Mike Shinoda [Fansite]

Michael Kenji Shinoda was born on February 11th, 1977 and was raised in the Los Angeles suburbs of Agoura where he resided for all of his pre-adult life. In his early teens, Mike’s musical interest was encouraged by guitarist Brad Delson. The two of them started writing and recording songs in a makeshift studio set in Mike’s home. His first instrument was the piano and spent a decade studying both classical and jazz techniques. Later he added the guitar and, eventually, rap style vocals to his musical work. By the end of high school, Rob Bourdon became involved in their musical ventures and formed the band Xero in 1996. This led the trio to make a more serious attempt to pursue a career in the music industry.
After finishing high school, Mike enrolled in the Art Center of Design at Pasadena Art College to study graphic design and illustration. It was there that he met DJ Joe Hahn and was so impressed by his abilities and strong work ethic that he invited Joe to the band. Brad’s college-mate and talented bassist, Dave (Phoenix) Farrell, was added as well. In Mike’s final year of his studies, the band changed their name to Hybrid Theory. At that same time they brought in vocalist Chester Benningtion to the group. Chester’s powerful vocals that can carry a tune while sounding like a primal scream was the perfect final piece to the puzzle for the band.
Mike soon completed his college training with a degree in illustration and secured himself a job as a graphic designer straight after graduation. Hybrid Theory was released under the new name as only a 6 song EP. Shortly after they had to change the band name for legal issues and ultimately became Linkin Park.
Throughout the year of 1999, LP continued to expand their following amongst L.A. clubs. This growth in popularity made a record contract a bigger goal for the band. The latter failed to give the group any positive results until the end of the year when, finally, Warner Brothers made the decision to add the young band to its long list of musical talent. The record company gave the band both good management and a powerful producer, Don Gilmore (who had worked with bands like Pearl Jam and Eve 6). This resulted in their debut album Hybrid Theory in the fall of 2000, which was an ode to their previous band name. The album cover also sported a design made by Mike himself. Before long, the album found its way high into the charts, launching Linkin Park as one of the most popular exponents of the so-called “nu-metal” genre.
From the beginning, Mike was closely involved in the technical aspects of the band’s recordings that expanded to future albums. He tackled a fair amount of the production duties for the Hybrid Theory remix album Reanimation that was released in 2002. His musical role also evolved, and the sophomore album Meteora which was released in 2003, had him assuming a more prominent role as a guitarist. By the release of the Linkin Park/Jay-Z “mash up” album Collision Course in 2004, he had his hands in every aspect of the release. This ranged from performing, producing, to mixing and graphic design. From time to time, his production and remix work for other performers such as The X-Ecutioners, Handsome Boy Modeling School and Depeche Mode was under taken.
Fort Minor, Mike’s hip hop ensemble and side project, released their first album “The Rising Tied” in 2005. This group primarily features Mike, alongside hip hop duo, Styles of Beyond, as well as several other guest artists. The album features 16 tracks (with 3 bonus tracks on the Limited Edition), and are specific to the lives of Mike and his collaborators. “Remember the Name,” for example, describes the group’s views on being rappers, while “Kenji” describes the experiences of Mike’s family during World War II. Fort Minor is well known for their 2006 single “Where’d You Go”, that features Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga.