ROCKERS WITH A CAUSE LINKIN PARK SPREADS ITS GREEN, BIOFUELED REVOLUTION.

Byline: FRED SHUSTER

>MUSIC WRITER

Linkin Park has broken every rule in the book by mixing aggro-metal bombast with socially aware lyrics, looking like vid-game nerds who improbably appeal to girls, and selling more CDs than the badly hurting record industry has seen in years.

At the same time, the band's six members, half of whom hooked up as teens in Agoura Hills, meet weekly for a give-and-take on how to put their success to good use.

One decision was to ensure the fourth and latest edition of the band's annual Projekt Revolution be more eco-friendly than usual. The rock and hip-hop trek, which on Saturday brings Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo, Julien-K and other acts to the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen Pavilion, is the highest-profile "green" tour yet.

As Mike Shinoda, the rapper/musician who writes most of the lyrics for the blockbuster band, explains, Linkin Park's tour vehicles have been converted to eco-friendly biofuel, resulting in a pollution reduction equivalent of 400,000 miles' worth of driving.

"It's not about trying to save the world," Woodland Hills-raised Shinoda said. "Our goal is to do everything we can to clean up our world and make it a better place. We want to do something to help focus people on climate change and global warming, and we as a band want to help reduce and fight damage to the environment."

Despite informational booths on site and the band's proactive approach, the 27-date Projekt Revolution is still all about music. The idea for the two-stage, daylong event was hatched to bring together top rock and hip-hop acts in order to bridge the gap between the two styles (as Linkin Park does with its own music). In its first three years, the tour brought together almost 20 different performers, including Adema, Cypress Hill, Korn, Snoop Dogg and Mudvayne.

"There's less rap this year, but the lineup is still extremely diverse and strong," Shinoda said. "Nobody's going to be disappointed. It rocks."

Linkin Park -- which also includes singer Chester Bennington, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, drummer Rob Bourdon and turntablist Joseph Hahn -- knows something about rocking a crowd. Known for raging live shows and songs that touch on feelings of frustration and fury with a mix of rock, hip-hop and metal, Linkin Park has retained a raw spirit despite marketplace success.

"They're a phenomenon," says Steve Kingston, XM Satellite Radio's senior program director of rock. "Their appeal is universal, whatever area of the rock audience you come from. And they've not only never sold out, but they've maintained their cred, which is very important to fans."

That cred translates to sales at a time when even veteran superstars have lowered their expectations and album sales have dropped another 15 percent over the same period last year. Upon its release last May, Linkin Park's third proper album, "Minutes to Midnight" (Machine Shop/Warner Bros.), sold 622,000 copies and sailed directly to No. 1, with the highest first-week sales tally of any album released so far this year.

One of the disc's most powerful and talked-about songs, "Hands Held High," has never been played live -- until this summer's Projekt Revolution tour. Shinoda's lyrics deal with bombed mosques, bumbling world leaders, sky-high gas prices and general global angst and confusion.

"It's a fine line between sounding preachy and speaking our minds about something we just can't be quiet about," said Shinoda, who also has the successful side group Fort Minor. "Not many bands these days speak out about anything. We feel like we're in a position where we have to do it."

Shinoda, who, like his fellow band members, is married and in his early 30s, says Linkin Park's eco-friendly stance was bolstered during the band's July 7 appearance at Japan's Live Earth climate-change concert. During the show, about 12,000 people at a venue near Tokyo saw an hourlong set by the band that was halted due to a dangerous crush of fans in front of the stage. Shinoda noticed a significant difference in the behavior of Western audiences and those in the Far East.

"A couple of songs into the set, the fans were getting so rowdy that they needed to fix the barricades," the rapper and lyricist said. "So after it was announced, the Japanese crowd took two steps back, and the whole thing was done in 10 minutes. In L.A., when you ask a crowd to do something, they basically just take another sip of their drink and stare at you."

Fred Shuster, [phone],

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LINKIN PARK

>Where: Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen Pavilion, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, Devore.

>When: 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

>How Much: $24.50 to $70. ticketmaster.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) THE 'GREEN' REVOLUTION

LINKIN PARK ROCKS THE WORLD WITH ECO-FRIENDLY TOUR

(2 -- color) - Mike Shinoda, second from left, pictured with Brad Delson, left, Joe Hahn, Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon and Dave "Phoenix" Farrell of Linkin Park

JAMES MINCHIN PHOTO