It was truly an honor to get to talk with Chi Cheng of the Deftones. I have been a fan of theirs for many years. The Deftones may be hanging out with the kids on the Family Values Tour but that hasnt made them any less awesome.
Check out the official site for the Deftones
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you guys up to?
Chi Cheng: Doing press and hanging out in Kansas City. Were in the middle of the Family Values Tour.
DRE: Hows it going so far?
Chi: Its fucking amazing but Im a little surprised Im doing a SuicideGirls interview with a guy.
DRE: I am not a SuicideGirl, sorry man.
Chi: Im just going to fantasize.
DRE: You can fantasize with me all you want.
Chi: Its not gay.
DRE: Its not [laughs].
How is it playing with all those kids at the Family Values Tour?
Chi: Its amazing, everybodys hungry, fired up again. Its like old times.
DRE: Are they nervous around you guys?
Chi: Were old and frail, they dont want to knock us over. It is like when we tour with Ozzy but now were the Ozzy.
DRE: Are you guys trying to pick up some new fans with the Family Values Tour?
Chi: Well it seemed like the right time for us to come back together with Korn. Weve established our identity, theyve been doing their own thing. Coming together again seemed like a really cool thing. Ive seen a lot of fans that have been waiting to see us and I think were also winning over some new fans.
DRE: How long has the band been around now, 20 years?
Chi: Almost 20. Since 1988.
DRE: You guys have really embraced the internet.
Chi: Right off the bat we were all for it. Im actually really shitty with computers, so I keep a handgun next to it so I can shoot it in the face.
DRE: Oh thatd be great, wouldnt it?
Chi: Yeah.
So Im not great with computers, but the idea of fighting the internet has always been a bad idea. I think its helped ruin the business right now. They should have embraced it as opposed to fighting it.
DRE: You guys even put a song on Myspace.
Chi: I think a certain member of the band did that without anyones permission or knowing. Maybe he was just trying to get laid. Im not sure.
DRE: You guys do not have trouble getting laid. Get out of here.
Chi: Hey, Ive been married for two years and I have trouble getting laid, buddy. Nah, Im just kidding.
DRE: What made you get married?
Chi: Im a masochist, Im an idiot? I dont know. I didnt lose enough money on my first marriage. There were some scraps left.
DRE: You got kids?
Chi: Yeah, I got one nine year old.
DRE: Can he play music yet?
Chi: Hes not interested in music at all. Absolutely no interest.
DRE: How does that make you feel?
Chi: I dont know. Its kind of a drag, but I guess thats how kids are. Hes rebelling, hes probably going to be a meat-eating, bush loving redneck or something like that.
DRE: [laughs] I was just talking to Frank Portman from the Mr. T Experience and he just wrote a book about teenagers. We were talking about how if I had known how many girls I would have gotten as the result of being in a band, I would have been a band since I was like five.
Chi: Oh shit. [laughs] I think Ive had a total of one year single between my two marriages. Ive never been single in the band. Im so terrible with women its absolutely unbelievable.
DRE: Was your wife a Deftones fan?
Chi: Absolutely not. I would never want to date someone who knew what I did. Id be too insecure and weird about it. I asked her what she thought I did and she said, Apparently, you go to the bar and drink.
DRE: How long have you guys been working on Saturday Night Wrist?
Chi: Its ridiculous. Weve been working on this album for so long. But now that its done, I think that its going to be worth the wait for everyone.
DRE: What was the holdup?
Chi: Trying to get certain members to do their thing was a very big holdup.
DRE: Whats the deal with these certain members you keep talking about?
Chi: I dont know. You cant fly like an eagle when youre hanging with a bunch of turkeys.
DRE: [laughs] So what was the inspiration for this new album?
Chi: Were usually inspired by each other musically. So when someone comes up with something really cool, were like, Hey thats cool, let me try to add to that. Were really a meticulously hard band to write. It makes our albums fresh but its a real fucking pain in the ass.
DRE: Is that because of your personalities?
Chi: Its a bit of everything, I suppose.
DRE: Hows your personality?
Chi: Im always hiding out, reading books, Im a big fucking dork. Im the ghost of every tour.
DRE: What are you reading now?
Chi: I just got The Hummingbirds Daughter and I picked up a bunch of Japanese authors when I was in Japan. A lot of Spanish authors are really doing a good job.
DRE: Is it all fiction?
Chi: Yeah, thats all fiction. I spent like ten years reading Buddhist scriptures and quantum physics, string theory, chaos theory. I think my brain needs a break, so Im just doing fiction for now.
DRE: [Deftones drummer] Abe Cunningham felt the last Deftones album was incomplete in a way. Do you feel the same?
