bets has earned them quite a windfall. Some of the seventeen-year-old's aunts and uncles pooled their dough to lay bets that she'd have a British Number One before she was, as they say, legal. Sure enough, Mind, Body and Soul hit that peak in ol' Blighty last month, making for a very tidy return for one aunt, who bet a 100 pounds at twenty-five to one odds. If Brit bookies offered a wager on how long it'll take before Joss hooks up with Colin Farrell, we'd be plunking our pennies down right now . . . New music thrills Monday November 8, 2004 ·Joss Stone – Spoiled (Mind, Body & Soul / S-Curve): Stone is refreshing on the music scene. Only 17, she is relying on her vocal prowess and not shedding clothes (though it may be too soon to tell) to get tongues wagging. But it’s all good just like this track. Taken from her sophomore Body, Mind & Soul, this one will wash over you and have you begging for more. Joss Stone in voice loss scare Soul singer Joss Stone has been told to cut her workload, in fears that her famous voice could be ruined forever. Joss has been told to take a rest, otherwise nodules could develop, ruining her voice, and her career. The worried singer will now take time out until January, and in the meantime, will practise singing from her chest, rather than from her throat, in order to protect her voice. A source revealed, "Joss knows just how valuable a commodity her voice is. As soon as her doctor told her that her voice needed a rest, she didn't hesitate. "She's still a young girl and she hopes she has a long career ahead of her - providing she doesn't overstretch things." A spokesman for the star added, "Joss saw a doctor and has been warned that her voice is an instrument that needs protecting by having proper rests."

Joss Stone Mind, Body & Soul - In 2003, this soulful songstress from Devon, England released an album of covers entitled The Soul Sessions. Stone proved herself by taking on the challenging task of singing classic R&B songs from legends like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin. Now only seventeen years old, she has performed a much-needed resurrection of soul music with Mind, Body & Soul; an album she describes as her "real debut album". The first time I heard Stone was on the Ellen Degeneres show back in October 2003. I was in awe of her voice and wondered why she hadn't already burst onto the music scene. I immediately purchased her album and was fortunate enough to catch her live act a number of times. Having become an avid fan, I eagerly anticipated the release of her next album and was satisfied even after hearing the first track. The CD definitely speaks for itself, curing musical cravings for the mind, body, and soul. Stone has a way of handling R&B stylings and taking the listener on a journey back to the hey-days of Motown. At the same time, she keeps things fresh and contemporary. The first single that received radio play was "You Had Me", an anthem for all the ladies who’ve left their pathetic boyfriends. This song showcases her dynamic voice and is set to a funky musical backdrop, as are all the tracks on this album. Her vocal dynamics are highlighted on each track. "Don't Cha Wanna Ride", samples from the classic tune "Soulful Strut" and has the potential to become one of her more prominent singles. On more laid-back, jazzy tracks like "Jet Lag", one can't help but imagine her singing onstage in an intimate performance at a smoky bar. Every single track on this album is soulfully rich and contains many textures of jazz and R&B. She makes full use of piano, guitars and horns, which definitely works to her advantage. Stone has surpassed the pop princesses of today and is climbing in the ranks of talented vocalists. Her youth is definitely not shown through her music, but rather provides her with more years to grow toward legendary status. Judging from her latest release, popsters like Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, and Jojo will be struggling to collect royalty checks in the future, while Stone will be enjoying her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

