AllHipHop.com: Linkin Park Walk This Way

Linkin Park is a name familiar to fans of rap, even though enthusiasts may not admit to it. The metal quintet is more Hip-Hop than one would suppose. The group mixes old-school Hip-Hop traits with classic rock-n-roll and electronica. The band has sold several millions with a metal/rap hybrid that is pleasantly reminiscent of early Run DMC/Aerosmith and Public Enemy/Anthrax team-ups. The only thing, they sold their millions to MTV’s TRL crowd, not hardcore hip-hoppers. That may change now.

As their predecessors created classics, Linkin Park has joined with Roc-A-Fella chief Jay-Z for a unique collaboration called Collision Course. Rapper/singer Mike Shinoda took some of his time to explain how such an unlikely alliance came to be and how it was working with the self-proclaimed god emcee.

AllHipHop.com: How was working with Jay-Z on Collision Course, a dream for most hip-hoppers?

Mike Shinoda: I have been a fan of Jay's work from day one. one of my favorite songs is "Brooklyn’s Finest"--I even quoted it on our song "Nobody's Listening" from Meteora. as far as working with someone for the first time: it can be a disaster, if the person you look forward to working with isn't what you thought they'd be. Many times, fans will meet their favorite artist and that person is just a jerk. Fortunately, Jay is the epitome of what most people hope their favorite artist is like: down to Earth and easy to work with. Not to mention indescribably talented and completely at home in the studio

AllHipHop.com: Were you a fan before meeting him?

MS: There are six guys in our band who all grew up listening to different things. There are very few artists I can say that we all like. Jay is one of them.

AllHipHop.com: These mash-up collabs are hot. Are their any other plans to work with any other rap artists in a mash-up capacity?

MS: At this point, no. A mash-up is best, in my opinion, when it two songs that fans know. That was there. We also have to get along. that was there. i just think that the whole thing was such a positive experience that we'd be hard pressed to do better.

AllHipHop.com: The word is, you all had a straight Hip-Hop album. Can you talk about it and why wasn't it promoted to the rap crowd?

MS: I assume you're talking about Reanimation. I wished more of the Hip-Hop "gatekeepers" were down with it, but I’m happy with the fact that it has become more of a cult-favorite. It never got any radio play, but it did pretty well. We tried to feature less mainstream artists we believe are really dope, like Planet Asia and Rasco, Chali 2na, Pharaoh Monche, Black Thought, and many others.

The thing is, in a lot of cases, Hip-hop radio people are looking for songs that will readily fit into their programming, and I don't think Reanimation fit at the time. I oversaw it, so whatever good or bad things people say about it will fall on me. But I can say that we made the album the way we wanted to do it. That’s how we work; we just do what sounds good to us.

AllHipHop.com: Were there any musical adjustments made for Jay-Z - soften the beats, make them harder, slower, faster?

MS: In every case, I adjusted the music to make the parts work together as one song. Every song is different, but here's an example: with “Numb /Encore,” I started with the "Encore" accapella. I decided that the song of ours that best fit the tone of Jay's lyrics was "Numb" I also just wanted to hear [Linkin Park’s] Chester singing the "What the hell are you waiting for" line! (Laughs) I then took the "Numb" instrumental and cut up some parts of it, and arranged them as a repeating pattern. I basically treated our instrumental as if it were a sample from a record, that I would cut up and replay in a different way, the way DJ Premier does. I built the rest of the track around that skeleton, adding the "Numb" keyboard hook, and new bass, piano, clean guitar, and drums. I did almost all of this work on my laptop in our bus, while we were on tour outside the U.S. seems like a lot of work for a mash-up, but I don't do anything half-assed.

And, since this is a project that had never been done before original artists getting together to make a mash-up using their own masters and playing them live, I had to put everything into it.

AllHipHop.com: How many fans will you convert? Word is Jay-Z's buddy Ty-Ty is already a Linkin Park fan.

MS: At this point, it's not so much about converting people as it is sharing fans. Believe it or not, a lot of rock fans don't really know who Jay is, or haven't given him a chance. I think the same may be true for us and Hip-Hop fans. I was raised on Hip-Hop, and I’ve always injected it into what I do as part of Linkin Park; maybe this will make it a little more obvious to people. Maybe after this, they will listen to an LP record and hear the Hip-Hop that's always been there that they hadn't recognized before.

AllHipHop.com: Ever talk to Ty-Ty about his newfound love of Linkin Park’s music?

MS: I just got a text message from him five minutes ago. He’s a good guy, a standup guy. only thing is, he has the kind of nickname that some people, like some of our team, sound like idiots saying. picture Donald Trump saying "Tah-Tah." Anyway, funny story: we put a thank-you to him in the Collision Course album credits under "Tyran Smith," his real name. I emailed him saying "thanks for letting us thank you as 'Tyran'--that way all my White friends can say your name without sounding like complete assholes." not only are we trying to bridge the gap between musical genres, we're trying to find ways for White people to say ghetto nicknames without sounding stupid.

  BallerStatus.net: Mike Shinoda: The Mash-Up

Hip-hop has become such a largely popular genre over the years. Pop artists are collabing with hip-hop artists, R&B singers are collabing and even rock bands are

doing collaborations, here and there. But one of the biggest collabos of the present time has to be Linkin Park collaborating with Jay-Z for MTV's "Mash-Ups" special.

The performance between the two mega artists spawned an EP of mash-up tracks called Collision Course, putting some of Jay-Z's biggest hits with Linkin Park's catalog of hits since their debut.

Once the performance hit, there has been much talk of the unexpected mash-ups of tracks. LP's own Mike Shinoda spoke candidly about the experience and his hip-hop influences.

BallerStatus.net: You guys have obvious hip-hop influence in your music, so who are some of the hip-hop artists that have influenced you to mesh two genres and become so successful?

Mike Shinoda: I got into hip-hop around the time of Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. One record I really got into was BDP's (Boogie Down Productions) By All Means Necessary. "I'm Still No. 1" and "Illegal Business" were my favorites. I also listened to NWA and Rakim a lot. I wasn't rapping much for a while and just focused on making beats, but Nas and Biggie's first albums got me back into it. Soon after that, we started Linkin Park.

BallerStatus.net: Linkin Park has dropped two highly successful albums and the Reanimation album, which featured Alchemist, Chali 2na, Aceyalone and many others... So I know you are a big fan of hip-hop and have worked to showcase that in your music. How does it feel to work with an Artist such as Jay-Z, who is on such a high level in his career?

Mike Shinoda: To me, Collision Course is a landmark album, because it's a first: two multi-platinum artists getting together, using their original masters and new performances and production to create an album of mash-ups - that's something that has never been done before. I think Jay-Z is an exceptional artist; it was a real treat for me to be able to sit in the producer's chair for this project.

BallerStatus.net: Now that album was actually pretty dope and was straight hip-hop rather that rock/hip-hop, why did you guys decide to drop that album and pick the artists that were featured on it?

Mike Shinoda: Reanimation was a way for us to put something out there just for the fans, in a way that let everyone know where we were coming from. Our tastes are a little all over the place, but that's just who we are. By the way, if anyone reading this hasn't heard Black Thought's verse from Reanimation, go get it just for that.

BallerStatus.net: You guys have done 6 mash up songs, mixing songs from Jay's Black Album with upcoming songs from Linkin Park for an EP called Collision Course. How did this project materialized and what was the actual process for creating the EP?

Mike Shinoda: MTV called Jay and told him their idea for the live show. They wanted to know who he would like to do it with, and he had his manager call us. I had a vision for what it would sound like, but I didn't think words could describe it, so I made some music. I sent him a CD with "Dirt Off Your Shoulder / Lying From You" and "Numb / Encore" on it. His reply was "Oh Shit!" Needless to say, we were off on the right foot.

BallerStatus.net: Besides you are the other members of Linkin Park, big fans of hip-hop
music?

Mike Shinoda: Yeah, the guys all like hip-hop in some form or another. Joe (DJ) and I the most, although Brad (Guitarist) and Phoenix (Bassist) aren't far behind. But even Rob (Drummer) and Chester (Lead singer), who don't buy hip-hop albums every week, were really excited about working with Jay, because we all like his stuff.

BallerStatus.net: When this new project was brought to the table, what was the overall reaction from the band?

Mike Shinoda: We rarely can all agree on one thing. In five plus years of touring, we've only played two cover songs live as a band, because we can never agree on what song to play. But we could all agree that this Collision Course project was something that would turn out really dope.

BallerStatus.net: Now, the MTV performance spawned the idea to get into the studio with Jay-Z to re-perform the vocals. What was it like to get into the studio with him?

Mike Shinoda: As the producer, I was there the whole time, and got to plan everything and see everything unfold. I had Chester show up first, then the rest of the band and Jay. We hung out for a while, then a lot of people left to give Jay and me some space to get his parts solid. He's a really inspired person in the studio; personable and unassuming. But when he gets in front of that mic, he's completely comfortable — at home. I think we were all a little nervous to get started, but as soon as he got in that booth, it was over.

BallerStatus.net: How did he feel about rapping over the Rock beats?

Mike Shinoda: Jay can kill it over anything. It didn't take much to get things sounding good. The trick was to make sure everything we were doing sounded natural. There's a real trick and science to that, something a lot of people won't pick up on, but I know is there. Jay couldn't just scream along with Chester's parts, he had to perform it his way. It took us a few takes to get that right, but I made sure we got there.

BallerStatus.net: Did you feel any kind of pressure or were you nervous to get in there
and perform your vocals?

Mike Shinoda: Yeah, I made sure to do most of my vocals before Jay got in, so that things sounded tight before he heard them, and so I didn't have to go after him! But you can imagine how I felt: I would have loved to go back into all my lyrics and make them more complex and really step it up, but I thought that would ruin what we were trying to accomplish with the mash-up, so I didn't. I know what I do with LP (Linkin Park) is less technical, but rooted in the emotion, in order for it to work with the rock element. The project did make me want to step up my game, though...

BallerStatus.net: The overall performance, I think exposed a lot of hip-hop fans that weren't listening to your music to get a chance to hear it. How was the feedback from fans about the performance?

Mike Shinoda: I could see it on people's faces. They lost their minds. It was the best feeling, seeing Jay's fans moving to our stuff, and our fans moving to his. One thing that's been funny about Collision Course is that people are really starting to notice how much hip-hop is in our Linkin Park music, which is great.

BallerStatus.net: Ok, now it must have been quite and experience to perform the mash-ups on stage, right?

Mike Shinoda: From my angle, we were just having fun. We weren't nervous — we've been playing all around the world for the last five years. And to feel that confidence like, "we're about to hit you with some shit right now,"... that was a great. It's like having an ace up your sleeve.

BallerStatus.net: Collision Course, tell me the songs that are being combined on it?

Mike Shinoda: We got "Dirt Off Your Shoulder / Lying From You," Big Pimpin / Papercut," "Jigga What / Faint," "Numb / Encore," "Izzo /In The End," and "Points Of Authority / 99 Promblems / One Step Closer."


