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Interviews
DEFTONES: An interview with Chino Moreno
by Felix Thursday
Deftones singer Chino Moreno sits tranquilly amidst a sea of dust and debris
behind Petaluma's
Phoenix Theatre, strumming a black, stringless, Gibson SG. He is
immersed in this apparent Zen exercise, either oblivious to, or not acknowledging,
the clamor occuring on every side of him. For the last two days the Deftones
have been in constant motion, conducting interviews and preparing for their
upcoming tour with two unannounced "warm-up" shows at the Phoenix.
Though their presence at the Phoenix is supposedly shrouded in secrecy, word-of-mouth and last-minute ticket sales have attracted their devotees (some from as far away as Arizona), many who are already crowding the sidewalk in front of the theatre at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, in anticipation of seeing the Deftones intimately for, perhaps, the last time before they are elevated to super-stardom.
I tried not to get sucked in by all of the hype surrounding the release of White Pony, Deftones' third album, which promises to be "the one" to promote them to "star" status. However, considering they're on Maverick (the label owned and operated by Madonna, the high priestess of hype herself), I couldn't help becoming at least a little overwhelmed. After all, it cannot be disputed that Deftones are heirs apparent to current mega-sellers Korn and Limp Bizkit, so they are practically assured to profit from the "right place at the right time" position they find themselves in now. Despite this, Chino does not seem to permit it much thought. He sits, cloaked in his trademark hooded sweatshirt, with a Buddha-like contentment, strumming his silent guitar.
"I think we're already big. Not big like Limp Bizkit or whatever, but I think we'll be able to put out records five years from now and people will still buy them as long as we make them good. We can go on tour for two years and no matter if we do end up being on TRL, that's not our whole thing. As long as we're out there performing and working as a band and doing what what we started out doing, we'll be able to play for as long as we want or until we get too old to play."
Deftones have also found themselves in the midst of another odd predicament: only five years after the release of Adrenaline, they are now competing with the imitators of their imitators. Chino, of course, knows this. Still, he appears to be less perturbed by it than I am. He takes a drink of Coors Light and responds to my observation with only a hint of frustration.
"It's two different things to be influenced by something and to take that influence and make it your own thing--like having an influence and that becomes your band. Like, if you're influenced by Korn and Kid Rock or whatever, and then your band comes out playing the same fucking riffs. There's a way to be influenced by stuff and to expand on it. There is a difference between being 'influenced' and just ripping shit off. When I tell people that I'm influenced by The Cure, they say 'I don't hear any Cure in your music.' That's good you don't hear any Cure in my music, but they definitely are an influence of mine--especially lyrically. They're really metaphorical and there's a lot of imagery going on. Robert Smith influenced me, but I don't go out and sing just like him--I do it my own way."
The "way" Chino sings on White Pony has changed considerably since Adrenaline and Around the Fur. The screaming--favored by many of today's young(er) bands--has subsided. In its place, Chino is relying on a vocal delivery perhaps more akin to Robert Smith than Fred Durst.
"When you're young, you have that anger that builds up and you take it out in your music," Chino explains, taking another drink of beer. "When you get older, you realize that there's better ways of dealing with it and getting that stuff out. You can take certain words and sing them at a normal speaking volume and make so much more of an impression than by screaming at the top of your lungs."
The way Chino expresses himself vocally in only one of Deftones' transformations on White Pony. The music is slower, moodier, and more introspective; relying more than ever on dynamics that elevate the songs between subtle thresholds and violent extremes. The aggrandized nuances may be a stretch for audiences accustomed to the straight-forward, heavy-beat stylings of Korn and Limp Bizkit, and in that way there is a certain real commercial risk involved. Chino insists, however, that Deftones have not departed too heavily from their proven sound.
"I don't see it so much as a departure from the sound, but it's a little more enhanced, a little more extreme, with all the different parts of it. It's heavier and it's softer. It has more extremes of all the different dynamics. It's definitely a Deftones record--it's not like we did something completely out-there. But, as opposed to just sticking with making another Adrenaline or Around the Fur, that wasn't what we wanted to do. We obviously didn't want to alienate our fans, but we wanted to make something that was new and exciting."
Chino pauses for a moment, takes a drink of his beer, and continues:
"I figured when we made Around the Fur, that that record pretty much separated us from the other stuff. But I think that record was still a little bit ahead of its time. We've always tried to set ourselves apart from what's going on at the moment--especially lately. Everything on the radio is just heavy rock shit."
His beer is almost finished, so I ask him if the band has been comfortable around the confines of the Phoenix for the last two days.
"We love the Phoenix. I like the crowd--there's a cool vibe here. It's not like in the city. It's a good place to get a true reaction from real fans. it's out of the mix; it's its own little thing. The first time I ever saw this palce was when I saw that Primus video that was filmed here a long time ago. I was a huge Primus fan. I was like, 'That's so rad!' So I always wanted to play here, but I never thought we were a big enough band to play here. Then, the next thing you know, we were playing here doing our warm-up shows for Around the Fur. The town's really cool and the people are really fucking friendly here, too--no attitude. I definitely look forward to coming back here and playing more shows. It's just cool that people come out. I've been doing interviews the last few days and they ask 'Where are you now?' and I say 'Petaluma' and they're like 'Where the hell is that?' It's a cool little town, but it's got a great scene."
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...anyway. Me like Chino. Me like Deftones, too--especially White Pony. I had white Pony shoes when I was a wee one. I had an actual pony, too...but it wasn't white. Anyhoo...this interview done appeared in section M magazine, Issue #16, in August of 2000 (like you care).