Had a great time at Sundance this past weekend. This was the premiere of the film with the new score. All the award-winning showings of the movie up to this point have been with the previous score, and the reviews have been amazing…so I was a bit nervous to see how critics reacted to it with the new music. Needless to say, I was relieved to see that people still liked it, some saying they even liked it more with the new music.
I went to the premiere with an old friend, Ken Block. Most of you probably know him from this. Ken started DC shoes back in the day, and is a pretty inspirational and fun dude.
With the premiere over, and a change to relax, we got together with some mutual friends to hang. Met Steve Berra. Awesome dude, I could have talked to him for hours.
Did a little press too, with the director (Gareth Evans) and my scoring partner (Joe Trapanese). Great guys.
Wrapped up the weekend with a party for The Raid, and a set by Deadmau5.
All in all, a great trip. Lots of awesome reviews about the film and the new score. Here’s a new (super bloody) taste of what you’re in store for when the movie comes out in a couple months…
Thanks to your efforts, the fundraising for Japan has been an overwhelming success. Using the tools at http://secretshowforjapan.com/, you guys have raised a ton of funds for the people of Japan (funds are still being raised, a total dollar amount is forthcoming).
Our show will be at The Mayan in Los Angeles, with B’z, August 31st. It’s been years since we’ve played a venue of this intimate size in LA, and we’re excited to see you there.
Proceeds go to Save The Children, for child protection, psychosocial support, and recovery.
Busy busy. Other than my occasional post from Instagram, things have been pretty busy and pretty random over here.
I recently did a podcast with my friend Jensen, who has a show on Kevin Smith’s “Smodcast” network. It’s here. If you want to know what’s up with Spotify, America, Kreayshawn, humble brags, and sax solos, then you have to check it out.
In other news, we’re challenging everyone to go to secretshowforjapan.com and donate to MFR / Save The Children to help kids affected by the situation in Japan. The contest isn’t secret, but the location of the show is–and I think it’s the smallest venue we’ve played in half a decade, maybe more. Anyone able to raise $500 will receive 2 tickets to the show. There are special prizes for the top fundraisers, as well. Just go to the website and start a fundraising page.
Other than that, I’m still writing. I got a new keyboard, the OP-1 by Teenage Engineering. Check it out:
Spotify has made it to the U.S., and I have been given the opportunity to extend a LIMITED number of invites for free service to the readers of mikeshinoda.com. If you want to try the service, click below. You’ll be sent a confirmation email in the next couple days:
We’re one of 60+ artists performing iTunes Festival. The concert is in London…but any of you can watch it. Just use an Apple device (download the free app for iPad, iPod, Touch, iPhone) OR you can watch using iTunes on your computer.
The show goes on all month, with headliners including Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Paul Simon, Glasvegas, White Lies, Mogwai, Chase+Status, Kasabian, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and many more.
We’ve been promising some new LPU news for a while. With all the Transformers news, MFR events, video shooting, and studio sessions going on, it’s been tough to make it happen.
It looks like that announcement is finally on its way. Look for an email by the end of next week. Don’t get your hopes up, though. It’s probably nothing very special or interesting.
In other news, if you haven’t seen the photos of Phoenix’s trip to Haiti, check them out HERE. Talk to you soon.
2010 has been a great year for me and my band. Here are some 2010 year-end stats for the LP record books:
We released “A Thousand Suns”, which debuted at #1 in 15 countries.
The album debuted with an amazing contest called “Linkin Park Featuring You” on MySpace where fans were given pieces of our first single before it was released. They remixed the tracks, and we picked a winner named NoBrain–and included his work on our album.
We got a chance to play in a number of places we’ve never visited before, including the U.A.E. and Israel.
At home in the U.S., our first single, “The Catalyst” was the first #1 debut in the history of the Billboard Rock Songs chart. “The Catalyst” and “Waiting For The End” both went to #1 on the Alternative radio chart, bringing our career tally to ten #1 songs thus far.
LP won an EMA for “Best Live Act,” and we’re in the running for the upcoming People’s Choice Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards and German Echo Awards.
We released 8-Bit Rebellion for iPod, iPod Touch, and iPad, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes music app chart.
Chester made an appearance in Saw 3D, which also saw a #1 debut at the box office
We held our first LP Underground Summits, in London and Sydney, which quickly became one of the most memorable experiences for LPU members who attended.
As the year comes to a close, we’ll be crossing 20 million Facebook fans (more than Starbucks, Disney, or McDonalds–but still catching up to Michael Jackson at 26MM!)
Following the earthquake in Haiti, the band organized Download To Donate (downloadtodonate.org) where supporters and fans of over a dozen bands could come to download tracks for free, and donate funds to support relief efforts in Haiti. This effort is ongoing.
“A Thousand Suns” was a risky album–one that veered off a more predictable path into territory that definitely got fans and non-fans talking. It’s been fun to see how perceptions and opinions have changed. As we move into the next year, we’ll be looking forward to the next leg of the world tour, another single, another video, and whatever else comes next. A huge “thank you” is due to everyone who has helped make 2010 a successful year for the band. We appreciate you.
As many of you know, the LP Underground has been undergoing a lot of changes in the past few months. Recently, we moved some of the features over to a new online home, and many people (including myself!) have been wondering about the differences between using the old site vs. the new one at www.LPU.LinkinPark.com.
I did a little research, and I have some answers about how to best use the new LPU.
Firstly, this is the new LPU profile page. This is LP Underground’s official “identity,” where you can see all of LPU’s headlines. LPU HQ updates this page regularly, to let you know how to make the most of your membership–taking advantage of concert ticket presales, opportunities to meet me and the other guys, and new features we’re rolling out as part of the LPU.
If you’re a member of LinkinPark.com, then (besides being smart, good-looking, and talented) you can join the LPU group at this link below, to stay in touch with what’s going on with the LPU, and talk to other LPU members: http://www.linkinpark.com/group/lpundergroundmembers.
And lastly, this week, we’ll be putting the chat page back up–but with an improvement. Like the old one, the new page will have a text chat; but the new chat will also have a video window so the band can video chat with you. Band chats will be scheduled regularly, but expect us to drop by unannounced. (Side note: I’ve stopped video chatting on UStream, and I’ll be doing more private chats with LPU in the future, on the new chat page. I want to try it that way, because it’ll be a smaller group and less spamming going on).
I hope that helps; You’ll definitely get more out of your LPU membership by visiting the links above. And for anyone who hasn’t joined the Underground: if you want to take advantage of the pre-sale tickets, chatting with the band, and more, visit http://lpu.linkinpark.com/ to become a member.
Incidentally, LPU is not just for Linkin Park superfans; it’s an organization our band created to give Linkin Park listeners the best experience we can. We offer the best LP concert seats at great prices, never-before-heard music, incredible events where you can meet the band, and an online community where you can stay in touch with what’s going on in our world, among other things.
See you guys at the upcoming LP Underground Summit in Sydney…
With Art Basel finishing up, and the Hello Kitty show coming to a close, I thought I’d show you what my piece ended up looking like. I called it “Hello Vishnu,” obviously.
Edit: I realize you guys don’t all know my sense of humor, but rest assured that this painting isn’t about the Hindu religion nor our Indian fans at all–just for the record. We love our fans in India and hope to see you on tour in the future.