BallerStatus.net: Any plans to do any more mash-up songs in the future or hip-hop collabos?

Mike Shinoda: Right now, I want to switch things up and do something different. I'm in the studio right now working on a hip-hop project. I recently had some meetings with Black Thought, Common, and I'm supposed to meeting with Ice Cube this week. I also just did a track for Chali 2na's solo album, and I'm doing some other production as the projects turn up. We'll have to see what happens.

  BBC: Evening Session Interview

To coincide with the release of their new single, 'Papercut', Chester and Mike from Linkin Park joined Steve on the Evening Session. They talked at length about writing songs and defended themselves against some vicious rumours. This is the full unedited version of the interview which was broadcast on the session.
Hear the full uncut interview
or click on the listen icons below to start at that point

Track: Papercut

Chester can you remember your address yet, I read somewhere since you've moved house you've been on tour, and when someone asked you for your address you didn't know?
Chester: "I had to call home, it's really sad. I think in the last two apartments I had I've spent a total of 18-20 days in them."

Your life must have changed dramatically, or have you spent so long on the road you haven't noticed?
C: "We've spent so much time on the road it's hard not to notice the things that you miss about your regular daily life. I think the biggest thing that's changed is I've never done four continents in less than two weeks before."
Mike: "And also our lives at home aren't that different, it's just we are not there as much. But when we go home we are normal again."

Do you think that is because the success has come so rapidly, do you think you've had to do a lot of your growing up in public? More so than your peers?
M: "We've been together for five years and only a year of that has been with people watching. In our minds we've already established a goal, an idea of who we are and what we want to do - far before anyone took a look at what we were doing."
C: "As far as you are saying about this being our first album, a lot of the bands that we are compared to are on their third or fourth album and we are competing with them. It's very strange to be lumped into a group of bands who have been around for a while, and have a couple of albums under their belt."
M: "And when Chester said competing, it's friendly competition... I think that's a cool thing about this genre, everyone is really supportive of each other, and more of a big family than I would have expected."

There's certainly a lot of differences between the groups. You are under this Nu Metal banner, do you think there are things which set you apart?
M: "Korn, Limp Bizkit and Deftones, they compare those three a lot and I don't think there's a vast difference between one and the next. I'd say the things you can look at on our album, which we take pride in being different than the next band, would be our lyrics for one thing. Generally we keep things to universal topics, things that everybody feels or has experienced at one point or another. Then when we talk about them we try and sum them up. Chester and I when we start writing lyrics we sit down and have a discussion about the song, and what we are going to be talking about, which gives us some time to talk out our ideas before we start writing. Which is nice because it gives us a better idea of what it is in the first place, it's not sitting down and starting to write whatever comes to your mind, and you've got to work with that."
C: "It's funny because we'll sit down and go 'Mike how does the song make you feel?', and that's how we start every song, what emotion is the music evoking? - what kind of ideas is the music drawing out of you? Sometimes they are the same, and sometimes they are different. It's really interesting to let the music guide the lyrics because Mike and I's focus is primarily on the melody and lyrics usually come later."

Do you think it's the background you've come from - you've actually got someone who used to sneak into university to listen to lectures -from your lyrics you sound that you have been very reclusive at times?
C: "I think there is a certain element to that. Everybody has a certain tolerance level of the interaction with other people, so when you talk about how you feel about a lot of the things that comes into play. In a song like 'Crawling' we are talking about self-consciousness or the lack of self-confidence. That's a big part of that song because when you get into those situations with a lot of people looking at you, you find faults in yourself and you get nervous and want to change them. Things like that are really charged topics to be talking about, and when we started to write lyrics we found ourselves energised and interested in writing these songs and going after them with a lot of intensity. Sitting in front of a computer thinking about the crap you did before you go to bed, that you thought you could have done better - that will freak you out sometimes."
M: "There's times with everyone, you could be sitting in a car looking out of a window and thinking to yourself about things that you've done or said, which could be positive or negative. But to sit down and be forced to remember those things, rather than in some random moment is really interesting as far as writing lyrics, but when you pull that out of yourself consciously it is more interesting to evaluate yourself. When people read the lyrics to our songs they connect themselves to that too, and it's really interesting to see how many people really feel those things on a regular basis, and just don't talk about it... [We are in] a climate of music where people will throw in a lot of obscenities, generally I think a lot of kids have already heard that, and there comes a point when you've heard that enough and what something else. And that's why we write the way we write, because we want to talk about it in a different way and hear something been done like that - and it wasn't been done."

Track: Crawling

When you first started writing what was the emotions you tried to touch upon? These days I think we are all trying to find bands that we trust, your lyrics seem to sense that you had to find people that you could trust to be with...
M: "That is not something we thought about. It's more like everyday emotions you talk about and think about."
C: "And that definitely falls into that category. I think in our lyrics it does hint to that idea of who can I trust - can I trust myself even? I think that when you trust somebody you find security in that, and that also lies in with a lot of the lyrics that deal with insecurity, and self awareness. I think part of all this is a call to yourself, and I think that's who you have to find."
M: "One thing that we've realised over the course of the last year is that it wasn't something we'd set out to do - to say 'hey everybody should believe in us, we are the band you are going to listen to to save your life'. We are just human beings like everybody else, we don't know the answers to these things. We don't know it anymore than the next person does, and we are all trying to figure it out, so why not figure it out together... I know a lot of our fans write songs and poetry, and paint pictures, and we are all looking for the same thing."

So you must be desperate to start working on new material. Have you been writing on the road?
C: "I'm ready to explode."
M: "It's funny because we jam little things, and we really aren't a jam oriented band. We didn't write the album by going into the studio and playing until we had something. The way we write is directly into a computer, I'm really interested in computers I like the tech side of things. So, I run our little computer set-up, we have a Pro Tools rig which is basically like a computer recording hardware and software. Everyone will come in and sit with me and will record their stuff into the computer and we'll move it around until we are all happy. That's how we've recorded in the past, and we are going to be doing that to get started on the next album. The guys have already expressed interest in getting in there first and recording. They want to schedule out times and be in the studio and recording new ideas immediately. They've got all these things they want to put down on tape, so they can put them out of their mind, and know that they are saved, and try and start new ones."

Where do you see it going? The first LP is a mix of styles, what do you add in next?
C: "We have no idea because the idea behind our music is try and bring in different styles that we all grew up listening to and enjoy. Obviously some parts have more influence than others, and those will shine through our entire career, but it's difficult to say our next album is going to be the same. We always want to make music which sounds like Linkin Park, but I'm hoping for a totally different album."

So after this it's Ozzfest in the States, how long does that tie you up for?
M: "About ten weeks, and we are not only doing that we are doing what everyone is calling 'Off-fest' with a few of the bands from Ozzfest - Slipknot, Papa Roach, Disturbed."

When do you think you'll get into a studio?
M: "We are going to be working on things here and there. But our next album will not be ready for more than a year I'd say, because of the recording and mixing processes - we are pretty much perfectionists."
C: "We are going to put ourselves through six to eight months worth of pre-production after we write a lot of stuff. Then going in and having the producer rip our stuff apart and rebuild it. It's a long process but we hope that it will eliminate all the fatty tissue of the songs - all the pieces that you don't want."
M: "It's funny because people have said - I don't know if you know the rumour that's been spread around about us and a few other bands - that these new bands are being manufactured by record companies. I mean that's inherently complimentary in the sense that they are saying the stuff is really polished and all that. But, then again it's negative because they are saying they don't write our own songs. I mean obviously we write our own songs, you can look in the CD cases and see all the publishing credits. That compliment is really interesting because we do spend a lot of time on our songs. I guarantee you on this next album we spend half a year writing the songs. That's a lot of time to working on a dozen songs, but we care about the songs that much. We want the lyrics to be perfect, every part of every little instrument to be perfect. Not to mention that fact that we've got dozens of samples and drum elements that we want to put in there. So, it gets to be crazy, but we definitely enjoy it and we want it to be the best thing that we make."

When are you coming back to do a proper tour over here?
C: "We'll be back in September... It should be really exciting and we are talking to some really cool bands to come out and have some fun with us."

  Boston.com: Linkin Park Shapes Tour de Force

For the past four years, Linkin Park has been one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Combining elements of hip-hop, electronica, and rock, its 2000 debut "Hybrid Theory" was the best-selling record of 2001, and its latest release, "Meteora," was the biggest rock album of 2003. Vocalist/MC Mike Shinoda took a break from the band's third Projekt Revolution Tour (also featuring Korn, Snoop Dogg, the Used, and Less Than Jake), to talk about low ticket prices and why he and his Grammy-winning bandmates hate the `rap-rock' label.

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Q. How's the tour going?

A. It's going great. We just did our third show last night [Monday], and it's going really well. And I got chance yesterday to see all of the second-stage acts, and we got to watch everybody. We're really proud of how everything has come out, and we thank the bands every night because this is the biggest Projekt Revolution has ever been.

Q. This is the third year for the Projekt Revolution Tour. How has this tour evolved?

A. When we first started out, there were fewer acts on the bill, and with the support of the fans, the tour has been able to grow into something bigger and more exciting. There are more acts, more variety, and more entertainment out in the festival area. We have a village out by the second stage, which has everything from basic food and drink and merchandise for the groups to batting cages.

Q. It's been a slow summer tour season, and some tours, such as Lollapalooza, fell apart before they began. How have you guys managed to keep this tour viable?

A. It's all in the support of the fans. This is a really diverse bill - from M.O.P. and Ghostface to the likes of Funeral for a Friend, the Used, and Less Than Jake. It's a well-rounded tour, and it's a lot of fun for people. I think Snoop, Korn, and Linkin Park are kind of middle of the road in that with these three acts, everybody knows some of our songs, so it's a cool thing that the kids are there to help us sing along.

Q. With most ticket prices spiraling upward, how have you managed to keep yours low?

A. The sponsors are a big help in doing that. Major League Baseball helped us out with the tour, and therefore made the tickets less expensive; we agreed to let them put up some stuff of their own, and they turned that into a real positive vibe, bringing the batting cage where kids can mess around between sets or when they have some free time. All the bands on the bill do want to give the fans a good deal for their money, and they don't want to overcharge the fans. We're trying to do things so you can put 10 bands on a bill, and with the help of other people, hopefully give the kids a ticket price under $50, under $40.

Q. When you released ``Hybrid Theory'' in 2000, it was right in the middle of this surge of `rap-metal' bands.

A. I hate that label.

Q. Why?

A. It's trivializing. I mean, it is an accurate description of a lot of things that were going on, a lot of types of music that people were making. There's such capabilities and potential for doing really cool stuff in combining different types of music, and I think `rap-metal,' `nu-metal,' or any of those labels just don't cut it for me. If you come to our show, we're playing everything from `One Step Closer' to `Crawling' to `Nobody's Listening' to `Breaking the Habit.' Would you call `Breaking the Habit' a rap-rock song? I don't think so. We're just trying to make good music, stuff we think is cutting edge. All we're trying to do is continue to surprise our fans in a good way.

