Mike Shinoda is a huge driving force behind the success of Linkin Park. In working with the band, he wears many hats, including songwriter, producer, guitar player and vocalist. Shinoda was recently interviewed in a video released by Dell Computers as part of its ‘Celebrating Achievement through Technology’ campaign. In the video, Shinoda talks about how technology and computers help shape his music and his life.

Shinoda said in the video that after Linkin Park released their first album, they decided that they wanted to record and release a second album quickly. In order to do that, they decided to install all the recording equipment they needed in the back of their tour bus. The eclectic Shinoda said the equipment took up the same amount of space as a giant refrigerator. Now, he said he could record an entire album on a laptop if he so chose.

The Linkin Park producer, singer and guitarist mentioned the Dell XPS One 27 as being the centerpiece of his studio. On it, he was using Stagelight, a music program he helped revamp in order to make it more accessible to beginners. Designed to work with Windows 8 touchscreen computers, it is geared toward letting musicians start making music immediately.

Shinoda said that Linkin Park received their first offer for a record deal while the band members were in their last year of college. They ultimately decided they were going to finish college before jumping into music full time. Shinoda finished college, earning a bachelor’s degree in illustration. He contributes a lot of the band’s artwork, as well as artwork for his solo project, Fort Minor.

The band has constantly maintained a close relationship with new technology. Their most recent outing is the Facebook game ‘LP Recharge,’ which goes live Sept. 12. The game gives fans a chance to work together to hear the new Linkin Park song ‘A Light That Never Comes.’ For more information on the game, click the button below.

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