Deftones

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Deftones
Deftones
Deftones
Left to right: Stephen Carpenter, Frank Delgado, Chino Moreno, Chi Cheng, Abe Cunningham
Background information
OriginSacramento, California, USA
Years active1988–present
MembersChino Moreno
Abe Cunningham
Chi Cheng
Frank Delgado
Stephen Carpenter

Deftones are a Grammy award-winning nu-metal band from Sacramento, California. Deftones are: Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), Chi Cheng (bass) and Frank Delgado (turntables/keyboards).

Deftones have often been praised as one of the more innovative and unique rock bands of recent years. Johnny Loftus writes, "Rock critics usually reserve a special place for Deftones above or at least away from the rest of the turn-of-the-century nu metal movement. While they definitely share the influence of a group like Tool with peers like Korn, Deftones have always seemed more curious, more willing to incorporate traditionally revered sounds like dream pop or D.C. hardcore into their Northern California metal." [1]

Moreno's poetic lyrics—described by a Time magazine critic as "furiously intelligent"—are often evocative, yet sparse enough to allow for multiple interpretations. Moreno has cited Morrissey, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, The Cure's Robert Smith, Bad Brains' H.R., and Depeche Mode's David Gahan among his favorite singers, and, beyond an occasional similarity in vocal technique, these singers' sweeping sense of drama and delicate vulnerability is often evident in Moreno's vocals.

The early years

When Carpenter was 14, he was struck by a drunk driver and was confined to a wheelchair for several months. It was during this time that he began to teach himself to play guitar, as he was unable to partake in his primary hobby of skateboarding. As a result of a large court settlement, Carpenter was able to purchase state-of-the-art equipment. Within three months of the accident, he had outfitted himself with a brand new guitar, an amplifier suitable for large clubs, several effects pedals, and a four-track recorder. As his talents progressed, he began playing with bass player Dominic Garcia, who also played in a local band called Phallucy. The bands first drummer, Abe Ramos recorded most of the drums for the Adrenaline, but later left the band so his cousin, Abe Cunningham could join. Abe Ramos later formed the band Eskimo Pie and is currently still with them. Moreno was able to land an audition after a relative happened upon Carpenter's garage and was impressed with what he heard as he walked by. Moreno, who had never performed in front of anyone outside his family before, convinced Carpenter by flawlessly mimicking Glenn Danzig's vocal style. When their original drummer, John Taylor, quit to join the band Prayer Wheel, Cunningham (who was in Phallucy with Garcia) filled in until a permanent replacement could be found. However, Cunningham had prior commitments to other projects and Garcia often found himself sitting in for him. The now-open slot on bass was given to Cheng, having formed an acquaintance with Carpenter through skateboarding. After much persuasion, they were finally able to convince Cunningham to leave Phallucy to become their full-time drummer; Garcia left to pursue other interests. The name "Deftones" originated by simply combining the hip hop slang term "def" with the suffix "-tones," which was a popular suffix among surf rock bands and soul artists in the '50s and '60s. The name is also a notable play on the term "tone deaf." The name also means "deft" - meaning skilled or good, and "ones" - meaning the people in the deftones. The DEFT ONES.

Deftones soon began playing shows in local clubs, cutting their teeth as the opening band for more established acts. At the time, their sound wasn't always welcome with the metalheads in attendance, who often had a preference for the hair metal sounds of Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi. Undeterred, they were embraced in the early '90s by a Sacramento music scene that was more open to experimentation (and also spawned bands such as Far, Will Haven and Cake). During this time, the Deftones were influenced in part by Cunningham's former band, Phallucy, as well as the Bad Brains. As they ventured beyond their hometown borders, they toured quite often with Bakersfield nu-metal pioneers Korn, with whom they had become quick friends.

The band became notorious for their workhorse attitude and made it a goal to play as often as possible, no matter what the venue. Trading in Carpenter's now-obsolete four-track for more sophisticated recording equipment, they committed several of their songs to tape and sold the demos at their shows. Up until this point, their goal was to raise enough money to record more demos. In July 1994, Deftones were approached by an impressed Guy Oseary, co-chairman of Maverick Records, after playing a show in a Los Angeles club called The Coconut Teaser. The next day, Oseary offered them a deal based on the band's wishes and ambitions. Deftones humbly accepted the terms of the contract, and began planning out the details of their major-label debut not too long after.

Adrenaline

File:Adrenaline.jpeg
Adrenaline album cover (1995)

Pre-production on the Deftones' first proper album began in the fall of 1994. The producer chosen to helm the sessions was Terry Date, who at the time was most known for producing albums for Pantera, White Zombie, and Soundgarden. Date brought several ideas to the table for improving the structure of the music. The band took to his style, and had him produce their next three albums.

