Stem 31: Where did the name LINKIN PARK come from, What does it mean?

Linkin Park: It was just a thing that fell into our lap; Chester drove by Lincoln Park in Santa Monica one day, and asked us if we liked the name as much as he did. What's funny is that, even as we started to play farther away from home, everybody kept asking us if we were local. Apparently, there is a Lincoln Park in just about every major metropolitan area in the u.s., and everywhere we go, people assume we're from their town...we do spell it differently though. That's just because we were too cheap to buy the presidential spelling of the website. www.linkinpark.com was available, so that's what we picked.

Stem 31: How did you guys all hook up, because I heard Chester is from Arizona?

Linkin Park: I started the band almost five years ago. Brad and I have been friends since 7th grade, so i asked him to play guitar. The rest of us found each other through school, mostly in college. Finally, we were looking for a singer, and heard about Chester from a friend. We sent him an instrumental tape to sing to, and when he played his versions over the phone, we told him to fly out the next day. We knew he was the guy.

Stem 31: How did you guys get signed or discovered?

Linkin Park: We have always directed a majority of our attention on songwriting. So the first interested party was a publishing company (Zomba music publishing). We recorded a few demos, and played lots of shows and showcases for labels, with the help of our A&R person at Zomba (at that time), Jeff Blue.

Stem 31: How did you react or celebrate to your signing to Warner Brothers Records?

Linkin Park: We went to dinner and went home. Not much of a celebration, I guess (haha).

Stem 31: How important were street teams and the internet in spreading the word about about Linkin Park?

Linkin Park: We have a street team that we maintain on our own, without any other parties' involvement (other than Warner Bros' promotional items). Our team was born on the internet, and has always been an integral part of what we want to do as a band. Most of our first street teamers found us on the web. Recently, we have hooked up with other teams who help us out; we get to broaden the range of kids that we can connect with. Street teams are awesome...they are some of the most enthusiastic listeners out there, and we love the interaction that the team and the internet make possible.

Stem 31: What do you think separates Linkin Park from other "Rap/Rock" bands?

Linkin Park: Personally, I have always been more interested in composition and songwriting, and honesty in my lyrics. I'm not so sure the latter is at the top of everyone's priority list, in our genre at least. Our lyrics are more introverted than most. We probably focus more on an emotion, not the response. We're not really an "I'm gonna kick your ass" type of band.

Stem 31: Who are your major influences & who are you listening to right now?

Linkin Park: Our major influences are: The Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, The Roots, Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode. Right now, my cd player has: Mos Def, Perfect Circle, Taproot, Common, Hive, and Portishead.

Stem 31: How would you explain your writing process?

Linkin Park: It varies. We record as we write, usually. And I have the most recording equipment, so I head off the writing sessions...but everyone pretty much writes their own parts. We come up with stuff, and everyone gets together at one point or another and critiques what's going on in the song, and we make changes from there.

Stem 31: When does the CD come out? Are some of the older songs going to be on it, (By Myself, A Place for my Head, With You) or all new material?

Linkin Park: The CD comes out on OCTOBER 24th, nationwide. We have a lot of new material, and a few new recordings of older songs. The name of the album is going to be 'Hybrid Theory'.

Stem 31: Was this tour your first time on the East Coast? How was it?

Linkin Park: This was the first time we toured the East Coast. There was one little country store that we stopped at in Middle America to get gas...and a guy in a straw hat and overalls was inside. All of the sudden, he started yelling at us about aliens and underground bases and peanuts and Korea and little plastic bags...until the guy behind the counter told him "Now you let them people be, Hank. They're good people." It was pretty disturbing. Other than that, it was fantastic: the people we met were so receptive and fun, and we can't wait to go out there again. We're going on tour with the Kottonmouth Kings, from September 16 until October 31st (through the release of our album) - and we'll be going all over the U.S. The dates will be posted on our website - www.linkinpark.com

Stem 31: What are your plans for touring (after this tour)?

Linkin Park: Not quite sure. But we want there to be variety, we want to tour with as many different types of groups or bands as we can. And hopefully we'll get to do that...we like to play, and we're really energetic.

Stem 31: Anything else?

Linkin Park: On a side note, I'm excited about the artwork. I've been working on it with Frank Maddocks, who did the newest Deftones album. We've barely even started, but I know it's gonna look cool. Joe and I were graphic artists before we were musicians, so obviously we really want it to come out great. And Frank is making that happen. Otherwise, I just can't wait until everyone hears the album. We're very proud of it, and I think that it shows; people have already been hearing 'One Step Closer' (our first single), and the response has been positive. And we are grateful. Tell us what you think of the rest of the songs after October 24th...

by Stem 31