October 23, 2024 • 12 mins
I sit down with Mike Shinoda ahead of Linkin Park's show in Arlington at Globe Life Field November 8th!!!
Was the LP countdown actually planned to start counting up? What were his first impressions of Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain? What did he miss most about touring?
Mike answers all of this and MORE!!! Be sure to grab your tickets to the show now at livenation.com!
Was the LP countdown actually planned to start counting up? What were his first impressions of Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain? What did he miss most about touring?
Mike answers all of this and MORE!!! Be sure to grab your tickets to the show now at livenation.com!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Christina right here from ninety seven point one The Eagle,
and I am joined by none other than Mike Shanoda
of Lincoln Park. Holy Mike, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm so good? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm great. I'm glad you're not exhausted right now because
you guys have just been on the move constantly.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, it's been a big it's been a big year.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
The last month and change especially has been hectic and awesome.
And I mean, what I think people don't think about
as all of the years of work that got us
to this point. So it's been a lot relaunching the band.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, I bet so. First off, I wanted to start
with you guys had a countdown okay, and I was
so excited as well as everyone else was. I like
live streamed it for our listeners and everything. And then
it counts down to zero, it glitches, and then it
starts counting back up. So was that the plan all along?
Or was this like a last minute pivot decision?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh, definitely the plan. I mean, the aim of the
album is from zero. It's not to zero, it's from zero.
So the idea was, Okay, by doing this countdown that
bounces that hits zero and bounces back up. We're communicating
number one, remember who you're dealing with, Like, We're never
(01:20):
a band that's going to give you the thing you expect.
And our fans were like, after the initial sense of like,
oh my god, what are they doing, it was our
fans who've been with us for a long time. We're
like basically running around screaming, going, you guys, remember who
this band is. Like they always give us scavenger hunts
(01:42):
and clues and hidden.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Easter eggs like that.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That's what we've always done, I mean, at least from
like the second third album on. Whenever we release something big,
it comes with a little bit of effort and a
lot of a lot of fun to be honest, Like,
we like to play.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Around with our releases. So that was the first step.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
The album is called from zero, so we wanted to
do something that was in line with that idea. And
so from that moment where it starts counting up, that's
the beginning of the new chapter.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And with that said, like we even right.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Now we're releasing a third track coming up off the
record here, and with that there's a scavenger hunt going
on online to find these basically there's there's video billboards
all over the world and this this you know, hidden
account basically will post a picture of the billboard with
(02:42):
the face of it like obscured, and fans have to
go find that billboard in real life and post pictures
of it, and then they get lyrics to our next song.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Everyone loves bits, Mike, I absolutely love it. And man,
after about seven years, you guys did come back in
a huge way. That live stream y'all did. Oh my god.
So I was in the middle of a show and
I had it over here to the side, and I
was not paying attention to my real show. I'm not
gonna lie. I need to see what's happening here. So
(03:14):
that live stream, not only did you announce y'all were
going on tour, you had a new album coming out,
You had a brand new song that you came out with.
You had two new members of the band, Emily Armstrong
and Colin Britain, and so I just wanted to know
your first impressions of both of them and when you
knew they would be the perfect fit.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
I I met Emily first. I met her way way
back in twenty nineteen, and I did a few sessions
with her, and I really I thought she was really
talented and I also knew and I told her this,
I said, you know, in terms of like what are
we doing, Like it's not the answer is not much
like I think that I personally will be doing some music,
(03:56):
but the band was not ready in twenty nineteen to
like do any thing.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
A few years later, like after Covid, I met Colin.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Colin, I met in a session with some other artists
and writers, and I actually was I was doing more
writing and production for other people at that point and
met Colin and just instantly connected with this guy. Like
it was we had a lot in common in terms
of like the way we approach music and the things
(04:25):
like our skill set in terms of writing a song,
producing a song.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
We had a lot in common.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
And then as things started to focus, probably twenty twenty two,
I think.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Joe had you.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Know, I'd like we had all been fishing with each other,
Like we'd send a text here there, like hey, how
are you doing? You want to get together and we
would get together in little you know, you know, bits
and pieces, but it wasn't all that serious in terms
of like the band writing new material or considering any
serious way.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Reforming until I think.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Joe had said that he was pretty serious and we
had a conversation that was it moved me like I
was like, oh, I can tell this guy really has
like a lot has changed in his mind about the
way about the band and the way he approaches like
being in a band and being and the.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Idea of Lincoln Park.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And so we started to get together at that point,
and slowly we would bring different people in to write
with or to like we were just kind of feeling
out like what other what other members do we need?