Adrenaline was released on October 3, 1995. The album sold well, and earned mostly positive reviews. "Bored" and "7 Words" were minor hits. Delgado was not yet an official member, but he contributed on several songs.

One review of Adrenaline noted Cunningham's "surprisingly sophisticated drumming" and wrote that "Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Deftones are very controlled even in the midst of chaos." [2]

Around the Fur

Around the Fur album cover (1997)

Around the Fur was produced by Terry Date and recorded at Seattle's Studio X. Released on October 26, 1997, the album included a collaboration with singer Max Cavalera (founder and frontman of Sepultura) on "Headup," a tribute to Max's late step-son Dana Wells. The song inspired Cavalera to create Soulfly, a band dedicated to Wells. Also appearing on the album was Cunningham's wife, Annalynn, who provided the female vocals on "Mx." "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" were hits in the nu-metal circle, with both songs' music videos receiving play. "My Own Summer (Shove It)" was even featured on the soundtrack to the first Matrix movie.

An acoustic remix of "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" was performed with a friend of the band, DJ Crook, and lead singer Jonah Matranga of Far for the Little Nicky soundtrack. [3] This mellow version with a new trip-hop-esque beat by Delgado inspired vocalist Chino Moreno to explore softer music, which eventually lead to his side project Team Sleep.

In 1999, it was certified Gold in recognition of 500,000 sales in the US. As of September 2004 it had sold 872,006 copies. [4]

"It's one of my favorite records of all time," Moreno commented. "The time and place we were in when we made it was fluent as hell. It took two months to write it and two months to record it. You're just in this one frame of mind. No matter what you were feeling that record just captures it."

White Pony

File:Whitepony.jpg
Original White Pony album cover (2000)

On June 20, 2000, the band released their third album, White Pony. It was produced by Terry Date in the Deftones' own recording studio in Sausalito, California. It debuted at No. 3 in the US Billboard chart with sales of 177,000 copies. It is generally considered by fans to be Deftones' most mature recording. Hits included "Change (In the House of Flies)" and "Digital Bath."

Of White Pony, one reviewer wrote, "Moreno is exquisitely mind-blowing, but his fear is also evident" and that "Deftones went soft, but in an impressive way, to twist around its signature nu-metal sound." [5]

Delgado was now a full-time band member, and he added greatly to the atmospheric album. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, noting Moreno's increasing sophistication as a lyricist and the group's experimentalism: the fragile "Teenager," for example, incorporates elements of glitch and trip hop, with programming duties carried out by Moreno's friend and Team Sleep bandmate DJ Crook ("Teenager" was originally a Team Sleep song). A collaboration with singer Maynard James Keenan of Tool is present on "Passenger," and the refrain in "Knife Prty" features vocals by Rodleen Giecek.

A limited edition print of 50,000 black and red jewel case versions of White Pony were released with a bonus 12th track entitled "The Boy's Republic." A marketing dispute with their record company over the number of potential singles on the album caused the band to re-record "Back To School (Mini Maggit)," a rap-influenced interpretation of the album's closer, "Pink Maggit," which had originally been scrapped from the record. The song was placed as the new opening track, and, under altered cover art, re-released on October 3, 2000. The band notably expressed their resentment towards Maverick's lack of faith in their art and immediately regretted recording "Back To School." Moreno has stated that he hates that song, and said that he reluctantly agreed to record it to show his label and other bands how mindlessly easy it was to write a hit.

White Pony eventually achieved multi-platinum status as well as a Grammy award for Best Metal Performance for the song "Elite."

In interviews, Moreno has stated that some of the lyrics are intentionally misprinted to cover up vulgarity. For example, at the beginning of "Feiticeira", the liner notes read "Stop I'm drunk" when Chino quite audibly sings "Fuck I'm drunk." In the song "Street Carp," the lyric booklet states a line of lyric as "Now take it home and have fun with it", when what he actually sings is "Now take it home and fuck with it." Similarly, on "Change (In the House of Flies)," the booklet reads "Give you the lung, blow me away," when he actually sings "Give you the gun, blow me away". This was in an effort to avoid parental advisory labels and thereby broaden the album's audience.

Deftones

File:Deftones.jpeg
Deftones album cover (2003)

Deftones was released on May 20, 2003. It sold 167,000 copies in the first week and remained in the Billboard top 100 for nine weeks, supported by the first single, "Minerva." Later, the band shot a video for their second single, "Hexagram," with fans watching the band play the song in an indoor skatepark in Simi Valley, California. The band made a video for the track "Bloody Cape", but it was never released for play on television. The video was only made available on the band's official website for one day.

