A lot of us have siblings that have gone on to make a heck of a lot more out of themselves than we have, forcing us to spend our entire lives crawling out of that particular sibling’s shadow in an attempt to be equally successful. It’s hard work—just ask Cooper Manning, Drama from “Entourage,” or that little Bonus Jonas. You can’t chide your bro for doing what he does best, but if you’re going to follow in his footsteps the road ain’t gonna be an easy one.

Now, multiply that pressure by three and you get the roots of the band Audiovent, who put out their single major-label album, “Dirty Sexy Nights in Paris,” in 2002. Lead singer Jason Boyd is the brother of Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd, and Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger has two siblings in the band as well: little bro Benjamin and step-bro Paul Fried. In a sense, it’s a little mini-Incubus, with a somewhat similar sound and a very similar look.

In reality, the group sounds more like Shinedown or Theory of a Deadman than Incubus, but part of the struggle Audiovent went through in their very brief heyday was whispers of nepotism, but we’re not buying it. This group has some very solid tunes on their one widely-released record, and we feel the need to share those tunes with the masses who may never have heard of them.

The only full official music video available on YouTube is “Looking Down,” the group’s moderately successful second single, and once you get past how much Jason looks like his brospeh you realize that the song is actually very good. “The Energy” was the group’s other single, but our personal favorite track on the record is “Stalker,” which rocks a bit of a lazy off-beat with hard cords and fun lyrics about an obsessive lover. It’s commercial alt-rock, but it’s good stuff—even without the ties to a mega-group like Incubus.

After the album failed to really gain much traction the guys went their separate ways, some to other bands and Boyd to his American Caveman clothing line, which may or may not still exist (internet searches for an active link were unsuccessful). Whatever they’re doing these days, they’re doing it despite the pressure from the continued success of their family members. That’s a tall shadow, folks—one I wouldn’t want for myself. Of course, if anything ever happens to Brandon Boyd or Mike Einziger, at least we know the band has the familial resources to keep things going. Then we’ll see who is in whose shadow.

“The Energy” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Amazon Music

iTunes Music

lala Music

The year 2000 was so ridiculously awesome.  There was Y2K, for one, then hanging chads and Almost-President Gore.  I even managed to graduate from an American high school that year and begin my higher education at an American university.  I was but a sapling in the dense rainforest of life, and it was right around then (thanks to Napster and a new, non-dial-up, high-speed university internet system known as a “T1”) that I began my decade of digging for good music beyond what was played on the radio.

In a way I guess you could say I was a Fresh Scout long before Fresh Scouts even existed.  I had recently fallen in love with Incubus and did all I could to get my paws on any and everything Brandon Boyd and the gang touched.  One of those projects was something called “Loud Rocks,” a gimmicky yet entertaining album crossing hip-hop and hard rock.  Some of the hottest rock groups of the era (which, humorously enough, includes Crazy Town) teamed up to remix tracks from some of hip-hop’s biggest guns.

As far as the album is concerned, this usually turned out pretty well.  Incubus, for example, teamed up with Big Pun to remix “Still Not a Player,” while other tracks included mash-ups of classic Wu-Tang Clan songs by teaming up with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ozzy Osbourne, and System of a Down, as well as a redo of Xzibit’s “What U See is What U Get,” one of my all-time favorite rap songs made even more awesome by the talents of Sevendust.

Mobb Deep and Everlast do a rocky version of “Shook Ones” that’s just as soulful as the original but a little more energetic, and Dead Prez teams up with Static-X to do an interesting re-rendition of “Hip-Hop.”  Yeah, there’s the Crazy Town song and, inexplicably, something featuring Sugar Ray as the “rockers,” but it really was such a cool album.  Mixing these two genres back in 2000 was sort of a new thing, and this was a great example of how that experimentation could churn out some musical magic.

Plus, like I said, anything with Incubus gets my time, attention, and appreciation.  Those boys can do no wrong in my eyes, like a biological child that I’ve spent my life spoiling.  This didn’t sell a ton of records, but I love it all the same.

Oh, and I forgot about Elian Gonzales.  Remember him?  The cute Cuban boy who eventually got deported after a long, drawn-out custody battle?  That was awesome.  I miss 2000.

Amazon

iTunes