| Xero | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Demo by Xero | |||||||
| Recorded: | 1996 | ||||||
| Released: | 1997 | ||||||
| Producer: | Mike Shinoda | ||||||
| |||||||
Xero is the self-titled 1997 demo tape by American band Xero (now known as Linkin Park). The tape contains some of the band's earliest known recordings and is the earliest known Xero tape to feature artwork. The existence of this tape first came to public knowledge in 2020 with the publication of One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park, a biographical book written by former Warner Bros. Records A&R executive Jeff Blue that details the early days of Linkin Park.
Background
Mike Shinoda and Mark Wakefield have been friends since they were 12[1] and they loved a lot of the same groups. Mark would introduce Mike to more guitar-based music like Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam while Mike introduced Mark to hip-hop artists such as Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan.[2] They went to high school together[3] and had a reputation as the guys who made funny songs.[1][4][5] After both graduated, they started a new band called "Xero" (pronounced "zero") in the winter of 1995/1996. "We named it Xero with an X because we thought it looked cool," explained Mike.[6] At that point, Mike was mainly doing beats for various hip hop acts (and for himself as well),[7] but decided he wanted to experiment with mixing different styles of music together.[8] After one or two writing sessions, they enlisted the help of Brad and recorded a demo containing 4 songs with a few of them having guitars done by him.[9][10]
Brad was in his first year of college, studying communications at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), when he attended a class taught by Jeff Blue, who had just signed Korn and Limp Bizkit. Jeff was also developing a young woman named Macy Gray and told everybody in the class he was looking for an intern to help build her career and help him showcase artists, and Brad volunteered for the job. The next morning, Jeff walked in his office and his sister told him there was some kid waiting to speak to him (even though he had no appointments). He then saw Brad spinning on his seat, told Brad to don't ever sit on his seat again and asked him to talk about himself. He told Jeff about his dream of becoming a lawyer and about his band that he was developing. Brad then pointed to a big Limp Bizkit poster Jeff had in his office, which he was really proud of, and said "That band is not that great. I may have a band that's better than that." Jeff liked his confidence and hired Brad as his intern.[11]
Brad handled Jeff Blue a demo tape of the band. Describing the artwork, Blue said it was a Xerox photo of what appeared to be a mountain and the inside featured a faded photo of four band members and a close-up photo of Mike Shinoda. The tracklist featured "Fuse", an untitled track, "Stick And Move" and "Reading My Eyes".[12] A photo of Relative Degree performing at The Roxy was used on the artwork.
Track Listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Fuse | Mike Shinoda, Mark Wakefield | |
| A2 | Dialate | Shinoda, Wakefield | |
| B1 | Stick And Move | Shinoda, Wakefield | |
| B2 | Reading My Eyes | Shinoda, Wakefield |
Personnel
- Mike Shinoda
- Mark Wakefield
- Brad Delson
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Linkin Park Hit the Studio in L.A.: "We Have a Ton of Material" | Rolling Stone, November 07, 2008
- ↑ Mike Shinoda on 'Post Traumatic', Chester's Death, Performing With The Roots, Donald Trump + More - YouTube, June 26, 2018
- ↑ Agoura High School Class of 1995 - Timeline | Facebook, May 23, 2015
- ↑ HD Radio Sound Space Webcast | The World Famous KROQ, June 2018
- ↑ Mike Shinoda @ KROQ HD Radio Sound Space (Full Show) - YouTube, June 15, 2018
- ↑ 9.3 Goth Christmas Song (fan request: In The End + Evanescence + Christmas Music) - OfficialMikeShinoda on Twitch, September 03, 2020
- ↑ MTV Fort Minor: A Guided Tour - Mike Shinoda Clan, November 2005
- ↑ Linkin Park Web
- ↑ Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn, September 04, 2016
- ↑ The Secret History Of Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory: In Their Own Words — Kerrang!, October 07, 2020
- ↑ Linkin Park Series The Beginning Part 1 - YouTube, July 11, 2015
- ↑ Blue, Jeff (2020). One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park. Permuted Press. ASIN: B08LMZLXTJ