JOSS STONE'S "WILD RIDE" BEGINS NOW! CRITICS HAIL "SUPREMELY TALENTED" SOUL PHENOM'S NEW ALBUM 'MIND, BODY & SOUL' (S-CURVE RECORDS) -Curve recording artist Joss Stone, whose anticipated new album 'Mind, Body & Soul' hits stores tomorrow, is receiving a wave of praise for her soulful voice and songwriting. Here's what critics are saying about the album Joss considers her "real debut." "She can croon it sad, deep and throaty, belt it out juke-joint style or get down and funky for the bump-and-grind crowd... ['Mind, Body & Soul' is] an impressive album with plenty of individuality and flair... The next few years are going to be a wild ride for the supremely talented Stone." - Lorraine Ali, NEWSWEEK, September 20, 2004 "'Mind, Body & Soul' more than fulfills the promise that Stone showed on 'The Soul Sessions,' revealing the singer to also be a talented songwriter who soars even higher with her own material." - Chuck Arnold, PEOPLE, October 4, 2004 "'Mind, Body & Soul' is expected to be the hottest-selling debut this fall." - Josh Tyrangiel, TIME, August 30, 2004 "Instead of of old R&B songs done the traditional way, ['Mind, Body & Soul'] the album consists of 14 song, 11 of them co-written by Stone, melding classic soul elements with hip hop beats and other contemporary pop and R&B textures... The new songs that Stone had a hand in writing gie the album a stronger sense of personality." - Randy Lewis, LOS ANGELES TIMES, September 27, 2004 "Possessing a rich deep soulful belt unlike any singer of her generation, the 17-year-old Stone has come into her own as a major talent on the rise." - Peter Galvin, NEW YORK POST, September 5, 2004 "She sounds like an old soul, with an angst-ridden, water-bubbling-over-the-rocky-riverbed voice that has been likened to Janis Joplin and her idol, [Aretha] Franklin." - Caroline Palmer, VOGUE, September 2004 "Stone's first full stab at original material is a charmer, not only because of her gutsy voice, but also because the funk and soul-inspired songs sound like they could have been recorded at Muscle Shoals in 1975... Stone is light years ahead of her peers when it comes to good taste." - Dimitri Ehrlich, INTERVIEW MAGAZINE, October 2004

Joss Stone, Carling Academy, Glasgow BETH PEARSON November 05 2004 THIS must be what it's like to be in Joss Stone's living room: seventies-style drapes hang at the back of the stage, rugs overlap on the floor, a boho scarf hangs from the mike stand and Stone herself casually wanders in with trademark bare feet. Just 17 years old, it's impossible not to feel a little nervous for her, despite what we know about her voice, what with all these people and the hugely accomplished band behind her (they open the show with a waka-waka funk workout). It very quickly becomes clear there's no cause for concern. For the opener, Super Duper Love, she confidently stretches a phrase out here, makes it short and punchy there, then slides into a brief interlude of Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang. She scats out the end of You Had Me and shakes her ass to the reggae breakdown introduced to Fell In Love With A Boy. She comfortably scales soft, emotional tones – the first few bars of The Choking Kind are almost unbearably tender – and richly textured heights of Aretha Franklin's Think, performing the latter as part of a medley of covers also including Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing) and Al Green's Love And Happiness, which demonstrates her own vocal dexterity as well as her confidence to let her more mature and experienced backing singers to take the limelight while she nods appreciatively nearby. Stone is that rare thing; a naturally naturalistic performer. She frequently giggles like the schoolgirl she would be if life had panned out differently, but also has the habit of dismissively waving her hand, as if she's an old woman who's seen it all before.

Joss puts her heart and soul into city gig JOSS Stone walked barefoot onto the stage at the Carling Academy in Glasgow last night and gave an electric performance that defied her 17 years. Dressed simply in jeans and a pink, striped t-shirt the teenage queen of soul needed no gimmicks as she belted out her opening tracks to an appreciative audience. Compared by critics to rock legend Janis Joplin, the Mercury Music Prize nominee treated the crowd to a confident and mature performance that showcased her voice. The young singer from Devon has said in the past that she was uncomfortable with the idea of performing live, but she showed no signs of stage of fright as she moved effortlessly from the funky, Fell In Love With a Boy, from her first highly acclaimed album of classic covers, The Soul Sessions, to the up-beat Don't Cha Wanna Ride, from her latest album, Mind, Body and Soul. But the crowd was really won over by the great pop-reggae track, Less is More, which summed up her style. In a heart-felt performance, she sang a spectacular version of Lauren Hill's Doo wop (That Thing), with help from her backing singers, followed by powerful rendition of Aretha Franklin's classic soul track, Think. And all too quickly it was over. After just one encore she was gone and the crowd was left chanting for more. This was clearly just a glimpse of great talent that can only get better with age.

