“When we get too comfortable, that’s when we
get lame. When people are too comfortable in
their lives, relationships, jobs, whatever, you take
things for granted and become neglectful. It’s
like a broken bone…”
in his buddy’s garage. “The neighbors would come outside
and watch us,” he fondly recalls. At the age of fifteen, he was
asked to be in a cover band and once he was on stage for
the first time, he was hooked. By the time he was sixteen, he
made his first record. At eighteen, he released his second
record. Now, at 39, he has released his seventh album, and
has no intention of stopping.
Instead of letting trials and tribulations cripple him, he uses
it as fuel to keep him going - to be better than what anyone
has dared label him as. You can hear it in his lyrics and
voice. There is a sense of rawness that we can all relate
to, but are often too scared to come to terms with. That
is real pain and emotion you’re hearing and feeling when
listening to his music. That darkness is what keeps Chester
going and it translates in his music. The competitiveness in
him fuels him to crush and destroy, to set records, and his
athletic side energizes him to perform with larger than life
intensity. His stage presence is like a defibrillator to the core
of his audience, and his energy packs quite the punch. And
he delivers it with a realness that is unmistakable. Watching
a crowd of thousands simultaneously belting out lyrics to
a Linkin Park anthem is unforgettable. And that’s the thing
about their music. It leaves its mark on you. Ultimately, his
music is a product of something meaningful to himself and
the audience, giving us an escape that we all need. Chester
refers to it as a battle within himself, but it is more so a juxtaposition that allows him to be the artistic genius he is today.
“There’s a part of me that as a little kid, was abused, scared,
and afraid of confrontation. Being scared all the time and the
smallest guy around, I got to see the way people who aren’t
‘normal’ are treated…the people who are ‘weaker.’ After
you’ve endured some stuff when you’re young, you understand that it’s just pain, it’s just a bad feeling and eventually,
it will go away. Part of me is a really competitive guy. I think
to myself, you’ll beat this asshole. It’ll hurt after the race is
over. It’s then, that I can focus on something else that makes
me feel better. And then there’s another part of me that just
wants to run away and escape. Those two things are constantly at play inside of me. Being in a band and particularly,
Linkin Park, it’s the perfect place for me because I get to
let go of all that stuff - all the crap and fear I carry inside of
me - and it allows me to confront it and turn it into the most
confident thing I can do in front of a bunch of people and lay
it all out there.”
Sustaining several injuries has never stopped Chester from
rising to the top. “When I tore the disk in my back, we had
to cancel our first trip to China. I was in my early thirties,
and I already felt like I was falling apart. That really kicked
me into a different frame of mind; that was the beginning of
my transformation,” he says. The injury motivated him to get
sober and clean up mind, body, and life. His injuries made
him stronger as a person and performer. “You find yourself
in these struggles, and realize you can come out better than
before. That’s my goal in life - to help people and be an example for young people and to inspire them,” he continues.
He relates his injuries to his philosophy on life.
“When we get too comfortable, that’s when we get lame.
When people are too comfortable in their lives, relationships,
jobs, whatever, you take things for granted and become neglectful. It’s like a broken bone…you can’t just set it up and
hope it heals itself. The only way it’s going to heal is if you
start putting pressure on it. People are like that. We need
constant pressure on us to keep us grateful and focused on
the things that matter.”
Bennington has also participated in several other musical
InkSpiredMagazine.com
9