As summer nears and bands kickstart their warm weather tours, Incubus is no different.  Vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Michael Einziger, drummer Jose Pasillas II, bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore are packing up and heading out on a 31-city tour of the United States.

Their tour, celebrating the release of their two-disc collection “Monuments and Melodies” (scheduled to drop June 16) begins July 9 in San Diego California.  Along the way Incubus will stop in Las Vegas (July 11), Chicago (July 21) and Cleveland (July 29).

“Monuments and Melodies” is more than just a greatest hits compilation.  While the first disc features 13 of Incubus’ hits, including four #1s, the second disc features 3 new tracks and 11 rare recordings—one rumored to be a cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.”

This is not the first time a band has released a disc of top singles, paired with a disc of rare/unreleased tracks, covers, and perhaps even concert footage. No Doubt, who is currently touring, released a similar fan package in 2003.

Incubus fans get an even bigger treat.  When purchasing “Monuments and Melodies,” fans will also get access to “The Vault,” a new section on the band’s official website.  This will allow fans to view over 500 rare and unreleased videos, mp3s, and photograph.

The East coast leg of the tour starts in August, including shows in Boston (August 1), New York (August 4 and 5), Charlotte (August 12), and Miami (August 16).  The tour ends August 25, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Incubus recently released their album’s first new video single, “Black Heart Inertia.”  While the video itself achieves nothing all that creative or envelope-pushing—the basic premise involves a production assistant (played by Boyd) getting thrust in front of the camera as the leading man after he spills coffee on the intended actor (also played by Boyd).  It’s a music video concept that is tired and a bit boring; the video’s plot almost overshadows the music with its mediocrity.  Luckily, however, the music pulls the band through an otherwise mundane visual experience.  The video is of course at its best when it features Incubus doing what they’re made to do—playing a song, rocking out, and entertaining their audience.  Their sound is still familiar, still inherently Incubus, but evolving enough to attract new listeners while still engaging lifelong fans.

The video for “Black Heart Inertia” reconfirms perhaps the most important thing about Incubus’ upcoming tour—they still rock.  The sounds are fluid and evocative and all indicators are still pointing to Boyd as a great frontman.  Whether you see them jamming in Los Angeles or Toronto, fans will be a part of a musical experience they won’t soon forget.

You know what a character actor is.

It’s an actor you see all the time in movies and on television but you don’t know their name.  They are quite good but lack the proverbial “star quality.” Basically, they are every guest star on Law and Order.

Rock music has an equivalent to a character actor, the alternative rock band Incubus.

You may not be able to name an Incubus song but you’ve probably heard their music.  They are excellent musicians who are not afraid to mix-and-match genres and experiment with different instrumentations.  Incubus has incorporated a pipa, a djembe, a sitar, a didgeridoo and bongos into their recordings and live performances.

Despite selling over 16 million albums, the band is far more talented than they are famous.  Part of this is due to their own violation and part is due to their shortcomings.  The members of Incubus aren’t the greatest song writers in the world and their music isn't particularly unique.

They are louder and edgier than Foo Fighters.  Their music is more mature than Alien Ant Farm.  They aren’t as corny as 311 but not as serious as Rage Against the Machine.

Incubus hails from Calabasas, California and is led by singer Brandon Boyd.  He originally formed the band back in 1991 with guitarist Mike Einziger and drummer Jose Antonio Pasillas II.  Later, the trio was joined by bassist Ben Kenney and deejay DJ Kilmore.

Their first album, Fungus Amongus, was released in 1996.  Since then, they’ve released five more albums and several performance DVD’s.

On June 16th, Incubus is set to release a two-disc retrospective called Monuments and Melodies.  One disc is comprised of their greatest hits.  It also contains two new tracks, both produced by Brendan O’Brien, called “Black Heart Inertia” and “Midnight Swim.”

The second disc is made up of rarities (which is just a euphuism for songs not good enough to appear on a real album).  The highlight is a cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.”

To support the release, Incubus will embark on a tour of North America that starts July 9th in Chula Vista, California.  The tour finishes August 25th in Glendale, Arizona.

During their tour, Incubus will visit Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mansfield, Maryland, Miami, Mohegan Sun, New York and Philadelphia.

Surely alternative rock fans have already bought their Incubus tickets, but if you’re unaware of their music you would do yourself a great service to change that.  They are definitely worth the time.