While we posted an interview with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Incubus’ Brandon Boyd, which we originally thought was done by only The Indie Spiritualist we’ve realized it was actually a group interview for the Honda Civic Tour! This new part was thanks to Noize News. Different sites have different parts of the interview, while a big majority of the interview was the same as we posted last night there are parts of the interview that weren’t seen, I’ve gathered the new parts and you can read them below. Chester and Brandon talk about what fans can expect from this year’s Honda Civic Tour, Incubus not being part of the Virginia show, then they discuss fans that differ in regards to where they are located (west coast vs east coast), afterward they talk about going out and playing soccer, going out a bit more in the east coast since they will be there during the summer, and the Honda Civic Tour can expect a full-scale stage production compared to tours abroad. Chester discusses open-wheel racing and then the inspiration for VICTIMIZED. Read the part you haven’t seen below or here and the rest we posted HERE.
Press: Past Honda Civic Tours have been more pop-oriented, such as “”Blink 182, “My Chemical Romance.” What can fans expect from this year’s Honda Civic Tour?
Chester Bennington: Well, I think that for us, I mean, really, I think the most special thing about this tour is the fact that you have two headlining bands singing together on one bill, which typically can be kind of hard to do, specifically, because usually when you’re in a position to headline a tour of this kind, you know, there’s only room for one headlining band usually. So the fact that Incubus gets to come out and perform a full headlining set and Soul Production and Linkin Park gets to come out and perform our full headlining set with personal production and everything is kind of special. But also, we kind of don’t really look at what the other artists have done on these tours and kind of go, OK, what do we think we should do. You know, we’re just going to go out and do what our fans want from us which is, you know, play songs that they’re familiar with and catch up on some on the new music and become familiar with that. So really I think from Linkin Park’s standpoint, we’re just going to come out and put on the highest-energy show we can. And incorporate as much of the new music as possible. And I’m expecting that Incubus will probably do the same.
Brandon Boyd: I think that, I just think it’s a good moment and a great opportunity to have kind of just a, you know, two big giant rock & roll bands sharing a stage, I just think that’s going to be better than either of us would do in our own show, it’s like there’s, it’s two headlining sets, including Mutemath [Sounds Like] which is going to be a good time as well. So it’s almost like a minifestival, which is amazing. And Incubus has done a Honda Civic-sponsored tour before. It may have been one of Honda Civic’s first ones, I’m not sure, but that was like, over 10 years ago. And I remember it being really really great. And I think the listeners and friends and fans and family who came out to those shows had a really great experience, too. So I know that we as a band are really looking forward to doing it again this year. And personally, this will be the end of our touring cycle for our newest record, and so we’re looking forward to just making some music and I’m very much looking forward to seeing Linkin Park with my own eyes for the first time since… I mean, I saw you guys, I think, once at a radio show, like over 10 years ago as well. So I think it’s going to be fun to be able to see you guys every night.
David Lindquist: Hey Chester, is it accurate that you have an affinity for open-wheel racing and can you maybe tell me about your impressions of the 500-mile race?
Chester Bennington: Well, I would have to say that growing up I was actually not very fond of… I mean, let me put it to you this way. If I could be the driver of the car, I’d be stoked about it. But if I’ve to sit there and watch, I don’t really want to do it. It’s kind of like baseball. It’s like I love playing, but you’re not going to get me to sit and watch a whole baseball game. It’s just not going to happen. So the same thing kind of has been that way for me with racing, and I mean that respectfully. I just want to do the fun part. And so, uh, I didn’t really get into it growing up. But I would say that you know similarly to golf and things like tennis and soccer, where I’ve kind of been bored by them as a young person, I’m really enthralled by them as an adult because of one, the technical skill the drivers have to have, in terms of, you know, basically flying that car. It is really impressive. I just don’t know how those guys, and women, I don’t know how they control those cars at those speeds in groups like that. It’s pretty phenomenal what they have to do, mentally and physically. And so, um, and then the cars, I’ve been in a few races, I’ve had the opportunity to go to the Indie 500 and that was really fun and I had a great time. So the combination of being in a band and having access to kind of more of the underbelly of racing and getting to go down and you know, meet the drivers and look at the cars, and hold the steering wheels in my hands, you know, you know, kind of understanding more about everything that goes into not only the performance and the driving of the car but everything that goes on in the whole production is really impressive. These guys are setting up massive, huge shows. And it’s a really interactive experience. Fans are always talking to the drivers, they’re always looking at the cars. It’s a very interactive and very engrossing atmosphere. It reminds me a lot of music, actually. There are so many similarities that go on between the drivers and teams and fans, the same as you know, uh, bands like Incubus and Linkin Park, we try to do those things for our fans and we try to give them as much as we can because we care about them and we appreciate their support of our, of what we do. And you get the same feeling in racing. So I’ve had an opportunity to go to a few Indie races and I’ve been to a couple Formula races and it’s a very impressive sport. So, I would say my interest is probably at its highest right now. I do fantasize about being a driver when I retire from Linkin Park.
