Chester Bennington’s first band Grey Daze detail new tour and EP | Music | Entertainment

Rising from the Phoenix underground in 1993, Grey Daze become the foundation for one of rock’s most iconic voices: the late Chester Bennington. Co-founded with drummer Sean Dowdell, Bennington’s roots were planted in the raw, grungy energy of Grey Daze. But after Bennington’s rise to global fame with Linkin Park, the band’s catalogue remained dormant for years.

In 2016, plans began for a reunion featuring the original members alongside new guitarist Cristin Davis. Those plans were tragically cut short by Chester’s death. The band honoured his vocal legacy by reimagining their early archives into the acclaimed albums Amends (2020) and The Phoenix (2022). These re-recordings not only topped the rock charts but also transformed the band’s grief into a movement for mental health awareness.

Now, Grey Daze has entered a bold new chapter with the addition of frontman Cris Hodges. Their latest EP, More Than I Can Offer, signals this next step, blending their grungy roots with a fresh new direction. Following their impactful 2024 #ForYouChester tour, the band returns to the UK tomorrow (March 20) for a headline run starting in Nottingham.

We spoke to frontman Cris Hodges and guitarist Kenny Bulka and discussed the evolution of their sound, keeping Chester’s spirit alive through music, and the relationship they’re building with their fans.

How are you guys doing? How have things been?

Cris: Busy. We’ve been preparing for this for about a year? So, I would say we’re pretty prepared. Not under-prepared, not over-prepared, we’re right on pace.

How do you feel now about the EP being out?

C: We wanted to make sure that we had the EP released before we went out [on tour], and just have people get used to it. The project has a history, and so when you’re a part of a project that has history, you gotta be careful and meticulous with every decision that you make. We just wanted to make sure that we were doing it right, and so far, the reception has been absolutely amazing.

We’re gonna do this tour in Europe and the UK, and then come back and probably release the full-length album this year.

I was going to ask about that a little bit later, but since we’re on it, have you already started working on it? Is it ready?

K: I mean, it’s close. We have some buttoning up to do on a couple of them, and then we might add a couple more.

C: Once you start seeing the body of work, once it becomes this breathing, living thing, you’re like, oh, we could change this, and change that, and add this, and subtract that; it becomes this death spiral at times where you can really overdo it. I don’t know when the completion point is gonna be, but I would say we’re close.

Do you know how many songs, roughly, you want to be on the album?

C: Ten, 12…, we have some special things that we wanted to do that have recently popped up as ideas that we want to incorporate, which would take us into the 11-12 song range.

C: It’s not to the point where it’s done, so we’ll just hold onto that. Once we get back from this tour, and we get back in the studio, I think we’re gonna have some surprises up our sleeve that people will like.

That’s nice, usually when artists come back from tour they worry about what comes next, but you already know what that next big step is going to be.

C: We got halfway through the year and realised that people were really taking to what we were doing. It was getting traction, and all of a sudden, it’s not a legacy project anymore – it’s a forward-thinking project. So that’s where we came up with the full-length idea. Coming into this tour, I think we probably have another year’s worth of material, and shows, and content and stories to share with the fans.

That’s great. Will the reactions you got to the different songs on the EP impact what you put on the album?

K: Everybody’s different, so one person loves this song more than the other song, but it’s all down to the lyrics, and I think what Cris writes is excellent. He writes meaningful stuff, and I think that’s what grabs the fan. But they’re all great in their own way, so it’s really hard to say.

C: Yeah, they’re all our own little babies, but I will say there are songs that are angry, there are songs that are just passionate, and then there are songs that dig really, really deep into human emotion, like ‘Monster You Adore’. I don’t know if you see this, Kenny, but what I’m seeing is a real deep connection with the fans to ‘Monster You Adore’. [And] That was a scary one to put out, because that comes from a really deep, dark place, and I think I needed that reaction to know that I have permission to speak about these things. So, I think that we can probably expect more honesty on the album.

For me, part of the legacy of Grey Daze is that emotional depth that Chester had, but also what Sean wrote in his lyrics. I would have thought that it was second nature for the band to go to those places.

C: I think that if I was just doing this on my own, I wouldn’t feel that way, but you have to take into account the history. This band has been around for thirty years, and Chester was a huge part of it. When Chester passed away in 2017, and the band did Amends, and then The Phoenix, it was more about tributing and celebrating life and celebrating Chester. So, with this new phase coming in, you can’t just barge in and do whatever you want.

The whole reason why we are all part of this is to respect the legacy, and honour the legacy, and have fun with the fans. So, you have to take into account different things before you take action. All of the music and the lyrics, all of that was inside me, but I’m like, does it fit the project? Fitting the project became the most important thing first.

It’s been a year since you released the first single together. What was that process like? How did the working relationship with Sean develop before the single?

