It’s not just fans who’ve been waiting a long time for Linkin Park to tour South Africa. The band itself has been trying to get to the tip of Africa for years.

Nadia Neophytou spoke to the Grammy-award winning group’s bassist, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell in New York, ahead of their South African shows.

Your South African fans have been waiting for a long time for you to tour the country – has it always been on your radar to go there?

Absolutely! A couple of us are really good friends with a guy there who’s connected to promoters and he’s been wanting to get us to go for a long time. He hasn’t just been saying it; he’s actually been trying to make it happen. It’s been going on for 10 years, so at this point we’re really excited to go. It’s always exciting to go somewhere you haven’t been before, or to play somewhere new. South Africa seems like such an awesome place.

What have you heard about the country?

There are a lot of different things. Music wise, we are fortunate enough to have toured with Die Antwoord, they came out with us and we got to hang out with them. We know there’s a lot of good stuff going on musically in SA. In addition to that, we know we’ll get to go on safari. I’m also a big golfer and I know the country has a rich golf heritage so the opportunity to play there is going to be great!

So you’re big fans of Die Antwoord? What do you like about them?

Yeah, I love them. If nothing else, they’re very unique and creative, and they’re kinda doing their own thing in an artistic way, and pushing other people’s buttons. And that to me is fun.

Even in another language?

Even in another language exactly! (laughs)

Will you tailor your show for South Africa?

There definitely will be some different things. Going into a larger venue means we have to gear things up differently. Production is working with the idea of playing stadiums. It presents some unique opportunities when the look and feel of the show is that big that we aren’t able to do here in the US or a lot of different places.

Do you find audiences overseas to be very different? Being here in the States, I’ve realised that the fans here are very lucky because they’ll have the opportunity to see Linkin Park play a number of times, whereas for many in South Africa for example, this may be the only chance they get. Do you feel that makes audiences different for you?

I think, for us, everywhere we go is a bit different. There are definitely some similarities from crowd to crowd, but at the same time, places where you play more often, whether that’s in parts of Europe or in the US, definitely have a different feel than places that you’re not able to get to as quite as often. Like in parts of Asia or parts of Eastern Europe where we haven’t played more than once or twice, or even places where they’re not used to getting lots of shows in, there’s a higher anticipation and excitement built around the show. For us, we feed off the energy, so it’s a lot more playful and a lot more fun. I don’t want to say it’s a lot more fun than playing a normal show, but it’s a lot more fun than playing a normal show!

Well, South Africa should be a treat then!

We heard the numbers and stuff about how the shows have sold there, and we weren’t expecting anything like that. The response tells us that it’s going to be something awesome for us and awesome for the audience. It’s also the only time where we get time off, maybe five or six days in Cape Town to see the sights. Under normal touring circumstances, you’re only in and out of a city, but in this case, we’re actually going to get a chance to look around and have fun down there.

Catch Linkin Park live in SA on the 7^th of November at the Cape Town Stadium, and on the 10^th of November at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our exclusive interview tomorrow! 

Images via Facebook/linkinpark