So I might be the oldest rookie driver in the history of the sport.
Press: Chester, you’re going to be opening in Virginia, which is what I’m writing about, where unfortunately Linkin Park is the only one on there, we don’t have Incubus. What can you tell me about opening night and what you look forward to? And maybe preview a little bit what the fans can expect, since they won’t be getting Incubus like the rest of the tour.
Chester Bennington: Well, I feel really bad that they won’t get Incubus because I think that’s awesome for everyone who gets to see both bands. It’s going to be a great day. Um, so, right after that, I think that to come out and start any tour, regardless of, this is kind of like our first offering here in the States of new music, and so the good thing that I think is we’ve got a really great response from our fans and from critics on this record. All the songs have a lot of really great energy. And I think that’s going to lend itself really well to the live shows, so… You know, um, the first show is always the most nerve-wracking for me personally, just because, you know, uh, my throat isn’t like a guitar that gets put away in a nice velvety case and hidden from the outside world until I’m needed again. It’s a muscle and it’s a living thing—no pun intended. It kind of, you know, it’s like any other muscle, if I’m working out every day in the gym the likeliness of me getting sore and kind of, you know, hurting myself is far less than if I’d been sitting around on the couch for three weeks and then get up and go run around. So it’s always more nerve-wracking even with taking care of myself and still like maintaining, trying to keep myself going, it’s not like I’m singing really hard for two hours every day. So it’s always nerve-wracking for me personally. But I think that our fans should expect whatever they want. They’re paying money to see their favorite band play. Or one of their favorite bands play. And so, um, that’s what I expect from our fans to expect of us. And so, it doesn’t really matter what the first show feels like. It has to be the same as the last show of the last tour. So it needs to feel… when you go play a show it’s like the best thing in the world, like you want to go out and play your hardest and put your heart into it. For me, that’s where I get all of my fulfillment as a musician, is playing the music live. Writing the song and having people listen to it is great, but if I never got to perform the songs that people liked, I don’t even know if I would be in a band, honestly, if all I did was sit and write music and let people hear it. Performing it is the most important thing for me, and so every show has to feel the same. The same intensity, the same level of technical skill. So that’s what the first show is going to be like. It’s not going to be any different than the fifteenth show on the tour.
Press: I know you’re both West Coast guys. But I know what you like most about coming to perform on the East Coast. Boston, New York, Philly. I know you have a stop in Camden coming up.
Chester Bennington: Well, I think that as the tour goes on the more comfortable the bands are going to be. And there’s a kind of groove that we get into. And starting off on the East Coast and really getting into that groove is going to be great. I think that the vibe changes as you shift through the United States. To like when you go through Europe or something. You know, a show that you play for people in Kansas. Or somewhere in Philly is going to be different from playing in Los Angeles. It’s just a different vibe. For me, I really enjoy playing the East Coast. [pause]
Brandon Boyd: Every place that you play, that’s one of the interesting things about being on tour, especially when you play one of these large places, some of the diversity gets lost in these venues because a lot of them are built by the same architects and owned by the same people and you can get a little bit samey in the vibe. And what really distinguishes them is the people that come and where you are and where the people are from. And that’s when you really get a sense of the distinctions between the places and that’s essentially what makes it really fun, is to travel to all the different places. LA is notorious for having a very jaded crowd, as is New York. But I think that I’ve never been to a Linkin Park concert in LA or New York, but I know for the Incubus shows, the Los Angeles audience as well as the New York audience don’t seem jaded to me at all. They seem as enthusiastic. Just in a different way. You know. You have a lot more musicians and people who are in bands and people who know people who are in bands. So it’s maybe harder to impress them but they still have their way of appreciating things and we’ve had some of our greatest shows. Some of our best markets are both of those places. But I personally love hearing the, sometimes you can catch accents in the crowds, people in between songs are yelling like “You suck” or “I love you, man” or on the East Coast it’s “Play that fucking song, man.” You know? There’s more… And the East Coast has got a little bit more grit to it, perhaps, which I find amazing. And on the West Coast you just smell pot a little bit more. A bit more thick in the air. So, yeah. Chester, are you back?