What other things fit who we are at this point
in our lives and make, you know, what makes good music?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
And Emily and.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Colin just clicked pretty pretty substantially. Like they they it's
not just about are they skilled, like are they good
at what they do? Because the answer to that is
obvious yes. I just think that beyond that with a band,
you know, there's fewer bands.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
These days than there used to be. And in a.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Band, especially with six people, you've you've got you've got
to have this like chemistry you got to have you
got to get along, You've got to like want similar
things in terms of creativity, you know, what do you
creatively want?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
What do you want on a record?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What do you want to get out of a tour
emotionally and spiritually or whatever? And they that's the part
that's like such a it's so hard to figure out
and it's so hard to understand if you're like on
the same page with people.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And it became obvious to us.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
That we were, and it was obvious at that first
livestream event that they just clicked really well as well.
So bravo on those choices because they are incredible. Now
you mentioned touring too, so you haven't toured in a while,
So what do you miss about touring? And what did
you forget that you hated about touring?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's a great question, I feel like in terms of
what I missed all of the all like some of
the most basic things are like really really enjoyable to me,
and and like fresher now that I've been I haven't
you know, I played shows on my own.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But there is a like a.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Magic to Lincoln Park like it you can't there's a
there's something to it that you can't put into words.
I can't put into words and I can't like explain
to you it's just that when we all get together
and do a thing, it's different. And I know, I
used to know that it was different, just like inherently
(07:38):
knew that. But then when I went off and did
my own things and then came back to it, it
became even more obvious to me how different it is
and how you can't you can't manufacture it like that,
the all of those things I was talking about in
terms of like the chemistry of the band and the
creative goals and things just just the way people are
(07:59):
and the things people want. The six members of the band,
like there's nothing else like it, so that's really special.
And you can see that like in the shows that
we played so far and the ones, you know, the
videos that are online. Like also the reaction from people too.
I feel like the reaction from the fans has been insane.
Like the new song Emptiness Machine, it debuted in England,
(08:23):
it debuted at our highest position, highest chart position of
all time, higher than in the end, higher than Numb.
Some of the videos of us playing some of the
old songs are now the most watched videos on any
of our feeds, any of our channels of all time.
(08:43):
And those things you know, I think they just speak
to like that's not like opinion, that's data, Like people are.
People are gravitating towards those things in a way they
they they're communicating like a real love for the band.