Q. Do you see a natural life span for Linkin Park?

A. We want to play and make music as long as our fans will have it, but I don't know what the future holds for the band. I know the guys are all very talented in many different ways, and if it were to end tomorrow, I think everyone would be capable of keeping themselves very happy doing creative things that people will like.

  Bradenton: Mo' Money Mo' Problems

Heavy-metal and hip-hop have been the rebellion music of choice for the past two decades. Linkin Park's spruced-up crossbreed of the two styles has made them one of the most successful bands of the new millennium.

The group was living in poverty when they wrote the darkly themed material for their debut "Hybrid Theory," the biggest selling rock album of 2001. After watching a remix version of "Hybrid" also go platinum they sounded no less miserable on "Meteora," which has been on the pop charts for 70 weeks and is on pace to match its precursor's global sales of 12 million.

From a stop in Cleveland, lead singer Chester Bennington says the fame and money haven't made life any easier. He also talks about rewriting a song 150 times, pimping-out a PT Cruiser and his band's inability to attract groupies.

What's the big news so far on this summer's Projekt Revolution tour?

The shows have all been kick (expletive). Promoters say they could squeeze a couple extra in, but I couldn't tell - every show has looked packed. It's been awesome for all the bands. I couldn't imagine it going any better.

How was hooking up with Jay-Z at L.A.'s Roxy for the pilot of MTV's "Mashup" series that's scheduled for the fall?

Killer. I don't even know how to put it into words . . . It was a magical meeting of two artists who really take pride in what they do, and have a great work ethic. Jay-Z had such a good time, he came out and joined us at our show in New Jersey.

Any chance of a Snoop Dogg/Linkin Park mashup when Projekt Revolution comes to Tampa?

We might be able to work something out. We brought him out for the first time the other night. Jonathan Davis (of Korn) came on with us the other night, too.

What song did Snoop join you on?

We'll keep that a surprise . . . It doesn't happen every night, so we'll just let people come and find out.

Rumor has it you and Mike Shinoda wrote 40 different choruses for "Meteora's" first single, "Somewhere I Belong." Is the songwriting process always this tough?

Yeah, ya know, we're not ones to settle for just good - it's gotta be great. We take everything that serious. I rewrote "Runaway" (from "Hybrid Theory") about 150 times. The frustration of writing that song sprouted "One Step Closer."

Was there fear of the sophomore jinx when you entered the studio to record "Meteora?"

Nah, even though we were new at the game, we understood that each time you make a record it is like the first time. You restart your career and take all the risks each time you put out a release. We put the pressure to the back of our minds and just concentrated on making good music.

We will not release anything unless it's awesome. If you don't hear from us for a few years, it's not because we're on break, it's because we're working on making our next record worthy of release. We're not going to put something out that will disappoint

our fans or disappoint our label. We won't make music we're not proud of.

What's the most expensive item you have purchased for yourself since the fat royalty checks started pouring in?

That I didn't really need? (Pause.) It was customizing my PT Cruiser.

What did you fit it with?

I can't even get into it. Put it this way, when I get it back you're gonna need shades to look at it - it's that bright.

Has wealth and fame made it more difficult for you to write about the inner pain your fans have come to expect from your lyrics?

Fame is fleeting and money is a pain in the (expletive).

It's just one of those things, you know, life doesn't change just because certain people think you have it made.

Yeah, I live in a different world now than I did at 19 or 20. I'm 28, I'm a father, a husband and I'm in a successful band. I get to see and experience a lot more . . . But (chuckling) there's still plenty of (expletive) to come out of my disgusting mind.

Growing up in Phoenix, were you more into rock or rap?

Hip-hop was my first passion. I loved it, still do. But I'm probably more the rocker.

What do you listen to at the end of a miserable day?

I listen to The Beatles these days more than anything.

What are some of your hobbies outside of music?

Nothing really cool. Music is my life. I like to paint and that kind of stuff . . . talk to friends, throw barbecues - how stupid, that's not even a hobby.

How about passing time on your tour bus/mobile recording studio?

All we do is play (the video game) "Halo" and write music.

Your lyrics paint a dark picture of your childhood. How emotionally taxing is it to revisit these unpleasant memories each night in concert?

When I write about that stuff, it's taxing, but when I perform the song it's different. It doesn't attach itself to the memories anymore. When you perform it becomes more of a release and something for the fans.

On "Breaking The Habit," you sing, "I know it's not alright. So I'm breaking the habit tonight." Do we sense a trace of optimism there?

It's about taking control rather than being a victim. So, yeah, it's very optimistic.

What's the backstage scene been like this summer?

You don't have to have too good of an imagination to figure out what's going on back there with me and Snoop and Korn.

What's the biggest difference between Chester Bennington the lead singer of Linkin Park and Chester Bennington the guy lounging around the house on an off day?

Hmm. I don't think much, but people do say we're two different people. On stage they say I'm this raging ball of energy and negativity and offstage it's this nice, laid-back, kickback guy - but I don't know if we're that different.

More musicians than perhaps ever before are taking a stand on the upcoming presidential election. How do you feel about this?

Speak your mind in the (expletive) voting booth! Music and politics don't mix, dude. Haven't we learned that from the '60s?

What kind of groupies does Linkin Park attract?

We don't have groupies. People think of us and they don't think sex, they think Linkin Park saved my life or helped my relationship or kept me from running away from home or got me off drugs . . . The groupie thing just doesn't work for us.

Does it ever get overwhelmed having so many troubled fans seeking your guidance?

No, I love helping people. That's what the music is for. It would bother me more if people assumed I liked hookers and (cocaine) and wanted to talk about that, rather than talk about something that could be positive.

What advice would you give to someone struggling with the same type of drug abuse problems you have dealt with?

Stay strong, willpower is the key to everything. If you can't fight and stand up to yourself you can't fight and defeat anybody.

What makes you laugh on TV?

Oh, geez. "Chappelle's Show" is the funniest show on TV. That guy has got some (expletive) going on. I thought I was the only person who thought like that. I'm so glad to see a guy in his position do what he's doing so honestly.

Do you have a favorite reality series?

(Sheepishly) Yeah, "The Newlyweds."

Have you met Nick or Jessica?

(Laugh) No. No I haven't.

  Chart Magazine: Linkin Park Feel The Chemistry...

Linkin Park love to mix things up. Their two albums, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, consistently and seamlessly blend different styles of music together, melding rap and rock with just enough electronic flourish to keep the ears burning and turning that blend into a digestible, accessible pop formula for millions of hungry fans to eat up.

In the last three years the band have sold several million albums worldwide, sold out arenas around the globe, toured with Metallica and progressed further than all their long-since-disappeared rap-rock contemporaries. They are (as our May 2003 issue featuring 'em on them cover declares) the biggest rock band in the world.

So, taking all of that into consideration, doing a collaborative mash-up album with the biggest rapper in the world seems like the next logical step for the band. MTV clearly thought so too, as they teamed Linkin Park up with the Jigga-Man himself, Jay-Z, for the new TV show, MTV's Ultimate Mash-Ups.

The result is Collision Course, a six-song EP featuring hits from both LP and Jay-Z, mashed up and gelling better than one would expect. ChartAttack recently spoke with LP bassist Phoenix to find out just how this extraordinary pairing came about.

"MTV asked Jay who he would like to do a collaboration with us and he said he'd like to work with us," says Phoenix, still surprised by the news. "We were all really excited about that because, having six guys in a band, we all have pretty diverse tastes, but Jay's one of the artists that we all like and admire, so we jumped at the opportunity."

Things were, apparently, very easy right from the start and though Hova can seem a bit cocky on record, Phoenix insists that he's quite the working man in real life.

"There was no ego with him," he says. "It was a very comfortable atmosphere, he's extremely down-to-earth and extremely easy to work with and he's got a great sense of humour. I don't know if we just had a good chemistry or not, but everything clicked very easily. Almost too easily."

Though the collaboration was only supposed to be a one-time thing, band vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mike Shinoda had a big hand in making the effort more than what it was supposed to be.

"Originally, we were just supposed to mash-up a couple of songs, film the process for the MTV show and then play the show at the Roxy [Theatre in Los Angeles] and that was supposed to be that. Mike really took the reins and believed that the project could be more than it was, so he was constantly sending demos to Jay back and forth," Phoenix says. "Mike deserves a lot of credit for hand-picking each song and working so hard on them to make them fit with one another the way they do."

And they do fit. Quite well, in fact. Songs like the hard-as-hell "Lying From You" mesh unbelievably with more chilled out, head-nodding tracks like "Dirt Off Your Shoulders."

Fans hoping for a Meteora remix album should listen closely to Collision Course as that is as close as they're going to get to another Reanimation-type project.

"The mash-up project kind of served the same purpose as Reanimation did, in that you could take a step away from work you've done and work with different artists to put new life into old songs," Phoenix says.

Phoenix is quick to add that they're already moving forward from this project.

"We had a lot of fun doing Collision Course, but we want to focus more on writing our third album," he says excitedly. Even though fans of the band may be excited with that news, they should know better than to expect new material to surface any time soon. "We're notoriously slow when we make albums, so even saying that new material will see the light of day by the end of 2005 is ambitious."

In a time where the rap-rock fad has long passed and emo is the new craze, the band remain true to the credo that they do what they like, regardless of the musical climate.

"The main focus for us is to keep being inspired and keep investigating new places to go, musically and creatively," Phoenix says firmly. "The business side of it focuses on whether or not people will like it, and we don't really have a hand in that. All we can do is make songs that we like and we hope other people will like it too."

Collision Course hits stores tomorrow (November 30).

  ClevelandFreeTimes.com

AS NÜ-METAL TRUDGES into its second decade, the derivative one-album wonders come faster and faster. The possibility of following up even a single radio hit has become more daunting. In the middle of this genre-winding-down climate steps Linkin Park, unfazed. The California rap-metal group's 2001 debut, Hybrid Theory , sold 14 million copies worldwide and snared a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. When it released Meteora in March of 2003, its presence on the radio seemed to increase, with tracks like “Breaking the Habit” and “Somewhere I Belong” quickly becoming ubiquitous.

The band — vocalist Chester Bennington, rapper Mike Shinoda, DJ Joseph Hahn, drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson and bassist Phoenix Farrell — became ubiquitous as well. Its 18 months of nearly nonstop touring winds up this month with the third and biggest edition of its Projekt Revolution tour, which it started in 2002 to hook up artists from various linked genres. This time out, it'll share the stage with one of nü-metal's original superstar acts, Korn, rapper Snoop Dog, Utah punk rockers the Used and horn-driven Florida punk pop band Less than Jake. It'll also feature a half dozen bands on a side stage.

“The idea is to end this album cycle on a bang,” says Phoenix, calling from his Southern California home during a brief breather. “We wanted to create an event that would be memorable and that people would be able to be excited about, and hopefully that excitement would carry over into the next time when we start touring again.

