Gavin Koppell
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Gavin Koppel, or more commonly known as DJ Lyfe, was the original DJ for the alternative rock band Incubus. They met a few months before the band's release of their first independently-released album, Fungus Amongus, in the fall of 1995. Lyfe had seen Incubus performing live and offered his hip-hop tracks as an addition to the band. Guitarist Mike Einziger was skeptical of a DJ at first: "We didn't want the turntable to sound like somebody scratching a snare drum, like it sounds on a lot of rap records...We wanted it to be more of an instrument with its own sounds, like that of a keyboard player or another guitar player." But after Lyfe's first rehearsal, he was in the band full-time as their DJ.
In 1996, Incubus signed to Immortal Records and released Enjoy Incubus in 1997, which featured a new twist on their songs from Fungus Amongus and two recently written songs, now that Lyfe featured his own style and samples scattered throughout the album. Lyfe was also prominently featured in Incubus' first full-length album, S.C.I.E.N.C.E., in September 1997.
Then, in February 1998, DJ Lyfe was asked to leave the band. The band claimed that Lyfe was distant from the others and had little or nothing to do with the creative process. It was the decision of the band that if he remained, the members could not be productive in their songwriting process. Following his departure from the band, Gavin changed his stage name from Lyfe to DJ1987.
He continued to perform at night clubs in Los Angeles, California and released a solo EP in 1998, bringing a unique style of rhythm and rhyme in his samples.
In 2003 Gavin Koppel filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates for failing to provide proper royalty accountings according to their partnership contract. He lost, as it was determined that Incubus did not breach the partnership contract and that his case had no merit. In 2004, Gavin invested royalties earned as a member of Incubus into a new career in Film and Television. He is now a video editor and producer who has worked with artists such as Ice Cube, Spice Girls, Mike Jones, and more. He is still a well known DJ in the Los Angeles area, but now does it in his spare time.
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