C: Sean is very protective of Grey Daze, as he should be, because he is the founding member. He wanted everyone to have a voice coming into this, but overall, it’s like let’s make sure we’re respecting the legacy. With Sean, it’s always going through the filter of does it respect the legacy, and is it furthering the legacy of the band?

The legacy is such a core part of Grey Daze given who Chester was, but what does this new legacy look like, with all of you in it?

C: I will answer this honestly. At the beginning, when I first came into the band to do the show in U-Fest, it was supposed to be one single show in 2023. You see what happens in a scenario when a singer is replaced, it’s always a catastrophe, an emotional roller coaster. I got the hate, and I got all the stuff from people we didn’t know, which wasn’t a big deal, [but then] people that the band did know. And honestly, those were the ones that surprised me the most, where people that – I can’t mention any names – decided to change their story. That was surprising and a little bit disheartening.

But, honestly, having the support of the band, and Sean going ‘let’s take some risk, let’s do something’; the allowance to take a risk put us in the situation where we released new music. And that, in turn, connected with the audience. Honestly, I’ve built a really fun relationship with the Grey Daze fans, and we’re gaining new fans – people that didn’t even know of Grey Daze. So, all of that to say, all of the heartache and the roller coasters and the emotions were absolutely worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing.

K: There’s always gonna be haters, it’s just how it’s gonna be, but I think everybody has accepted C, and they love him. You’re always gonna have the ones that are just not into it and that’s what it is, but, all the other ones make up for it, in my opinion. That’s what you focus on, is all the good people out there that are enjoying it and loving it.

It’s obviously going to be harder for Cris being frontman, but what’s the experience been like for you Kenny?

K: Amazing for me. Cristen and I, the other guitar player, have played for years. Same with Evan, so it was really easy to get in there and start playing with these guys. I love writing music, it’s in my soul. And when you put out riffs and Cris is able to just knock out lyrics really quick, that’s always amazing. Everybody has their own little part in the band, and I think we all just kind of fill little voids where they needed to be filled. I think everything just works for us, and you can’t beat that.

That’s such a lovely thing to hear! Going back the lyrics then, Cris, you’ve said some songs on the EP are personal, but universal at the same time. How do you balance being both?

C: I guess it just starts with me and an emotion that I’m feeling, and seeing if that emotion resonates with others. And so far it has. But it has to come from a place of honesty and authenticity. If we jumped into this project and we were trying to sing about struggles that Chester sang about but we hadn’t gone through, people would sniff that out in a heartbeat.

There’s a lot of people on your Youtube videos who say ‘I relate to this so much’, ‘I really needed this’. How does it feel to have that connection with people?

C: Every once in a while you feel like, oh my god, that’s why I was put on this earth. Like, that moment right there. It took decades to get to this point, but once I started reading those comments and people saying: ‘I feel the exact same way’, ‘this song has helped me’, ‘this song got me through this’. Are you kidding? I’ve waited so long to have that feeling.

Speaking about that relationship with your fans, the UK tour is going be quite a special one for fans because the last time you came you had no new music, how are you feeling about that?

C: You know what? I didn’t even realize that. We hadn’t played any of this. The last time we went through the UK was ForYouChester…By the way, I love the UK. You guys are absolutely amazing. London was one of my favourite shows ever that we’ve done. And so if they enjoyed it last time, I can’t even comprehend what they’re gonna feel about honouring the legacy, looking to the future, singing these new songs with us. This is gonna be insane.

Every time I see an interview with you guys it just sounds like you’re so excited about playing live!

K: Oh, it’s the best part of music, in my opinion. You get to see the fans and meet the people, and it’s hard to explain it. When you see people singing songs, you know their heart and soul is into it. When we did the [European] tour, we had dropped two songs and people were singing and you’re just like, what? It’s such a cool feeling to see that people only hear them for a month or two before we go on tour, and they’ve already got the lyrics down it’s amazing.

C: They know the lyrics better than we do!

Have you ever completely forgotten what you were supposed to be singing?

C: Kenny can tell you this, I forget lyrics all the time. […] I wonder if I have a brain problem that I can’t remember. I feel the emotion, but sometimes I’m like, how did I pronounce that, or how did I say that?

K: I’ve never even asked you either, do you get nervous? Do you get nervous when we go out and play? I know the excitement’s there.

C: I remember whenever I first got to Los Angeles, I was starting my singing career, and I got hired to sing for this band that was opening for Steel Panther. And it was a sold-out show at the House of Blues in Anaheim. It was like 2000 people, and I had never played to that many people before, and not that they were there to see us, but I remember right before going up on stage, I’m standing backstage, and I can’t move my feet! I was deathly afraid, literally, it was crippling. It was just paralysing.