“We knew wanted to do something larger than what we've done in the past,” he continues. “I think being able to do the Metallica Summer Sanitarium tour last summer gave us a bit of the buzz to get outside and do a fun outdoor summer festival-style event. It just worked out timing-wise to do a tour with Korn. We've been friends with those guys for quite a while, and it just never worked out because of record cycles and things. But everything's fallen into place, and we're really excited about it. It's going to be the largest undertaking that we've done.”

He admits the band is looking forward to spending most of the next year at home working on its third album, starting in late September, but says it's psyched for one last push on the Meteora tour.

“When you jump from tour to tour and you don't really have a break, you start to get a little more burnt out,” he says. “But this one will be a little bit more fresh for us. We're playing some old songs that we've never done live, and we're doing some songs off Meteora we haven't done in a long time. We want people that saw the show already to not be seeing the same thing.”

It's too early to predict where the next album will take the band musically, Phoenix says.

“We've started collaborating and getting ideas down, but it's going to be a while before we have something firm,” he says. “There isn't necessarily a collective mindset between the six of us, but there's some kind of blend that is able to occur between where all of us are coming from. We do know that we want to challenge ourselves to finding ways to be creative within ourselves. I think a good example of that is the song ‘Breaking the Habit' off Meteora . We feel like we were able to preserve our sound that's still recognizable as being a Linkin Park song, but at the same time there's no heavy guitars, there's no screaming or rapping or any of these different elements that people might peg as traditional Linkin Park themes. So to us, that was a little bit of a victory.”

Phoenix isn't making any predictions for the group's longevity.

“If we're still enjoying each other's company and enjoy playing music, I think it would be great if we had the opportunity to be a band that had that kind of career,” he says. “But at the same time I don't think any of us are betting the farm on that. We all just feel that we were fortunate to attain the level of success that we have, and we all really enjoy writing and playing music. We've been able to do things and see places that we never would have been able to do without that.”

  Democrat and Chronicle

Who needs anger management when metalheads start to rap

Linkin Park kinda snuck up on us. Hybrid Theory, the album it released in 2000, quietly fed on the blood of rap-metal pioneers such as Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit and Powerman 5000 until -- BOOM! -- it had swollen like the most monstrous tick you've ever seen. Unbeknownst to many people, Hybrid Theory was actually the biggest-selling CD of 2001, on the strength of hand-wringing hits such as ''One Step Closer'':
Everything you say to me

Takes me one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

That's good, healthy anger being expressed by some Southern California high-school pals who, in the Hybrid Theory CD booklet, effusively thank their supportive families alongside a list of product endorsements rivaling the booty accumulated by the Rolling Stones.

You would think that Linkin Park has plenty to be happy about now. It's headlining


the ''Projekt Revolution Tour'' with Mudvayne, Xzibit and Blindside -- around here, we're calling it the ''Dysfunctional Spellers Tour'' -- which comes to the Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial on Tuesday. Last week, the band released its second album, Meteora.

But no, the men of Linkin Park are not happy. Meteora is awash with very angry songs.

How could this be? Life is good. After poking around in the dumpster outside of a California psychologist's office, Weekend magazine has uncovered the records of the therapy sessions which led to each song on Meteora. Tossing out the two instrumentals, these 11 sessions led to 11 songs that offer insight into the troubled life of Linkin Park. Here are excepts from the actual analyst's notes:

Session One: ''Don't Stay''

A musician, the patient Linkin Park appears under the influence of the dissonance pioneer Marilyn Manson. Self-inflicted alienation a problem: Claims ''Sometimes I need to remember just to breathe,'' but calms down after an office window is opened.

Session Two: ''Somewhere I Belong''

Patient's ominously melodic muttering builds to cacophonous shouts of ''I want to let go of the pain I've held so long . . . somewhere I belong.'' More alienation? Mr. Park's comment, ''I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me,'' suggests diagnosis of paranoia.

Session Three: ''Lying From You''

Patient is worried that frequent delusional episodes may be ruining his personal relationships: ''The very worst part of you is me.'' Persistent references to ''condescending talk of who I ought to be'' signal he's losing self-confidence in sexual performance with women. Prescribing Viagra.

Session Four: ''Hit the Floor''

Cynical, self-indulgent comment of ''One minute you're on top, the next you're not'' may indicate fear of failure, or uncertainty in sexual roles.

Session Five: ''Easier to Run''

Session rife with pretty but disturbing echoes of Michael Jackson. Patient has discovered that pain, blame and shame rhyme.

Session Six: ''Faint''

The demon in Mr. Park's imagination now answers to ''Trent Reznor,'' or ''Nine Inch Nails.'' What is this Nine Inch Nails? Will check Freud's Interpretation of Dreams.

Session Seven: ''Figure.09''

More feelings of lost identity, ''giving up part of me, I've let myself become you.'' Borderline Oedipal.

Session Eight: ''Breaking the Habit''

Session a strange dichotomy of beauty and the ugliness of comments such as ''Memories consume, like opening the wound.''

Session Nine: ''From the Inside''

After some improvement in Session Eight, Mr. Park digressed to an angry howl of ''I won't waste myself on you.'' Full can of pepper spray required to subdue patient.

Session 10: ''Nobody's Listening''

Obvious plea for attention. The use of ''Yo'' is disturbing: Perhaps a second personality -- street-hip African-American rapper -- is emerging.

Session 11: ''Numb''

Patient opens session by proclaiming, ''I'm tired of being what you want me to be.'' Feels unable to live up to expectations, created by previous successes. Mr. Park is gently reminded that it's only rock music.

Final diagnosis:

In not one session did the patient, Linkin Park, fail to use scabrous words such as ''scar,'' ''wound, ''faithless,'' ''pretend,'' ''scream'' or various conjugations of ''lie.'' In four sessions, the word ''pain'' appears.

It is our professional opinion that the patient suffers from anxiety neurosis, paranoia, schizophrenia and general personality disorders characterized by a pervasive inability to cope with the problems of everyday life. In other words, Linkin Park's behavior is completely in line with the rest of its rap-metal, alt-rock brethren.


* * * * * * *


Guitarist Brad Delson, who sounds like a really nice, funny guy, called from his home in Los Angeles last week to explain the Linkin Park thing.

Question: What are you hearing in those big headphones that you wear during shows? Basketball scores?

Answer: Actually, I'm listening to old episodes of C-Span. I like to stay current on all the old bills that have been passed through the House.

Q: Why is every one of the songs on Meteora so angry?

A: Chester (Bennington) and Mike (Shinoda) write the lyrics, and they're both obviously coming from different experiences. But they need a common ground, maybe not in the specifics but in the emotions behind them. The first single, ''Somewhere I Belong,'' ends on an element of hopefulness that we haven't previously explored.

Q: You are aware that the lyrics read like pages torn from a psychology textbook, right?

A: Mike and Chester want to be honest with their lyrics.

Q: You sound like a pretty happy guy.

A: We're all pretty happy, which is kind of surprising when people meet us because the music is kind of dark. But we're all easygoing.

Q: You turned the back of your tour bus into a recording studio on the last tour, and some of that material appears on Meteora. Did anything happen in the bus that you wouldn't want your mother to hear?

A: Since there wasn't a lot of room for anything else, I don't think much was going on besides making music. The touring lifestyle is pretty unglamorous, or unsalacious. We're trying to create a work environment that's professional. Live shows are a social thing, so people think it's a party all the time. But you're not boozing it up at work, are you?

Q: No comment. In a fair fight on the Mudvayne tour bus, who would your money be on: Chud, Guug, Ru-D or Spug?

A: I haven't seen any of their fight moves yet. I'll give them each an equal shot.

Q: So, no point spread yet. What's the first big thing you bought after you had some money?

A: A pair of diamond earrings. Except they're not real diamonds, they're fake. They're cubic zirconia, $25. Everyone says to me, ''Dude, those are pretty sweet, what'd you pay for them?'' And I just say, ''You don't want to know.''

  LA Daily News: "Turning Up Volume On Tees"

Business schools may someday look to alternative rockers Linkin Park as a textbook example of entrepreneurial spirit.
When the band started making a name for itself five years ago by incorporating rap into its lyrics and replacing 12-piece drum sets with turntables, Donn Delson's life was also changing. His son, Brad Delson, played lead guitar in Linkin Park, and the band was concerned about the quality of its merchandise.

"Brad came to me and said, 'Dad, we are not comfortable with what's out there and we want to make sure everything the fan purchases is first class,"' Delson recalled. "So my son really inspired me to get started in the business."

Rock `n' roll merchandise has come a long way since the psychedelic T-shirts and posters of the 1960s and 1970s. Snoop Dogg has his own shoes, dubbed Doggy Biscuitz. "Linkin Park" is scrawled on beanies and baseball caps. The designs are no longer a dip in the dye vat. They are part of a multimillion-dollar industry that Donn Delson is beginning to tap with his Agoura Hills-based company BandMerch.

He is one of the few executives in the music business who measures his success by what people wear, not what they hear. "Feel this T-shirt. Look how Snoop Dogg's face is painted. Isn't that nice?" said Delson, 56, holding up an intentionally faded rendering of Snoop Dogg in a do-rag.

With a shaved head and a well-shorn beard, Delson looks part musician, part guru. But his acumen for business is what really gets the job done at BandMerch, a 5-year-old company that also does merchandising for White Stripes, Alanis Morissette and others.

The challenge for merchandising men like Delson is doing what hasn't been done before so that consumers buy more products. Now that the company is well entrenched online, Delson is attempting to double the company's revenues by 2006.

His mantra: to "think outside the T-shirt." Or in some cases, inside out.

A recent design for Morissette's Jagged Pill tour has an inscription of a letter written by the artist on the inside of the T-shirt. Such attention to detail has helped Delson drive 2004 revenues of $20 million with about 50 employees.

"What we try to do is enhance the revenue potential for the brand without compromising its integrity," said Delson during a recent tour of his new 15,000-square-foot facility. But the former marketing executive at 20th Century Fox quickly ditches the business talk and often focuses on his family's indelible mark on BandMerch.

Delson has three sons, all making their way through their 20s. His oldest, Brad, is still playing guitar for Linkin Park. Greg Delson, 25, is a musician and project manager at BandMerch. And Jeff Delson, 21, is a recent graduate of the University of California at Berkeley who plans to work at BandMerch after touring South America for a month.

"It's really cool that I get to work with my kids. They are so smart and bring such great ideas," said Delson, noting he inadvertently frequents the same club as his kids for business. "I ran into Brad once at the House of Blues, and we were both surprised to see each other."

BandMerch's deals are often 80/20 splits - that means the artist receives 80 percent of the revenue pie (after expenses) and BandMerch sops up the remaining 20 percent. The company's services include touring, retail, licensing and online sales. Touring is usually the most lucrative, and BandMerch often supplies a roadie to travel with the merchandise. "But it's only worth it if the band is doing at least a couple thousand a night," Delson said. On average, BandMerch charges its clients about $4 to $5 a shirt (creativity included).

