Linkin Park's "Ask Anything" Chats

[hahninator]

Chester and Phoenix recently did two "Ask Anything" chats, which are available to view below. Both were filmed at Third Encore in Burbank where Linkin Park rehearses.

Sixx Sense:

- Heavy is about times in Chester's life where he feels stuck and things keep happening over and over. A lot of those are self-imposed so it's the moment of recognizing that that's the issue and you can do something about it and move on. They tried to convey this idea in the music video.
- Chester has not only seen Motley Crue, but he performed on stage with them in Nashville (Home Sweet Home). He saw them play at Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix on the Dr. Feelgood tour. Also, STP opened for Motley Crue in 2013 which Chester recalls.
- Phoenix says the plan is for Linkin Park to perform in Russia soon. Chester talks about the epic flashmobs in Russia, because they don't really like flashmobs but the Russian ones were amazing.
- The most emotional song for both Chester and Phoenix on the album is the song One More Light. Just doing press interviews about the album makes them emotional talking about the song. Phoenix specifically related to the song because his mom passed away in the past decade.
- Both Chester and Phoenix are very busy with their kids and housework when they aren't on tour.
- Every album cycle, the band gets a box of CDs, pictures, and items like drumsticks that they can give to friends. Chester usually saves them to sign for something like a kid that does a bunch of community service, etc.


On Air with Mario Lopez:

- The band decided when working with Julia Michaels that they wanted to bring in a female guest. Julia sounded good on the track but wasn't ready at that time to be a featured guest on a big song. Mike played new music for Zane Lowe and asked him if he knew any female singers that would be a good guest on the track. Zane introduced him to Kiiara, who had mentioned Linkin Park in an interview around that time.
- Linkin Park is planning a North American tour this year for August and September.
- The band is not as interested in making songs like Hybrid Theory and Meteora because when writing music, they gravitate towards new sounds and styles to keep it fresh and exciting. Chester relates it to vacationing in the same hotel room in the same city forever....it becomes boring.
- Linkin Park has always been really open and respectful to what each member has to say about things going on in the band (music, etc). Some bands have a hard time with this and it comes down to the personalities of each member in the band. Communication is a big challenge for lots of bands but Linkin Park has no trouble with it.

 

Romeo

 

- In the video for 'Heavy', a body double, named Rory, was used to emulate Chester fighting with himself. Chester asked Rory to really hit him and throw him around, and each scene was filmed twice with Chester on both the giving and receiving end of the attack. Chester had a few bumps and bruises afterwards and thinks he may have actually hit Rory in the face while shooting.

- Chester still loves Hybrid Theory and the band's older material, stating that he feels they always release the best music they are capable of making at the time. Phoenix admires a lot of the old material because of Mike's talent at producing the tracks with limited tools.

- Interacting with fans online has always been a core component of the band's success and it allows them easy access to people who enjoy the band's music. Phoenix primarily writes music to please himself first and hopes that others enjoy it, too. One of the aspects Chester find most rewarding of connecting with fans is watching them grow up with them, becoming adults, getting married, and having kids.

- Linkin Park is planning on going back to Australia, but when it is going to be is still undetermined.

- Phoenix goes on fan sites to help him remember what shows the band has played before

- The band doesn't set out to teach any kind of lesson or preach anything, it just sort of comes out when writing. Starting with lyrics and melodies, especially, helped everyone involved really relate and find common ground. Chester mentioned that, if there's anything to take away from the album, it's that there is always hope.

- One of the ideas the band has been kicking around is playing the songs from One More Light in a more stripped down manner.

- To get a tour underway, the band goes to the "professionals" and says they want to play some shows, and they organize everything and present the potential schedule to the band, which they then either agree to or suggest changes be made. Phoenix says they have never said specifically "I really want to go play in this specific location". They do, however, try and book shows in places they have never gone to before, like Peru.

[RogueSoul]

Wonder if they're adding a Russian show to the end of the current European tour. Time's running out.