Written by Bruce Matlock Wednesday, 09 March 2011 14:24

“We’ve never been reliant on that, we’re not the type of band with flames and pyro, but the good sound that we bring hopefully is enough.”

 

  

The Deftones are one of the few remaining early- to mid-’90s bands that stay relevant today. Without naming names, too many of the bands from the era remaining carry on with few of their original members, or the clout among their hardcore fan base that The Deftones—Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, and Chi Cheng—maintain to this day. 

A trip to St. Louis for the band means a sold-out crowd at the Pageant, or in the event of their appearance at the Scottrade Center with Alice in Chains, a rabid fanbase nearly overshadowing the headliners. This April the band returns, still without bassist Cheng, who is recovering from an automobile accident suffered over two years ago that sent him into a coma, and now, a semi-conscious state.

With that in mind I spoke with drummer Abe Cunningham about the band’s upcoming tour, as well as an update on Cheng and the band’s future with Sergio Vega. 

First and most importantly, what is the current update on Chi?

Good news! They’ve been trying to raise the money because he needs constant care, and they’ve finally moved him to New Jersey this week. Now he’s all settled in and these doctors handle more experimental stuff dealing with soldiers coming back from various wars, dealing with IED victims and brain damage. These doctors have a very high success rate of giving people back some sort of life. He just keeps making a slow progress.

Any future releases/benefits?

We are actually working on the end of this run, after we start up this summer time thing. We are doing two benefit shows at the end of this run, one at home in Sacramento and one in So-Cal somewhere.