Interviews

1. First experience writing music

2. Drawing on paper napkins

3. Contemplating identity in Los Angeles

4. Connecting to Japan

5. Insights from family on Japanese American internment

6. Politics in music

7. Role as an artist

8. Being a good example for people

Shinoda,Mike

(b. 1977) Musician, Producer, Artist

Role as an artist

My role is always changing as an artist and part of that is because I’m the type of person that doesn’t stay…I can’t just be content doing one thing over and over again. I’m always trying to break out of and do something new. I think a lot of creative people are always looking for that one pure creative idea that they can say, “That is 100 percent original and 100 percent mine and I finally did it.” And we keep working until we get those things. And there’s a sense of artistic dissatisfaction that comes with the territory. We’re always…I mean we’re self-deprecating and we’re perfectionists because we look at what we’re doing and we always think we can make it a little bit better.

In general, when I’m making songs or making art, I think sometimes it’s just for fun. You know, I just want to do something silly or something to make people happy and enjoy it and have a good time. And other times I do want to push people’s buttons and really make them think about themselves or about the world in general. Art is what it is because the whole point of it is to…on one hand, you want to put your emotions out there and it’s cathartic in a certain way but on the other hand, you also want to make other people feel something, give them some kind of emotional reaction or give them a connection to say, “I’m putting this into the best words…this emotion into the best words I can think of just to let other people know – the people who are thinking it, too – that they’re not alone.

Date: January 16, 2006

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Chris Komai and John Esaki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Michael Kenji Shinoda was born and raised in Agoura Hills, a suburb north of Los Angeles, to a Japanese American father and Caucasian mother. He first began studying music with piano lessons at age three. During high school and continuing while a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Shinoda and friends formed a band called Xero. Due to copyright issues, they later renamed themselves Hybrid Theory and ultimately, Linkin Park. Since the 2000 release of their first album, Linkin Park has enjoyed great success. In 2002, they won a Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for their song “Crawling.” The band won another Grammy in 2006 for their mash-up collaboration with Jay-Z entitled “Numb/Encore.”

In 2005, Shinoda released his first solo effort, The Rising Tied, a hip-hop album that he wrote and produced under the name Fort Minor. One of the songs on the debut album titled “Kenji” was inspired by a visit to the Japanese American National Museum. He interviewed family members who were incarcerated in American concentration camps during World War II. Parts of the interviews with his father and aunt are incorporated into the song.

Although he pursued music as his career, Shinoda continues to express his creativity visually. He oversees the design and artwork for all of Linkin Park’s printed and web materials. He has also created artwork for Linkin Park and Fort Minor’s album covers.

Despite his many projects, Shinoda has taken time to support many charities. In addition to starting a scholarship at Art Center College of Design, he has been involved with organizations like United Way, Denshō, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Japanese American National Museum. He participated in Los Angeles’ Nisei Week Parade as the 2005 Honorary Parade Marshal. For his creative contributions to American culture, he was awarded the Japanese American National Museum’s Award of Excellence in 2006. (October 19, 2006)