As difficult as it is to talk about, I'd like to see what everyone was doing when they first heard the news. Where Were You? Like any other major event in someone's life, a person will forever remember what they were doing and where they were at the moment they first found out. My grandparents can still remember the day JFK was assassinated. I can still remember exactly what I was doing when 9/11 happened. For me, I was sleeping. I work nights, and went to bed around 830 that morning. Before I put my phone down, I got a notification from YouTube that the video for Talking to Myself was posted, so I watched it and went to sleep. It was cool and I really have enjoyed the editing this album cycle. My wife called my daughter to wake me up around 330, about a half hour or so after the news initially broke. I hadn't even checked my own phone yet, but when she told me I immidiately broke down. I checked my phone and everyone in my inner circle had either called or texted me. I'll never forget it. Looking forward to everyone else's stories.
I was in the kitchen at the pizza place I work at. I'd just gotten back from a delivery and my cousin sent me a text that just said "Chester..." Then he linked the article. I thought "Another one of these hoaxes?" Then I Googled it. And saw Mike's tweet. And that's when my heart dropped.
I was up all night July 19th, up to the morning of July 20th. I was listening to Collision Course around 5 am and went to bed after. I woke up around 2 in the afternoon, got up, saw it was a rainy, cloudy day and pulled out my phone. My girlfriend sent me a message saying, "Del, did you hear what happened to Chester?" And that's when I became a bit worried. I didn't know what to think but I thought he might of been in an accident or something. I asked what and she said, "He committed suicide this morning." That put me in a state of shock and I said "What? No way." I wasn't upset yet, I couldn't believe it. It seemed so out of the blue, so unrealistic. I Googled Chester's name, hoping it was just some hoax but the the first stories were there saying he died. Of course, I knew better than to trust news outlets, so I came to the LPA and our mod Joe posted the thread just a few minutes before I arrived. I was so shocked out of my mind, it was hard to even process what just happened.
I was at work, second week at a new job. Nobody messaged me and I found out an hour late. I was trying to log on to LPA to post in Hurt and Heal: The Hunting Party thread but the website wouldn't load. So I immediately check KTT to see if it was my phone or LPA that was the issue. KTT worked like a charm so I went to twitter. I went to LPA's twitter page with the intention of asking if the website was done and that's when I saw the tweets that it had occured. I didn't cry because I was at work but I started to tear up a bit when I saw the news. Then of course I tried to get back on LPA and it was still down. I went on Facebook and Alternative Press had multiple articles about it. I was speechless. One of my best friends who is a big Linkin Park as well said he thought about messaging me but decided against it. He found out an hour before me. Yet I messaged him about it to only find out he'd known about it for an hour and didn't tell me. Inside I was a little upset that he didn't message me. Later that day I had two friends who I don't see much message me, which was thoughful. I will never forget 7/20/17.
I had just got done watching the TTM video, then went to another forum and when I saw the headline my heart skipped a beat. I came back here and there weren't many of us discussing it yet, so I tried to remain calm until an official statement before freaking out. It wasn't that I didn't believe it, it was more that I didn't want to believe it. The more I waited it became clear this was no hoax. It was an odd feeling because I had starting bawling almost immediately, but in such a shocked state I couldn't feel the impact right away. I didn't know how to handle it. It wasn't until it sunk in that I felt his loss and it's a unique pain you never forget. I went to tell a relative and the words wouldn't come out, I just broke down. I've spent so long following, looking up to, connecting with, and becoming attached to this band that a part of me has left with him. There can be sides of us that are difficult to face alone at times, and Chester's voice was that glimmer of hope to find solace in. He brought to light those inner struggles anyone can face and it made me and countless others feel empowered, he would make you feel like you were not alone. I owed him an enormous debt and I never got to thank him. Thank you, Chester
Had the day off from work so I was asleep. Woke up, grabbed my phone, and noticed my buddy texted me. After that, I put it on KROQ on my phone to see if they were talking about Chester's passing. Ted Stryker devoted his show to his memory, taking calls from distraught fans and playing the band's music. Then, as I went to get something to eat, I had the car radio on 94.5 The Buzz, the alternative station here in Houston. They were playing nonstop Linkin Park. July 20, 2017 will be forever known as Black Thursday among LP fandom. The OP's question will be one I answer with a sad face for the rest of my life.
We were on holiday and I was driving to my friend's house when a text message came and I knew sth was not right because most people send Viber messages. Text messages are sent when there's an emergency. My friend read the message out loud, I hit the breaks and pulled over repeating it just wasn't possible. LPA forums was the first web page I tried and when it wouldn't load I got the most horrible feeling. It was round 9.p.m.local time and it was so hard to act happily around my friends' parents when all I wanted was to curl on the bathroom floor and cry
I was almost going to bed as my father heard the news and phoned me to tell me what had happened. I only came to know the news at night because I don't have a TV where I'm living. I only slept 3 or 4 hours that night, I was trying but just couldn't fall asleep with all the shock. I spent two or three hours trying to find convincing explanations for this and making myself believe the news were real. I fell asleep later, but woke up the next morning talking and thinking about this and cried to some songs like Halfway Right, Leave Out All The Rest and Roads Untraveled. I found it hard to play any LP song and played only other music for 2 days, but today I played Meteora in one go and yesterday I came back to some of OML songs. I'm finding a way to go back to LP songs slowly, but I still can't hear them the same way I used to before Chester passed away.
