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.