Every artist’s initial encounter with music might differ. Guitarist Dereck Trucks, for example, had stated that he was born into the ‘musical waters.’ Yet, other musicians might discover their talent through various incidents. Linkin Park‘s Mike Shinoda is among those musicians, as he explained in the latest edition of the band’s mailing list to fans, ‘Notes.’ The singer revealed the incident, which boosted his confidence and eventually paved the way to co-found Linkin Park.
Shinoda revealed that he had been participating in a youth group as a teenager. During this period, he was approached by someone named Bruce, the program’s musical theater director. The musician explained that the director wanted him to participate in the musical, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.’
After the first meeting about the show, Shinoda recalled that Bruce took him aside and asked him to play the Pharaoh. Apparently, at first, the musician didn’t perceive this as good news. He explained that his stomach turned upon hearing the director’s offer. He knew that if he were to play the Pharaoh’s part, he would also have to sing the role’s solo parts.
What made it even worse was that the solo Mike would have to master was a light song in Elvis Presley’s style, but the musician hated Presley’s music. Mike explained that he had grown up listening to acts such as Public Enemy and Chuck D, all of which affected his music taste and differed from Elvis Presley.
Shinoda recalled explaining to the director that he couldn’t play the part because of his negative feelings toward Elvis. Bruce, however, dismissed his worries and encouraged him to figure out how they could make it possible for Mike to sing the solo parts. Shinoda sat down with the director again the following week and explained his plan.
The musician planned to reshape the Elvis-influenced parts into the genres he enjoyed, such as rap, funk, and rock. He proposed to retain the song’s story but evolve the melody into a newer sound. Mike explained that he thought the new version could make it funnier since they would be mixing a rap song over a funk track.
Bruce green-lighted these changes, which let Shinoda enjoy the project and make him believe in himself. And when they were able to perform the show, Mike was confident and proud of himself. To Shinado, this experience dramatically shaped his career. Mike stated that if his mentor, Bruce, hadn’t trusted him and his ideas, perhaps Linkin Park wouldn’t have existed.
Mike Shinoda speaking on the offer that shaped the future of Linkin Park:
“After the first group meeting about the show, Bruce took me aside privately. ‘Hey Mike,’ he said, ‘There are a lot of important roles to fill in this show, and I want you to consider playing the Pharaoh.’ My stomach turned. I did not want a solo. But even worse, the Pharaoh number was a light, funny song in the style of Elvis.
I had grown up listening to Public Enemy, and Chuck D taught me to be anti-Elvis. ‘Bruce,’ I said, ‘I can’t do that; I really, really don’t like Elvis.’ He paused. ‘Do me a favor. Think about what we could do to make it work,’ he told me. ‘We’ll talk about it next week.’
The following week, when the youth group meeting was over, I sat with Bruce privately. ‘I have an idea,’ I said. ‘Would you let me change the song, and take the Elvis stuff out, and replace it with a style of music I like?‘ I remember him smiling at me with a complicated look on his face that I didn’t understand. ‘Okay, maybe…how would that work?’ he asked.”
The singer continued:
“I described the types of music I was listening to rap, funk, and rock. I thought we could retain the ‘story’ of the song and maybe even make it more funny, but doing it as a rap song over a funk track. He let me write an entirely new track for the band to play.
Looking back, there’s no way this experience didn’t dramatically influence my confidence, not only for getting up in front of people but my confidence in proposing an idea I believed in. There’s even a possibility Linkin Park may not have even existed if not for this mentor who decided to put faith in me.”
Musicians need confidence to perform. Perhaps, Mike Shinoda wouldn’t have had the required confidence as a performer without this experience. The trust Bruce, his mentor, put in Shinoda helped him reshape his parts in the play and turn them into something he could enjoy doing.