I had just sat through a wonderful lunch with my wife and baby daughter. After strapping my daughter into her car seat, I walked around the car to get in and my phone rang. It was my brother who is a big fan as well. He told me the news, and I can't really explain what I felt. All I said was "really? Wow. Alright man, talk to you later" I'm still not exactly sure what I was feeling. It wasn't sorrow, it wasn't shock, but more like a stoical emptiness. I passed the day having fun with my family and daughter, while occasionally reading articles about what had happened. It wasn't until I got home and felt tired and sleepy, and I slept for about 12 hours straight that I realized that it did affect me. It's strange, though, I haven't actually cried. So many different emotions, but I think I'm starting to just be thankful that we had him for the time that we did. It was a good run. My buddy and I consider ourselves amongst "the original fans". We weren't there in the SoCal scene at the very beginning, but we knew about Hybrid Theory and had heard their EP through Napster before HT was even dropped. We saw them come up from nothing. There aren't many people who can say that. I just consider myself lucky that I was along for the entire ride, saw them live 10 times, and met them 3, but all things must end. Although I always knew that his demons might cut his life short, I wasn't expecting it now.
I read it 2 hours later because I was at home at my mom's when they found him... I read it on twitter, someone posted "rip Chester" and I just thought "no, must be an other Chester"... I googled it and I thought it was a hoax, just can't be true. I scrolled and found nothing different, every page was saying the same thing. I immediately turned down tv cause I couldn't take the sound anymore. I read more about it and started crying. I felt the need to listen to "breaking the habit" and cried even more. I was so sad, depressed and tired. I could never find the right words to describe the pain I was feeling in this moment. I felt and I'm still feeling like my heart is broken and someone ripped it out and all that's left is this big dark hole. Some may never understand this but something in me just died, a light went out.
I was at my computer, surfing the web, listening to One More Light (album). I honestly don't remember which song was playing. All of a sudden I get a message from a friend on Facebook saying "Dude did you see what happened with Chester? this is can't be real" I asked him what he was talking about and he sent me a link to the TMZ article. I could not believe what I was reading. Chester, the man who helped me through so many difficult times with his music, had took his own life. I thought for sure it was one of those celebrity death hoax's and we would get a tweet from Chester anytime saying he was fine. Then I checked Mikes twitter and he had confirmed it was true. Despite having never met Chester (I never got a chance to make it to a Meet and Greet) I felt like someone in my family had died.
I was in amsterdam, in the foodhall when I read a message in a Whatsapp Group. I couldn't believe it. I broke down in tears but I was so shocked... I was waiting for the final statement, and when it was true.. well it just felt like when I lost my dog (just 3 months earlier). When I started listening to LP in 2003, I got a dog for my birthday... on April 21st we had to put him to sleep because he was ill... 3 months later chester dies. All my two heroes from my childhood left me this year... But I'm doing ok. Been to 2 festivals to get distracted, my friends and family are here for me. But no one but you all can understand the pain we've all go through...
Saw the headline on Reddit and was so shooked that I couldn't breathe or move. I never had that feeling in my life
I had been cleaning my house when my boyfriend called and asked if I had seen the news or been online...I told him no...and asked why...what's going on? He told me what happened...I was so shocked...
I was at a music festival, sitting down and listening to Norah Jones play. Someone messaged me on fb and I decided to check my phone, since I wasn't really into the concert (sorry, Norah). The message said if I heard the news about the LP singer. My stomach sank with dread as I started googling. After that, messages kept coming even from people I hadn't talked to in years and they were all saying I was the first person they thought of.
I had just crawled into my tent after an all nighter at a music festival at 6am, starting getting the news and notifications at about 7am. I woke up the 20,000 person campsite to Hybrid Theory, and shared hugs and condolences with people walking past. It was surreal, I don't know if I'd be at festivals etc like that if it weren't for LP.
Wow...ya I got some calls like that too...they were saying that I was the first person they thought of when they heard about it.....
I was on a vacation in Japan. I woke up with 20 text from people I wasn't close and friends asking if I was alright because they knew I was a huge fan of LP
I had come back home, my cousin was on his laptop and he told me Chester passed away, I was like what bullshit, I thought its one of those idiotic hoax which come up on the internet every 2 months. He told me again and I told him what he is saying is bullshit and Chester can never do such a thing. I told him the band just finished their tour and they are supposed to tour in a weeks time. Well then I checked and it was actually true, I was really hurt and something inside me broke. I called up my other cousin who is also a LP fan, I told him and he was shocked too.