Concert Dates, Concert Tour News, Artist Information

Getting Personal with Mike Shinoda

Chester Bennington is the Linkin Park band member who grabs most of the spotlight from the band, but what about the group’s other talented musicians? Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park’s keyboardist and vocalist, is also an interesting person who’s comfortable with the limelight, and he recently spoke about his musical footing, talking to MTV.com about becoming a musician.

During the interview, which was largely in promotion of his own solo work, Shinoda recalled learning to play the piano, claiming he could play all kinds of classical compositions growing up but couldn’t find much of an audience for them. “Maybe it was just my group of friends, but you play them some Bach and they’re like, ‘That’s boring,” Shinoda said. “But you play them a Dr. Dre loop and they’re like, ‘Oh sh—! He can play the Dre loop!’ You play ‘Deep Cover’ and all of a sudden it’s a big deal.”

That may be how he got started, but Mike Shinoda has come a long way from playing Dr. Dre loops to impress his friends. Shinoda’s dazzling skills are more hip-hop than not, and his changeable styles are featured both with Linkin park and on his own with the side project Fort Minor.

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Linkin Park Takes a Golf Break

Their hobbies are often undermined in relation to their music, but the band members of Linkin Park do have lives in their offseason (if there is such a thing). Chester Bennington keeps himself involved in music as an outlet to his feelings, but he also has another hobby: golf. Perhaps band member Dave “Phoenix” Farrell got him into the leisure sport, as Farrell is a well-known golf nut. Yesterday, ESPN golf writer Jason Sobel got in depth with Farrell and Bennington concerning the sport, and while the interview hasn’t yet been broadcasted, Sobel already has some things to say about the rendezvous.

Blowing up his Twitter page, Sobel tweeted yesterday afternoon that he would be talking with the Linkin Park bassist (Farrell) later in the day, and afterward gave a little preview to what’s to come of the ESPN interview, tweeting: “Spoke with Chester Bennington and Phoenix Farrell from Linkin Park today, both of whom were great talking about their love of golf.” Jason Sobel seemed pumped on the interview, also saying that he has, in the past year, also interviewed artists Justin Timberlake and Alice Cooper, tweeting that he “always wanted to write for Rolling Stone.” Stay tuned to what else he’s got to say about Linkin Park!

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Chester Bennington Faced His Fears - and Conquered

It’s no secret that Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington has been fighting off a few demons for the last few years, and music has most certainly been his outlet through it all. No matter whether he’s writing tunes for Linkin Park or for his side band Dead by Sunrise, Bennington has found a way to express his deepest and darkest emotions, using his music as therapy for the hard times he’s gone through. Today, Contactmusic has pinpointed the center of some of his harder times, giving a glimpse into the life of the talented Chester Bennington.

According to the news article, Bennington began drinking heavily and turning to drugs after his 2005 divorce from ex-wife Samantha, with whom he has a son, Draven. Explaining his feelings of the messy split, Bennington said, “Leaving my wife was the easy part – the difficult part was losing all my money, starting my life over and having to pay the person I didn’t want to be around in the first place. I felt like my life’s work had been given away.” Bennington also explained his actions during this time, saying, “I drank myself to the point where I couldn’t leave the house and I couldn’t function. I wanted to kill myself. I could very easily not be the person who’s sitting here right now. I could be dead.”

Instead of drowning in misery, however, Bennington cleaned up his act, spending time in rehab and focusing his energies on his music instead of alcohol and/or drugs. The result has been a phenomenal career with rock bands Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise, and things are most certainly looking up for this talented musician.

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Dead by Sunrise Debuts New Music Video!

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington is on a kick to prove that his side project Dead by Sunrise is one legit band, and he’s taken it to the limits this month as the punk rock band keeps making a splash on the music scene. Along with guitarists Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh, bassist Brandon Belsky, drummer Elias Anda and keyboardist Anthony Valcic, Dead by Sunrise has become one of the better-known “new” bands of the year, sparking public interest even before the release of the group’s debut album Out of Ashes earlier this fall.

Now that the full-length album Out of Ashes is faring extremely well on the Billboard charts, Dead by Sunrise keeps moving forward with progress, releasing the music video this week for the current hit single “Let Down,” the lead single off Out of Ashes. The dark and almost psychedelic music video for “Let Down” is now the hottest thing to grab Chester Bennington’s attention, and the music video for the smash single is now the featured centerpiece on Dead by Sunrise’s MySpace page, which is already promoting the hit song and its successive music video.

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U2 Joins Linkin Park as Artists Slapped with Fines in Ireland

It’s no surprise that the rebel-rousing rock group Linkin Park has been fined for noise violations at concerts over the last several years, but would anyone expect the same kind of antics from U2? Maybe not, but the Irish superband has recently accrued a 36,000 pound (almost $54,000) fine for noise violations at a concert in their hometown of Dublin this past July, joining the ranks of Linkin Park as one of the many bands to receive a fine by the Dublin City Council.

U2 garnered the fine for noise violations which have supposedly taken place over the band’s last three visits home to Dublin, but they’re in good company with the other music groups to do the same. Linkin Park was previously fined by the Dublin City Council for a violation, as well, and other mainstream artists like Bruce Springsteen and Boyzone have also had to cough up some hefty dough for fines collected in Dublin, Ireland, as well.

Will Linkin Park bite the bullet and return to Dublin the next time the band goes on tour? With an upcoming album in the works, LP is bound to take to the road sometime soon, so look for tour dates in Dublin (or not) the next time Linkin Park announces a string of live performances!

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Chester Bennington to Team up with Travis Barker?

