The Columbus Dispatch interviewed Chester before the band headlined Rock on the Range last weekend, read part of the interview below.
Linkin Park: Angst pays for Rock on the Range headliners
Slender and perpetually sullen, Chester Bennington more resembles the passive dweeb who might have once been shoved into a middle-school locker than a yowling frontman who became a rock star.
Slender and perpetually sullen, Chester Bennington more resembles the passive dweeb who might have once been shoved into a middle-school locker than a yowling frontman who became a rock star.
Still, “We never really viewed ourselves as this super-massive band,” said Bennington, 39, who in 2013 began work with a second major ensemble — filling the vacancy of Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland after the troubled singer was fired by his colleagues.
Bennington’s vulnerability as a lyricist masks a deeper poise: “We know we’re good at what we do and are very serious about it.”
In recent months, however, the artist has taken a page from his own Grammy-winning songbook — pushing through anger and doubts after a broken ankle suffered during a basketball game (and resulting foot surgery) left Bennington immobile and unsure of whether he’ll ever return to full capacity as a performer.
“The thing we always write about,” he said, “is where you find the willpower to say: ‘ (Expletive) that, I’m not going to let it take me down.’ ”
A still-recovering Bennington, set to perform Sunday, spoke recently about his past and present.
Q: Linkin Park’s debut record, Hybrid Theory, turned 15 last year. What’s it like to revisit those songs now?
Chester: Back when the album came out, it was the only music we had. We found it very difficult to headline shows after we had “blown up” — we only had an hour’s worth of material. We played that stuff to exhaustion.
Chester: Back when the album came out, it was the only music we had. We found it very difficult to headline shows after we had “blown up” — we only had an hour’s worth of material. We played that stuff to exhaustion.
Not that long ago, we did the Download Festival (in England). We were asked to perform Hybrid Theory from front to back. The crowd just lost their minds.
Everywhere we went, people were like: “That record changed my life” or “Your music is why I got into a band, why I started playing guitar.” It was really neat to feel like we created something that was important.
Q: Whether in a physical or emotional sense, is it tougher at 39 to find the adrenaline to perform your heavy catalog?
Chester: It’s going to be harder this year, I can tell you that. Up until I broke my ankle, I was flying through these sets. I had taken really good care of myself — and this last year of touring after we released (the 2014 album) The Hunting Party had been the best I’ve ever had, vocally.
Chester: It’s going to be harder this year, I can tell you that. Up until I broke my ankle, I was flying through these sets. I had taken really good care of myself — and this last year of touring after we released (the 2014 album) The Hunting Party had been the best I’ve ever had, vocally.
I was in the best shape of my life; now, I’m in full-body atrophy. I went from touching the rim and being excited about dunking to hoping I’ll be able touch the bottom of the net again.
Can I ever jump off another speaker? I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Q: What can you recall about auditioning for Linkin Park in 1999?
Chester: I had no knowledge of the group beforehand. Once I heard the very first demo, it was special. I remember listening and saying: “This is different; the beat is interesting. The way they’re playing is not like anyone else. This is (expletive) cool.”
What I noticed right away was that not only was I thinking of melodies, I was thinking of multiple melodies. It was almost overwhelming how excited my brain and body got.
When I got in a room with Mike, it was unlike any other experience. Writing songs in all my other bands was torture. Nobody wanted to hear anybody else talk or to hear their part wasn’t good.
Q: Speaking of other bands, did you hesitate to take on Scott Weiland’s role?
Chester: For me, it wasn’t inserting myself in someone’s shoes. I felt that position had been vacant for a long time. Even though Scott was there, honestly, I don’t think he had “been there.”
Chester: For me, it wasn’t inserting myself in someone’s shoes. I felt that position had been vacant for a long time. Even though Scott was there, honestly, I don’t think he had “been there.”
In the initial (Stone Temple Pilots) conversation we had, I said: “Why do you guys want to give up your legacy?” It’s kind of a scary thing, … but the music is too deserving, too good, to not have a chance to continue.
People come to a lot of pre-judgments; a lot of them are going to be mad about it. But the idea of creating something new means you let the other thing go.
Q: How do you balance the demands of two major bands?
Chester: I do not have the answer to that. I don’t know how to make it work; I have no idea. This sounds ridiculous, but as a creative person, I kind of go where my creative pointer points me.
Q: With its fame and fortune, can Linkin Park still adequately tap into the dark side as songwriters?
Chester: Trust me, life will never leave you without angst and doubt and questions.
Chester: Trust me, life will never leave you without angst and doubt and questions.
You may think getting your big job or killer interview or buying that house or getting the car or degree is going to change your life and fix things. It’s going to come and go, like everything in this universe.
There still are things that pull the darkness out of you: Your parents die, you get in a car accident, your leg snaps and everything is taken away.
I’m never going to be … in a situation when that well is dry.
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