Origin of the Band

    ·         Before there was Linkin Park, there was Xero.

·         The members of Xero were Mike, Rob, Phoenix, Brad, Joe and Mark.

·         Before the band changed their name to Hybrid Theory, Mark left because things weren’t working out.

·         Because they were just mucking around, they didn’t get much publicity, but for their 1^st show they were signed to Zomba Music Publishing.

·         When they became serious, record labels weren’t catching on. That’s when they went on a search for a new vocalist. That’s when Chester was discovered.

·         Because Chester wanted to be in the band so badly he made a demo for them in a professional recording studio. within 3 days Chester had finished the demo and would fly to South Carolina to meet them. Because it was Chester’s birthday and they didn’t want to take him away from his party, they asked if they could hear the demo over the phone. When they heard it they were blown away by the sound, and they told him to fly over as soon as he could.

·         When Chester joined the band they changed the name to “Hybrid Theory” not knowing that the name was already taken.

·         They made demos at Zomba to send out to other record companies. Warner Brothers became interested in them and decided to sign them to their label. “hybrid Theory” decided to change their name to “Linkin Park” to avoid legal hassles with the other band called “Hybrid Theory.”

·         They called themselves Linkin Park because Chester used to drive past a place called Lincoln Park in Santa Monica, CA, after practice. It grabbed his attention and the other guys in the band liked the sound of it. They changed the spelling to “Linkin Park” so they could buy the domain, because LincolnPark.com was already taken.

·         At some point Phoenix left the band to tour with another band called “Snax.” Therefore Phoenix didn’t play the bass on Linkin Parks 1^st album “Hybrid Theory.” Kyle Christner was the bass for Hybrid Theory. Kyle left the group and went to a band called Nosedive. So, Linkin Park got a temporary bass player called Scott. You can see Scott in the One Step Closer video. Phoenix returned to Linkin Park a year and a half after he had left.

Where they met

• Joe and Mike met at Art School. Joe dropped out, while Mike went on the graduate.
   
• Phoenix met Brad in College
   
• Brad met Mike and Rob in junior high school.
   
• Mike founded the group, as Xero
   
• Chester joined after he auditioned for the band. (more info above)