LINKIN PARK READY FOR THE CHALLENGE OF GIVING FANS SOMETHING NEW EVERY NIGHT

Mike Shinoda talks about the band getting ready to give their fans a different set list every night along with a digital souvenir pack of each concert.

Linkin Park are gearing up for their 2008 Minutes to Midnight North American tour and the band couldn’t be more excited to give their fans something new at each and every show. Perhaps taking a page from The Grateful Dead, for the first time in the bands career Linkin Park will look to mix up their set list at each show and continually bring a fresh approach to their songs for their fans, who have continued to support the band with each album they release. Linkin Park’s latest album ‘Minutes to Midnight’ peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Chart and on the strength of hit singles ‘What I’ve Done,’ ‘Shadow of the Day,’ and ‘Bleed it Out’ has been certified double platinum while sitting on the charts 37 consecutive weeks. In fact ‘Minutes to Midnight’ is still sitting at #34 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

We caught up with Linkin Park’s vocalist, guitarist and producer, Mike Shinoda to get his thoughts on how excited the band is to bring a new set list with rare material fans haven’t had an opportunity to see them play in a while.

“I think for us the challenge has been, having been around for so long and played a lot of shows our challenge is to always keep it interesting for the fans and for us, to do something different and new. At this point what we’ve started introducing into the set is more variety. We switch up the show every night. We have sets that rotate and there’s room for improvisation and there’s room to kind of mess with the show as it is. So you literally get a new show every night.”

Another first for Linkin Park will be their Digital Souvenir Pack, which will allow their fans the opportunity to purchase each show on CD and get a mastered mix straight from the sound board. Shinoda also talked about the band’s upcoming Digital Souvenir Pack.

“To kind of celebrate that, we’ve made available for the very first time a digital souvenir pack, where when you buy your ticket beforehand you can buy a download of the show you went to see. So, in other words you buy the ticket and the digital download pack, go to the show, you come home and then in your inbox you get the show that you went to mixed by our official mixer, great CD quality mix. We’re really excited about it. It’s the first time we’ve ever done anything like it.”

Linkin Park’s tour kicks off Feb 12th in Omaha, NE and features Coheed and Cambria and Chiodos as the supporting bands. The tour concludes March 10th in Sacramento, California and will feature stops at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, Ca and Madison Square Garden in New York, both of which are expected to sell out.