The tickets have gone crazy, the pre say on the
album are crazy, So that stuff is all positive. When
you asked about like, what what part of touring is
(09:05):
not so fun? Honestly, I haven't. We haven't really hit
that like touring can be rigorous. I think it's just
it's it's a lot of hard work, and so there
are times when you're like, damn, this is like the
hard work part is like usually long flights, long travel days,
you know, and then you're exhausted. And when you get
there and you you know, you have to go do
(09:27):
the work of the of the setups or the rehearsals
or the interviews or whatever, and those those things are
you know, it's like they're much harder jobs than that,
but at the moment, it's tiring. You know, you're you're
exhausted from the travel part, and I'm I'm lucky that
I have bandmates, you know, from from including the guys
(09:48):
that I've been with for a long time.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And and Emily and Colin who are new.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Everybody's really like just they have a good attitude about it,
and they're all like hard workers. They're good people and
hard workers and they come in no matter even if
it's even if it's tough that day, they come in ready.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
To do the work.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
And that's all you can ask for. So we are
super super excited to have you guys back here. You're
playing at Globe Life Field November eighth, which is right
next to the Cowboys Death Star. I just want to
warn you don't walk too close to that. Your wallet
will just gravitate out of your pocket. It just sucks
money from you no matter what. But seriously, we're super
excited to see you. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet,
(10:31):
if they're not sold out yet, you can get them
at ticketmaster dot com. One more question for you, Mike,
before I let you go. Are you guys doing any
surprise pop up appearances that our listeners should know about
while you're here.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I don't believe we are. I'm gonna say no.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I think the things that I do want them to
know is that the show. So since this is we're
not playing very many shows in twenty four and this
is the only US show left. So if you haven't
seen Lincoln Park before or you were thinking, oh, maybe
I'm gonna wait to see what happens, this is a
(11:09):
I mean, this is a good show to see because
it's this is a moment in time we're playing. We'll
be playing probably more old stuff in the set now
than we will be later because later the new album
will be out. So that's one thing I think in
terms of, like, you know what a Lincoln Park show is,
(11:30):
if you haven't seen the band before, like people tend
to sing like they honestly like at some points I
joke with Emily that she's just the master of ceremonies,
leading them through their own night of singing. Because we've
had shows on this tour where the crowd was so
much louder than the speakers that we had to adjust
(11:54):
like our monitors to be able to hear ourselves because
the crowd was singing so loud.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's amazing. That the best feeling ever too.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I mean, part of it is just because it's been
a long time, you know, seven years plus, it's been
a long time since we've been back with the fans
in person, and we are at this period of our
careers where we are so grateful and so so happy,
so lucky to be up there and sharing that joy
(12:26):
with everybody is just really there's really nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, thank you, Mike, and again, yeah, this is your
last show before your new album from Zero drops basically
the week after the show here, so seriously cannot wait
to see you guys here live at Global at Field
November eighth. And I'm just so happy for you, man,
I'm excited for you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Thank you. Yeah, we're excited too.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
It's gonna be a great show and we're excited to
see everybody there.
Christina right here from ninety seven point one The Eagle,
and I am joined by none other than Mike Shanoda
of Lincoln Park. Holy Mike, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm so good? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm great. I'm glad you're not exhausted right now because
you guys have just been on the move constantly.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, it's been a big it's been a big year.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
The last month and change especially has been hectic and awesome.
And I mean, what I think people don't think about
as all of the years of work that got us
to this point. So it's been a lot relaunching the band.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, I bet so. First off, I wanted to start
with you guys had a countdown okay, and I was
so excited as well as everyone else was. I like
live streamed it for our listeners and everything. And then
it counts down to zero, it glitches, and then it
starts counting back up. So was that the plan all along?
Or was this like a last minute pivot decision?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh, definitely the plan. I mean, the aim of the
album is from zero. It's not to zero, it's from zero.
So the idea was, Okay, by doing this countdown that
bounces that hits zero and bounces back up. We're communicating
number one, remember who you're dealing with, Like, We're never
(01:20):
a band that's going to give you the thing you expect.
And our fans were like, after the initial sense of like,
oh my god, what are they doing, it was our
fans who've been with us for a long time. We're
like basically running around screaming, going, you guys, remember who
this band is. Like they always give us scavenger hunts
(01:42):
and clues and hidden.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Easter eggs like that.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That's what we've always done, I mean, at least from
like the second third album on. Whenever we release something big,
it comes with a little bit of effort and a
lot of a lot of fun to be honest, Like,
we like to play.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Around with our releases. So that was the first step.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
The album is called from zero, so we wanted to
do something that was in line with that idea. And
so from that moment where it starts counting up, that's
the beginning of the new chapter.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And with that said, like we even right.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Now we're releasing a third track coming up off the
record here, and with that there's a scavenger hunt going
on online to find these basically there's there's video billboards
all over the world and this this you know, hidden
account basically will post a picture of the billboard with
(02:42):
the face of it like obscured, and fans have to
go find that billboard in real life and post pictures
of it, and then they get lyrics to our next song.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Everyone loves bits, Mike, I absolutely love it. And man,
after about seven years, you guys did come back in
a huge way. That live stream y'all did. Oh my god.
