AOL AIM Interview

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

LPmidnight2007: hey it's mike
LPmidnight2007: i hope this works!
TyeinMusic: hey mike!
TyeinMusic: working like a charm
TyeinMusic: thanks so much for taking the time to chat. a lot of fans really wanted to see this happen
LPmidnight2007: cool, glad to do it!
TyeinMusic: so I hear you're backstage at SNL right now?
LPmidnight2007: yessir
LPmidnight2007: we've got camera blocking in a bit :)
TyeinMusic: nice
LPmidnight2007: just met molly shannon
TyeinMusic: ah! love her.
TyeinMusic: she's hilarious
LPmidnight2007: chester and joe are throwing rolos at each other
TyeinMusic: hahaha
TyeinMusic: tell them to stop playing with their food! ;)
TyeinMusic: so, it goes without saying that all your fans are excited to hear the new material live
LPmidnight2007: we're excited to play it
TyeinMusic: have you had much of a chance to work out the new stuff on stage?
LPmidnight2007: we've worked out a few of them...
LPmidnight2007: played three at shows so far, and adding another soon
LPmidnight2007: the new one is a killer!
TyeinMusic: awesome! how are the fans responding to the new tunes?
TyeinMusic: Some of them are very different than what they're used to
LPmidnight2007: great! they're already singing the words!
TyeinMusic: hahaha. really?
TyeinMusic: i wonder how THAT happened, since the album's not even out yet!
TyeinMusic: ;)
LPmidnight2007: well, they were singing them at the second show...at that point, it was just because people recorded the new stuff at the first show with their phones.
TyeinMusic: As far as the new stuff, some bands go w/ the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality.
TyeinMusic: But you guys really set out to do something different this time
LPmidnight2007: before we even did any demos or met with rick rubin, we already had decided that the new album had to be something different...
TyeinMusic: were you just tired of the old formula?
LPmidnight2007: well, 'hybrid theory' and 'meteora' were kinda like "brother" albums; they had a lot of similarities.
LPmidnight2007: HT was an introduction to the sound, and meteora took that to another place.
LPmidnight2007: when we were doing minutes to midnight, we knew it was time to start a new chapter, because writing stuff that sounded like the last two albums felt uninspired.
LPmidnight2007: we wanted to experiment, and try new things.
LPmidnight2007: we ended up spending almost a year and a half on it.
TyeinMusic: and wrote like a hundred songs in the process, right?
LPmidnight2007: probably about 150 demos. most of them were experiments gone wrong, ha...
LPmidnight2007: but they were important steps in the creation process, because we wouldn't have been able to define the new sound without making a lot of bad songs ;)
LPmidnight2007: the 12 we ended up with were the product of a lot of hard work, happy accidents, and tireless craftsmanship.
TyeinMusic: One thing everyone will notice about the album is that you don't rap on it nearly as much.
TyeinMusic: In fact, your voice only appears on like 3 songs.
TyeinMusic: What happened? Did you intentionally write yourself out of a lot of the songs?
LPmidnight2007: one thing to remember about this record is that in some cases, we all participated on each others' parts in different ways. this was true to some degree on the past albums, but even more true on this one.
LPmidnight2007: that's why, when you look at the credits for this album, it doesn't list the band member's name next to an instrument. we felt like each guy participated in so many things, that we couldn't possibly sum it all up in that way.
LPmidnight2007: that said, i'm definitely present just as much (as are the rest of the guys) in the lyrics and music. besides, in my opinion, chester is one of the best singers of our generation, so i like hearing him sing as much as possible.
LPmidnight2007: i'm not going to stop rapping, either! :)
TyeinMusic: hahaha. that's good to know
TyeinMusic: so, why rick rubin? what did he bring to the table no other producer could have?
LPmidnight2007: rick has made some of my favorite albums of all time. the Run DMC records, beasties records, red hot chili peppers stuff...
LPmidnight2007: he's been consistently able to give groups the tools to find the right ways to express themselves and the ways to discover great songs.
LPmidnight2007: but it had to come from the band and feel natural, and he showed us ways to tap into that in our process. he is an amazing producer.
LPmidnight2007: he also had hands-on experience in all the genres we listen to...
LPmidnight2007: and we listen to a ton of stuff.
TyeinMusic: did working with him, and the new ways of thinking he inspired, translate to things outside the studio too?
TyeinMusic: like, do you have new ideas about touring, videos, etc. because of your experience making the album?