Chester Bennington: Well, that’s because the weed on the East Coast smells like cigarettes. [laughs] I returned. I’m just having a magical moment over here in Burbank. So anyways, yeah, sorry for dropping out there. I was just saying that for me, playing the East Coast is really, there are other subtle differences that makes every crowd a little different. I just am used to playing the East Coast primarily in winter, so I never really get to enjoy, like, being out in Boston because usually I’m inside because there’s like a two-inch glass sheet of ice on the building outside. And it’s raining at the same time. And it’s like “How is there a blizzard and it’s raining?” So it’ll be nice to actually be able to get out and enjoy the weather and you know, go out, and we’re already talking about, I was talking with some of the guys in my crew the other day and they’re like “We should do something like get a band on band soccer game.” Because we always play, we play our label every time we go to Europe. So we always end up playing our label in Germany and playing a bunch of reporters and stuff from different publications in a soccer match and we always beat them. And so, uh, I was like, “That’s a great idea. We should totally do that.” So I think as the tour goes on, there are going to be a lot of opportunities for band and crew to get together and kind of get to know each other more. And hopefully by the time we make it to the West Coast, the thing that will be the biggest difference is, somewhere along the line, in our travels from one place to the other, sometimes it comes up that we might want to do something special for our fans. I don’t know when or where that’s going to happen, but it feels like a lot of people are kind of wondering what to expect. Perhaps on an inspirational level where the band gets together and plays a song together or something happens where we can give our fans something a little extra. But that’s going to come out of a moment where, you know the best moments that we capture that we’ve found in our career are the ones that come out of a spontaneous idea in a really cool moment. And so, uh, we’re yet to have that moment yet. But I think that somewhere along the line, something special will happen somewhere that our fans will be talking about.
Brandon Boyd: I know a river in Ohio that we can go to and go camping and jump off of a rope swing and stuff.
Chester Bennington: That’d be great. Let’s do it. I’m down.
Press: This question is directed for both Brandon and Chester. This isn’t the first time that you’ve shared a floor together. What is a piece of advice or a tidbit about each other’s band for the upcoming tour that you would share with each other?
Brandon Boyd: Don’t drop the soap, I don’t know. [laughter]
Chester Bennington: Can we answer this question after the tour? Funny. You know, we both toured so much over the last 10, 12, 14 years. I can’t keep track of it anymore. I realize that when I noticed that my oldest son has a full beard and is driving a car. I was like, “Wow.” Time just flies by. And so the only advice I could give to any of my friends who’ve been doing this business for this long is “keep having fun.” That’s what it’s all about. I think that this summer’s going to be really, really exciting and it’s going to be really fun for our friends to come out and see both bands play. And the fact that we’re both known for our live performances and to be able to go out and perform every night with a band that’s as respected as Incubus, and to see them connect with their fans and then go out and do the same with our fans is going to be, it’s going to be really special. And I’m sure that we can both swap stories about some pretty fun moments that we’ve all had on tour. But the great thing about being in a traveling rock band is that any number of things can happen at any time. I’ve been playing racquetball in Singapore and put a racquet through my face and had to have a plastic surgeon fly in and sew up my lip so that I could play the next day. It was like, you know…but you can’t give people advice for that. [laughter]
Brandon Boyd: Don’t hit yourself in the face with a racquet.
Chester Bennington: That’s good advice, though, man, I have to say.