Joss Stone at Seventeen Joss Stone is on a roll. She's somewhere in Los Angeles. Last night it was the Late Show with Jay Leno and tonight she's just come off the set of the Late, Late Show when we find her at the end of the phone, still buzzing. Effectively she's released two albums in this part of the world in less than a year - the covers collection Soul Sessions and now the original set Mind Body & Soul. She's a busy gal and as she chats flat out, it's hard to reconcile her girlish Devon vowels with that terrific singing voice. But maybe that's because we're talking to the person that "Joss Stone" becomes off-stage ... Sounds like they've got you working very hard. Ohmigod. Yeah but it's cool. But you'd be used to the hard work by now. Kind of. You expect it now but you can't really get used to it. My head has got used to it but my body hasn't. I'm young and I'm growing at the same time so I get so tired. But I have to do it otherwise people wouldn't know I have an album out. Down this end of the world Soul Sessions didn't come out until February or March and the new album is out now, not that long after. Right it's mad. The Soul Sessions wasn't really meant to be an album. The idea when we went into it was to basically do an EP for which we'd have to do hardly any promo, just carry on making my album and chill out while they have that one. Just underground, with a little buzz. It was cool that people liked it. It seems that 2 1/2 million people liked it. Yeah it's kinda crazy. Were you worried after Soul Sessions went, how the next one would be received. Did you think maybe you should wait a while? No I didn't want everyone to think I was just a covers artist because, really, I'm not. I have things to say and I just so much wanted to do my own stuff. The albums aren't a whole lot different soundwise. I tried to make Mind Body & Soul a little bit more contemporary - not so, so, so old school. I liked that it had a Soul Sessions vibe because it wasn't, like, over-produced. It was done like it was in the 70s, that is how exactly we recorded it. There was no auto-tune on anything, there wasn't on my second and there never will be on my third. I like it real. If you're not perfect - and I'm so far from perfect - I kind of like that. You're credited with co-writes on most of the songs on the new one. Are you a natural songwriter? I hope so. I'm just working it out right now. I love writing but I do get a little bit shy. When it's like the first time and let's say you're with Lamont Dozier [Motown songwriting legend] or Beau Dozier [his son], I was so shy man, I was like a little kid. I was just stupid. Because they are just amazing and I felt so stupid. But I tried and I put in my two quids worth and we definitely worked together on it, but I think I was a little bit too nervous. What's the difference between Joss Stone and Jocelyn Stoker? I don't know who this Joss Stone girl is. I don't know who the hell they are talking about ... ha ha. Was it Joss Stone or Jocelyn Stoker who wrote the songs? It was definitely Jocelyn Stoker. Joss Stone is the girl who turns up on stage and sings. The girl you are talking to right now is Joss Stoker. You know, I don't want to be Joss Stone too often. It's kind of bad. I find that some people turn into the artists they are trying to be. If I went on stage and was like myself I wouldn't sing. That's who I turn into in between songs. I'll sing and I'm, like, I'm into my song I don't give a damn who's there, but when the music stops I'm like, "Oh shit what the [expletive] am I doing on this stage?" If I had me now and me like five years ago - if they both met I swear to God me five years ago would slap me around the face and go "Joss get the hell off that stage. How embarrassing, what the hell are you doing?". So you had to overcome stage fright? Yeah. I would cry in between my shows "I don't want to do it Mum. Everyone is going to think I'm stupid", because that is what kids are like. When I was at school if I got up and sang they would knock me down so quick. That's why I didn't, because I was so nervous and I didn't think I was a good singer. But my mum said "you just have to put on a different hat and be like 'this is what I do' and be confident with it, otherwise you are never going to be anything." And what else can I do but sing? I don't want to go back to school. Don't make me go back to school. So I have to just get up there, stop being such a wuss and do it. But I don't want to take that personality with me. That person has to be really over-confident and I find that over-confident people can be a real pain in the arse. So maybe Joss Stone is more American than Jocelyn Stoker ... Ha ha ha. I don't know. I've met some arrogant people in England too. You're still