'Diamond Eyes Don’t Blink!'

California-based hard rock band The Deftones have been rocking hard since 1988. Comprised of Chino Moreno (vocals), Abe Cunningham (drums/percussion), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Chi Cheng (bass), Frank Delgado (keyboards/turntables), they have released 5 studio albums, in addition to the early May 2010 release of their sixth record, Diamond Eyes. In 2008, the band hit a rough patch when bassist Chi Cheng was critically injured in a car accident.

Drummer Abe Cunningham sat down with Exclusive Magazine’s Ashley Trombley to talk about the current state of the band, MySpace, the newest album, and snow owls.

There has been a rumor that has circulated over the years about the origin of the Deftones, involving getting hit by a car and a settlement. What’s the real story? "Oh, yeah, that’s f**king crazy, and I’m gonna fix it right now. Ready? Chino, our singer, and I met in junior high school. He lived in the same neighborhood as Stephen, our guitarist. And this is the huge thing that I will dispel right now: Stephen got into an accident when he was young, like 16. He got hit by a car by a drunk driver when he was skateboarding. He got a settlement, and bought a bunch of gear."

"People say the money he got bought the gear and we started the band. No. He bought a bunch of guitar gear that by the time we started the band, he didn’t have anymore. But we started the band when we were like 15, and like I said, I knew Chino and he knew Stephen, and we just hooked up one day. We started jamming, and here we are now."

How did the name come to be? "We started back in 1988, and back then “Def” was huge, like DefJam. It was a pretty popular word at the time. And after all these years, I still think it’s a funny name, but what’s in a name? It was just nothing more than “Def” was pretty popular and “Tones” was meant to encompass all sounds. We just wanted it to be a no-holds-barred kind of thing, we could do whatever we wanted. It’s just a silly name that Stephen made up, but here we are, it’s still our name."

Out of all of the six albums you guys currently have, which one do you think is of the greatest quality, or cleanest sound? "I think a lot of people love White Pony because of its production and think that it’s our best record and that we can never top it. And that’s cool because if we made our best record ten years ago, it frees us up to do whatever the hell we want, and just have fun. But I think our new record is the cleanest sounding. I don’t mean slickest sounding, production wise, but I think it’s the cleanest sounding record. That and White Pony are the two that were probably recorded the best."

Which one would you say, then, is the most raw, in terms of production? "The most raw is probably Around the Fur, our second record, but I think the worst production on any of our records is Saturday Night Wrist. It’s not too bad, but it’s just not one of my favorites."

What was it like working with Bob Ezrin on Saturday Night Wrist? "It was a trip. There’s been a lot said that we didn’t get along, and quite frankly, in his defense, we were in no place at all as a band, as friends, and we were so scattered in our own lives that it was just a horrendous time. And a lot of things were said, and he actually didn’t even finish the record. And none of us have a problem with Bob--I want to make that very clear--he’s a great dude, and he’s been in the business a long time. It was just a bad pairing, and bad timing."

Let’s talk a little bit about the newest album, Diamond Eyes. What would you say the style is like on this record? "We’re thrilled. There was a lot of doubt around the time of Chi’s accident that we’d even keep going, so all of us are absolutely thrilled with the way it came out. I think it’s a great representation of what we like. We always try to make a record that people will put on and not take off until it’s done. But it’s a testament to where we’re at right now."

Who are some of the bands influences? "We’ve always been sort of a metal-based band, but we’ve taken it in so many directions due to our love of so much different music, but I don’t know if there is any one band that made us want to be who we are. And I think that the whole premise of our band was a situation where we could make any kind of music and not be held to one genre. I think when we formed as a band was a great time because there was so much of a mixture of so much sound going on that allowed us to experiment with so much stuff. Good time."

Any significance to the owl on the album cover? "When it came time to choose the cover for the record, we were presented with a bunch of ideas and mock covers from this guy Frank Maddocks who had done the covers for our past few records. He just laid all these ideas on the table and we saw that one. There’s such a stark contrast between the purity of the owl and how light and fluffy the feathers are, and the still black background. And the owl’s eyes are so deep that you can look into them for an eternity and never find the end. I don’t think it even ties too much into the record itself, but it’s a cool thing. It’s in the video, and is popping up everywhere."

The video for the premier single was heralded to be released on MySpace. Has the response been positive? "MySpace is a trip. We put out a viral video to our song ‘Rocket Skates’ just to kind of let people know we’re still here. The first real single was ‘Diamond Eyes’, and we did a video for that also. The response has been great. We’re out playing live now, and it’s great to hear that people know the stuff. It’s great that they’re digging it. We’re happy dudes."

The video for 'Diamond Eyes' is a little dark. Is there a theme to the video? "No, other than the owl is a reoccurring theme. This record is actually optimistic. I’m sure it’s got some dark themes, and some of the visuals of that video probably made it look dark, but Diamond Eyes is actually an optimistic record. To me, it kind of reminds me of Labyrinth with David Bowie."

In 2008, bassist Chi Cheng got into a very serious automobile accident. In what ways has the dynamic of the band changed since his departure? "It’s had a tremendous affect on us. It’s only been a year and a half, and it’s the craziest thing in the world. And the hardest part is that he’s still alive, it’s not like he was killed in the accident. But he’s unable to communicate, but up until that point, we were getting along great as a band again. Everything was going great in all our lives, and then that happened. It kicked us in the ass in several ways."

"It had an affect on how we live our lives, made us think about the fact that everything can be taken so quick. And I think everybody knows that, but it’s easy to get complacent about things. We really appreciate things. It really turned it around. As a band, we’re having the best time and it’s crazy that he can’t be here to share it with us."

Is there any hope for his return? "We have hope all day long. He’s a really strong dude. He’s making very, very slow progress, but there’s just no telling what can happen with these kind of injuries. The fact that he’s still alive is a testament to that. He got it really bad, man. But there’s always hope. He’s gotten support from people all over the world, and that’s a great place to be. And we just keep sending it his way."

I looked at the tour dates, and I noticed that you play Michigan twice. What can the Michigan fans expect? "Hopefully good times. For people who have seen us in the past, we’ve had some crazy times in the past six or seven years, but right now I think the band is playing the best we ever have. We’re really treating the music with respect. Hopefully, they’ll see a band that’s on fire again, that’s how I look at it and also have an excellent time. That’s our intent."

Finally, what do you feel is the secret to the Deftones’ longevity? "I have no idea! We were all friends beforehand. I think that anything you do in life you can do better if you start off with a good friendship. We’ve been at it a long time, we’ve been patient. Just patience and I guess just us being who we are, for better or worse."

Interviewed by: Ashley Trombley

www.deftones.com

www.myspace.com/deftones

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