Brandon Boyd: That’s actually really good advice for me, because I’m the guy that the racquet would go through my eye. I’m accident-prone. I would say don’t bring illegal weapons through airports around sensitive times with national security. That’s a good piece of advice.
Chester Bennington: It’s something that I would never think of. I wouldn’t be thinking, “Oh, this sword I just bought in Japan is probably a good carry-on.” I would just be thinking, “I’m just going to take this with me.”
Brandon Boyd: But it’s happened to the best of us. I’m not kidding.
Chester Bennington: I know. That’s why I’m laughing. Next question.
Brandon Boyd: It’s actually happened to two of us in our band. Once was a throwing star, once was a switchblade.
Chester Bennington: It had a blade on it, I knew…
Brandon Boyd: It had a nice sharp edge.
Chester Bennington: Good advice.
Press: You guys are known for your live performances, and the lights and the huge stage productions, what can fans expect from the Honda Civic tour? Is it going to be kind of that large production effect that we’re used to from you guys?
Chester Bennington: Every tour is kind of different. Even throughout our world tour, the whole touring cycle for the entire album, the tour kind of changes, production-wise. It depends on where it’s at. The productions in the U.S. are typically our biggest because we can afford to have them. It’s hard to shift really big productions all over the world so the show in Australia is probably going to be pretty stripped-down. But at the same time, I think that what we try to do is incorporate what we’re doing at the most present moment into our live set. So I’m really interested in seeing, I haven’t even seen it personally yet, but I’m interested in seeing what our team at Ghost Town has put together for our show this summer. I think it’s going to be really beautiful. So I’m excited about that. But I actually have no idea what it looks like yet.
Brandon Boyd: I think it’ll be, I’m excited to see what Linkin Park does as well. I’ve seen the videos of their full-scale production and it looks pretty amazing. So I think it’s going to be exciting. I know our production is very much in the same capacity. In the States we are able to have a full-scale production because we can just afford to it, and when we travel overseas, depending on how far it is, logistically how far it is, you’ll see different variants of the production. But we always try and bring as exciting and big of a show as we can given the circumstances. But on the Honda Civic tour you’re going to see, I know from the Incubus point of view it’s going to be an amalgamation of three or four different productions and ideas that we’ve been utilizing throughout this touring cycle. It’s going to be like kind of the best of all worlds that people have seen thus far.
Press: Chester, to jump back a little bit and drill down into the songs on the new album, you’d mentioned “Victimized,” which is a wonderful non-midtempo song. I think you said it best, the song makes you feel kicked in the face. What was the inspiration behind the songwriting with this song?
Chester Bennington: Well, each song is so different. One of us could be inspired by the sound of a popping engine of a car that goes by. Everyone’s like, “Oh, that’s awesome,” and you try to create that sound in the studio. And all of a sudden that creates a beat, and next thing you know Mike is rapping over it, and the melody popped in my head. Creativity in the studio is such a weird substance. It’s a weird sticky thing that grows when it feels like it. And so, um, it’s very cool when it happens. And this is one of these songs that Mike came in with this kick-ass beat and I loved it, it was like, it by the way felt really heavy, it felt in your face, it felt like metal but it didn’t feel predictable. It was so cool. And we looked at each other and we know exactly what the song needs. And so I think I started yelling something like “Fuck” or something over it, and we were sort of laughing about how funny it would be if that was like the chorus, and then I think it was Mike or maybe Brad, but someone in the band was like, “Just pick like one word, that could be like one really good word,” and I think someone threw out “victimized” and I was like, “That’s great.” And I just ran in the studio and just kind of screamed “victimized” over it. And then kind of the most obvious line to come after screaming victimized is “never again.” And then that was it. It was pretty much that simple. I mean that song kind of was done at that point in terms of what I needed to contribute to the song. And I think the verses are some of Mike’s best. I think the rapping on this record for Mike is the best that he’s ever done. I mean, there’s a swagger to his whole vibe and a confidence that I don’t think I’ve seen from him before. So I think that also adds to the heaviness of the song, too, the vibe that Mike is sending out. And so, but it’s a pretty complex (Indiscernible) track, and I really like it, it’s one of my favorites.