“RollingStone.com” – March 2002 // Chi Cheng Interviewed

CHI INTERVIEWED BY RollingStone.com

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“We definitely want to put out a very energetic, very upbeat, fast album,” says Deftones
bassist Chi Cheng, speaking about the band’s fourth effort, Lovers. “We’ve proven that we
can musically go in any direction we want, and we want to get kind of heavy on this one.”
The Deftones members recently put aside their many side projects in order to start writing
for the fall Maverick Records release, produced once again by Terry Date (Limp Bizkit, Incubus).

“We spent three or four months, each of us, working on our little solo projects and now we’re
all kind of like, ‘These fucking side projects! We need to wrap them up and get back to our
main focus, which is the Deftones.’ Chino’s [Moreno, vocalist] is trying to finish Team Sleep
[his electronic-minded project]. I don’t know how many bands Stephen’s [Carpenter, guitarist]
got on the side now — I can’t even keep track. Everyone’s trying to get their personal life
in order before we jump into the whole mess of an album cycle and touring and everything else.”

Getting back on track included vocal schooling for Moreno, whose career was threatened due to
throat problems he encountered on the Deftones summer 2001 co-headlining tour with Godsmack.
“He had paralyzed one of his vocal chords and the other one was barely moving at all,” says
Cheng. “We were scared he might not be able to sing again. He took some really good vocal
classes from a really good trainer, and he’s just been a little more aware of his voice and
taking care of it as an instrument.”

The Deftones plan to hit the road again this fall, but first they will finish up the record
in their newly built studio in their hometown of Sacramento, California. “Now we’re more
drunk and stoned and everything like that, but we’re like ‘Oh fuck it, it’s our studio,'”
Cheng says, laughing. “It’s great to have that freedom, but then I’m like, ‘Shit! We need
to start getting a little more stringent with ourselves.'”

JOLIE LASH
(March 27, 2002)

“Radio 1” – March 2002 // Chino Moreno Interviewed

Chino Moreno from Deftones on BBC Radio 1 Rock Show
Broadcast 19 March, 2002
Chino Moreno from Deftones joined Mary Anne on the ‘phone to talk about his year-long project
‘Team Sleep’ and the impending Deftones album.

Where are you right now?
I’m walking down the street in Sacramento, where I live.
Tell me.. how low-slung are your trousers today?
About midway right now…

You were playing Howard’s Jones records last time you were on the Rock Show and discussing your
mad love of the 80s…
Yeah, I remember that.

Tell us about the new Team Sleep stuff you’re doing.
It’s really fun. It started off being a lot of electronic stuff that I recorded in my bedroom
and at home and then I brought in a few talented musicians from where I live. It’s really just
beat-orientated music. It’s kinda danceable in a way, but it’s not typical retro 80s or
anything. There are hints of what I grew up listening to… some of it was 80s y’know like trip
hop.

What’s it called?
It’s not going to be titled it’s just going to be Team Sleep and I think it’s gonna be out late
June. We’re planning to bring Team Sleep over and do a couple of months in July in Europe. The
West Coast dates we did were cool. A lot of the music was written on a machine and then we got
a band in and a lot of the guys had never played onstage live and so it was kinda new to us.
It’s not difficult because people won’t be stage-diving or anything. The crowds are cool – it’s
a real head-nod thing, with guitars too. So it’s not totally a retro thing.

Tell us about the new Deftones record.
It’s titled Lovers and it’s a really, really hardcore album. Half the songs written for it are
done and it’s pretty loud and heavy. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s angry, but it’s not
pretty by any means.

Any plans to come over with Deftones in Summer?
I’m sure we are, but the main thing is to complete the album. We hope to be finished at the end
of June with this album (June 30th) and then I plan on starting the Team Sleep thing over there.
I’m sure I’ll have promos of the Deftones stuff with me.

© www.bbc.co.uk