| UnfilteredROCK.com Interview |
| I think it's pretty fair to say that you have been pretty involved with Linkin Park on the net, with www.linkinpark.com and all, how do you feel about the way music is going in an internet sense? Linkin Park: Our fanbase was born and raised on the internet; we are very active online. In fact, we are currently in the process of re-vamping our website...it will be drastically different in a couple of months. UnfilteredRock: As most of your fans know, your first name was not Linkin Park, but Hybrid Theory, and because of legal stuff you had to change it, but what inspired the name Linkin Park? Linkin Park: Our Lincoln Park is in Santa Monica, and the name just caught our eye. But we came to find out that there is a Lincoln Park in just about every city in the U.S., and we kept getting mistaken for a local act - our joke was that we could never be a professional band because of the name! UnfilteredRock: How has going from an underground band to one of the most well known and promising rock bands in America affected you, if it has at all? Linkin Park: I don't let that kind of stuff change me. I'm very thankful that people listen to my band's music, and happy to play in front of people who like the same kinds of music i do. UnfilteredRock: On the album Hybrid Theory (which I've been listening to non stop for about a month or two now) every single song sounds like every part of the band is in unity with each other, is that something that came easily to you guys, or did that take awhile to accomplish? Linkin Park: I like to think that it's just because we work well together. UnfilteredRock: You guys are set to hit the road with Taproot around the end of January, which sounds like it will be one of the tightest concerts of next year, can you tell us what your fans can expect from that tour? Linkin Park: We want to put on the most energetic show we can, and play with bands we think are cutting edge, interesting, and fun. Taproot is down to make it happen, and I believe we are going to be playing our west coast dates with a hip hop duo called Styles of Beyond. UnfilteredRock: Taproot is an awesome band, what bands would you like to tour with in the future? Linkin Park: Right now we're on tour with papa roach and (hed)pe...it's really fun and i wish we could play with them longer, and go to more cities. UnfilteredRock: There's also been some rumors flying around the internet of Linkin Park possibly taking the Ozzfest stage in 2001, is there any truth to these rumors? Linkin Park: I have no idea yet. We'll see. UnfilteredRock:Right now, your on tour with Papa Roach, which your almost about to finish out, but can you tell us what life is like on the road with P Roach and how the tour's going? Linkin Park: Those guys are dope. And from start to finish, this lineup is intense; one of the most fun tours I can imagine playing at this point. Off stage, we always find something to get into with the other bands...they're all really cool. UnfilteredRock: Linkin Park seems to have a full schedule for the time being, but what plans do you have for christmas and the new years? Linkin Park: We're taking a couple of weeks off during the holidays and beginning of the year, to relax for a second and spend some time with our family and friends, whom we haven't seen in a long time due to our rigorous touring schedule. Then we'll do a week in Europe and start the headlining tour. UnfilteredRock: Lastly, once again I wanna thank you for taking time out to do this interview, and do you have anything you wanna say to your fans and unfilteredrock.com fans alike? Linkin Park: If you haven't heard, come and meet us at the shows: we try to hang out as often as we can after we're done playing. We try to make ourselves as available as possible to the people who come to the shows. Other than that, thanks to everyone who's been supporting the band; we're very grateful for everyone who is spreading the word. |
| (interview done with Mike Shinoda) |