So I was in the middle of a show and
I had it over here to the side, and I
was not paying attention to my real show. I'm not
gonna lie. I need to see what's happening here. So
(03:14):
that live stream, not only did you announce y'all were
going on tour, you had a new album coming out,
You had a brand new song that you came out with.
You had two new members of the band, Emily Armstrong
and Colin Britain, and so I just wanted to know
your first impressions of both of them and when you
knew they would be the perfect fit.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
I I met Emily first. I met her way way
back in twenty nineteen, and I did a few sessions
with her, and I really I thought she was really
talented and I also knew and I told her this,
I said, you know, in terms of like what are
we doing, Like it's not the answer is not much
like I think that I personally will be doing some music,
(03:56):
but the band was not ready in twenty nineteen to
like do any thing.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
A few years later, like after Covid, I met Colin.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Colin, I met in a session with some other artists
and writers, and I actually was I was doing more
writing and production for other people at that point and
met Colin and just instantly connected with this guy. Like
it was we had a lot in common in terms
of like the way we approach music and the things
(04:25):
like our skill set in terms of writing a song,
producing a song.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
We had a lot in common.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
And then as things started to focus, probably twenty twenty two,
I think.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Joe had you.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Know, I'd like we had all been fishing with each other,
Like we'd send a text here there, like hey, how
are you doing? You want to get together and we
would get together in little you know, you know, bits
and pieces, but it wasn't all that serious in terms
of like the band writing new material or considering any
serious way.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Reforming until I think.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Joe had said that he was pretty serious and we
had a conversation that was it moved me like I
was like, oh, I can tell this guy really has
like a lot has changed in his mind about the
way about the band and the way he approaches like
being in a band and being and the.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Idea of Lincoln Park.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And so we started to get together at that point,
and slowly we would bring different people in to write
with or to like we were just kind of feeling
out like what other what other members do we need?
What other things fit who we are at this point
in our lives and make, you know, what makes good music?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
And Emily and.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Colin just clicked pretty pretty substantially. Like they they it's
not just about are they skilled, like are they good
at what they do? Because the answer to that is
obvious yes. I just think that beyond that with a band,
you know, there's fewer bands.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
These days than there used to be. And in a.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Band, especially with six people, you've you've got you've got
to have this like chemistry you got to have you
got to get along, You've got to like want similar
things in terms of creativity, you know, what do you
creatively want?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
What do you want on a record?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What do you want to get out of a tour
emotionally and spiritually or whatever? And they that's the part
that's like such a it's so hard to figure out
and it's so hard to understand if you're like on
the same page with people.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And it became obvious to us.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
That we were, and it was obvious at that first
livestream event that they just clicked really well as well.
So bravo on those choices because they are incredible. Now
you mentioned touring too, so you haven't toured in a while,
So what do you miss about touring? And what did
you forget that you hated about touring?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's a great question, I feel like in terms of
what I missed all of the all like some of
the most basic things are like really really enjoyable to me,
and and like fresher now that I've been I haven't
you know, I played shows on my own.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But there is a like a.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Magic to Lincoln Park like it you can't there's a
there's something to it that you can't put into words.
I can't put into words and I can't like explain
to you it's just that when we all get together
and do a thing, it's different. And I know, I
used to know that it was different, just like inherently
(07:38):
knew that. But then when I went off and did
my own things and then came back to it, it
became even more obvious to me how different it is
and how you can't you can't manufacture it like that,
the all of those things I was talking about in
terms of like the chemistry of the band and the
creative goals and things just just the way people are
(07:59):
and the things people want. The six members of the band,
like there's nothing else like it, so that's really special.