I don’t get that kind of fear anymore, or nervousness. My nervousness comes from, excitement of the unknown. Knowing all the passions and the emotions that are coming up before we go on stage has actually become my favorite part of the show. The intro music hits, the lights go down, that’s just the greatest feeling, because you can feel the intensity in the room.

K: Yes, I agree. I’m the same way. I feel the excitement all the time. I’m not nervous I’m not gonna be able to play or anything, I’m just like here we go, let’s get it.

C: There was a moment where I was telling my wife I’ve always had stage fright, this was probably 10 years ago. I was like, I just have stage fright and it won’t go away. And she was like, why? This is your profession. This is your job and I was like, oh right, this is my profession. So I was telling myself; I do this for a living.

Did telling yourself that make a difference?

C: Immediately. I guess it comes down to a feeling of worthiness. If you don’t feel worthy of the stage that you’re walking out on, then of course there’s gonna be fear. But if you feel that you belong there on stage, that totally changes the game.

K: You don’t want to ever second-guess it. But Cris comes out and just nails it. He comes out and he’s a star. He’s a showman. He’s never like, whoa, what? He just goes out and does exactly what he needs to do, which I’m sure just comes from his heart.

C: Glad that’s what it looks like.

K: Absolutely does, I wouldn’t say any different. He goes out there and nails it. He looks like a rock star, and he fits the part 100 percent. Not only the look, you know, he does it all. He talks to the fans, he knows what to do.

I feel like we all need Kenny in our lives!

C: That’s Kenny’s superpower by the way, he loves everyone, he sees the best in everyone, and he’ll put you on that pedestal to make you feel like you can do anything. That’s an important, priceless role to have in a band.

You have VIP meet and greets at your shows, how is it interacting with fans, especially ones who have been there from the start?

C: Something resonated deep with what Chester was saying and who he was as a person. I guess when we talk to Grey Daze fans, it’s more like, I never thought that anyone else felt like this. And just the fact that we’re able to say it, and Chester was able to say it, and then you look on YouTube and see all the comments of people that feel the exact same way, you automatically create a community of like-minded people that struggle with the same things, but are also finding healing.

That’s one of the cool parts about this day and age versus 30 years ago, now you can see people from around the world that are struggling with the exact same things as you are. This becomes bigger than music.

I’ve read that Sean being in Grey Daze now is more about enjoying being able to play music – there’s less pressure. Is that true for you too?

K: I think if we were younger, we’d be like, yeah, it’s about us, but now it’s the fans and the people. It’s hard to really explain until you’re on stage, and you’re seeing these people sing, and tell you all their stories about their life, and the things that they relate to with stuff, and it’s pretty amazing.

C: You know what’s interesting? Kenny, you just made me think of this. I’ve always wondered why I enjoy the UK so much, and performing in the UK and Europe. I think it’s because people are more in touch with themselves. They’re giving themselves permission to actually feel something. I think in the United States, we kind of miss that.

K: Yeah, it’s the truth. When you go do that over there [to the UK], you’re like, wow, I want to come back here all the time. The people are always so nice and friendly, and like Cris said, they let their emotions out. And what’s not to love about that?

Do you have anything special planned for the tour coming up?

C: We do have some surprises on stage, some Easter eggs, some things that we’ll do to honour the past that people will see and recognise immediately, but being able to weave in the newer work with the older work, and how it flows together this is a really special moment. I’m extremely excited to do this for you guys live, I think it’s gonna be really special.

I assume you’ll be playing all of the songs from the new EP?

Cris, you’ve talked before about turning the page, and this tour seems like the perfect opportunity to just go, here we are, this is Grey Daze, this is the old and the new coming together. Does this feel like a step forward?

C: If there was ever any pressure in the past, nervousness about how we are going to be accepted, we’ve already gone through that stage. We’ve gotten through it. We have built a relationship with everybody. I don’t want to say won people over, but more we’ve built relationships with the fans.

Now, they get to experience us respecting the legacy and performing for the legacy, but also who we are now. There’s never been a time with Grey Daze. In the 30 plus year history, there’s never been this moment. I don’t know if there ever will be. Like, this is probably gonna be the most special tour that I personally have ever done.

As part of that do you feel like you’ve discovered what this next sound and chapter of Grey Daze is going to be in the long run?

C: I can see it, and I feel like we have the direction. [But] ever since I started performing with the band I’ve always said this; We will never do anything that the fans don’t want. If the fans aren’t resonating with what we’re doing, that’s when we stop. This is not somithing that was supposed to be around for this long. It’s literally fan-driven.

A lot of artists stick around way longer than they should. We need to stop before we get to that point of being out there for too long. You never know if this is gonna be the last time to see Grey Daze, if this is gonna be the last song that Grey Daze releases. I can plan for it, but all of my plans, and all of K’s plans and all of Grey Daze’s plans could disappear overnight if it’s not the right thing to do. I think that’s what makes it more special.