Biography

Linkin Park
Mike Shinoda – Emcee, Backup Guitar, Piano, Samples, Producer
Chester Bennington – Lead Vocals, Backup Guitar
Brad Delson – Lead Guitar
Dave “Phoenix” Farrel – Bass
Rob Bourdon – Drums
Joe “Mr. Hahn” Hahn – DJ, Samples, Producer

Introduction
In 1996, two friends and recent high school graduates had an aspiration to start a band that defied musical genre, capturing the music that had inspired them. One was heavily versed in hiphop, while the other rocked to metal. After high school, the former attended art school in Pasadena, where we met and recruited a DJ. The later, first recruited a classmate to play drums, then while studying at UCLA, roomed with a talented bass player. Who were these guys? Emcee Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, DJ Joe Hahn, drummer Rob Bourdon, and bassist Dave Farrell. And what was this band that would defy genre? Xero.

Stick N Move
In 1997, after recruiting another Augora High School classmate Mark Wakefield as the lead singer, the band recorded a four track demo tape. Unfortunately, even after Zomba Records showed interest in the band, Xero was unable to land the record deal they were looking for. As a result, the band cut vocalist Mark Wakefield, in hopes that a replacement would fill the void in their sound. They did not have to wait long. A talented vocalist in Arizona was looking for a new band, and he was soon contact by Jeff Blue, Zombas vice president of artists and repertoire. His name was Chester Bennington, and Blue told him of the promising band. The next day, Blue sent Bennington two versions of the bands demo tapes, one with Wakefields vocals, and one with just the instrumentals. Bennington then wrote and recorded his own lyrics for the songs. He then auditioned in Los Angeles, and was offered the spot in the band.

High Voltage
After adding Bennington, the band decided to change their name to Hybrid Theory, which was inspired by their music, a “theory”, which a fuse of two different genres, a “hybrid”. Next, they recorded a six track EP entitled Hybrid Theory EP. The band promoted their EP heavily through the internet and locally, and soon they were able to form a street team. Next, they recorded a set of nine demos, which they sent out to record labels. Again the record labels would not take the bait. But the band did not give up, and there was still someone had faith in them: a certain former Zomba VP of A&R who was now at Warner Brothers.

One Step Closer
In 2000, Jeff Blue, who had helped them find Chester, helped them get a record deal with Warner Brothers records. But a new challenge emerged: another band claimed the name Hybrid Theory, and so the guys were forced to change their name again. They choose Linkin Park, a play-on-words of Lincoln Park, a park in Los Angeles that Chester passed every day on the way to rehearsal. They spelled it “Linkin” instead of “Lincoln” because the domain name lincolnpark.com was already taken, and the band knew and experienced the importance of internet promotion. Next, they needed to find a producer, and after a long search, they found Don Gilmore. Now with all the pieces in place, they went into the studio to record their debut album, fittingly entitled Hybrid Theory.

Points of Authority
On October 24th, 2000, Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory to the world. Lead singles “Papercut” (Europe) and “One Step Closer” (United States) propelled the band to the top of the charts. Their popularity increased exponentially: soon Hybrid Theory was certified Gold, and they were winning award after award, including the Grammy for Best Rock Performance. In 2001, they followed up Hybrid Theory with a DVD entitled Frat Party at the Pankake Festival. It included tour footage from their nationwide tour, interviews with the band, and five music videos. The next year, Mike, along with a cast of emcees, singers, guitarists, DJs and producers including Black Thought, Aaron Lewis, Alchemist, and Stef Carpenter, crafted Reanimation, which remixed Hybrid Theory. It was a bold move, and was met with critical acclaim from critics, chart topping success, and some backlash from fans.

Foreword
While touring to promote both albums, including their signature tour Projekt Revolution, the band began recording their next studio album onboard their tour bus studio. They named it Meteora, after the Greek monastery, for its awesome size and powerful meaning. Again produced by Don Gilmore, it reflected an expansion of the bands sound, as they included new sounds and samples, including the shakuhachi, the scratch guitar, and heavy use of strings.

Nobody’s Listening
On March 25, 2003, Meteora was released, and riding the wave of Hybrid Theory, had instant success, selling 800,000 copies during its first week, making it #1 in the United States and England. Linkin Park became the first band to have three straight singles atop the Billboard Modern Rock charts in the same year, as “Somewhere I Belong”, “Faint”, and “Numb” all reached #1. That summer, Linkin Park embarked on the second installment of the Projekt Revolution tour, and join Metallica on the Summer Sanitarium tour, where they filmed their first live concert DVD, Live In Texas.

Big Pimpin’
During the summer of 2004, legendary Brooklyn emcee Jay-Z was told by MTV he could pick any artist or group to collaborate with for a mash up album for MTV’s Mash Up Show. He picked Linkin Park. Soon thereafter, Mike and Jay-Z began corresponding via email. But the two agreed that instead of doing only a live show, they should also make studio recordings, which would give them the opportunity to re-record certain parts of the songs. The result, entitled Collision Course was a 6-track album containing the biggest hits from both artists. They premiered their creations at an exclusive show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, which was recorded for the Collision Course DVD. Linkin Park and Jay-Z performed the single, “Numb/Encore”, at the Grammys (with The Beatles Paul McCartney), and won the award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

99 Problems
As a result of the success of Meteora, Linkin Park had become the highest selling rock band of the 21st century. One would think money issues would be their problems. But in early 2005, following Warner Brothers Music sale to a private investor for $2 billion, Linkin Park sued Warner Brothers to terminate their contract with the label. They claimed that Warner’s cost-cutting measures hurt the label’s ability to promote the band, thus hurting Linkin Park’s earnings. But eight months later, the band and the label came to terms to a lucrative contract, giving the band a $15 million advance, and raising their royalties to 20 percent. Soon after, they hit the studio to work on the highly anticipiated follow up to Meteora.

No Roads Left
Their third studio album presented the band with the biggest challenge of their career since Hybrid Theory. Not only had they since become the highest selling band of the 21st century, with a fanbase stretching the globe, they felt that they had exhausted their signature sound that had got them to where they were. So the band called upon legendary producer Rick Rubin to lead them in a new direction.