Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park
Guitarist and co-vocalist Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park dropped by KROQ in Los Angeles Friday -- hot on the heels of the band's major announcement of new music and new bandmates -- to give host Nicole Alvarez a rundown on the new era of LP.
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00:00The last time that you and I sat was January of last year, which feels like it was a long time
00:05ago, and then again, it feels like it was five minutes ago. In that moment that you and I sat
00:10in the sound space downstairs, you were going to release Lost, where was Linkin Park in your head?
00:15Where did you stand with this entire thing that's happening now?
00:18Basically, what's important to remember, what's important to know here is that
00:22we didn't have a moment where we said, hey, let's get the band back together. We didn't
00:26have a moment where we said, let's try out singers. People had suggested stuff like that,
00:31not suggested as much as like, hey, is this an idea that you'd like? They floated things by us.
00:37One of which, by the way, which is my favorite, I talk about this all the time now, is one person,
00:42a couple of people were like, what if you did an American Idol voice style competition,
00:46and the winner is the singer? That's the opposite of what we wanted to do.
00:52Yeah, it's the opposite of what we felt was the right thing. Our band is built on
00:59natural chemistry and relationships, and it's just very important. I think that probably around
01:08the time that you're talking about, I bet Dave and Joe and I, in the very beginning,
01:15had started talking more often. We were just like, what if we get together and we just start
01:23making some things, like making some music? It doesn't have to be Linkin Park. Let's just get
01:28together and be creative and have fun. That's what we did. Back then, it was more about just
01:34spending more time together. Then the more time evolved into songs, and the songs evolved into,
01:40let's invite some other people in and see how that feels. Eventually, we got to the point where
01:50that girl, Emily, the stuff we make with her is special. I don't know why it's special. It just
01:57feels special. Even though the things we've made are good, I bet we make stuff that's great with
02:04if we just do it more often. We also met Colin, who's playing drums for us now. Colin is a writer
02:16and producer that I met in a session, some random session a few years ago, and just instantly
02:23clicked with him. Once the six of us all started to get together with Brad and Joe and Dave,
02:28it was like it just slowly came into focus. What would you say was the most or the next
02:36most significant moment or a turning point with all of you when this started to become more of
02:41a reality? This isn't just that we're in a room and we feel good together and this makes sense.
02:47What was the next significant moment? I bet everybody has different answers to this.
02:54I might even have different answers to it. I think for me, the first one that comes to mind
03:01is, well, I mean, there were a couple songs and Emptiness Machine is one of them. There
03:07was a couple songs where when we did them in the form that you hear on the record,
03:15on Emptiness Machine, for example, when we put Emily's vocal, when Emily sang on it,
03:21the song at that point was pretty written. We had been making new songs with her from scratch.
03:30We're like, oh, you know what? Will you sing on this one that we've already done,
03:34just learn the words or whatever? She came in and crushed it. We were like,
03:39that's a Linkin Park song. You can't listen to that song and say it's anything else.
03:44At that point too, we were considering, should we call this a different band name?
03:49Do we need one singer? Maybe we've got multiple people playing different roles and stuff.
03:56When she was singing on certain things, it sounded so much like the band.
04:05For me, I was just like, that feels good. I don't know. I can't be logical about it.
04:11It's an illogical thing. It just feels good.
04:14I think about her journey and her experience a lot, especially yesterday, because
04:18all of you are going to have a unique experience, but Emily has, in a way,
04:22more eyes on her. Some of them critical. She's just doing something that somebody else was doing
04:30before her. She's going to be watched in a different way. Have you talked to her about
04:35that? Did you give her any advice? Where does she stand?
04:38We've all talked about it with each other and with her a million times.
04:44We're still talking about it. One difficult thing that people
04:55are experiencing is just that they've heard Linkin Park for so long with Chester's voice.
05:05The idea of somebody else being in that role, it feels really different.
05:14I know that in the context of the music that's not released yet, I know that I love it. I think
05:20her voice is incredible. The best thing for people who have such a strong connection to Chester,
05:28just to know about me, is that Chester was a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind voice.
05:36Emily is also a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind voice. She's not trying to be him.
05:42She's trying to be her. It so happens that I think she, singing on these songs,
05:50sounds like Linkin Park. Let's talk about From Zero. When I heard
05:53her sing, Mike, yesterday specifically, everything you just said resonates. Yes,
05:59it sounds like Linkin Park, but I see Emily. You can't not see Emily. Let's talk about From Zero
06:07and what was the energy that quarterbacked that album that makes it new again?
06:14A lot of things. We definitely started with a bunch of music that was all over the place,
06:27almost like different genres or something. It was not that extreme, but the sounds of the songs
06:34were very disparate. They were all over the place. Then, as has happened before,
06:44I'm usually in the driver's seat to a large degree on the records. I have a producer credit
06:51on this one. We didn't work with another producer. What I was noticing as we started to get
07:00everybody's feedback on what things they liked, what things they didn't like, what parts of songs
07:05were their favorite and least favorite, as we were implementing everybody's ideas, the album was
07:14naturally coming into more of a focus. The band became clear at the same time that the music
07:24became clear. Isn't that weird? Imagine you're making an album, but you don't know what the band
07:31is. Then, as you're making the songs, you go, this is the band. So strange.
07:38I mean, it's one of those things that I think are meant to be. If the energy is right in the room,
07:42you get to the point that you're talking about, which it had to have been so validating for you
07:46to feel that because you're like, oh my God, we put the right pieces together.
