Mike Shinoda

Name: Michael Kenji Shinoda

Instrument: Vocals, Beats + Samples, Keyboards, Guitar

Date of Birth: February 11, 1977

Marital Status: Married to Anna

Siblings: Brother Jason. Mike is half Japanese

Place of Birth: Originally from Agoura, CA, now lives in L.A.

Education: Agoura high school. Graduated from the Pasadena Art College of Design in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in illustration.

Gear:
Audio Technica wireless mic
PRS guitars
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier heads
Mesa Boogie cabinets
Digidesign Protools software & hardware
Anteres software
Waves software
Emagic hardware
Roland keyboard modules
AKAI S-900 & MPC 2000 samplers

Bio:
Mike is thought by many to be the most versatile member of Linkin Park. Some of his numerous talents include rapping, playing the piano and guitar, producing, and art design. Shinoda was born unto a Japanese father and Russian mother and is a distant relative of the legendary Russian composer Tchaikovsky. Mike got into music at a young age, when he was taught how to play the piano. After years of classical training, Mike eventually began to produce and create his own loops using a keyboard he had purchased. Combining bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against The Machine with Wu-Tang Clan vocals, Shinoda started to lay down the genre-blending style that would later become the cornerstone of Linkin Park's sound.
While attending Agoura High School with his junior high chum Brad Delson, Mike and Brad met drummer Rob Bourdon through a mutual friend in a local band named Karma. Rob was soon asked to be the drummer for their new band, Xero. When Brad and Mike went to seperate colleges they met two people who were also asked to join their band, turntablist Joseph Hahn and bassist David "Phoenix" Farrell. Mike recruited Hahn from Pasadena's 'Art College of Design' they both attended, and Brad met Phoenix at UCLA. Mike's main plan for Xero was to create a sound without categorizational boundaries that seamlessly blended several styles of music, including rock, hip-hop, and electronica. This was much like what he had done on his own at a younger age with his keyboard, yet on a larger scale. Mike was a fan of bands from many different categories of music, including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, N.W.A, and more.
Mike has also shown he can excel outside of Linkin Park, becoming very active in helping underground hip-hop artists get recognition. On the Linkin Park remix album 'Reanimation', which Shinoda produced, many of the guest stars chosen to remix 'Hybrid Theory' tracks were those of the underground hip-hop scene. Shinoda also released a solo hip-hop effort under the moniker of Fort Minor in 2005, where he gives the opportunity to many up-and-coming musicians to get their shot at having their voices heard on a mainstream stage. Mike is constantly creating new music in his spare time

Writing songs and sharing them with people is a very rewarding experience...I can't think of anything more gratifying as seeing people from different backgrounds come together to enjoy music. Thanks." -Mike