Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California Formed in 1996. The founding of Linkin Park began with three high school friends Michael Kenji "Mike" Shinoda born February 11, 1977 is an American musician, record producer, and artist. He is best known as the rapper, principal songwriter, keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and one of the two vocalists of the rock band Linkin Park. Brad Delson (born December 1, 1977 attended Agoura High School with childhood friend and Linkin Park band mate Mike Shinoda. He played in various bands throughout his high school career, the most notable being Relative Degree After graduating in 1995, Delson, Shinoda, and Bourdon formed Xero, which would eventually become the starting point for Linkin Park and Robert Gregory "Rob" Bourdon born January 20, 1979 Rob started to play drums after attending an Aerosmith concert. His mother, Patty, is friends with Joey Kramer, the drummer for Aerosmith In his early teen years, Bourdon played in a few bands with his friends. It was around that time that he met his current Linkin Park bandmate, Brad Delson, and they played together for about a year in a band called Relative Degree. Their goal was to play at the Roxy Theatre, after achieving their goal with a sold-out show, Relative Degree eventually disbanded. In 1995, Delson, Mike Shinoda and Bourdon formed Xero, the band that would become the basis for Linkin Park the three began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, Xero. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda’s makeshift bedroom studio in 1996, resulting in a 4-track demo tape. The lack of success convinced Farrell and Wakefield who was consider the lead vocalist at the time. After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist, Chester Bennington, who was recommended by Jeff...