(Global Times) "We had a wonderful round of shows in China, so I am excited to come back and do some more," Mike Shinoda, a member of rock band Linkin Park, told the Global Times in an email interview on Tuesday about his upcoming music tour in China.
The Post Traumatic Tour will hit major cities in China including Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu throughout August.
After news of the tour reached popular Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, many Linkin Park fans expressed their anticipation for the show.
"This is super attractive for me!" babyredredDrDr commented on the news on Sina Weibo.
"This will be a feast for my ears!" another netizen, Youshuangruozhuoagainin, commented.
Linkin Park last toured China in 2015. The show, The Hunting Party, received an incredibly passionate welcome from Chinese fans and tickets sold out quickly.
"I did have a great time, it was a very memorable tour for us," Shinoda said.
Shocking news
While fans in China were looking forward to the band's next tour to the country, news of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington's death left everyone reeling.
The 41-year-old was found dead at his home in California on July 20, 2017 after having hung himself.
The sad news immediately swept through Chinese social networks, with a large numbers of netizens and fans spontaneously holding commemorative activities for him online.
"I was just speaking with my friend about how I went to a Linkin Park concert. Then the next day my friend showed me the news about Chester's death. I was completely shocked and immersed in a sad mood for long time, feeling that life is too short. But at least, he left the world the most beautiful voice," Chinese netizen UNOXANNE noted on Sina Weibo.
As a fellow band member, Shinoda went through a dark time after the death of his good friend. On the day that Bennington's death began making headlines he tweeted "Shocked and heartbroken but it's true" on Twitter.
Look to the future
Five months after the tragedy, Shinoda was asked by a fan about the future of the band.
"I have every intention on continuing with LP, and the guys feel the same. We have a lot of rebuilding to do, and questions to answer, so it'll take time," Shinoda said, expressing his hopes that the band could one day move on.
According to Shinoda, the Post Traumatic Tour is about dealing with loss and restarting the pursuit of his music dreams.
"The experience of last year has been crazy and I wanted to put it into music," Shinoda told blabbermouth.net on April 24, emphasizing that he wanted to notify fans about "where I'm at" and that he also wants "to take what I've learned and share it with people."
Based on his experiences overcoming this "very lost" time and his struggles dealing with claustrophobia, he turned to music to find healing because "life was difficult, music was easy. Music made things easier," Shinoda said.
In June, Mike released his debut solo album, Post Traumatic, with two songs, "Crossing a Line" and "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore" released at the same time to promote the album.
With most of the songs written by Shinoda, the musician explores a side of himself that he has never shown to audiences.
For instance, the song "Ghost" features a monologue from a sock puppet.
"So I will play along…" go the lyrics. At the beginning of the music video for the song, Shinoda sits in front of his desk in his music studio and tells viewers that they shouldn't feel guilty about having fun. Then the music starts, and the sock puppet comes out to sing music straight from the musician's heart.
According to Shinoda, the album is meant to be "a journey out of grief and darkness," so while some songs deal with heavy emotions, some are more hopeful.
For instance, the song "Running from my shadow" is not sorrowful even with the use of a dropping rhythm, and the rap section comes across as powerful and strong, a shout of encouragement to all of Shinoda's fans and the band itself.
"If someone went through something like that, I hope you feel less alone. If it has not happened, I hope you feel grateful," Shinoda writes in an introduction to the album.
Source: Global Times By Luo Yunzhou
