Ben Young (Brad's Guitar Tech) Interview w/ UG

[LPLStaff]

Ben Young, Brad's guitar tech for The Hunting Party and One More Light eras, was recently interviewed by Ultimate Guitar. The full read is pretty good - check out these highlights:

 

What tour has been the most fun to be a part of so far?

"I don't really think of things in superlatives. They all have their up days and down days, and it is a job after all, but the three years I spent with Linkin Park felt special. That band was so big and so loved around the world that I couldn't help but feel like I was a piece of something that was bigger than the sum of its parts, especially in European countries or South America where they love their heavier rock and roll."

 

 

How did you come to work with Linkin Park? What is your fondest memory of Chester Bennington?

"I got the gig with Linkin because one of my good friends was one of their studio engineers. Starting back in '07 He would call me in occasionally to do guitar setups while they were recording. Through that I became friends with one of their techs, Warren Johnson. In 2014 they needed a new guitar tech on the road and Warren gave my name to the production manager since I was already a familiar face. It worked out perfect and me and guitarist Brad Delson got along great. At first, I was nervous because I got the vibe that he could be difficult, but he was pretty easy to deal with. He just needed someone that pays attention to detail and sweats the small stuff.
 

"One of my favorite Chester memories is when we were in rehearsals one day and Brad wasn't there, so I was covering his parts and playing. We finished running through a newer song that kind of had a strong lead part at the end. After the song was over Chester yelled 'You just played the SHIT out of that guitar.' That felt pretty good. One of the best things about Chester is that day in and day out he always gave it 100%. I never saw a show where he wasn't feeling it and decided to dial it in. He always gave a shit."

 

What has been the proudest moment of your career (SO FAR!)?
 

"The strange opportunities this job has brought me are insane. Back in 2014 I played three shows as the lead guitar player for Linkin Park when the guy I teched for was unavailable. I knew that potentially it could happen, so I had learned the whole set months earlier. One day we flew to Brazil for two shows and when we landed, I found out that Brad wasn't going to make it and that I was going to be playing. Linkin wasn't a band that had show-ready tracks for a missing musician in their playback, and it wasn't a route they were willing to explore. It's amazing that they put their faith in me to pull it off. I had never played in front of that many people before and I could have freaked out and train wrecked their show. Mike Shinoda put me at ease when he said, 'There are five other people in this band and we all mess up sometimes, so don't worry about it if you do.' It all went great. I ended up playing another show for them when Brad's wife was having a child. After that show at Rock on the Range in Columbus Ohio, Chester said to nobody in particular, 'That was amazing. That felt like an old school Linkin Park show.'"
 

Check out the full interview here.

[YRQRM0]

That quote from Mike is great, it's always nice to hear anecdotes that confirm he's the nice guy we take him for. 

[Bambitt]

So cool, he seems like a nice dude!