Chi: I dont remember the last one at all. I was going through a divorce. I honestly dont remember a single thing about it.
DRE: It sounds like you just want it to go away.
Chi: Well the end result was pretty dark. Its pretty good, pretty cool.
DRE: What about this one?
Chi: I was sober for this one. Frighteningly sober.
DRE: What does that mean?
Chi: For me being sober is pretty frightening.
DRE: Are you off everything now?
Chi: Yeah, Im pretty clean.
DRE: What made you decide to clean up?
Chi: It was because I had gone through too many years of the same thing everyone else had gone through. I used to eat pills like skittles. Now I just drink a lot of wine if Im writing.
DRE: How was it working with [System Of A Down's] Serj [Tankian] on the track Mein?
Chi: I wasnt there. Serj was on time and then they made him wait two hours. Im sure that was a great experience for Surge.
DRE: Hes pretty calm, Im sure he loved it.
Chi: Hes a fucking amazing person and a great friend.
DRE: How about Annie Hardy on Pink Cellphone?
Chi: Well I got all my shit done in three days so Ive sat around for a year now, not knowing what was going on, polishing handguns, thinking about who to shoot. I admit, I heard the end product and it sounded cool.
DRE: What do you do in your off time?
Chi: Its just me, the wife, the kids, and the dog. Its kind of frightening: Im turning into a combination of Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski.
DRE: Do you spend off time with the other guys very much?
Chi: The band is closer than weve been in a long time. Were in a really good place right now.
DRE: Is the music scene the Deftones travel in much different now?
Chi: Weve always had our diehard fans which is nice. I suppose its the same. I think the one thing thats changed is that some of our fans have gained a little age with us. Were still seeing the 12 to 16 crowd, but now the seeing the 30 year olds are there too.
DRE: Are the girls still the same?
Chi: I wouldnt know, brother. Is that PC enough?
DRE: Whats the next step for the Deftones?
Chi: Id like to take a fucking shot at blowing this band up. Im glad weve always been the worlds biggest underground band but I really want to sell this album so were going to tour our ass off and play the best shows we can and well see what happens.
DRE: Thanks for talking to me. I really appreciate it.
Chi: All right, thank you. Like I said, you got pigtails and cherry red lips.
DRE: Keep dreaming, man.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site for the Deftones
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you guys up to?
Chi Cheng: Doing press and hanging out in Kansas City. Were in the middle of the Family Values Tour.
DRE: Hows it going so far?
Chi: Its fucking amazing but Im a little surprised Im doing a SuicideGirls interview with a guy.
DRE: I am not a SuicideGirl, sorry man.
Chi: Im just going to fantasize.
DRE: You can fantasize with me all you want.
Chi: Its not gay.
DRE: Its not [laughs].
How is it playing with all those kids at the Family Values Tour?
Chi: Its amazing, everybodys hungry, fired up again. Its like old times.
DRE: Are they nervous around you guys?
Chi: Were old and frail, they dont want to knock us over. It is like when we tour with Ozzy but now were the Ozzy.
DRE: Are you guys trying to pick up some new fans with the Family Values Tour?
Chi: Well it seemed like the right time for us to come back together with Korn. Weve established our identity, theyve been doing their own thing. Coming together again seemed like a really cool thing. Ive seen a lot of fans that have been waiting to see us and I think were also winning over some new fans.
DRE: How long has the band been around now, 20 years?
Chi: Almost 20. Since 1988.
DRE: You guys have really embraced the internet.
Chi: Right off the bat we were all for it. Im actually really shitty with computers, so I keep a handgun next to it so I can shoot it in the face.
DRE: Oh thatd be great, wouldnt it?
Chi: Yeah.
So Im not great with computers, but the idea of fighting the internet has always been a bad idea. I think its helped ruin the business right now. They should have embraced it as opposed to fighting it.
DRE: You guys even put a song on Myspace.
Chi: I think a certain member of the band did that without anyones permission or knowing. Maybe he was just trying to get laid. Im not sure.
DRE: You guys do not have trouble getting laid. Get out of here.
Chi: Hey, Ive been married for two years and I have trouble getting laid, buddy. Nah, Im just kidding.
DRE: What made you get married?
Chi: Im a masochist, Im an idiot? I dont know. I didnt lose enough money on my first marriage. There were some scraps left.
DRE: You got kids?
Chi: Yeah, I got one nine year old.
DRE: Can he play music yet?
Chi: Hes not interested in music at all. Absolutely no interest.
DRE: How does that make you feel?
Chi: I dont know. Its kind of a drag, but I guess thats how kids are. Hes rebelling, hes probably going to be a meat-eating, bush loving redneck or something like that.