just 17. Do you think it might have all happened a bit early for you. No I don't think so. I think it would have been nice to chill out and be 17 and not do anything. But if I had carried on I would have got into a lot of trouble so I'm glad I've had something to occupy myself. I'm glad that I can sing and somebody recognised it early because I know that I never would have gone to college. I hated school so much that I was just going to chill right out and that's not a good thing. I get bored real quick. You've met a lot of famous people. Are there any that you are still impressed by afterwards?. Yeah definitely Lamont Dozier. And there was James Brown - Ohmigod I was scared. I walked into the room and he's like a little guy. He's so cute, he's like a cute little man. I really liked him and he was so nice and I was really nervous to be in there with him. I do get a little starstruck but it only really lasts for a couple of seconds. Does it worry you at all people might not take you seriously because of your age and that you're a white girl from England singing black American music? No. There's no point in worrying about that. I can't change that I'm 17 and that I'm white and that I'm English, but the thing is I don't want to change it and I don't want to get old quick. I'm cool being 17. I think people who care about image and don't really listen to the music - they really look at those things but I know the people who just want to listen to music don't really give a damn. So it really doesn't matter to me.

Record Revolutions: Joss Stone – Mind Body & Soul Great Britain has given the United States many wonderful imports over the years: The Beatles, Monty Python, Harry Potter, etc. After hearing her second CD, Mind Body & Soul, I’m convinced that Joss Stone is another welcome gift from across the pond. A seventeen-year old British Caucasian R&B soul singer may seem like a contradiction in terms, but Stone pulls it off effortlessly with style, talent, and a husky voice reminiscent of jazz greats like Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald. On the strength of her innovative cover of The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With a Boy,” her debut disc sold 675,000 copies in the U.S. Mind Body & Soul should have no trouble topping that and catapulting Stone to superstardom. Featuring eleven tracks co-written by Stone, Mind Body & Soul avoids some of the traps her first CD The Soul Sessions fell into – an overabundance of throaty moaning and an occasionally plodding pace. Stone’s sophomore album features more up-tempo songs and a fuller, lusher orchestration. Fans are also treated to Stone’s girl-power lyrics, which are insightful and rather impressive for a woman so young. Overall, the album benefits greatly from the myriad of musical styles it includes. While The Soul Sessions generally stuck to neo-soul ballads, the tracks on Mind transcend all stylistic boundaries. From dance-hall reggae on “Less is More” to a full gospel choir on the ballad “Security” to a hip-hop vibe on “Snakes and Ladders,” Stone is like a kid in a candy store, taking a little bit of everything she likes and mixing it together. The variety works well, keeping the audience guessing from song to song. Like any soul singer worth her salt, Stone sings about love – finding it, losing it, being confused by it. In the smooth, sultry “Jet Lag,” Stone muses about the hazy, heady feeling of finding new love. She entices a guy with lines like “A car this fine don’t pass your way every day” on the fun and funky “Don’t Cha Wanna Ride,” and expresses the uncertainty and anxiety of approaching a guy on the groovy “Don’t Know How.” Mind is also heavy on girl power. If songs like the beautiful slow jam “Right to Be Wrong” and the album’s attitude-laden first single “You Had Me” are any indication, Stone is not a chick to mess with. A fierce independence shines through on songs like “Understand,” in which she tells a lover to back off and give her space, and thumbs her nose at authority on the opera (yes, opera) tinged “Young at Heart.” A special nod has to be given to the album’s final cut, “Sleep Like a Child,” a beautiful, piano-heavy ballad that showcases Stone’s soulful, tender voice. In today’s environment of disposable, over-synthesized pop tarts, an artist with Stone’s deep, insightful lyrics, classy style, and above all, immense talent, should be celebrated. While most other singers her age are singing tired, formulaic pop tunes, Stone is taking a classic genre and adding her own unique touches to make it new. Many adjectives have been used to describe Stone over the past year, and after hearing Mind Body & Soul, I’ll throw in my two cents – Joss Stone is absolutely brilliant, and definitely a cut above the rest.

