March 18 2011


Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Speaks To Kevin & Bean – Helping Japan Through Music For Relief
Following a terrible disaster like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, people look for ways to pitch in and help. Musicians have such a wide platform from which to reach people and round up support efforts. Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park is the latest to step up to the plate.

When similar devastation hit Haiti just over a year ago, Linkin Park teamed up with the United Nations and Facebook to bring light to the situation over there. In continuing efforts to help those affected by the current disaster in Japan, Mike Shinoda has designed a shirt through Music For Relief.

Music for Relief is a charity founded in 2005 by Linkin Park to help victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and has continued to help those around the world facing hardship through disaster.

Shinoda said that they “immediately put some T-shirts designs up at mikeshinoda.com and asked fans to give ideas for the shirt… It was split between two designs. I was originally just going to do one.”

He continued by saying that the significance of the white butterfly design started with a fan’s suggestion to do an origami design. He said that “as a kid I did origami, and the crane didn’t really send the right message[...] for something like this, but the butterfly is traditionally symbolic of a rebirth based on the caterpillar going into the cocoon and coming out as a butterfly.”

Both designs are available for $25 each in Linkin Park’s online store. 100% of the proceeds will support Save the Children, which is helping children and families in Japan who’ve survived the worst natural disaster in their country’s modern history.

In addition to the T-shirts, you can also donate to Music For Relief through paypal, or via text message, by texting “MFR” to 85944 to make a $10 donation. Even the littlest bit helps.