As Linkin Park gears up to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Meteora on March 25th, I caught up with founding member and bassist Phoenix (Dave Farrell) on the forthcoming reissue due out April 7th.
The obvious pressure of following up the success of Hybrid Theory in a timely fashion had to have been challenging, but Phoenix says there was a level of naivety at that time. Clearly, we didn't pick up on that!
20 years has passed in a flash, but looking back at the fashion trends of the time, Phoenix says his daughters have a good laugh at what their dad was wearing, most notably the super wide-leg jeans!
As a classically trained multi-instrumentalist, I was curious if his daughters are following in his musical footsteps, and the answer is yes. All three are playing instruments and also into soccer, just like dad was growing up!
From the Meteora-era, a "new" old song has been unearthed and will be part of the anniversary reissue in April. Phoenix said the band honestly forgot it existed, but Mike Shinoda found it in the archives and the song has stirred up a whole host of emotions for those who hear it. Ultimately, Phoenix said he really misses Chester Bennington.
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When our conversation flashed back to the extremely painful year that was 2017, I told Phoenix about Audacy's I'm Listening initiative, and our work toward ending the stigma of talking about mental health. When I asked him what he does to take care of his own mental health, he spoke to the importance of talking to someone. He even admitted he didn't see a therapist until he was in his 40s, and knows that if he had sought that resource earlier in his life, it would have had a very positive impact on so many things he went through.
Music helps heal a lot of our pain, and the music of Linkin Park has helped so many of us through difficult times. For two decades, Meteora has been an outlet for Linkin Park fans, and we're so excited to celebrate such an awesome album!
Happy Rocking,
Taryn Daly