m-m-mMIKE Shinoda and Mr. Chester Bennington!
(Note: In this story, Michael is Steph's husband, different from Mike as in Mike Shinoda)
The Music For Relief lady takes us backstage and we wait at a picnic table with her until the manger dude comes to get us. He was like, "You guys are in luck. The rest of the band isn't here yet. So you guys get Mike AND Chester." I was like bouncing up and down. I was hoping for one of the them, but to get both was too unreal. The guy was like, "It's the first time they have done the Private Meet and Greet with the both of them, so you really lucked out."
So, we walk out of 106 degree heat into this nice air conditioned room and Mike Shinoda is like showing us to a little table and is like have a seat. So we sit down and Mike is all giggly talking to Chester who is standing across the room. They are saying something about Will Farrell before he asked us how our day was. I was thinking are you kidding me, I sitting at the table with you, Mike Shinoda!
The manger dude tells them that we were the MFR winners and Mike was like oh cool, so you know all about what that's about then. Michael and I were like, "Yeah…" Then he asked us how the Music For Relief booth was. Michael was like, "Yeah man, it's nice." Mike looks over at me, smiles while resting his chin down on the table and was like, "So it was up to your standards then?" He is being playful so I tease him, "Well you can always do better." Which made Chester laugh and sit down at the table with us and ask me, "Well, what do you suggest?" and I told him, "You. Standing beside the booth."
(LoL yes I did.)
He smiles and laughs, "Yeah and that wouldn't be a distraction at all. I made the mistake of going out on the revolution stage today. I thought a couple of kids would notice, but I didn't expect the bum rush the front." I told him, "Yeah, I was on the barrier, thanks. I got mawed." He was like, "yeah, I felt like an asshole. I even said 10 years when it was Armor For Sleep's set. I'm an ass." and gave me this sad smirk. Mike agreed with him, he was like, yeah you are" or something to that effect. Chester goes, "Yeah, when I do something like that I always say that I'm Mike." Mike goes, "Yeah until he gets a bloody nose." Chester smiles over to him and is like, "Yeah that always stops me. One too many of those and you stop." Mike goes, "yeah, No nobody likes me." and I go, "Aw, I like you."
(lol, yes I did)
Then Mike smiles at me and asks if we saw Will Farrell accept Tiger Woods' award. I was like "nah, I missed it." He was like, "Youtube that shit. It was funny." then he explains what Will Farrel did and is all giggly over it, lol. Come to think of it he was pretty much all giggly the entire time, lol.
While Michael and Chester talk about some MTV VJ guy from like a hundred years ago. That I had no clue as to who they were talking about, but whatever I was too busy watching Mike smile as he talks about the VJ dude being at the MLB donating ceremony thing and the guy was bothering him there too.
Then Mike asked if we had any questions and I actually found the words to ask Mike and Chaz which one of them wrote my favorite lyrics on M2M, I was like, "Yeah, actually I do. I was curious of who wrote a certain lyric on Leave Out All The Rest." and then the both of them like lean in and stare at me, with this like serious, I'm listening to you and you have my full attention stare and I have the realization that holy shit I'm asking Mike and Chester a question and my mind goes blank when I have to recite the lyrics to them and I was like 'Shit, fuck, shit fuck...think Stephanie, think' and before I know it I am spilling them out, "I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through.
Chester points over to Mike who is beaming like a dork. he said, "That was my baby." Then he went it to the whole back story of where he wrote the song. He said he was sitting on a metal crate and that he was swashing bugs that were crawling on his writing pad the entire time and he proceeds to pretend to smash bugs on the table with his thumb,
lol.
Shinoda is lush.
Chester laughs and joins in on Mike swashing these pretend bugs that are 'crawling' on the table…(lol, They're weirdly hyper funny dudes :P) Chester was like, "Yeah like swashing them way more then you really had to, just getting out some frustration…"
Mike was like, "Yeah, exactly."
Chester looks at me and said "That song hated me, man. I couldn't do shit with it." and shrugs.
Mike goes, "Now you have the whole back-story of how I wrote that."
I thank them for answering me and Mike asked if we wanted a picture so the 300 plus dude in the corner came over and took our picture for us.
Mike stands next to me! lol, Maybe cause of the lyric question I don't know but he picked me and Chester stands next to Michael and the guard fumbles with the camera, Mike teases him, "Come on dude, I know you can do it."
Michael tells them that the flash should be off and Chester's like, "Don't worry about it, it don't matter, man. Just like when there is 80 different cameras going off at one time it can really mindfuck with your eyes."
We finally get our picture and Michael tells Chester that I caught his guitar pik in Va Beach a couple days before, and I said yeah and Rob's drum stick too. Chester was like, "That's awesome, no one ever catches those things. It's cool you got both."
Mike told me I should play baseball, I was like, "Naw, man soccer, I was a goalie for nine years!" he was like, "oh so that's why you can catch..." lol.
I told him that I got the bravery pik too and he teased, "now you're just being a show off" and Chester said, "You're a spider."
Which confused the shit out of me and I looked at Mike for help understanding his slightly insane bandmate.
Mike read my face I guess cause he was like, "What, dude?"
lol and so Chester elaborates that "Yeah, she would have this web that would like come out of her hands and it would like catch all the guitar piks and then she would like suck them back in and stuff." and he is all dramatically acting out how it would work like shooting a web out of his hand all Spiderman style and Mike laughs and goes, "Yeah, okay dude. I don't know how you got there, but okay."
LMFAO.
Then Chester turns to Michael and deadpans, "be careful, dude. She'll suck the life out of you" then he looks back and smiles at me.
lol. I love that guy.
We got handshakes and said our thankyous and goodbyes. Mike like squeezed my hand to death while Chester was all soft and gentle. We told them that we had pit tickets and we were going to go push our way to the front and Chester was like, "alright guys, see you out there, nice meeting you."
Pain and simple, LP is my favorite band. Sitting down with Mike and Chester at a table for 20 minutes, alone, with no one else in the room except for one 300lb security guard and having a meaningful conversation with them was beyond amazing. They were everything that I thought they would be, no ego bullshit. Just laid back, funny, chill guys.
Chester found me out in the crowd after the M&G cause it was like 15 minutes before they took stage, (the green hair most likely helped with him spotting me). We pushed our way back in front of the pit on the barrier (not easily, btw.) I was further down on the left then I would of liked to of been because I know from other shows that he likes to hang out of the other side of the stage but whatever, I couldn't be that choosey getting back into the crowd that late. He pointed at me several times during the show and would bend down right in front of me and scream his little heart out...While I would scream, "I fucking love you!" lol, Fucking unreal! Mike came over once and smiled at me while playing guitar too.
I didn't think I could love LP anymore than I did. But I do.
Top 3 concerts that I have been to:
1. LP
2. LP
3. LP
Her pic from the Meet and Greet:
Steph also told us that after the Meet and Greet, she got the courage to get her tattoo done: a pretty tattoo with a Leave Out All The Rest lyric's line "I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through" and a bug - which was from Mike Shinoda's story. Like she said "my favorite lp lyric to date. the smashed bug is curiosity of Mike Shinoda". Totally dedicated!
ProjektCharlotte on the LPU also posted another pic from the same show's LPU Meet and Greet
It surprised me to realize that Charlotte, 30th July 08 show is the only show with both LPU Meet and Greet and Music For Relief Meet and Greet with Mike and Chester PLUS the Charlotte "kiss". This is definitely the best Bennoda show of the year!
Also, thanks Jaclyn for finding out Steph's story! :D
