The Beginning
In the beginning, it was just Mike and Brad. Mike and Brad formed the band Xero together. Xero was eventually made up of: Mike, Brad, Joe, Rob, Phoenix and Mark. Mark was their old singer, the rest are members of LP. Mike got his friends to sing some parts of certain songs while he did he emcee parts.
Progression
Mark left the band before they were called Hybrid Theory because things didn't work out, but he has always been a really good friend of theirs. Now, Xero were left with one singer. (Mark became Taproot's manager.)
Things Happen
The guys played around for fun and started getting attention from friends. So they set up a show at Los Angeles' 'Whisky' and got signed to Zomba Music Publishing their first show. According to Pushmeaway.com they played the show with System of a Down and SX-10.
Get Serious Dude
They started getting serious from there on but labels weren't really interested so they started looking for a new singer. About 2 years later Chester Bennington joined the band. That's when they changed their name to Hybrid Theory.
Ooo, Chester
Chester had previously been in the band Grey Daze which been quite successful in Phoenix, but hadn't caught on. They met through their law firm Miniet Phelps and Phelps. Thanks Pushmeaway.com for this information.
Demos...
The law firm told Xero that they had someone in Phoenix (Chester) who might be interested, so they sent Chester a demo. He was asked to sing something to fit the demo. He was so eager that he went to a proffesional recording studio and within three days he had completed it. He phoned the guys and told them he would fly to South California (it was also his birthday, the main reason why he decided to fly there). The guys asked to hear the tape over the phone first. Once they heard it, they instantly told him to fly over.
So close...
Once Chester was in the band, they made demos and used their connections at Zomba to get their demos out to people who they thought would listen and appreciate the music. Eventually, after their popularity increased, Warner Brothers became interested and signed them to their label. Then Hybrid Theory changed their name (again) to Linkin Park to avoid legal issues with an underground band with the very same name.
The Name
The name Linkin Park is Chester's idea. Every day after band practice he would dry by the local Lincoln Park. Chester thought this was a cool name, so he shared his idea with the band. They liked it but had to alter it to Linkin Park because Lincolnpark.com was taken and was way to expensive anyway. That's where the name Linkin Park came from.
Come back Phoenix!
Phoenix, whilst in the band when they were Xero, he left and toured with The Snax. However, after this he returned to become a permanent member. You may notice on the Hybrid Theory album that he does not appear on it, although now that he is a full time member, he plays all the live bass.
Thankyou to Pushmeaway.com for most of this information, you should visit that site, it rules.
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