DRE: [laughs] I was just talking to Frank Portman from the Mr. T Experience and he just wrote a book about teenagers. We were talking about how if I had known how many girls I would have gotten as the result of being in a band, I would have been a band since I was like five.
Chi: Oh shit. [laughs] I think Ive had a total of one year single between my two marriages. Ive never been single in the band. Im so terrible with women its absolutely unbelievable.
DRE: Was your wife a Deftones fan?
Chi: Absolutely not. I would never want to date someone who knew what I did. Id be too insecure and weird about it. I asked her what she thought I did and she said, Apparently, you go to the bar and drink.
DRE: How long have you guys been working on Saturday Night Wrist?
Chi: Its ridiculous. Weve been working on this album for so long. But now that its done, I think that its going to be worth the wait for everyone.
DRE: What was the holdup?
Chi: Trying to get certain members to do their thing was a very big holdup.
DRE: Whats the deal with these certain members you keep talking about?
Chi: I dont know. You cant fly like an eagle when youre hanging with a bunch of turkeys.
DRE: [laughs] So what was the inspiration for this new album?
Chi: Were usually inspired by each other musically. So when someone comes up with something really cool, were like, Hey thats cool, let me try to add to that. Were really a meticulously hard band to write. It makes our albums fresh but its a real fucking pain in the ass.
DRE: Is that because of your personalities?
Chi: Its a bit of everything, I suppose.
DRE: Hows your personality?
Chi: Im always hiding out, reading books, Im a big fucking dork. Im the ghost of every tour.
DRE: What are you reading now?
Chi: I just got The Hummingbirds Daughter and I picked up a bunch of Japanese authors when I was in Japan. A lot of Spanish authors are really doing a good job.
DRE: Is it all fiction?
Chi: Yeah, thats all fiction. I spent like ten years reading Buddhist scriptures and quantum physics, string theory, chaos theory. I think my brain needs a break, so Im just doing fiction for now.
DRE: [Deftones drummer] Abe Cunningham felt the last Deftones album was incomplete in a way. Do you feel the same?
Chi: I dont remember the last one at all. I was going through a divorce. I honestly dont remember a single thing about it.
DRE: It sounds like you just want it to go away.
Chi: Well the end result was pretty dark. Its pretty good, pretty cool.
DRE: What about this one?
Chi: I was sober for this one. Frighteningly sober.
DRE: What does that mean?
Chi: For me being sober is pretty frightening.
DRE: Are you off everything now?
Chi: Yeah, Im pretty clean.
DRE: What made you decide to clean up?
Chi: It was because I had gone through too many years of the same thing everyone else had gone through. I used to eat pills like skittles. Now I just drink a lot of wine if Im writing.
DRE: How was it working with [System Of A Down's] Serj [Tankian] on the track Mein?
Chi: I wasnt there. Serj was on time and then they made him wait two hours. Im sure that was a great experience for Surge.
DRE: Hes pretty calm, Im sure he loved it.
Chi: Hes a fucking amazing person and a great friend.
DRE: How about Annie Hardy on Pink Cellphone?
Chi: Well I got all my shit done in three days so Ive sat around for a year now, not knowing what was going on, polishing handguns, thinking about who to shoot. I admit, I heard the end product and it sounded cool.
DRE: What do you do in your off time?
Chi: Its just me, the wife, the kids, and the dog. Its kind of frightening: Im turning into a combination of Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski.
DRE: Do you spend off time with the other guys very much?
Chi: The band is closer than weve been in a long time. Were in a really good place right now.
DRE: Is the music scene the Deftones travel in much different now?
Chi: Weve always had our diehard fans which is nice. I suppose its the same. I think the one thing thats changed is that some of our fans have gained a little age with us. Were still seeing the 12 to 16 crowd, but now the seeing the 30 year olds are there too.
DRE: Are the girls still the same?
Chi: I wouldnt know, brother. Is that PC enough?
DRE: Whats the next step for the Deftones?
Chi: Id like to take a fucking shot at blowing this band up. Im glad weve always been the worlds biggest underground band but I really want to sell this album so were going to tour our ass off and play the best shows we can and well see what happens.
DRE: Thanks for talking to me. I really appreciate it.
Chi: All right, thank you. Like I said, you got pigtails and cherry red lips.
DRE: Keep dreaming, man.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 25 of 25 COMMENTS
starfuck:
viva deftones!!! mis mejores aos en el colegio fueron con esta gran banda!
viva deftones!!! mis mejores aos en el colegio fueron con esta gran banda!
manimal0118:
Thoughts on the new album?