Tom Lanham
Alameda Times-Star
September 3, 2004

AS we draw closer to this year's presidential election, it seems as though most American musicians have an opinion on the matter and are willing to vocalize it -- take Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. and Dave Matthews, for example.

In such a charged Democrats vs. Republicans climate, it's unusual to find a rock outfit that isn't throwing its hat into the ring. But politics, asserts Chester Bennington, is the one thing his Grammy-winning, multi-platinum rap-rock group Linkin Park is trying to avoid.

Still, Bennington has ideas for change, and plenty of them.

"... As far as my political views, I'm thinking more along the lines of health care, focusing on national issues rather than international ones," says Bennington, whose quirky style (coupled with the Doberman-barked toasts of co-vocalist Mike Shinoda) helped propel Linkin Park's '01 "Hybrid Theory" debut past the 14 million mark in worldwide sales.

But the band's current Projekt Revolution tour -- which combines disparate artists including Korn, the Used, Downset, Snoop Dogg and Less Than Jake under one big happy tent -- is pointedly apolitical, an experiment in diversity that Bennington says "seems to be working very well."

At the show, which hits Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View Sunday, visitors also can experience the WRFF, a Wild Ride Fly Faster craft available for test drives; Major League Baseball-sponsored virtual pitching/batting cages and EA Sports video-game kiosks; A SoBe Adrenaline Rush Compound, with do-it-yourself digital music-mixing stations; and a Blockbuster-backed Game Rush zone, where some lucky contestants can try their vid-game hand against an equally skilled member of Linkin Park.

All of it rounds out the last cycle of touring to support "Meteora," the band's quadruple-platinum sophomore set on Warner Bros.

Says Bennington, "We're really trying to do something different and stop the typical touring mentality of 'We're a rock band, we only tour with rock bands,' or 'We're an R&B group, we only tour with other R&B artists.' We wanted to play with everyone that we enjoy ..."

Bennington's logic makes sense. From the start, the L.A.-based Linkin Park stood apart from the pedestrian, often knuckleheaded, rap-rock crowd. Unlike Static-X and Limp Bizkit, they applied a savvy sense of melodicism to their melding of turntablist sampling and turbulent guitars.

Bennington and Shinoda's dark lyrics only added to the group's mystique, recently visualized on the manga-styled video for "Breaking The Habit" -- from "Meteora" -- directed by noted Japanese anime illustrator Nakazawa -- the man behind Lucy Liu's bloody cartoon back story in "Kill Bill, Vol. 1."

"I think that clip is one of the best ever made, and it certainly raised the bar a bit," Bennington says.

The singer's world view is rather refreshing. Linkin Park, he says, has had the opportunity to not only tour the world, but to play purportedly risky Muslim-run countries that many performers shun.

If the sextet had bought into such negative hype, Bennington sighs, "We never would've gone to Kuala Lumpur. And now I'm really glad that we went, because it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and I would love to take my family there on vacation some day."

Out of such travels, Linkin Park has developed a couple of theories. One, that folks around the globe should stop thinking of themselves as citizens of their particular nations, "and instead see themselves as people on one planet that are all here." Bennington adds, "Most of the people I've met around the world actually have the same goals and outlooks on life. And when they talk to us, it's always about music, never about politics."

Second, that fear simply has to be shrugged off at some point by any responsible citizen. Or, as Bennington puts it, "You can't be afraid of people who are willing to hurt you, because if you fear life, you will never live."

The Parksters are far from self-centered. They've donated to worldwide humanitarian causes, such as funneling $5 from every Projekt Revolution Tampa ticket sold to the Red Cross Hurricane Charley Relief Fund, which added up to over $65,000.

"Our thing is, let's focus on things that we can actually do something about," Bennington says. "We knew that we could do something about (Hurricane Charley), that our money was going go to help rebuild those houses, or restore ruined streets and help put up new power lines. ... We're giving back because we feel like we've gotten so much from people all over the world."

Meanwhile, the formerly bespectacled Bennington (who recently underwent corrective laser eye surgery) isn't saying whether he harbors secret opinions on the upcoming election.

That's why -- when he was growing up in Phoenix, long before his inspired singing over a Fed-Exed demo tape of Cali combo (and LP precursor Xero) landed him his lead singer gig in L.A. -- he "chose to be a musician and not a politician."

The Projekt Revolution Tour 2004 with Linkin Park, Korn, Snoop Dogg and The Used is at 2 p.m. Sunday at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View. Tickets are $49.50. Call 650) 967-3000 or visit www.bgp.com