Soul Child For a young girl with an old soul, the sky's the limit for Joss Stone Joss Stone's brief life on earth sounds like the daydream of a high schooler in math class after a few lunchtime bong hits: Wouldn't it be great if I got a record deal? And then maybe Elton John would have me sing at his Oscar party in Hollywood. And then I could duet with Mick Jagger and hang at the White House. And Tom Cruise and I could become friends; I could go over to his house for lunch. That would be so cool. That this all happened to a girl from Devon, England's rural southwest county, who still doesn't have her driver's license is even more hallucinatory. "People are like, 'Isn't this crazy?' " says Stone, 17, as she lounges in a Los Angeles coffee shop. "I don't know. I can't really compare it to anything. I was fourteen when I got my [record] deal, and I've never had another job." She thinks for a minute. "Well, I did baby-sit a couple of times." Stone burst onto the scene last year with The Soul Sessions, a collection of obscure R&B covers. Originally intended to spark some underground buzz, it sold more than 2 million copies after word got around about the teenager with the startlingly rich old-soul voice. Stone's vocals can soar sweetly or drop to a sultry purr (check out her sensual take on the White Stripes' "Fell in Love With a Girl"). Now she has a follow-up album of original songs, Mind, Body and Soul, most of which Stone had a hand in writing (including the first single, a catchy kiss-off tune called "You Had Me"). The tunes may be new, but they hark back to the golden age of good old Seventies R&B. It's hard to reconcile Stone's pipes of power with this pretty blonde who boasts an infectious laugh and a sparkly nose stud. She wears a red tank top and jeans, similar to the no-nonsense gear she sports onstage. "There's some people who can't sing for shit and they just take their clothes off," she says. "It makes me think, 'All right, I'm bored.' I want to hear the music. If I wanted to go to a strip club, I'd go to a strip club." Onstage, she'd rather reveal herself emotionally. Stone's supremely self-assured performances, in which she strolls around barefoot and sings directly to individual audience members, have made a believer out of her writing partner and mentor, soul diva Betty Wright. "This is gut-wrenching, fall-down-on-your-knees, sing-until-you-sweat, make-somebody-feel-something music," says Wright. "This ain't no 'Put four girls around you to dance and you got a hit.' " Critics carp that Stone can't possibly have lived through the joy and pain required to sing soul, but she contends that as a teenager she knows full well what becomes of the brokenhearted. Wright agrees. "What is the greatest love you can remember?" she asks. "Puppy love. Remember when you got that piece of paper that said, 'I love you. Do you love me? Check yes or no'? When you're a shorty, you're just as serious about your puppy love as people are serious about their marriage. Shoot, I think a newborn baby can coo the blues." Actually, Stone was steeping herself in R&B from the time she was in the cradle in the village of Ashill, in Devon. "My mum told me that between the age of one and three you develop your pitch, and I was listening to Anita Baker at that time," Stone says. "Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, James Brown." At ten, she saw a commercial for an Aretha Franklin CD and excitedly wrote her name down. "All of a sudden, I really wanted to be a singer," Stone says. Even though she sang into a hairbrush at home, she was so shy that her school's music teacher didn't know she could carry a tune. Her first foray into music was strictly for the cash. When Stone was twelve, her family had a dispute with the neighbors about rights to a field, on which she often rode a beloved horse named Freddy. When her family couldn't afford to buy the field, her father, an importer-exporter of fruits and nuts, was forced to sell the horse. "I was really upset and pissed off that we didn't have enough money," she says. "And I thought, 'Well, if nobody else will help me, I'll get a job myself.' " The enterprising preteen decided to try out for a British TV talent show called Star for a Night, acing the competition with her version of "A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)." She didn't get Freddy back, but she did land a contract at S-Curve Records. She was happy to say buh-bye to school. "I hated it," she says. "I would cry in the morning. I hated getting up early. And I'm dyslexic, which made school a lot