LPmidnight2007: i think mostly music...on the other two records, we tended to finish the music first, then add vocals over top. rick encouraged us to work the vocals and music together from the beginning of the songwriting process. just to be conscious of the whole song as it evolved...
LPmidnight2007: but we did talk a lot about the ways bands put out songs and albums. things like touring and downloading.
LPmidnight2007: it gets really complicated.
LPmidnight2007: thematically, the new ideas we were talking about in the lyrics and video are just a product of where we're at now.
LPmidnight2007: we've been together for almost 10 years as a band; it's been seven years since hybrid theory came out. we're older, but obviously still a product of a new culture that was raised on computers and downloadable media, a culture that is more DIY than ever before.
TyeinMusic: yeah, about that downloadable media...
TyeinMusic: what was your reaction when you found out the album leaked?
TyeinMusic: were you pissed?
LPmidnight2007: i made a statement about the leak on our website. you can check that out.
LPmidnight2007: it was basically like, "if you already DL'ed it, there's nothing we can do about it. just listen to it in the right order. if you haven't, then we thank you for your patience and restraint."
TyeinMusic: are there any special treats for fans that actually buy the physical CD?
LPmidnight2007: we're doing three versions of the record:
LPmidnight2007: 1.) standard CD
LPmidnight2007: 2.) a special edition that has a small book with tons of photos, stories about the making of...plus a DVD with a 45-minute film about the making of the album (plus video and making of the video) that is the BEST thing of its kind we've ever put out...
LPmidnight2007: then 3.) a SUPER special edition coffee table book, with huge beautiful art and photos from the studio and paintings from the packaging, huge prints of the art, the CD AND the DVD.
LPmidnight2007: that last one runs about $100, and is very exclusive--online only. the other two are available in record stores.
TyeinMusic: wow.
TyeinMusic: you guys went all OUT for this one
TyeinMusic: so when your fans go out to buy Minutes, what else should they pick up?
TyeinMusic: what's rocking you right now?
LPmidnight2007: i always listen to a lot of stuff.
LPmidnight2007: bjork, arctic monkeys, michael buble, arcade fire, amy winehouse, redman, el-p...
LPmidnight2007: i can keep going ;)
TyeinMusic: wait. michael buble?!?
TyeinMusic: every single person reading this just scratched their head, dude :)
LPmidnight2007: hell yeah. that dude is a pimp. we're trying to put a song with him on the new Styles of Beyond album.
TyeinMusic: get out!
LPmidnight2007: it's going to be amazing.
TyeinMusic: wow. that'll be quite the hookup if that happens
TyeinMusic: he's got skills. no doubt
LPmidnight2007: you should hear him sing old michael jackson songs. he sounds better than michael.
TyeinMusic: ha. which one does he do best?
LPmidnight2007: what's the one that goes "i'm gonna make a change, for once in my life..."
TyeinMusic: lol
TyeinMusic: Man in the Mirror?!
LPmidnight2007: HAHAHAHA
LPmidnight2007: i'm totally serious
TyeinMusic: yo, THAT is the song you guys should do together. Update it for the new millennium
TyeinMusic: so, we're def looking forward to seeing you at our Webster Hall show in a few days
TyeinMusic: and fans will be able to watch it in theaters too
TyeinMusic: are you psyched for your peeps to see you on the silver screen?
LPmidnight2007: we're REALLY excited about fans being able to see the webster hall show on the big screen. it's going to be amazing.
LPmidnight2007: we're premiering new songs from the album, as well as lots of songs from the past albums.
LPmidnight2007: we're playing some of the old stuff in new ways, too, which is fun.
TyeinMusic: new spins on old faves is always cool :)
LPmidnight2007: we've never done a show-straight-to-theatres thing before, either...don't know if anyone else has, but i think it's a pretty revolutionary idea.
LPmidnight2007: the guys are telling me i have to go.
TyeinMusic: ok.
TyeinMusic: anything you wanna say to the fans real quick before you jet?
LPmidnight2007: i want to say to our fans that we appreciate them sticking with us and giving this new album a chance.
LPmidnight2007: we know it's really different, and we're glad everyone's down for the journey!
LPmidnight2007: we're putting a ton of love into our shows, and we can't wait to see you all there. thanks!
TyeinMusic: and thank you again for chatting
TyeinMusic: we'll catch you at webster hall!
LPmidnight2007: no prob. see ya there.
TyeinMusic: :)
LPmidnight2007: take care, bye