The company designed a sweat shirt for rap group J5 that incorporated basketball skin to form the letter J and number 5. The extra stitch work is ultimately worth it, according to Jeff Dorenfeld, former manager of the band Boston and an associate professor at Berklee College of Music. "Merchandising is an extremely viable source of revenue.

"And of all the ancillary revenues from touring, this is one the big ones," Dorenfeld said. Tens of thousands of dollars can be made on merchandise sales alone on any given night.

Morissette is among the heavies for BandMerch. The relationship is still young, but Fred Goldring, who manages the artist, said "we have been very happy with them.

"The true test of success of any merchandise relationship of course (is), can they get great product made, get it delivered on time and vend it in a way that is attractive to Alanis' fans?" Incidentally, a Morissette tour book that was coordinated by BandMerch sold out at the first show.

Rows upon rows of T-shirts sit at the ready in BandMerch's warehouse, the same building where Delson's son Jeff had his bar mitzvah several years ago.

And while mothballs aren't necessary to ward off intruders, Delson does have to shoo away bootleggers from time to time. He'll spend a night buying off the bootleggers at a show and then find them again on a subsequent night with a court injunction. "It's a serious problem. But I figure everyone has to make a living, just not at the band's expense," he said.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,20...2922841,00.html

Thanks to babak!

  Launch.com - Parkin' With Linkin Park

Linkin Park didn't call its debut album Hybrid Theory for nothing. For one, it used to be the band's name. Then there's that whole thing about mixing elements of electronic, hip-hop, and hard rock. The music these guys make is indeed a hybrid, and if it was merely a theory, it was pretty spot on considering that the album went on the sell more than 8 million copies. In fact, it was so successful that the band decided that it deserved to be served up to fans a second time with new mixes, hence the 2002 release Reanimation. All of that fine history brings us right up to the band's latest album, Meteora. What does that mean, you ask? Beats us. In search of an answer we sent executive editor Dave DiMartino to Burbank, California to sit down with Linkin Park drummer Rob Bourden, vocalist Mike Shinoda, and guitarist Brad Delson. Unfortunately, DiMartino didn't get the chance to ask about the band's rumored ultimate inspiration: Abraham Linkin.

LAUNCH: What's the major distinction between this record and your last one?

ROB: Our new record Meteora has a lot more dynamic and it's definitely more mature than our last record. There's definitely a lot of ties that kind of bring the two records together. There's a lot similar sounds--we still blend a lot of electronic, hip-hop, and rock elements together on the new record. But you can see growth of the band 'cause we've been on the road for a couple of years and we've met a lot of musicians. For instance, we've gotten to work with a ton of them on Reanimation, so we've learned a lot as musicians and we brought that to the table when we made Meteora.

BRAD: I think there's definitely links from our previous work to Meteora. We didn't try to reinvent the wheel completely. We took what was working from Hybrid Theory and Reanimation and improved upon it, and it also represents where we are at today. That did involve taking a lot of risks, and I think one of the great things about Meteora is you definitely hear things that you've never heard before from us, but it still retains our signature sound.

MIKE: One of the big differences people will notice between Hybrid Theory and Meteora is just simply the use of different instruments, different textures and moods. For example, in "Breaking The Habit" we have live strings and piano, in "Faint" we have live strings. You'll notice Japanese flute here and there, we'll use different samples that will basically create a new mood, create a vibe in the song. The songs still have the Linkin Park sound--they have the dynamics, the heaviness, the things that make it sound like us. But we did try to experiment with different sounds and time signatures and tempos, all these different things just to make it feel a little bit different.

LAUNCH: What was the effect of having such a huge debut album and the making of this one?

ROB: When we went to write the record we didn't look at the commercial success of the first one and say, "OK, that's sold this many copies, now we have to top it or make a record that will sell more records." We don't make a record knowing if it's going to sell a bunch of copies. We just made Hybrid Theory, we just made music that we really enjoy making and that we were good at making and it happened to do really well. So, when we went to do Meteora we put the most pressure on ourselves to just make great music that we really appreciate and enjoy listening to, and so we went into the studio and did that. And we feel that Meteora is a success, 'cause we accomplished our goals and the bar that we set for ourselves to make good music. We were comfortable and totally stoked and happy with it before it had even been released.

BRAD: People always ask us if we felt more pressure this time 'cause of the success of the first record. Ironically, I would say there was less pressure, 'cause when you're a baby band and someone gives you money to make a record, if that record doesn't do well, that's pretty much it. You're not going to expect anyone to invest in the studio time again. At this time, based on our success of our last two projects, we know we are blessed with the ability to do this as a career. We're able to do what we love and not have jobs simultaneously. Also, what comes with success is creative freedom, 'cause you've gained the trust of the people that you've worked with. So we were definitely given a lot of room to breathe creatively in the studio and we were more experienced. We are our toughest critics and I'm an extreme perfectionist, so there was definitely a huge amount of pressure. I don't want to take away from that, [but] there was also a sense of confidence that wasn't there the first time.

MIKE: I think there were certain points when felt a little bit of pressure, when we let the pressure get to us a little bit. But the pressure is always from ourselves: We wanted to make an album that, like Hybrid Theory, we could play and still be really excited about the songs. We felt that it was a big accomplishment that at the end of our touring cycle that we were playing the songs from Hybrid Theory and still excited about them and felt that they were strong. That was something that we wanted to achieve with the new record--just a sense of timelessness that hopefully you can listen to the songs in the years to come and still be excited about them.

LAUNCH: What is the meaning behind the name Meteora?

ROB: Well, Brad and Mike saw it in a travel magazine when were traveling in Europe. It's actually a place in Greece. It's a rock formation and on top of this rock formation there's a monastery. It just seemed like this timeless epic kind of place that just kind of set a bar of what we wanted to do with the music on the new record, that's timeless and can go on forever and be listened to and enjoyed forever. And for the other four people in the band that didn't see it, we just thought it sounded cool basically.

LAUNCH: Did you change the way you wrote songs this time around?

ROB: This time writing the songs was a little different, 'cause last time we kind of just had songs that we were playing for many years. And this time what we were able to do was start recording while we were on tour. We brought a studio with us out on our tour bus while we were on Ozzfest and we just starting laying down ideas while were on the road. So it was very different, starting write while on the road. We had a six-month head-start by the time we got home, and when we got home, we had tons of ideas for songs. We probably had, like, 50 ideas for songs that we narrowed down to 20 when we went into the studio. I had ProTools to work on this record, to write and record drums onto; on the last record, I had microphones taped onto the ceiling with a four-track! So it was definitely more convenient and time-efficient. I think having more technology to be able to do all of this stuff really helped me to think of new things and be more creative.

BRAD: When we're writing songs we want to take the listener on a journey from the beginning to the end of the song. And we kind of take that same concept with the album. I think that a lot of artists today have lost the sense of the album. I listen back to things like Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails and you know that there's a line throughout the album. When we were writing, we definitely wanted to have 12 or 13 songs that relate to one another, and also sequence them in a way that takes the listener on a journey--not just within each song, but from the beginning of the album to the end--with the hope that you'll want to listen to it again.

MIKE: In general, our songwriting hasn't changed since we started. We usually get together in couples--two or threes, actually. Usually I'm working with anyone who wants to record, 'cause I'm kind of the ProTools production person, the engineering person. We get in these groups and we focus on one person and get the material that they kind of want to get out; we get that going, we record that and maybe get some momentum happening, and then they can think up new ideas. That's why we work in couples, because when you focus just one person with one other person, you can really start pulling really cool things out of them.

ROB: What's different about this record is that we recorded in the bus, on Ozzfest 2001, almost two years ago. We were recording new sounds, new ideas for songs. A song like "Somewhere I Belong," we did the very first version back in the summer of 2001. [Singer] Chester [Bennington] played an acoustic guitar riff, and I really liked the chord progression--but the sound of it, it sounded weird, like folk music and country, so we wanted to do something with that. [DJ] Joe [Hahn] came in and the three of us flipped it backwards, cut it into four pieces, and rearranged it; when you hear "Somewhere I Belong," you hear this nice, sweeping, digital-sounding sample that originally came from an acoustic guitar. One thing that we're really proud of is the kind of newness to our samples--what we can do to our sounds. The sounds that I'm talking about are the ones other than our guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. In a lot of cases when a band can't do that for themselves, they'll just hire somebody else to do it. I feel that that's kind of like buying the music, hiring somebody else to come in and play keyboards on your record. I feel really proud of our record, 'cause we really came up with everything, because we are able to not only write on everything but be able to do some of the engineering and a little bit of the production. That's not to take away from those great guys that we worked with, but I think that they were really happy that we could work with them to take it to another level. It just creates a really fun, intense work environment.

LAUNCH: The album has 12 songs, but its running time is only around 40-some-odd minutes. Was that a conscious decision?

ROB: For our songwriting and for putting the record together, we just try to focus on the meat of it. We kind of cut off the fat: We don't do guitar solos and long, drawn-out stuff like that. When we look at a song, we look at it as a piece of art or like a movie. Every bit of that song should catch your attention and grab your ear and be very exciting. We took those 18 songs that we had in the works and we really thought of it, "OK, let's put 11, 12, 13 onto a record so that when you push 'play' you can listen to the whole record from start to finish, and have it capture your attention and your ears, and there's never a moment where you start thinking about something else." We really put the record together like that, so it works like that.

MIKE: I think that we've always been into succinct songwriting. I mean, we were raised on Sesame Street, and short, compact shows. All of these shows have been such a part of our life that we don't have an attention span that's very long, so when you get into a six-minute song, it better be pretty damn good. If you're going to do a six-minute song, then it's going to have to some really great stuff in there to hold your attention. What I'm saying is it's not impossible for us to write a longer song, we just always lean towards the shorter stuff, 'cause when we write something that's more toward the four-and-half or five minutes, we usually end up going, "That part's way too long" or "These two things sections can go entirely," and we shorten and shorten until it's a nice, succinct thought that you don't waste any time with--and that we don't waste any of the listeners' time with.

LAUNCH: Is there a theme throughout this album?

ROB: Well, I definitely think there's a thread that ties Hybrid Theory to Meteora. They're about universal emotions and feelings, the kind of things everyone goes through on an everyday basis. The really cool thing about it is that Chester and Mike write their lyrics, but they don't tell anybody exactly what they were thinking when they wrote them, so you could interpret them in an entirely differently way than I interpret them. With some of the songs, I don't even want to know what they were thinking when they wrote them, because for me I can get something totally different out of it when I listen to it than what they were thinking when they wrote it. The lyrics are really honest and revealing--they reveal emotions, but they don't really reveal specific things.