worse." In America, S-Curve's head, Steve Greenberg, hooked Stone up with Wright, and they began to pen songs. Halfway through the process, Greenberg had a thought: What if Stone were to record some obscure soul classics and use some of the seasoned musicians that were a part of the Miami soul scene? Wright was dispatched to find the session guys. Of the musicians she chose, only Benny Latimore ("Let's Straighten It Out") was still in the music business. Guitarist Willie "Little Beaver" Hale was working for a commuter rail line, and organist Timmy Thomas was a teacher. In the meantime, Stone, Wright, Greenberg and producer Mike Mangini sat down and picked out lesser-known soul cuts such as Laura Lee's "Dirty Man" and "Super Duper Love," by one-hit wonder Sugar Billy. It was slow going in the studio at the beginning. "When they got together that first day -- oh, my goodness," says Wright. "You talk about a train wreck? Because no one had been playing together, and then it took them two hours to do the reminiscing thing -- you know, 'How have things been since 1979?' " Eventually the group jelled and knocked out the whole album live in four days. Stone recorded one last track, her cover of "Fell in Love With a Girl," in Philadelphia, co-produced by the Roots, with backing vocals by Angie Stone. "I'm like, 'This is the wrong way around; I should be doing her backing,' " says Joss. "She's so into real music, and she and the Roots didn't care that I'm not from the Bronx. I'm not black -- whatever. The only question they ask is, 'Does she sound good? All right, then I'll work with her.' " Slightly more nerve-racking was her first gig, at a little joint in Miami called Tobacco Road. "It was packed because Betty Wright had organized the whole band, and their families were there, and it was a teeny little place," Joss says. "I just cried beforehand. I told Steve, 'I don't want to do this. I don't want to perform. Can I not just sing in the studio?' " When the tears stopped, she was coaxed onstage. After the release of "The Soul Sessions," Stone's life began to take a surreal turn as the famous lined up to meet her. Elton John asked her to perform at his Oscar party. There was a mad scramble before she took the stage at John's because she had forgotten to bring a bra. It was so late that no stores were open, so her hairdresser raced down to a laundromat, found a woman pulling a wet bra out of a washer and offered her twenty bucks for it. As Stone sang onstage, she got fleeting glimpses of the audience: Sharon Stone, the Osbournes, Katie Holmes. "It was really scary," Joss says. "Elton was interested in my show, but the audience at that kind of thing, they're all working." The whirlwind continued. Stone met the president twice, when she sang at the Christmas in Washington concert and at a Kennedy Center tribute to James Brown. ("I get the feeling George Bush is a little silly," she says.) Mick Jagger and the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart tapped her to sing the title cut on the Alfie soundtrack, which Jagger and Stewart produced, and Jagger and Stone duetted on a holiday song called "Lonely Without You (This Christmas)." After Tom Cruise mentioned on a TV talk show that he was a fan, he and Stone became friends. "I went over to his house for lunch," she says. "He has this trampoline in the back garden, and of course he does all the flips, because he's Superman; he can do anything. He's so nice, just a normal guy. And I love it because he has no agenda. What does he need from me? He's Tom Cruise." She was more nervous meeting Jack White of the White Stripes outside a hotel. ("I'm sorry I ruined your song," she told him. "Don't be stupid, we loved it," he answered.) One night she was approached backstage by Lamont Dozier, of the celebrated Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, who offered to write a song for her next album. He and his son Beau collaborated with Stone on Mind, Body and Soul's best track, "Spoiled." The collaboration with Beau, now her boyfriend, continued. He sits at a nearby table at the coffee shop, waiting for her to be done so that they can go to a nearby park. "He's so cute, isn't he?" Stone says, throwing a beaming glance in his direction. "When I'm here in L.A. I live at his house." Stone co-wrote eleven of the fourteen songs on Mind, Body and Soul, an impressively accomplished album of soul with flourishes of gospel and reggae. It has the same warmly organic feel as her debut. But the self-effacing Stone is merciless when she critiques her album. "I know people are going