1. Shinoda has strong opinions about “The Walking Dead”
After a fan asked him what he would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse, he offered some opinions about the hit show. “Why isn’t everyone mad that the people from ‘The Walking Dead’ never just find an island? Is that already a thing?” he said. “The zombie’s can’t even get over a fence, they definitely can’t swim well. So get a f***ing boat and get out on an island already.”
2. He knows people like to say his name to the tune of “My Sharona”
Yes, he knows. Yes, it is funny. And so when a fan asked him if he was aware that people like to do this, he responded with a simple link to this YouTube video.
3. The collaboration with Jay Z for Collision Course wasn’t Linkin Park’s idea at all.
When a fan asked how the partnership came about, Shinoda responded, “Jay Z and MTV came to us asking ‘if we’d jam together.'”
4. He has met a couple people from the “Kardashian clan” and found them to be lovely.
He said he doesn’t watch TV (which is an obvious lie, because see #1), and says he doesn’t know anything about the Kardashians, but met Brody Jenner and Kim once. He said he didn’t have anything to talk about with them, but said that they were nice.
5. His favorite pizza flavor is kind of boring, unless he’s in Colorado.
“Funny, my favorite pizza toppings are ham and pineapple” he said to a fan, “unless I’m in Colorado, in which case my favorite pizza topping is more oxygen.”
6. He loves Pokemon and he has a favorite one.
Shinoda admitted he likes Pokemon in the first question of the AMA, and later on, another fan chimed in to ask him which his favorite one was. “Charizard EX is arguably the most powerful Pokemon,” he decided.
7. He got metaphysical after someone asked him about his favorite sandwich.
“Tuna or beef dip. Unless I’m making it, then I usually do a ham on bagel,” he responded. Then things got philosophical. “I just realized how nonsensical that sandwich decision making is. Like, I should just make tuna or beef dip,” he added. But I don’t. Someone fix me.”
8. He writes songs anywhere and everywhere.
A fan mentioned knowing that Linkin Park doesn’t jam when creating a new album, so he or she went on to ask how Shinoda finds inspiration. Shinoda’s response showed how open-minded he is when thinking about creating new music.
“I’m constantly writing—on my phone, laptop, in my studio. From hundreds of demos, a handful of songs stand out, and we flesh those out. They can start from anything—Lost In The Echo began with an iPhone recording of a children’s cat keyboard toy, which I put in iMaschine (an iPhone sampler app), then took to the studio. I might even sing something today, into my phone in the car, that becomes something.”
9. Shinoda once autographed a small human.
One fan asked Shinoda what the weirdest hing he ever signed was. “The answer is: a real live baby.”