Word on the rumor mill today is that Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington will soon collaborate with blink-182’s Travis Barker on Barker’s upcoming solo project, and MTV reports that this deal might actually happen sooner than thought. Barker, who’s been busy touring with blink-182 on the band’s reunion tour, recently threw out ideas he’s working with on his forthcoming solo album, and one of these is a possible song with Bennington.

Talking about his aim with the upcoming solo album, Barker said, “There’s some stuff on my record that’s not going to have a bunch of guitars, that are just straight-up hip-hop records. Everything’s going to be real different. It’s going to be really well-rounded. We got a new Blink song on there, I think I’m going to do something with Chester Bennington from Linkin Park.” Barker also said he hoped to get Slash and Kanye West to guest on other tracks on the upcoming album, leaving Bennington in good company.

Chester Bennington is already stretched thin, as he’s working with the rest of Linkin Park on the band’s upcoming album and is also on the road with his side project Dead by Sunrise. Does Bennington have the time to spare Travis Barker in working with the blink-182 drummer on his upcoming solo project? Stay tuned to find out!

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Dead by Sunrise Releases New Single

“Let Down,” a spicy single off Dead by Sunrise’s debut album Out of Ashes, is the next song making its way through the rock scene as the Linkin Park spinoff continues faring extremely well on the music scene, and this track is the newest single from Dead by Sunrise to be released. “Let Down” is a deeply emotional song about moving on from the past, and its moody nature is just one of the reasons why the rock group chose to push it as the next single off Out of Ashes.

Frontman Chester Bennington recently spoke of the difference between Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise as the latter group performing songs that are darker and with a little bit more punk appeal, and he used “Let Down” as an example. “On a song like ‘Let Down,’ which I feel really strongly about, I really wanted that song not to change,” Bennington said. “I didn’t want to go in and change the words, I didn’t want to change any of the vibe, and I knew that would happen a lot taking it to Linkin Park. So it was pretty easy to figure that out.” Explore the depths of Dead by Sunrise to get a better feel for Linkin Park, as both groups are very popular and feature the talented Bennington at the reigns.

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Dead by Sunrise Solidifies Next Gig

Chester Bennington’s Dead by Sunrise has made an explosive impact in the music industry ever since the band debuted on the rock scene with its hard-hitting album Out of Ashes, and the raucous group’s set of Halloween gigs wasn’t enough to placate the growing number of fans the band has garnered over the last several months. Bennington and Co. have been busy reeling in the success of Dead by Sunrise lately, and they’ve just made another move for this fall, nailing down a gig on Nov. 21 as part of Quiksilver’s 40th anniversary extravaganza in Huntington Beach, California.

Dead by Sunrise will play the concluding gig at this month’s big event in Huntington, providing the music for the surf-and-skate enterprise as it celebrates 40 years of existence. The Nov. 20-21 event will take place at the Grand Palais in Huntington Beach, and it will feature art and fashion exhibits as well as the Quiksilver Tony Hawk Show, graffiti art and, finally, a concert by Dead by Sunrise and DJ Mix Master Mike. Quiksilver athletes scheduled to join the festivities include the famed Kelly Slater, Todd Richards, Travis Rice, Danny Garcia, Alex Olson, Jeremy Flores, Mathieu Crepel, Robby Naish, Kassia Meador, Lisa Anderson and Torah Bright. With Dead by Sunrise bringing up the rear, this Quiksilver bash is sure to be a memorable one!

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Live Version of ‘New Divide’ Available Now!

Linkin Park is one of several artists to dive headfirst into Google’s new music streaming partnership lately, allowing their hit song “New Divide” to be streamed as as a free digital download through Google’s music partners. The live version of “New Divide” can now be downloaded by Linkin Park fans in the U.S. by searching the words “Linkin Park” on Google, clicking on the first music result that comes up. This free music deal is a promotion to “showcase the new Google functionality,” and there are several other big-name artists lending their songs to this project, as well.

Other artists/songs to lend a hand on Google’s new music search feature include David Aude’s remix of the Lady Gaga hit song “Paparazzi” and Norah Jones’ “Young Blood,” and other groups pitching in for Google’s new project include Tim McGraw, Mos Def, Phoenix, Major Lazer, Zee Avi, Paramore, Green Day, the Arctic Monkeys, Bon Jovi, AFI, Kings of Leon, Weezer and more. Don’t miss your chance to snag the free live version of Linkin Park’s runaway hit “New Divide” as it is available via Google, and stay tuned for more as the Google music partnership blossoms!

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Linkin Park Scores Award at MTV EMAs

Europe loves Linkin Park, and that was more than obvious last night as the rockers picked up the award for Best World Stage Performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards. LP beat out Coldplay, Kid Rock, Kings of Leon and Lady Gaga to win the trophy for Best World Stage Performance, and even though they ultimately lost the Best Rock award to Green Day, one win out of 13 total is enough to keep Linkin Park’s name at the forefront of the rock industry.

The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards were just as fantastic as the VMAs were earlier this fall, and while R&B/pop vocalist Beyonce was overshadowed at the recent VMAs due to the Kanye West/Taylor Swift incident, this time she got her time to shine. Beyonce took home three awards last night at the VMA EMAs, and the full list of winners from last night’s awards show in Berlin is as follows.

Best Male – Eminem
Best Female – Beyonce
Best Urban – Jay-Z
Best Group – Tokio Hotel
Best Video – Beyonce, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
Best Song – Beyonce, “Halo”
Best Rock – Green Day
Best New Act – Lady Gaga
Best Live Act – U2
Best Alternative – Placebo
MTV Push Artist – Pixie Lott
Best World Stage Performance – Linkin Park
Best European Act – maNga

Congratulations to Linkin Park for taking the cake for Best World Stage Performance!

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