In The Studio

What's New?

  • Five Finished Songs

    November 15, 2009 127 Comments

    LP Studio November 09

    Album Update:

    At last count, there were upward of 60 tracks on the "band" hard drive. Obviously, they're in all states of completion (except "finished"). Well, 60 is a big number, and focusing down on all of those to try to get them finished sounded terrifying not to mention silly; a good chunk of those are probably not really our best stuff anyway. So we narrowed down to 20. These 20 aren't all going to make the album, they're just the best songs we've got so far.

    Of the 20, we're trying to focus on 5 right now, and get them finished. The work has been going exceptionally well--I think all the guys are more focused than ever. I don't know for sure, but I would bet that the average song length on these is around the 4-5 minute mark; a bit longer format than our usual stuff. We're really enjoying being in the studio right now, trying to be as creative and adventurous as we can, while letting our sense of songwriting, rhythm, and melody guide the way through the chaos.

    mike

  • Mike MPC demo

    November 11, 2009 104 Comments

    A few of you have asked about my process when it comes to making beats. I don't really have a "process," but I currently have been doing a lot on my MPC, so I figured I'd throw a little demo together. I tend to try to combine gear to get a cool sound. In this one, all the gear I used was pretty basic and reasonably-priced; simple stuff you can buy at Guitar Center or whatever. Enjoy,

    mike

    PS: I'm growing my hair out. I know it looks awesome right now. I think it's exactly the same haircut I had in elementary school.

  • Three Updates.

    October 17, 2009 93 Comments

    So much random stuff going on these days...here are three updates.

    It's been a busy week. Studio every day, working on new stuff. This week, I did a song where the music sounds like Santogold (or Santigold, if you like) meets Postal Service meets At The Drive In or something. Very weird...but even weirder, the vocals are crazy--I asked our engineers what they thought it sounded like, and the responses I got were things like "Peter Gabriel" and "Huey Lewis, in a really good way." Four-part harmonies that ebb and flow with the track. I feel like I'm on drugs when I'm listening to it. It's tentatively called "Chicken Basket." Next week, we're all going to get together and listen to everything and vote on stuff, to see how progress is going. I'll let you guys know how it goes...

    Secondly, another newsworthy thing: as it turns out, our LP Underground fan club is going to be friggin' amazing this year! In case you don't know, we always put out a CD with the club, and this year's CD is a monster. It contains 8 previously unreleased demos from Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and Minutes To Midnight, plus a NEW, UNRELEASED LINKIN PARK SONG recorded during the MTM sessions. That's 9 tracks in all (for LPU9, get it?). You also get a shirt, patch, guitar pick, and exclusive chances to meet the band if we're doing a show or event in your area. LPU9 is not available yet, but info will be coming soon. You can get an idea of what this past year's fan club offered by clicking here.

    ...And finally, Dead By Sunrise is out, and doing well on the charts. But more importantly, they're playing in LA soon, which means I'll get to go see the show. For those that missed it, here' DBS on Letterman:

    mike

  • Chester's Vaporized Arm

    September 15, 2009 113 Comments

    image

    Today, Phoenix, Chester, and I wrote a song so awesome it vaporized Chester's arm.

    Unfortunately, you'll never hear it. we don't want to risk any fans getting vaporized.

    image

    (I did not edit this photo)
    mike

  • Back In the Studio

    September 8, 2009 53 Comments

    First day back in the (recording) studio after the art show madness is over...I was working on music from home for the past few weeks. Good stuff coming along. I'll post some pictures or something soon. Today we started a song that sounds like Queen meets AC/DC meets hardcore techno. It was pretty ridiculous, but I think it might turn into something cool later. Then again, it could just stay the same as it is...kinda silly.

    mike
    PS: shouts out to coolhunting.com for the mention: http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2009/09/glorious_excess.php

    PPS: I love checking out new music on hype machine. Glad they caught wind of the Metric remix:
    http://hypem.com/track/899314/Metric%2BMike%2BShinoda%2BRemix%2B%2B-%2BGold%2BGuns%2BGirls%2BMike%2BShinoda%2BRemix%2B

  • Adding to the Studio

    July 6, 2009 95 Comments

    My studio was lacking a little pizazz, so I added a little something today: my Nintendo, circa 1987. I got cracking on some Metroid today. It was a good day.

    mike

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Photos