BRAD: I think that Meteora is a very heavy record. It's a very dark record, and I think it's a very dynamic. I think we've written some of the heaviest things we ever done, and some of the mellowest. Thematically, Chester and Mike's focus has always been sharing their emotions and dealing with their experiences that they've had in the past, and presenting them in a way in which other people can relate. I think that they really push themselves to be honest with each other and with themselves in putting that emotion across, and I think that thematically, it almost reveals itself to the listener as the work is listened to as a whole.

MIKE: Lyrically, you'll notice kind of a progression or hopefully a growth, because some of the songs on Hybrid Theory are, like, seven years old. "Like A Place From My Head," that was written seven years ago. You'll notice in the lyrics from Hybrid Theory, we're attacking these universal themes of depression, of anger, or of frustration. I mean, we approached those things from the eyes of someone who's 20 years old. Now it's five years later, and we kind of feel that we can attack those thoughts with a little bit more confidence, and also talk about some things that go beyond those things. So this record has those emotions that we expressed on Hybrid Theory, but it kind of has a little bit more. On "Somewhere I Belong," you'll hear a little bit of hopefulness in the chorus, which you probably didn't hear so much in your face on Hybrid Theory.

LAUNCH: How has Linkin Park has been treated by the critics?

ROB: To be honest, I don't pay too much attention to that. I don't read a lot of reviews and I really don't read a lot of press about us too often. I really just concentrate what our fans think, and how we're feeling and doing our job as musicians, and how we're treating our fans.

MIKE: There are a lot of things that go on with music criticism and music media that are just necessary evils. For example, the phrases you use to define music into genres. Like, they use a phrase over in the U.K. and they call things "nu-metal." Now, that's not as applicable here, because you don't have as much old metal, but they've got a good deal of old metal, so they call our stuff "nu-metal." That conjures up a lot of weird things in people's minds. But people need a word to describe a genre of music; it's just a necessity. Aside from playing somebody a song, if you can't do that, you've got write it down on paper. You've got to find words to describe it or liken one band to another band, so that you're communicating accurately. So we don't hold a grudge against anybody that puts these bands in categories or categorizes us or does any of those things. It's just something that people have to do. We can't too frustrated by it, 'cause people are trying to do their thing.

LAUNCH: How has success changed your personal life?

ROB: When we released Hybrid Theory, we were in a van, driving ourselves around loading our own gear in and out of clubs, and we really didn't know if we were going to be able to continue to play music on the road and be a band, 'cause we kind of quit our jobs at home or whatever we were doing and went on the road with the hope of doing this thing. But we didn't know it was going to happen. When Hybrid Theory was released, and was a success, there was a comfort to knowing that we can do music as a career and we don't have to have side jobs, and we can really focus and let this become our lives. That's one of the greatest things that's come out of the success of the record; just being able to do what we love is an amazing thing.

BRAD: I think that one difference for me personally now, compared to when we were first starting out as a band, is actually supporting myself. I'm constantly not sponging of other people, taking their money to pay my electric bill and my water bill. Now I actually have my own money to pay my bills, so it's a good feeling not be totally reliant on other people.

MIKE: The success of Hybrid Theory afforded us the ability to have more creative control, which is a great thing. You hear all of these horror stories about weird industry bad guys and bands that hate their labels and all this stuff, and I'm sure that stuff goes on in some cases, but what we did with Hybrid Theory worked out for both parties. We've afforded ourselves a level of trust with the people that we work with, so we can be more self-contained. We have a hand in our merchandise design, website design, our videos, all of our music. We want to make sure that our vision is set forth in an accurate way, the way we imagined it, and that it's honest music and we're true to ourselves and our fans.

LAUNCH: Has being on the road and having so much success taken a bite out of your personal life?

ROB: Being on the road and playing shows for our fans is a really fun and exciting thing, but there's obviously a negative side of it, and that's being away from family and friends for such long periods of time. We go out for a couple of months and don't get to see our family and friends for that time, and it definitely can be hard on us, and so that's the downside of it. There's such a great upside to it, too. When I got home from tour I would appreciate the simple things, like going to the grocery store and buying groceries. I was just having the best time in the grocery store, 'cause normal people do that and I haven't got to do it forever. Those little things kind of go out the door, and you start to appreciate them more when they're gone.

MIKE: I'd say when anyone is doing this type of stuff for a living, playing music and having to tour, there are probably times when you think, "Wouldn't it be great to go home and hang out with my friends for a while?" So that occurs to me, and I realize there's great things at home, great friends at home, so I appreciate that, so when I go home I spend good time with those people. But when we're out on the road, we work really hard and try to keep things focused.

LAUNCH: If you were to hear that Linkin Park is considered "mainstream rock," would that bother you?

ROB: It's really hard to say mainstream or not mainstream. We just like making the records and focusing on the music. When we made Hybrid Theory, we made music that we weren't hearing out there in the music world. We put all these different styles together, and what happened with it, happened with it. I think that people look at it in different ways, and we just focus on our fans and what they think of it; we have that open dialog. They hear what we think and we meet them at shows and all that. So as long as we keep that relationship alive, we feel that everything's going good.

MIKE: I think it is really ironic that some people have kind of lumped us in with mainstream acts, because we aren't a mainstream act: The mainstream came to us. I think the great thing about that is it's kind of an achievement in a sense, that our fans and our music were so powerful that they convinced all these people that it was a cool thing to get into. So in this weird world where a pop magazine just wants to find out what the next hot thing is, 'cause they want to make more money and want to get more young kids reading their magazine, they're going to find out who's listening to what and they're going to go after it. We don't fit in with any of the groups that they've got in their magazines, but they put our stuff in their magazines because they want a lot of readers. That's fair enough, that's the way the world works, and we can't be mad at them for it. But if you really want to know what Linkin Park is about, you don't go to a pop magazine or a mainstream magazine or event. You have to go to Linkinpark.com or check out the CD, you have to check out what we're doing, 'cause when it comes straight from our hand to the fan, that's the most accurate depiction of what we're trying to do.

LAUNCH: How did you come up with the unusual spelling of your band's name?

MIKE: It's kind of funny, because that's a question that comes up a million times and everyone gets sick of answering it, but it's kind of important, especially for people on the Web. When we originally got the name, it was just the name,--it was like Meteora, we just saw it. We were like, "Ah, that's a cool word. It has a lot of energy, it has this power that we like." And what it was, was a sign for Lincoln Park--that's "L.I.N.C.O.L.N"--in Santa Monica in the L.A. area that Chester drove by, showed it to us, and we were like, "This is cool, we should see if we could use it as a band name." We checked for it online, and of course "Lincoln Park" was taken. So we wanted our own website, 'cause our main channel to talk to our fans was on the Web; we're very active on the Web, so we needed "ourname.com," so that's why we spelled it that way, so we that we could get www.linkinpark.com. Now we have our message boards and our chat rooms, and our fan club through LPUnderground.com. We can talk to our fans directly online--I mean, we go onto linkinpark.com all the time and talk on the message boards and chat rooms.

LAUNCH: Since your success, have you noticed other bands getting signed trying to do what you're doing--copycat bands?

ROB: Yeah, I think mixing different styles of music is becoming a more popular thing to do. I think a lot of the kids today are really open-minded to listening to different styles of music. You're going to have your groups that only listen to metal or only listen to rap, but I think that kids are more open to listen to all styles of music, where if you look at their CD collections you'd see all different styles of music from all different genres. So I think that definitely that open-mindedness influences bands to make different [music], to blend those different styles together.

BRAD: I think that every band is a product of their influences. I mean, we have influences that we've named that have inspired us to make music--groups like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails and the Roots, even Aphex Twin. But at the same time, we take our influences and we create our own sound. We want it to be definitively Linkin Park. I think it's a compliment to hear groups coming up and you kind of hear your influence. I think that's great. I think with most artists it takes a while for them to come into their own, so I think having influences is an integral part of developing one's own sound at the end of the day.

LAUNCH: When you look back, what do you think is the one factor that made you guys successful?

ROB: It's really hard to think of one major thing that was the make-or-break thing for us. Thinking about all the things that went on during the making and touring for our first album, there were so many things that went into it, but one of the things that we really focused on before we took the next step forward was the songs. We really didn't start promoting ourselves or doing shows until we really felt we had written really good songs, and that anybody could listen to them and there's a beginning, middle, and end. It captures your attention and it captures your ears, and takes you on a journey. We want to put a lot of layers, so the more times you hear our songs, you can hear more things happening every time. So I think that until we got that set and we were happy and said, "Here we go, we got great songs," we didn't take the next step and start promoting on the Internet and promoting shows and playing to fans and playing shows and all that.

BRAD: There have been so many moments in the last couple of years that have really blown us away, in terms of how much we've gained though this experience. It's hard to pinpoint one thing. Certainly winning a Grammy for me was huge. I felt like it was a huge accomplishment. Mike actually, that was one of his goals, to win a Grammy, and we all looked at him like he was crazy. Then when we won one, we were ecstatic. But things like that are just icing on the cake, and I think the best thing that happens to us as a band is being able to go out and play live shows, just being able to feed off of our supporters who come out and pay money to see us. There's nothing that compares to that.

MIKE: There is one time, we had just played Conan O'Brien, I think close to two years ago, and we were just kind of getting started in our minds. We were at the airport after the show, the next morning, and we're sitting there and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that's Slick Rick!" He's so obvious--he's got an eyepatch on, gold teeth, a beret, all this jewelry, a fur coat on. He's impossible to miss, a fur coat on. And I was just thinking, "Wow, this is crazy, I'm seeing Slick Rick in the airport." Well, it wasn't as crazy as when he came up to us and said, "Hey, I caught you guys on Conan O'Brien." I'm just like, "Oh my God, that's the greatest thing ever. Slick Rick just came up and talked to us!" Things like that, you never get used to.

LAUNCH: Since you've achieved success, what's next on the personal goal list?

ROB: Along the way we personally always have set goals, and as a band we've set goals, from way back when we were sitting in our practice room. We were just hoping to get in our RV and go on the road, and then from that we had new goals. For the future, I'm really excited to play our new material for our fans, and I hope that they enjoy listening to it, and I'm excited to get back on the road and have another great touring cycle for right now. I think that setting goals is a great thing and looking forward to these goals and reaching these milestones, but I think it's important to enjoy the process--the road to these goals. It's great kind of just sit back and think about everything that's going on and take it in and enjoy it.

LAUNCH: Is there a band or artist whose CD you've bought that no one in a million years would think you would listen to?

ROB: I listen to a lot mellower stuff, like Pete Yorn. I like the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, that kind of stuff. After being on the road with so many other heavy bands and listening to heavier music, sometimes it's nice to listen to Coldplay and chill.

LAUNCH: Do you think that Meteora would be a different record if you didn't have to worry about sales and radio play, et cetera?

ROB: When we wrote the record, we really didn't focus on the outside things that go on; we really focused on making a record that really showed where we were at. We made the record we wanted to make and didn't allow the outside influences to influence how it was going to come out. At the end of the day, we have to be happy with it. We need to look at it and go, "Wow, we made a great record." You can't think about the outside things: "OK, let's write a record so we can get a couple of songs we can get on the radio, then let's do a couple of album tracks, and this and that." It doesn't work that way for us.

