Incubus Guitarist Respondes to Religious Protest against Band

Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger isn't too worried about a recent protest against his band.  He tells "Rolling Stone" he's looking at last week's text message sent by an unknown group in the Philippines with a "sense of humor."  The message urges residents to pray against the band to keep them from "[imparting] their spirits" on the country's youth during their July 28th concert in Manila.  The religious group also offers its own explanation of the band's name, defining it as a "situation resembling a terrifying dream" and a "male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons."  And while Einziger isn't taking this threat too seriously, he doesn't feel the same about what he calls "religious extremism" on the whole.  He calls it "part of a larger problem that affects us on a global scale," adding that he "feels sorry" for those people who choose to spread hate.

Einziger also explains that anyone who really listens to Incubus' music would see that they're environmental activists, advocates of social justice and "promoters of peace."  The band released its seventh studio album, "If Not Now, When?," earlier this month.