to dis it when it comes out," she says. "And if they didn't, I'd never learn. I mean, I'm making this up. I have no idea what I'm doing." Mention the song "Don't Cha Wanna Ride," a sassy up-tempo romp, and she groans. "I get embarrassed every time I sing it," she says, pointing to lyrics such as "A car this fine don't pass your way every day." "I was having a good time when I was singing it in the studio, but then afterward, I was like, 'How can I do this onstage?' " She's right, actually. Because her songs were co-written by seasoned R&B veterans, some of the words are jarring: No adolescent on planet Earth would say things such as "Won't you tell me/Where's my mister man?" Her songwriting still sparkles with potential. With that voice, fame is imminent, and soon she will not regard the paparazzo who followed her to the drugstore recently as "really cool, just doing his job." Hopefully she can enjoy this giddy time where everything is "mad" and people are "really nice." Hell, maybe she'll never be jaded, because she seems equally excited by both the major events in her life and the smaller ones -- getting her driver's license, for instance. "I really can't wait," she says, practically lifting off her chair. By Jancee Dunn

Paradiso, Amsterdam

photos from the hard rock's official website

Sound of 2004: Joss Stone Teenage soul singer Joss Stone has come fifth in BBC News Online's Sound of 2004 survey to find the best new music artists. Joss Stone's manager has a trick he likes to play on people who hear her music for the first time. He plays the CD of her big-voiced, often emotional, sometimes troubled vintage-style soul while the singer is waiting in the next room. Just as the listener is visualising an Aretha Franklin-style diva, he calls in Stone, a blonde 16-year-old from Devon, England. This combination of strong, soulful voice with innocent looks and youthful experience has caused some raised eyebrows in her short career. She "is a lot more Britney than Whitney" noted the New York Times. "That is - until she begins to sing." The strength and depth of her voice have meant her age, looks and origins have been unimportant for many soul fans who have already discovered her. The last three months has been a whirlwind of concerts, travelling, promotion in the US and UK for her debut album The Soul Sessions - and hype. "Joss Stone and her Soul Sessions amount to a load of hype you can dare to believe in," wrote a critic in The Observer newspaper. "It's been really good - I've been really, really busy, I've been on a million planes," Stone told BBC News Online. "I've been to different places, met new people, it's been a completely different experience." Stone worked with singer Betty Wright, who had several hits in the 1970s. That hype has included press descriptions of her as "the white Aretha Franklin". "I think it's kind of funny," Stone says. "Aretha Franklin? I wish. But it's never going to happen. "It was a real huge compliment and people are being really nice," she adds. The Stone story began when she got Franklin's greatest hits for Christmas aged 10, and went on BBC talent show Star for a Night four years later, singing Donna Summer's On The Radio. Two London producers who saw a later charity show phoned Steve Greenberg, head of the US-based S-Curve Records, to tell him about the greatest British singer they had ever heard. 'Passion and feeling' Greenberg says Stone has "not only a great voice but also the ability to put her own original stamp on classic material". "She wasn't just mimicking - she was changing and interpreting the songs, and doing it with passion and feeling," he says. "The level of nuance was just astounding for someone who was then 14 years old." He hooked Stone up with Grammy-winning soul singer and producer Betty Wright, who described the teenager's voice as "a gift from heaven". Wright then rounded up her old Miami soul band, some of whom she had not seen for years, to play on The Soul Sessions. Ambitions The album includes Stone's versions of songs like Aretha Franklin's All The King's Horses and the Isley Brothers' For The Love Of You. She also enlisted jazz-rap band The Roots to back her on a soulful version of The White Stripes' rock song Fell In Love With A Girl - which will be her new single. Her main musical ambition, she says is to play at the Glastonbury music festival - because "it just seems like a fun thing to do and all my friends would be there". She does not have any other specific ambitions, she says - "just sing anywhere and meet new people and be successful I suppose".