LINKIN PARK Playing Shows In China For Earthquake Relief

The Pulse of Radio reports: LINKIN PARK will play two shows in China, on October 12 in Shanghai and October 19 in Beijing, to raise money for victims of the massive earthquake that shook a western province of the country in May, killing nearly 70,000 and leaving another 18,000 missing. According to FMQB.com, the band is doing the shows under the banner of its Music For Relief organization, which was initially launched to aid victims of the 2005 Asian tsunami and continues to raise money to provide relief for victims of natural disasters around the world.

LINKIN PARK singer Chester Bennington is also doing something on his own to raise money for the more than five million left homeless by the quake. "I'm actually auctioning my car," he said. "I have a car that, it's like one of my favorite things in the world and so it's very special and close to me. It was the first car I bought myself. It was a PT Cruiser, and I put a lot of love into this car. It's totally customized, and everything's really cool about it, at least in my opinion. And I'm auctioning it off, and the money from that will go to relief for that specific disaster."

Further details on the auction are in the planning stages, although Bennington said he would like to see bidding start at $25,000.

LINKIN PARK is currently headlining its Projekt Revolution tour, which stops in Englewood, Colorado on Tuesday (August 12). One dollar from each ticket sold on the trek goes to efforts to fight climate change.

In other LINKIN PARK news, MC Mike Shinoda has teamed up with WeMix.com for a songwriting contest in which the winner will get a chance to record with Shinoda. More info can be found at the web site.