Linkin Park's Bennington Urges Fans to Reduce Carbon Footprint

Rock band Linkin Park, whose new album "Living Things" recently debuted at number one on Billboard 200, and Incubus, gave a conference call yesterday to discuss their upcoming 2012 Honda Civic Tour. The tour, which will continue its tradition of being environmentally friendly, will play at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on August 17.

Two time Grammy winner Linkin Park has been at the forefront of the green movement. In 2005, they founded Music for Relief to provide aid for the victims of natural disaster and work to prevent future disasters. They launched the Power The World campaign to help bring energy solutions, such as solar suitcases capable of powering remote hospitals, to the 20% of the world that currently do not have access to energy.

Linkin Park's lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, voiced disappointment with the environmental stances of both presidential candidates.

"Neither future presidential candidate is thinking about the environment," he said.

Like many of his generation, he is cynical about the political process.  The group's current album "Living Things" is devoid of politics while concentrating on human relationships.

"The green movement needs to be humanitarian not political," he said. "It needs to come from the people."

Bennington is concerned that our current cavalier attitude towards the environment is having a dramatic effect on natural disasters and plants and trees. He is asking his fans to reduce their carbon footprint. The Honda Civic tour will provide recycling receptacles for fans and band members and encourages carpooling to concerts. The band's tour buses will be fueled with bio-diesel.


Unlike George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey, Bennington does not want to use his star power to influence his fans in the voting booth.

"Americans keep private who they vote for," he said. "I want my fans to vote for who they want to vote for. I do not want someone to vote for a candidate because they are thinking of me."

But he did give a hint.

"I may not reveal my voting. But I discuss the issues that I care about so you can guess from that," the singer said.

I am inferring that he is not going to vote for the party that wants to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency.

Although both bands are touring together and have similar musical styles, Brandon Boyd of Incubus admitted that he had not seen Linkin Park live in 10 years. Now that they will be sharing the same stage, the bands are congealing. Fans may be treated to a joint performance at some of the concerts. During their down time, the two bands hope to compete against each other on the soccer field.

Envying the timelessness of the Rolling Stone, Boyd and Bennington both hope that they will be performing their earlier songs in twenty years. Bennington joked that he hoped a throat plasty would soon be developed that would rejuvenate his throat like a vaginoplasty refreshes a woman's vagina. He seemed to think that the throat and vagina were similar.Although I have both and can not imagine the similarities, I did not have the temerity to ask how.

Apparently touring post 9/11 is not so easy for rock stars. Bennington and Brandon Boyd of Incubus warned each other that the TSA frowns on bringing knives on airplanes. In the past, members of both bands have had previous knife incidents. The TSA thinks that my 70 year old mother and rock stars are potential terrorists.