Much of the material on the album was written by guitarist Carpenter, which accounts for the album's more traditionally nu-metal feel. Delgado plays synthesizer, keyboards or sampler rather than his previous turntables.

In reviewing Deftones Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that "Hexagram," the album's opener, "hits hard — harder than they ever have, revealing how mushy Staind is, or how toothless Linkin Park is."

Erlewine is slightly bothered, however, noting that "Deftones feel compelled to strengthen their metal roots" by forsaking "the very things that make them better and more interesting than the rest — namely, their love of art rock, whether it's via The Cure or My Bloody Valentine." He closes by writing, "When they do play by the rules, they're good, but they're great when they don't follow a map."

Another review, by Rolling Stone's Greg Kot states, "Singer Chino Moreno sounds like he's conversing with a choir of voices inside his troubled skull. He's the most Dada of the metal screamers: sobbing, stoned and strangely sensual, when he isn't shredding his tonsils. The band brings the requisite brutality, but this album delivers chills when it creeps past the margins of modern post-Korn heavy music: the spooky spaghetti-western drones that hover like vultures over 'Deathblow,' the space-is-the-place liftoff of 'Minerva' and the ambient doomscape 'Lucky You,' which might be worth an approving smirk from the Aphex Twin."[6]

B-Sides & Rarities

B-Sides & Rarities album cover (2005)

An odds-and-ends album entitled B-Sides & Rarities was released on October 4, 2005.

The CD includes various 'B-Side' songs and covers, while the DVD contains behind-the-scenes footage and every music video the band has made.

Saturday Night Wrist

File:Deftones sat night wrist.jpg
Saturday Night Wrist album cover (2006)

The band's latest album, titled Saturday Night Wrist, was released on October 31, 2006.

Rather than work with longtime producer Terry Date, Deftones decided to record with Bob Ezrin. Cunningham says that while the group enjoyed working with Date, "At this point, we just needed to change things up ... And this is definitely a different style. Working with him (Ezrin) is just putting us fucking upside down. He's cracking the whip."[7] The band has since chosen not to go with Ezrin's production of their work. As of April 7, 2006 the band is finishing recording the album with former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez as producer. Confirmed collaborations on the record include Annie Hardy from Giant Drag on the song 'Pink Cell Phone' and Serj Tankian from System of a Down on the track 'Mein.'

The album's first single is called "Hole in the Earth" and as of August 19, 2006 it can be heard on the Deftones' Myspace page, or the official site. The single is scheduled to hit the radio on October 16th, 2006. On certain dates of the 2006 Family Values Tour, fans will be able to pre-order the album.

On September 28th, 2006, the song "Rapture" could be heard on the band's MySpace page. The song disappeared the next day until October 4, 2006, when it was available for listening at their MySpace page once again. Around the same date, supposedly 'advance' copies of Saturday Night Wrist started leaking on the internet. However, this turned out to be a hoax. On Friday, October 13, the album was leaked to the internet. On October 16, the band posted a different version of "Beware" than had previously leaked on their MySpace page (with the outro of "Rapture" heard over the beginning of the song), suggesting the copy of the album that leaked on October 13th could possibly have been an unmastered version.

The Deftones published that they would stream the entirety of Satuday Night Wrist on their myspace on October 24th, 2006. This was marred by a late start and the wrong album being uploaded. Despite having the track names of the SNW, the songs were those from the B-Sides and Rarities album.

The album features a song titled "U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,SELECT,START", a possible reference to the Konami code, which is normally represented as (U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,B,A,Start). This code is featured in many games published by Konami, as well as several other video game publishers.

Notable tour dates

Deftones live in Glasgow June 2006.
  • 11.12.1997 Las Vegas, NV @ Huntridge Theater: Jonah (Far) sings on "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)"; Will Haven joins in during "Headup." John Gutenberger of Far plays bass on "Engine No. 9" while Chi and Chino sing. Chi stage dives during "Engine No. 9." Fans jump on stage during encore.
  • 11.25.1997 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza: Jonah (Far) joins in on "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away).
  • 12.31.1997 Oakland, CA @ Kaiser Arena: Annalynn Cunningham does her part on "MX."
  • 11.06.1998 Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre: Max Cavalera of Soulfly sings on "Headup."
  • 12.18.1998 Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium: Sergio from Quicksand replaces Chi on bass on "To Have and to Hold." Roadies and Chi's brother Ming sings on "Headup."
  • 08.04.2000 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium: performed "Passenger" with Maynard (Tool).
  • 07.21.2001 Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion: Max Cavalera (Soulfly) sings on "Headup," Rodleen sings on "Knife Prty."
  • 04.03.2006 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom: Deftones perform Around the Fur and Adrenaline (without "Fist") in order.
  • 06.07.2006 London, UK @ King's Cross Scala: Band performs for an hour before an extended jam which led into a performance of Adrenaline in its entirety.

