Deftones are a Grammy award-winning experimental alternative rock band from Sacramento, California.
They 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 metal movement... Deftones have always seemed more curious, more willing to incorporate traditionally
revered sounds like dream pop or D.C.
hardcore into their northern California alt-metal."[1]
Chino Moreno's poetic lyrics—described by a
Time magazine critic as "furiously intelligent"[citation needed] —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 is often evident in Moreno's vocals.
Band history
Early years
When Stephen Carpenter was 16, he was struck by a person who was drugged up while skateboarding and 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. It is often rumored that the
money from this accident afforded Carpenter "state of the art" equipment. In an interview with Metal Edge (January 2007), drummer
Abe Cunningham says, "That's a myth about how our band was started. It's true that he was hit by a drunk driver, and he did buy a
bunch of gear, but by the time we all got together, that shit was sold off. It's this shiny story of how he was hit by a drunk
driver and made millions in the settlement, bought all the gear, and we all came over and had the shiniest gear in town. That's a
bunch of bullshit." 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, Winter
Fayee, quit to join the band Rosary, Cunningham (who was in Phallucy with Joe 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 combining the hip hop slang term
"def" with the suffix "-tones," which was a popular suffix among surf
rock bands and soul music 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 members of the
Deftones.
Deftones soon began playing shows in local clubs with bands like Atomic Six, 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 hair metal sounds. 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 metal group 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. Their early songs included
"(Like) Linus," "Plastic," "Venison," "Christmas," "Hump," "Freaks," "Some People," "God's
Hands," "Hopburg Hop," "Gift," & "Answers." 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 Teazer. 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 (1995)
-
Pre-production on Deftones' first proper album began in Autumn 1994.[citation needed] The producer chosen to helm the sessions was Terry Date, who at the time was most known for producing albums for nobody. 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", "Root" 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]
It was RIAA certified Gold on 7
July, 1999,[3]
and as of January 2007 it had sold 965,925 copies in America.[citation needed]
Around the Fur (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.[citation needed] The song inspired Cavalera to create Soulfly, a band dedicated to Wells.[citation needed] 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 alternative circle, with both songs'
music videos receiving play. "My Own Summer (Shove It)" was also featured on
the soundtrack to The
Matrix.
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.[4] This mellow version with a new trip-hop-esque beat by Delgado inspired vocalist
Chino Moreno to explore softer music, which eventually lead to the inception of his side project, Team Sleep.[citation needed]
In 1999, it was certified Gold in recognition of 500,000 sales in the US.[3] As of January 2007 it had sold 942,177 copies in America.[citation needed]
"It's one of my favorite records," Moreno commented. "The time and place we were in when we made it was fluent as
hell."[citation needed]
White Pony (2000)
-
On June 20, 2000, the band released their third album,
White Pony. It was produced by Terry Date at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California. It debuted at No. 3 in the US Billboard chart with sales of 177,000
copies.[citation needed] It is generally considered by
fans to be Deftones' most mature recording.[citation needed] Hits included "Change (In the House of Flies)" and "Digital Bath."
Of White Pony, one reviewer wrote, "Moreno is exquisitely mind-blowing" and that "Deftones went soft, but in an
impressive way, to twist around its signature punk sound." [5] But another assumed that "their music is completely uninspired garbage. They have
the worst vocalist of any band I have heard."[6]
Delgado was now a full-time band member, and he added much to the atmospheric album. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive,
noting Moreno's increasing sophistication as a lyricist and the group's experimentalism:[citation needed] the relatively 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 Getsic.
A limited edition print of 50,000 black and red jewel case versions of White Pony were released with a bonus 12th track titled
"The Boy's Republic". The band re-recorded "Back To School (Mini Maggit),"
a rap-influenced interpretation of the album's closer, "Pink Maggit," after their record label said they had run out of
marketable singles. The song was placed as the new opening track (with "Pink Maggit" still the closer), and, under altered cover
art, re-released White Pony 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 how
mindlessly easy it was to write a hit. Deftones played "Back to School" on tours in support of White Pony but rarely
thereafter. It was only until their South American and European tour in early 2007 that the song began appearing on their
setlists.
White Pony eventually achieved 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.[citation needed] 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".
As of January 2007 it had sold 1,274,364 copies in America.[citation needed]
Deftones (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."[citation needed] The track was featured in the video
game NHL 2004 as well as True Crime:
Streets of L.A..
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. It was later
released on their B-Sides and Rarities DVD.
Much of the material on the album was written by guitarist Carpenter, which accounts for the album's heavier feel. Delgado
plays synthesizer, keyboards or
sampler rather than his previous turntables.
The recording sessions were helmed by producers Terry Date and Greg Wells for the first four months in Sacramento and then Seattle. Wells had to return to Los Angeles due
to the birth of his second child, and Date continued on the record for months. Wells later produced much of Team Sleep's debut record.
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."[citation needed]
Erlewine notes that on the album "Deftones feel compelled to strengthen their metal roots" and at the same time maintain "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."[citation needed]
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(Kukuruza) 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."[7]
As of January 2007 it had sold 520,900 copies in America.[citation needed]
B-Sides & Rarities (2005)
-
An odds-and-ends album titled 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. This compilation includes a semi-rough cover of "Savory" originally done by Jawbox, a cover of "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Black Moon" featuring "B-Real" from Cypress Hill, among others.