MIKE: When we're making music, we're not thinking about the numbers. We aren't thinking about how well it's going to sell. We're just concentrating on making something that we're happy with and that our fans are happy with. You can't control any of the other stuff--who buys what, or what show you're on--but you can make music that you like. And I think that with Meteora, all of us are very happy and very proud of it, and so that's a great success for us.

  Launch: Off To A Good Start

Five songs into an ecstatic set at the historic Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, Linkin Park launches into "In The End." Something's not quite right. "Stop, stop, stop," vocalist Mike Shinoda orders. The crowd is shocked. "You guys are kicking our ass, and that wasn't right," he admits. "We want to live up to your standards."

The six-member band reloads and then kicks the tune up a notch. A couple weeks later, singer Chester Bennington explains, "We know how well we can play and we know what people hear. We try to match that as much as possible live. I'd say about 90 percent of the time we do; there's about 10 percent of the time that we don't, and we hate that. So it was cool for him to do that."

Apparently, that's not the first time the band has taken that approach. "There was this one time when the crowd started the song and they were so on. We skipped a beat and I stopped it, too. I said, 'This is about as punk-rock as we get, so we're going to start the song over.' We try to maintain a level of quality in our set."

Not only is Linkin Park--which also includes drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/sample master Joseph Hahn, and bassist Phoenix--living up to personal and fan expectations, the band continues to justify its platinum existence one knockout show at a time.

Linkin Park burst on the scene out of Los Angeles just last year with "One Step Closer," a catchy-as-hell blend of rock, electronica, and rage. By no means is this a one-hit wonder. "There are a lot of songs that I feel close to, and I think Mike would say the same thing," Bennington says. "Papercut," "Points Of Authority," and "Crawling" all make the list for their musical and lyrical impact.

Fans have given Bennington a handful of reasons why they click with the band. "It's not like every kid has told me this, but I think that one thing that kids really relate to is our lyrics, because of their honesty," he states. "It's not anything social, it doesn't classify anything to one specific class of people. It's kind of general, and that's what we wanted to hit: something that everyone in every spectrum of life can relate to."

Musically, LP is equally as attractive. "It's not the conventional way of doing it," Bennington says. "A lot of kids say they admire the way we melt the parts together. So I think between those two things, it's something new and the kids can relate to what we are talking about. I think that is what's connecting to them."

Perhaps there's also something to the fact that the men of Linkin Park are still wowed by their success. They jump into the crowd after a show and sign as many autographs as possible. "A lot of people that we meet are taken back by our whole demeanor about what's happening and where we are," Bennington explains. "We're pretty low-key and we're not very flashy. We don't flaunt who we are, and we don't walk around acting like, 'We're a platinum-selling act and you better treat us like that.' We're still pretty humble in that sense."

  Linkin Park, Korn Singers Offer Advice To New Ba

KORN's Jonathan Davis and LINKIN PARK's Chester Bennington recently spoke to Revolver magazine about the hundreds of bands that have copped their sound in the years since their came out with their first albums. "It fucking sucks," Davis said. "At first, it was totally flattering. The first time I remember was the SEPULTURA 'Roots' record, the one Ross [Robinson] did. I sat there with my fucking jaw on the floor, like, 'You gotta fucking be kidding me!' But I looked up to SEPULTURA way back when, so it was kind of flattering. Then a gazillion copycats copped the sound too. It makes music suck. It's like, go find your own fucking style. We found one. LINKIN found one. And Chester, if I was you, I'd be beating EVANESCENCE's ass."

"It's funny," Chester said. "I met them [EVANESCENCE] in the studio when they were recording their record. We were both recording in the same building. I was talking to [singer Amy Lee]. And she was nice. She said, 'We're having these problems. Everyone at our label wants us to be you.' I told her that's lame. She agreed. She said they went as far as wanting to ask Mike [Shinoda, LINKIN PARK's second singer] to do a part on a song. She said, 'We knew he wouldn't do it.' So they're running around trying to get guys in other bands to do it like he would. ' I told her to be herself and tell the label to put it where the sun doesn't shine. But the next thing I heard was 'Bring Me to Life' with a guy that sounded just like Mike. It was a little upsetting."

  LiveDaily.com

Linkin Park bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell isn't afraid to say that some of his band's music doesn't make the grade.

"Anyone who's honest and does something that requires creativity has to acknowledge the fact that [they don't feel] all their stuff is their best," Farrell said.
"You have stuff that you're really excited about and you like how it turned out. And you have things that may have started out as good ideas but you just couldn't complete it. … You have to kind of be honest with it, I think."

While recording its latest album, 2003's "Meteora," Linkin Park whittled down 80 songs to 13, including the hits "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong," as well as the Grammy-nominated instrumental track "Session."

"It's funny because with 'Meteora,' we probably wrote 80 different songs in the process of doing that record, Farrell said. "We wrote maybe 40 and trashed all of it with the exception of a couple small ideas that we still liked and we moved on from there."

Just before the kickoff of its current tour with P.O.D., Hoobastank and Story of the Year, Linkin Park "quietly" worked on material for its next album.

"I feel like we're just starting that process again where we're writing a lot of stuff and trying to establish a direction and seeing where things go. At the same time, there's a lot of garbage that has to come out, I think, before you really start honing in on what you're excited about."

Farrell talked to liveDaily.com about what excites Linkin Park, the new album and the band's history with its tourmates.

liveDaily: How did you chose the bands for your tour?

Actually, P.O.D. was a band that we toured with quite a long time ago--in early 2000--before our first record, "Hybrid Theory," even came out. They took us out with them. We all got along really well, had a great time and we wanted to tour with them pretty much ever since. It's been maybe four years, and it's finally come together. They're just kind of old-time friends. We're really looking forward to that.

Hoobastank, a couple of the guys in our group actually went to school up in the valley of L.A. They've known each other for quite some time; a couple of the guys maybe as long as 10 or 15 years. Story of the Year is a band that we heard their record, and really liked what they were doing, researched them a little bit and figured they would be a great addition to the tour. It's a great record.

It should be a great tour. We are definitely excited about it.

Last summer you toured with Metallica. How did that go?

That was probably the first time we had toured the U.S. in like seven or eight months. Obviously it was Metallica's tour. It's just that much more fun once you're on your own tour because things are kind of catered to you. Things are just easier. You have access to the best dressing room, which means it's closest to catering, little things like that. When you're out for six weeks at a time, it makes a lot of difference.

Was the tour with Metallica difficult?

I didn't know what to expect going into it. I was almost a little bit nervous about it. I had been a Metallica fan for such a long time. I didn't want to have the type of experience where you meet them and it would almost be a disappointment. The second night of the tour I got the opportunity to hang out with everybody except James (Hetfield, lead singer). I was blown away at how awesome they were. They're obviously a great band, and I think they're one of the best bands that's ever been. At the same time, they're just really respectful, humble guys. They're still totally down to earth.

A couple days later, when we got to meet James, it was the same thing. It's one of these experiences where you meet these people you respect, and it turns out they're good people. It just makes you that much more excited about what they've done and what they hopefully will be able to continue to do.

It seems like touring with someone like Metallica would be quite the learning experience.

It is. It's a learning experience for me more in the sense of it's inspirational. You see guys who have been around each other for as long as they have, playing music for as long as they have and they're enjoying it. It's not a job to them. I'm sure they have their highlights and low-lights just like everybody else does on tour. But they can still go out every night, and you can tell they still enjoy playing music. That's something right there. I feel it's something to shoot for.

Tell me about the songwriting process with Linkin Park.

The music and the lyrics, they come about in somewhat different ways. The music always comes first for us, and it always comes together a little bit differently. I would say for most of the stuff, Mike (Shinoda, MC/vocalist) is somewhat of a point person. That is just to say, somebody will sit down with Mike at a Pro Tools rig and either put in a guitar riff idea or a drum idea--whatever it is--and things will just get built from that starting block. Different guys will work in pairs or work individually.

You'll kind of come back to things as new things get added to it. For example, "Somewhere I Belong" started with Chester (Bennington, vocalist) just wanting to record this chord progression that he had come up with on an acoustic guitar. He sat down with Mike and recorded it. Mike ended up taking that chord progression, reversing it, effecting it a little bit, and that became that sweeping sample you hear in "Somewhere I Belong." From its original starting point, it ended up going through 40 different rewrites over a course of 18 months to get to where the finished product was on the album itself.

So, that's how the music goes. It just kind of flows and moves and goes through everybody in the band. When it comes time that the music is, we feel, maybe 95 percent done or at least pretty solid, then Chester and Mike sit down together and work collaboratively on coming up with a theme for their lyrics and kind of bounce ideas back and forth and write their lyrics together.

Have you started working on the follow-up to "Meteora"?

We're quietly starting to work on it right now. The way we write, we're kind of always writing. We've always used Pro Tools and digital recording equipment to get ideas down as we have them. That being said, writing "Meteora" was a little bit over an 18-month process. I think I would imagine that the next record will be somewhat of the same. It's going to be awhile. We plan to be touring through the end of this coming summer. We still have a bit of time before a next record will come out.

Much has been said about how you're one of the few bands that doesn't have swearing in their lyrics. Is that something that's a big deal to you or did it just come out that way?

Our joke is we save it all for the live show. [Laughs] By no stretch of the imagination could anyone ever believe that swearing does not occur around Linkin Park and the guys involved, which is funny, obviously, if you listen to the records because obscenities are absent.

Really what it came down to for us is when Mike and Chester would sit down to write their lyrics, there was a challenge laid down to them both by the band and Don Gilmore, the producer of "Hybrid Theory," to express themselves to the utmost of their ability. Part of what came with that was when they had the feeling that they wanted to use an obscenity, there's always a better way than swearing to express yourself, if you have the time to sit down and think it through. It was almost a byproduct of that process. It wasn't even intentional that at the end of that process, there wasn't any swearing on the record. I think that that tradition has just continued on. Who knows if there ever will be, and who knows if there ever won't be. But it isn't necessarily a focal point for us or the music.

Congratulations on your Grammy nomination for the song "Session." How do you feel about the nomination? Is that something that's important to you?

Yeah, for me it's mixed. It's nice to be recognized. I really appreciate that. I think a Grammy, for me, is obviously a great honor and something I'm excited about. But at the same time, there's also part of me that--almost like the music purist or whatever you might call it--feels a little weird about the awards for music in general.

So, it's nice to be recognized. I don't think that a lot of our thought process in what we're doing and a lot of our writing is ever really mindful or thoughtful of being recognized for it in that sense. But it will be fun. The Grammys this year are on my birthday [Feb. 8] so they better give me a Grammy birthday present or I'll be pissed.

Just kidding.

  LPA: Sean Dowdell Chat

The Linkin Park Association gave its visitors the opportunity to chat with former Grey Daze member Sean Dowdell, who had much to discuss including a tattoo chain he formed with Bennington, re-releasing Grey Daze's albums, as well as Chester writing a solo album!

