Incubus' Brandon Boyd speaks out about 9/11 'helplessness'
Brandon Boyd, Incubus frontman has put aside his feelings of helplessness following the 9/11 attacks so he and his band could send a message of hope to the devastated survivors.
As America plans to commemorate the 10th anniversaay of the terrorist attacks, many celebrities are recalling where they were when the two hijacked plans hit the Twin Towers in New York, who=le a third crached into the Pentagon and a fourth crash landed in Pennsylvania.
The rocker opened up about his personal account of the terrible day, revealing he was staying a mile away from the World Trade Centre buildings on the night of Spetember 10 2011 and he and a friend awoke just shortly before the plans crashed.
Speaking to the New York Daily New, he says: "It was such a gorgeous day. I had the windows open so I could listen to the glorious hum of the city... (And then) I heard the first plane go over, which sounded like it went right over our hotel. I said to the young woman I was dating at the time, 'That seems awfully low for a plane to be flying.'
"(When the first plane hit) our windows rattled like an earthquake. I heard sirens and raised voices, but couldn't see out of my window which direction it had gone.
"We watched the second plane hit (on the news) and again our windows rattled. At that point we knew something was very wrong. It goes without saying that the feeling that hit me was overwhelming helplessness. I didn't know what to do for my own safety, let alone to lend a helping hand."
Boyd admits he and his bandmates were forced to make the decision whether to cancel their shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom, days after the attack because the venue was too close to Ground Zero.
He continues: "I remember asking if it was even an option for us to play New York. The promoter told us, 'I don't think anyone is going to object...' Though the shows had been sold out for some time, we weren't sure if anyone would come out. There was so much fear in the city."
Incubus made the collective decision to push on with the concert and their fans were glad that they did - in the hours before their first performance, over 85% of the ticket holders had come to collect their passes.
Boyd adds: "It was obvious at that moment how much music mattered. It didn't even matter that it was us playing it. It was just that people wanted to go out and hear some music and be taken away from it all. It was like touching a live wire, playing that night."