Most noticeably absent from the album was "Lovers", a B-side from Deftones. Moreno had stated in interviews that the
name of the album was going to be "Lovers." Also sorely missed was "To Have and To Hold" a Depeche
Mode cover that was used heavily during the White Pony era and "Can't Even Breathe" a song featured on the Escape
from L.A. soundtrack.
Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
-
The band's latest album, titled Saturday Night Wrist, was released on
October 31, 2006. It debuted at No. 10 in the US Billboard
chart with sales of just over 76,000, a significant decrease on the first week sales of their two previous releases.
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."[8] After recording
all the instrumentals for the record, Chino Moreno decided to record his vocals separately. Chino thus finished recording the
album with former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez as producer.
Collaborations on the record include Annie Hardy from Giant
Drag on the song "Pink Cellphone" and Serj Tankian from System of a Down on the track "Mein."
The album's first single was called "Hole in the Earth", hitting the radio on
October 16th, 2006. The album features a song titled "U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,SELECT,START", an obvious reference to the
Konami code, which is normally represented as (U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, B, A, Start).
A music video for "Mein" has been shot, as it was the album's second single in Spring 2007.
As of March 2007, Saturday Night Wrist has sold over 200,000 copies (US).
Impending album
On September 5, 2007, Moreno gave an interview to metal
website Metalhead in which he stated that the band has already started to write new material for their 6th studio
album.[9] As of October, the band has started a blog,
www.deftonesinstudio.blogspot.com, detailing the recording of LP6.
Notable tour dates
- 11.12.1997 Las Vegas, NV @ Huntridge Theater: Jonah Matranga (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". The band opened for Primus as part of their
annual New Years Eve Freak Out.
- 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, along with Chi's brother Ming, sing in "Headup".
- 08.07.1999 San Francisco, CA @ Slims: Surprise Small Club Show Sponsored by Radio Station Live 105. Papa Roach opened and
Chino performed a good chunk of the show from the venues bar.
- 08.04.2000 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium: performed "Passenger" with Maynard James
Keenan of Tool.
- 06.21.2001 Moscow, Russia, Green Theatre: the band's first performance in Russia.
- 07.21.2001 Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion: Max Cavalera (Soulfly) sings on "Headup," Rodleen sings on "Knife Prty".
- 10.06.2001 Devore, CA @ Blockbuster Pavillion (Cypress Hill Smoke-Out): H.R.(Bad Brains)
performs a cover of "Right Brigade" with Deftones
- 01.23.2003 Sydney, N.S.W. @ U.N.S.W. Roundhouse: Xzibit raps verses to "Back to School".
- 04.03.2006 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom: Deftones perform Around the Fur
and Adrenaline (without "Fist") in order.
- 09.06.2006 Donnington Park, UK @ Download Festival: Max Cavalera (Soulfly) sings on "Headup"
- 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.
- 07.29.06 Nashville,Tn @ Starwood Amphitheater: the crowd broke into fights as Corey Taylor came out and started to sing
Engine No.9 with Chino Moreno.
- 04.12.07 Lincoln, UK @ Engine Shed: Band performs two intimate club dates in the UK as a thank you to the UK fans following
cancellation of earlier dates due to Chino having a throat infection.
- 04.13.07 Northampton, UK @ Northampton Roadmender: Band performs an intimate gig, the full set lasting an hour and a half.
Chino slips in a cover of the chorus to Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back into Around the Fur.
- 05.22-23.07 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues:Thomas Erak of The Fall of Troy joins the band for a cover of Weezer,
Say It Ain't So during a two night gig.
- 06.29.07 Fresno, CA @ Rainbow Ballroom: Deftones play entire Around the Fur album, then go into normal set.
- 07.8.07 Deftones played in Seattle and The Fall of Troy guitarsit/vocalist
Thomas Erak plays with the Deftones for the Weezer cover on Say It Ain't So.
- 07.21.07 Weedsport, NY @ the Cayuga County Fairgrounds: Deftones' performance at the AmeriCU Krockathon 12 is to be recorded for their forthcoming live DVD.
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 as well as a group called Sol Invicto featuring members of
Cypress Hill and Cultura Londres. 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
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
B-Sides
Media
- Deftones appear in The Crow: City of Angels during the "day of the dead"
festival. Deftones are preforming their song "Teething", which also appears on the movie soundtrack.
- "Street Carp" is featured in the video game MTV Sports: Skateboarding.
- "Minerva" is featured in the video games True Crime: Streets of LA & NHL 2004. It is also
featured in the 2005 version of the film House of Wax and appears on the
soundtrack.
- "Battle Axe" is featured in the video game Tom Clancy's
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.
- "Digital Bath" is played during the end credits of the movie Soul Survivors.
- "Locked and Loaded" featuring Deftones & Dead Prez will be featured in the video game All-Pro Football 2K8.
- "Change" is featured in Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, Queen of
the Damned and also an episode of the hit American TV show "Alias".
- "Headup" in its entirety is featured in a scene in the 2001 inpendent movie Manic.
References
External links
Interviews
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