And you can see that like in the shows that
we played so far and the ones, you know, the
videos that are online. Like also the reaction from people too.
I feel like the reaction from the fans has been insane.
Like the new song Emptiness Machine, it debuted in England,
(08:23):
it debuted at our highest position, highest chart position of
all time, higher than in the end, higher than Numb.
Some of the videos of us playing some of the
old songs are now the most watched videos on any
of our feeds, any of our channels of all time.
(08:43):
And those things you know, I think they just speak
to like that's not like opinion, that's data, Like people are.
People are gravitating towards those things in a way they
they they're communicating like a real love for the band.
The tickets have gone crazy, the pre say on the
album are crazy, So that stuff is all positive. When
you asked about like, what what part of touring is
(09:05):
not so fun? Honestly, I haven't. We haven't really hit
that like touring can be rigorous. I think it's just
it's it's a lot of hard work, and so there
are times when you're like, damn, this is like the
hard work part is like usually long flights, long travel days,
you know, and then you're exhausted. And when you get
there and you you know, you have to go do
(09:27):
the work of the of the setups or the rehearsals
or the interviews or whatever, and those those things are
you know, it's like they're much harder jobs than that,
but at the moment, it's tiring. You know, you're you're
exhausted from the travel part, and I'm I'm lucky that
I have bandmates, you know, from from including the guys
(09:48):
that I've been with for a long time.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And and Emily and Colin who are new.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Everybody's really like just they have a good attitude about it,
and they're all like hard workers. They're good people and
hard workers and they come in no matter even if
it's even if it's tough that day, they come in ready.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
To do the work.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
And that's all you can ask for. So we are
super super excited to have you guys back here. You're
playing at Globe Life Field November eighth, which is right
next to the Cowboys Death Star. I just want to
warn you don't walk too close to that. Your wallet
will just gravitate out of your pocket. It just sucks
money from you no matter what. But seriously, we're super
excited to see you. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet,
(10:31):
if they're not sold out yet, you can get them
at ticketmaster dot com. One more question for you, Mike,
before I let you go. Are you guys doing any
surprise pop up appearances that our listeners should know about
while you're here.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I don't believe we are. I'm gonna say no.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I think the things that I do want them to
know is that the show. So since this is we're
not playing very many shows in twenty four and this
is the only US show left. So if you haven't
seen Lincoln Park before or you were thinking, oh, maybe
I'm gonna wait to see what happens, this is a
(11:09):
I mean, this is a good show to see because
it's this is a moment in time we're playing. We'll
be playing probably more old stuff in the set now
than we will be later because later the new album
will be out. So that's one thing I think in
terms of, like, you know what a Lincoln Park show is,
(11:30):
if you haven't seen the band before, like people tend
to sing like they honestly like at some points I
joke with Emily that she's just the master of ceremonies,
leading them through their own night of singing. Because we've
had shows on this tour where the crowd was so
much louder than the speakers that we had to adjust
(11:54):
like our monitors to be able to hear ourselves because
the crowd was singing so loud.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's amazing. That the best feeling ever too.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I mean, part of it is just because it's been
a long time, you know, seven years plus, it's been
a long time since we've been back with the fans
in person, and we are at this period of our
careers where we are so grateful and so so happy,
so lucky to be up there and sharing that joy
(12:26):
with everybody is just really there's really nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, thank you, Mike, and again, yeah, this is your
last show before your new album from Zero drops basically
the week after the show here, so seriously cannot wait
to see you guys here live at Global at Field
November eighth. And I'm just so happy for you, man,
I'm excited for you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Thank you. Yeah, we're excited too.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
It's gonna be a great show and we're excited to
see everybody there.
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