Brad Delson
Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Linkin Park. Early life Delson was born and raised in Agoura Hills, California. He attended Agoura High School with his friend, Mike Shinoda. Delson played the trumpet, and later began playing the guitar when he was about nine years old. He enjoyed listening to Guns N' Roses and Metallica. He played in the rock band Relative Degree in 1995 with drummer Rob Bourdon, but the group disbanded after their first live show in 1996. Delson attended UCLA, where he was roommates with bassist Dave Farrell for three years. He majored in communication studies, and later interned for Jeff Blue, then the vice president of A&R for Zomba Music. Blue shared his insight and experience on the music industry with Delson, while also giving him constructive feedback on musical projects. Delson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication studies from UCLA in 1999. He considered attending law school after graduation but instead pursued a career as a professional musician. Music career Linkin Park Delson, alongside Mike Shinoda and Rob Bourdon, founded Xero, the earliest incarnation of Linkin Park, in 1996. The band later recruited vocalist Mark Wakefield, bassist Dave Farrell, and turntablist Joe Hahn. After Wakefield left Xero, Delson turned to his former boss Jeff Blue from Zomba Music to help find a replacement. Blue introduced the band to Chester Bennington, who successfully auditioned and became the band's full-time vocalist. Blue later became the vice president of A&R for Warner Bros. Records, and helped the band sign a record deal. Delson played guitar on all seven of Linkin Park's albums. He also played bass on Hybrid Theory when Farrell temporarily left Linkin Park to tour with another band. After the release of Hybrid Theory, Delson was closely involved with the production and creative direction of Linkin Park's sound alongside Shinoda. The two co-produced The Hunting Party and One More Light. While working on The Hunting Party, record producer Rick Rubin encouraged Delson to showcase his guitar playing by including more guitar solos compared to the band's previous albums. Delson commented on the new approach, "On the last few records I certainly played guitar in the studio, but I'd been focusing on other instruments… But these songs are all about rediscovering the guitar and having a lot of fun with it." He also oversaw the band's business operations, including their marketing and finance, alongside bandmates Farrell and Bourdon. Delson and Linkin Park have been on an indefinite hiatus since the sudden death of Chester Bennington in 2017. Machine Shop Records Delson and Shinoda founded their own record label, Machine Shop Records, in 2001. Delson explained his rationale behind founding his own record label, commenting, "Too many people in the music industry tried to preserve the status quo instead of embracing innovation." Discography With Linkin Park Hybrid Theory (2000) Meteora (2003) Minutes to Midnight (2007) A