07:50Yeah. That must have been an incredible moment.
07:52I mean, on a really stupid and straightforward note, I just like the sound of Emily's voice.
08:00That's such a simple thing, but when we had some demos that other people tried,
08:10other people sang, and I'm talking about people you don't know. It wasn't like,
08:15you know, just to say it's ridiculous. It wasn't like Ariana Grande. It was like people you don't
08:23know. People try it. People sing them. I felt like the thing that was missing,
08:32the thing that was obviously there when Emily sang it that was different is that when she sings,
08:38she taps into this honest emotion in the inflection of her voice, in the presentation,
08:44in the way she does it. It's raw, it's visceral, and it's honest in a way that very few people can
08:57do. I gravitate towards singers that when I hear it, I just personally believe them,
09:10and she taps into things in the lyrics. Even if she didn't write a lyric,
09:15she taps into a presentation of it in a way that I think makes the song better.
09:22We got to see it yesterday, finally. We got to see it, and you got to experience it.
09:26Yesterday was the first time, I'm assuming, well, I think, I know, that you were all on stage
09:32with fans, with the complete energy in the room, so we got to see it. Did you have a moment
09:39yesterday? You had the biggest smile on your face. I know that Mike smile. That's like the
09:44giddy Mike smile. You were wearing it yesterday, but I'm sure you were nervous and all the things,
09:49but did you have a moment that you looked around that maybe stood out more than others?
09:55Well, when we first, at the beginning of the set, I was like, I can't remember being so nervous,
10:04and I don't get nervous for shows usually, but I was like, yeah, my brain was like scrambled eggs,
10:12and then getting out there and seeing the fans and starting the first song,
10:17which is the Emptiness Machine, the new song, that was just so, it was so reaffirming. It was
10:26just like, oh, this is where this belongs. This is what I do. It connected pieces that
10:36weren't connected yet, and the fans being there as a part of the puzzle that's so important.
10:41Like singing it in a room by myself, I focus a lot on the craftsmanship of the song,
10:48but singing in a room with people, I focus almost completely on, if I have rehearsed enough,
10:55then I'm focusing completely on my connection with them, their faces, and they couldn't sing
11:01along to the song. They don't know the song. They're just listening, and to see the look
11:04on their faces as we got into it was really, really special. I will never forget it. It was
11:10so special. I can't wait. Again, as you know, we've got a show here in LA on the 11th at the
11:19Forum. In just a few days, which the turnaround time is nuts. Yeah, so the tickets went on sale.
11:27The tickets go on sale today. They're just starting to sell pre-sale to the fan club right now,
11:34and the reaction is so far really strong. What would we know if people want to see this or not?
11:43We've been away for years. We've got a different lineup. I don't know. People would be like,
11:48I don't care, and for them to come back so strong and affirm the band is the biggest blessing in the
11:54world, so I'm so, so grateful for that. I also know that the show we did on the live stream yesterday
12:01was 60 minutes on a stage that was designed for that live stream, and the show we're going to do
12:07at the Forum is over two hours, and it's different production, so believe me when I tell you we've
12:16put in so much time and work into what these things that you're seeing right now. It's years
12:24of work, and thank goodness that it didn't leak. It's unbelievable. I'll ask you one more thing
12:32before we wrap it up, and just because I want to include Chester. If he could, and I know he
12:38is in some way, but if we know that he's watching, what do you think he would think about all that's
12:44happening right now because I think he'd be stoked. Well, I appreciate you saying that.
12:49Well, like a couple things about Chester that I know is that
12:58he was, he would never, like he was an open-minded person when it came to music he liked.
13:11He would like, and so the idea that the band being fronted by a female singer
13:16is something that I feel like he would have come up with the idea. He would have been,
13:20you know what I'm saying, like he's not, he was never like, I don't know. Some, some, I feel
13:27like there's some, some dudes who are like sexist about their rock and roll, and we've never, none
13:33of us have ever been that way. Funny side note, actually, funny piece of trivia. We didn't need
13:38to change any lyrics to any of the songs that Emily is singing because there's no he, she,
13:45whatever. It's all relatively ambiguous. So strangely, she doesn't ever have to change
13:54a he or a she. Anyway, so that's, yeah, that just popped in my mind. Sorry for the
14:00sidetrack. But, but yeah, to that, to your point, like I said something to the fans last night,
14:05you know, that, that, that my hope is that Emily can be Emily. And if you've, if you're feeling
14:13like a connection to Chester, when you're listening to the music, then, then let that
14:17come through you. I think he can come through his, his singing can come through the mouths of the
14:21crowd, as opposed to like putting Emily in that weird position. I think, I think the best thing
14:26for her to do is for her to be herself. And obviously, like, we all love what Chester,
14:32you know, how Chester sang and what he meant to the band. So that's, that goes without saying.
14:40I want to leave it on that note, because I think what you said, I haven't heard anybody
14:44phrase it like this. The fans can sing for Chester's voice or through Chester and Emily
14:50can be Emily. And I think that's where we leave it. Because this is a beautiful thing that you're
14:53building on. And I'll see you at the forum. But buddy, here we go. This is gonna be amazing.
14:59Awesome, man. I'm so excited. Thank you.
15:01I know, I could see it in your face. And yesterday, when I was watching the live stream,
15:06like it almost looked like your cheeks were gonna hurt at the end of the performance,
15:10because you did smile big, dude. And it's nice to see that again.
15:13Thank you. Appreciate it.
15:14You're welcome. All right. I'll see you soon.
15:17All right. See you soon.