Other projects

Deftones members have worked on several side projects, including Moreno's Team Sleep and Cunningam's Phallucy. Guitarist Carpenter works with a group called Kush, featuring members of Fear Factory and Cypress Hill. The Deftones' Frank Delgado has a DJ crew with DJ Crook of Team Sleep, DJ Julez and Matt D Called Decibel Devils. In 2000, Bassist Chi Cheng released a CD comprised of his own spoken word poetry. They have also appeared in several concerts in the 2006 Taste of Chaos tour.

Family Values

Deftones will be touring in the Summer of 2006 with their friends Korn (and others) on the revamped Family Values Tour. Updated tour dates can be found at this page.

Discography

Albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales Official UK Albums Chart
File:Adrenaline.jpeg
 October 1, 1995 Adrenaline Maverick Records/Warner Bros. Gold
October 28, 1997 Around the Fur Maverick Records/Warner Bros. #29 Gold
File:Whitepony.jpg
 June 20, 2000 White Pony Maverick Records #3 Platinum #13
File:Deftones.jpeg
 May 20, 2003 Deftones Maverick Records #2 Gold #7
October 4, 2005 B-Sides & Rarities Rhino Entertainment / Maverick Records #43
File:Deftones sat night wrist.jpg
 October 31, 2006 Saturday Night Wrist Maverick Records

Single Chart Positions

Year Song US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK Singles Album
1995 "7 Words" - - - Adrenaline
1996 "Bored" - - - Adrenaline
1997 "My Own Summer (Shove It)" - - 29 Around the Fur
1998 "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" - 29 50 Around the Fur
2000 "Change (In the House of Flies)" 3 9 53 White Pony
2000 "Back To School (Mini Maggit)" 27 35 35 White Pony
2001 "Digital Bath" 16 38 - White Pony
2003 "Minerva" 9 16 15 Deftones
2003 "Hexagram" - - 68 Deftones
2006 "Hole In The Earth" 20 21 69 Saturday Night Wrist

B-Sides

Deftones have a number of non-album tracks that appear on other albums, such as:

Deftones' first album, entitled (Like) Linus was a demo tape including early versions of "7 Words", "Root", "Engine No. 9" and "Teething" along with 9 other tracks. This was never an official release from Deftones.

Chino's Collaborations

  • "Savory": A Jawbox cover recorded in collaboration with Far.
  • "Wicked": Chino is featured on an Ice Cube cover performed by KoЯn, the song appears on KoЯn's album Life Is Peachy.
  • "First Commandment": Chino collaborates with Soulfly, the song appears on Soulfly's self-titled album.
  • "Will To Die": Chino collaborates with Strife, the song appears on Strife's album "Truth Through Defiance".
  • "Bender": Chino collaborates with Sevendust, the song appears on Sevendust's album "Home".
  • "(Rock) Superstar": Chino collaborates with Cypress Hill, the song appears on Cypress Hill's album "Skull And Bones". The track also features Everlast.
  • "Danger Girl": Chino collaborates with Tinfed, the song appears on Tinfed's album 'Designated Rivals".
  • "Pain": Chino once again collaborates with Soulfly, the track appears on Soulfly's album "Primitive". The track also features Grady Avenell of Will Haven.
  • "Things!": Chino collaborates with Hesher, the track appears on Hesher's debut self-titled album.
  • "Ashamed": Chino collaborates with Tommy Lee on his album Never a Dull Moment.
  • "The Hours": Chino collaborates with Handsome Boy Modeling School on their album White People, along for the ride are the following artists: rappers El-P and Cage Kennylz, as well as Connecticut metalcore band Hatebreed's F. Sean Martin.
  • Chino collaborated with the band Dead Poetic on the track "Paralytic" from their album Vices.
  • "Black Light Special": An unreleased Crazy Town demo features Chino on guest vocals, as well as Aimee Echo of theSTART/Human Waste Project and Jay Gordon of Orgy.
  • Chino has also worked with Mike Patton on a currently unreleased Team Sleep song, called "Kool Aid Party"
  • Chino has also collaborated with the Washington state Post-Hardcore Electronica band Idiot Pilot. Idiot Pilot remixed the Team Sleep then Deftones song "Teenager" in which Chino was so impressed with he put it on their B-Sides & Rarites album. He also took them on tour with Team Sleep in 2005.

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Interviews

External links

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