Click Here To Read The Chat Log

  LPA: Simplistic Chat

On December 23rd, 2003, we invited Simplistic to chat with us about their new EP produced by Mike Shinoda, along with being the first band signed to Linkin Park's record label and their musical inspirations

Click Here To Read The Chat Log

  Manilla Times

LINKIN Park Live in Manila—The Meteora World Tour is set to be the only game in Manila on June 15. The concert, which happens at the CCP Open Grounds, is presented by Smart Buddy, Jag Jeans and No Curfew Watch.

RX93.1 DJ Bryan Gomez recently had a one-on-one chat with the band’s bassist who calls himself Phoenix. The two discussed Linkin Park’s music and the upcoming concert in Manila. Here are some excerpts from their telephone conversation.

Bryan: Hey Phoenix!

Phoenix: How are you guys doing?

B: Where you calling us from?

P: I’m actually at my house right now in L.A.

B: People have been waiting for you guys to head out here since your album Hybrid Theory came out.

P: We’ve been trying to make that happen since that tour and it’s finally come together.

B: This is not your first visit to Asia, but it’s going to be your first visit to the Philippines and a lot of people have been waiting for this concert to happen. How are you guys prepping for this?

P: We’ve been home for two months and we’ve been on a break. We just started rehearsing and we’re getting ready to get out again. It’s always exciting to visit places where you haven’t been able to play—like Manila, The Philippines. And I think we’re really excited about it.

B: Joseph Hahn [Linkin Park’s DJ) stopped by Manila in 2003 and a lot of people went crazy when he was here. With the entire band coming over, it’s going to be a humdinger.

P: Are they Joe fans or are they Linkin Park fans?

B: They are all Linkin Park, I’m telling you that now. I have a question—You guys released a special CD, the Reanimation CD, which incorporated different groups and artists like Jonathan Davies of Korn. How did that come to play?

P: It came together haphazardly. Originally, [Linkin Park vocalist] Mike [Shinoda] and Joe, back when we were still in the studio writing Hybrid Theory—were talking to the singer for Orgy. He was saying he would like to hear this and later said he would like to do “Points of Authority” as remixed. So that kind of planted a seed for Joe and Mike. “Maybe we should have people do remixed. Maybe we’ll put them on-line, we’ll five them out to our fan club.”

It would be fun to hear what other people can do to our songs. So they kind of had that idea in their heads. And there were different tracks we would send out to producers and artists. The stuff we were getting back was so awesome.

B: Can you tell us a little bit more about how you guys performed in Live in Texas? I noticed that you don’t move as much as the other bands.

P: As far as our tours go, we have a lot of fun. We don’t compare it to what other groups are doing or try and judge it over other things. After playing hundreds and hundreds of shows, after years and years, you’re locked into what your style is.

B: “Breaking the Habit” is fast-paced yet it’s very emotional.

P: “Breaking the Habit” was originally written as an interlude. And Brad suggested to Mike—”Why don’t we try an see where this goes as a song. It sounds promising, different from anything we’ve ever done.” There’s element to it that’s distinctive and really cool. And so Mike went home, worked on it all night and put these lyrics down that he’s been working on for almost five years, but never really got to finish it. The lyrics just being in a situation dealing with change that you want in your life and trying to make it a change that in yourself is a positive change and being able to move forward from that.

  Market Wire: "Projekt Revolution Storms The US..."

Projekt Revolution Storms the U.S. as Linkin Park and Friends Launch This Summer's Hottest Tour
Surprise Guest Jay-Z Joins Linkin Park for Holmdel, New Jersey Show; Snoop Dogg, Korn's Jonathan Davis and The Used's Bert McCracken Also Join Linkin Park for Sets
BURBANK, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/10/2004 -- Linkin Park is storming America's premier outdoor venues with Projekt Revolution, the most anticipated tour of the summer featuring an unprecedented line-up of top talent gathered together for a day-long musical uprising.

Joining Linkin Park on the tour, which kicked off with two capacity shows in Ohio, are such legendary artists as Korn and Snoop Dogg, as well as The Used and Less Than Jake. Also on hand for the tour's Revolution Stage are Ghostface, Funeral For A Friend, M.O.P., Downset, newcomers No Warning and more.

As expected, the headliners of the tour have been joining each other for sets along the tour: Snoop Dogg, Korn's Jonathan Davis and The Used's Bert McCracken have all jumped onstage during Linkin Park's set. And fans in Holmdel, New Jersey got a special surprise when Jay-Z joined Linkin Park onstage for "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"/"Lying From You" and "Big Pimpin"/"Papercut"/"Jigga What"/"Faint" at Friday's (7/30) show at the PNC Bank Arts Center.

"When we had the opportunity to develop our own tour, we wanted it to reflect our eclectic taste," remarks Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson. "We chose the name because we wanted the tour itself to be revolutionary and we wanted to tap acts that we thought were leaders on the cutting edge or breaking ground musically."

Live Shots From Projekt RevolutionIt's working according to Ellen Scally of Livonia, MI, who arrived three hours before the doors opened to make sure she saw her musical heroes, The Used. Ellen had this to say about The Used, "The Used f------ rock, they're sick tight." It's a sentiment that was echoed by her friend Jackie Brow, who couldn't wait to check out No Warning on the Revolution Stage.

Beyond offering some of today's most exciting and inciting music, Projekt Revolution (presented by WRFF) features the Revolution Village where WRFF and other tour partners have each brought interactive and experiential activities for concert-goers to explore in an outdoor setting. Sobe's Adrenaline Rush, Major League baseball and Blockbuster's GAME RUSH are all represented and have brought the fans a new element of fun in the live concert experience.

"Linkin Park is amazing! They rock and Projekt Revolution does too. I love the fact there is so much to do before the show," commented Mike Davidson of Waterford, MI about his favorite band and the Revolution Village. "Everything about today is cutting edge," he adds.

It's a description that aptly fits Linkin Park itself, who has released two history-making studio albums for Warner Bros. Records, including 2004's multi-platinum, "Meteora." Projekt Revolution will be the last chance for Linkin Park fans to see the group live before they return to the studio to begin work on a new album, scheduled for release in 2005.

A recent stop on the Projekt Revolution tour -- at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan -- took the band and their tour mates to new musical heights before an ecstatic crowd of over 16,000 fervent fans, prompting Gary Graff of the Oakland Press to report that "The most enthusiastic concert crowd of the summer head-banged its way through eight hours of charged hard rock and hip-hop, from the pulverizing sets of Linkin Park, Korn and The Used to the party-starting ska-punk of Less Than Jake. The variety made Projekt Revolution feel like Lollapalooza with added testosterone."

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada native Bailey Northcott saw fit to make the trip down to Buffalo on Tuesday. "It's been really fun and all the bands have been great, I'm glad I made the trip! I scored lots of free stuff too from the Village!"

Some initial reviews:

The Democrat & Chronicle, Jeff Spevak (6/28); "As famed spoken-word artist and heroin addict Gil Scott-Heron once noted, 'The revolution will not be televised.' But without the assist of today's relentless video channels, you wonder whether anyone would even be aware there was a revolution in the first place. The Projekt Revolution Tour certainly implies there is one...in the minds of the 10,000 at Darien Lake, the night clearly belonged to Linkin Park and Korn...Korn is now simply a pretty good band. Davis' swirling bagpipe call to arms at the opening of 'Chutes and Ladders,' and the massive sway of arms held overhead, is a compelling sight. So too is calling on the crowd to give the finger, and its choice of covering Pink Floyd's 'The Wall,' which fell right in with Korn's theorem of oppressed youth...A musically smart band, its (Linkin Park) intent is to break down the walls between hip-hop, classic rock, electronica, metal and grunge, creating something everyone can understand."

Chris Varias, MTV.com (7/27): "Linkin Park thundered their way into the outdoor-festival season Friday with the kickoff of Projekt Revolution 2004, which this year features the biggest lineup in its three-year history. Headliners Linkin Park were joined by Korn, Snoop Dogg, The Used and Less Than Jake on the main stage of the Riverbend Music Center Amphitheater...both Korn and Linkin Park delivered walloping sets, with Linkin Park going an additional 15 minutes past the 11 p.m. Riverbend curfew...Snoop ingratiated himself with the local crowd early and often, wearing a Ken Griffey Jr. Cincinnati Reds jersey and calling a hometown musical icon to the stage. 'Got an uncle in Cincinnati,' Snoop howled. 'I want to bring out my uncle, Bootsy Collins!'"

Christopher Blagg, Boston Herald (7/31): "It seems promoters knew what they were doing pairing the rage-filled metal of Korn and the suburban teen angst of Linkin Park with the laid-back, feel-good delivery of hip-hop veteran Snoop Dogg, because the youthful crowd screamed itself joyously hoarse..."

  MarketWire: Projekt Revolution

=Linkin Park, one of the most innovative and influential forces in modern music, have taken a giant step forward in bringing great live entertainment directly to the fans with Projekt Revolution, a gala festival featuring a stellar line-up of artists who together with their tour partners have positioned the day's festivities as an all-around fantastic fan experience. The festival, which announced its headlining performers earlier this year at a press conference in Hollywood CA, will launch July 23 in Cincinnati and storm across North America throughout the summer.

The announcement of the second stage performers, and participating event partners, achieves the goal of enlightening fans of all ages musically, while engaging them in a day of fun. "For us, Projekt Revolution is the idea of not only bringing different kinds of bands together, but all types of music and music fans," Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington says. "It's really a festival that's open to anything that's good."

"When we had the opportunity to develop our own tour, we wanted it to reflect our eclectic taste. We wanted to surround ourselves with groups that represent the facets we're into creatively," guitarist Brad Delson adds. Projekt Revolution isn't simply a tour; it's a state of mind. Like its organizers, Linkin Park, Projekt Revolution is about annihilating the boundaries of genres. "We chose the name because we wanted the tour itself to be revolutionary and we wanted to tap acts that we thought were leaders on the cutting edge or breaking ground musically," Delson says.

There's a music business rule of thumb that defines the third album as the make or break album. In its third go-round, Projekt Revolution has definitely "made it." In past years Linkin has shared the stage with Xzibit, Cypress Hill, Adema, and more. But this year's incarnation is a smorgasbord of multi-platinum acts, including the previously announced hard rock heroes Korn, rap icon Snoop Dogg, who Delson calls "one of the most important hip-hop artists of all-time," up and comers The Used, and punk rockers Less Than Jake. "This year's tour is pretty exciting because we feel like we have a show with at least three headlining acts," Linkin Park rapper/producer Mike Shinoda says. According to Delson, the one common thread uniting all of these acts is their willingness to defy categorization. As a result, he says of the tour, "It attracts open-minded music fans with eclectic tastes. Projekt Revolution has become one of the most relevant tours for people who don't only listen to one style of music."

The Revolution Stage complements the force of the main stage with an equally impressive and eclectic lineup this ye