Saturday Night Wrist Review/Interview List

[Deftones-argentina]

I loved the part of the mobile studio Thanks!

haha, the guys are so lazy that i'm sure they'll be fuckin' around in that moile studio! i really can't understand why bands have to make a record every 1-2 years for the sake of it.

That's because it's a natural amount of time. Most bands will have written enough songs at that period so as to release an album.

[monoton]

phat ass interview with steph on ultimate-guitar.com

it doesn`t even fit in two posts 

Deftones Guitarist: 'I Will Smoke Weed Till The Day I Die'
artist: deftones    date: 11/09/2006    category: interviews
Deftones Guitarist: 'I Will Smoke Weed Till The Day I Die'

Stephen Carpenter is a musician with a lot on his mind. His work on the Deftones newest, Saturday Night Wrist, is stunningly good, ranging from the dark and liquid to the brutally blistering. It is a poignant and passionate testament to his unique abilities as a guitar player. But he is more than just the advance guard of the modern school of rock seven-string technique. Carpenter is a deep thinker and damned if you'd ever pick up on this by simply looking at him. He has a dark and menacing countenance and your first impulse is to cover up when he ventures near (and he'll talk about that). But he is not that murky visage; rather he has strong notions of right and wrong and a totally accepting nature. Here, he presents his thoughts on the new album, of course, and beyond that Steph (rhymes with deaf) looks at politics, posturing, and pot.

Ultimate-Guitar: There are a lot of different textures and sounds on the new record. Does the band look to bring different things like that each time you go in the studio?

Stephen Carpenter: Certainly. I don't really think we've even gotten to where we want. We're definitely getting ideas to come through a little bit more now, but we still have tons of ideas for how to do things. Even right now, here we are coming out with a new record and we're already still talking about what kind of stuff we want to do on the next one. The completion of this one has kind of inspired us to already write more stuff. And it's like, finally!

Is it a conscious thing on your part to try and bring new things to the band or is it more of a consequence of what you may be listening to at the time?

I don't think we try to bring in things that we listen to more than we try to not recreate ourselves musically. There's gonna be a general sound and I think we have with like the heavier guitars. But that's just my part. For me it's fun to play that stuff, so that sound is usually gonna be there. This record for me personally, I decided to kick back. I really asked everybody else and I'm like, "You guys need to step up and do some shit because otherwise it's just me coming with another damn riff all the time." I mean I like that stuff, but mix it up. We really do try to mix it up. We don't look at it like, "Oh, people really like this song, let's make something like this. That way they'll still like us." We look at it more like, "All right, they've heard that record. If we create another one like that, that's almost like slapping them in the face, saying they can't understand or they won't accept us doing something different." We feel like our fans expect us to do something different all the time, so we're constantly pushing it around.

The sound of the Deftones has a purposeful feel to it, more so than most other bands out there. You really seem to know how to write music that has a balance of heaviness and subtle undercurrents.

I think it's sort of like that, what you're talking about. I think ultimately when it comes to music, the five of us really don't want it to be any specific style of music. We don't sit there trying to write metal songs and, "Oh, this will be a love song or something." All those elements are in our music, but they're not ever one thing or the main focus. Just the five of us alone are all different. Like I said, if I wasn't playing in a band, I'm not sure the metal side would be there at all.

So you do think that you're the one who brings the metal element to the band?

Certainly.

The guitars really act as an accompaniment to a song like "Hole In The Earth" rather than acting as the focal point. Was that Bob Ezrin's influence input on a purely songwriting level?

Not really. Working with Bob, I think he wanted to be that person, but I think personally the songs, arrangement and everything, a lot were already in the positions they were. We did make some adjustments with Bob. That's not saying he didn't have anything to do with anything. I think Bob, his role for himself personally, would have really came to light when we had vocals. But when we were working with Bob, there wasn't really vocals. So he did go over music with us and we did adjust arrangements here and there, but a lot of the stuff still reverted back to where we wanted it ourselves.

What was the reason to use Ezrin?

I personally didn't choose Ezrin. It was Abe and Chino who really wanted to work with him. Abe is a really big Pink Floyd fan. I think Chino really like him for the same reasons. I really wasn't interested in doing it with him at all at the time when we started. I had a good time with Bob, but he wasn't the guy I really wanted. We were working with Dan "The Automator" before Bob and I was actually pretty stoked about that because I thought that was going to bring more to the technical side of the music out. That's what I really wanted to get into, but we kind of went the other direction.

Talk a little about what kinds of guitars and amps were used for "Hole In The Earth."

My set has been the same now for almost 10 years, guitar-wise especially, except I switch from 6 to 7 strings. I just use a Marshall preamp, the JMP-1 and their power amps, the EL34. Other than that, especially for that song, I just use a little reverb in stereo chorus for the melody line that I played through it.

What kind is that?

I use the TC Electronics 2290 and the reverb is actually off a Rocktron unit I have. I have an Intellifex.

And the ESP is your signature model?

Yes.

Has the 7-string become a big part of your sound and the style of the band?

For me, it is. I think the rest of the guys don't really care for it too much.

"The completion of this one has kind of inspired us to already write more stuff."
Why do you say that?

I'm really into the more metal-edge stuff and I love a grinding sound. They like it, but I mean it's more my thing than them. Even a lot of stuff that we're playing on this record, they're all tuned in like E and D# and stuff like that, D tuning and like a standard tuning but dropped tuning. Chi and Chino, they're playing in regular tuning on 6 and 4-string guitars. I'm the only one that plays down with the lower stuff.

On "Cherry Waves," there are a lot of big guitars, which work really well in the context of the track.

That song I actually wrote with Chino and I was actually playing drums. I really like this band called Refuses from Sweden. They have morphed into another band, International Noise Conspiracy. But that style drum-wise, I was kind of liking that rolling drums. Once the song got created and all that, then it got Abe inspired and he jumped on and he started playing his version of it. That's when I jumped on guitar for my part into it.

How do you go about recording the tracks?

I try to do the best live track I can and that will include the switching, the live switching of the tones and stuff like that. But I will go back afterwards and layer better tracks over it. But I like to keep the live track as good as possible and leave it in there if possible.

Are you able to nail things in a couple takes or do you go back in and punch in a couple of bars to perfect a section?

I get everything in relatively quick time. I can get lucky once in a while and do something in one take, but lots of times I'll take a few takes. If I have some little part that trips me up every once in a while, I'll spend time redoing it. But otherwise, I tend to play only what I can play versus trying to play something I can't and waste a lot of people's time trying to learn it while I'm recording it. Other people do that sometimes, and that's a lot of reasons why we take time. For me, I find something that I can play and I enjoy and it sounds real good play. Once I do that, then I just tend to revolve around until everyone locks in. I'll lock in to a part that I enjoy quicker than everyone else.

"Mein" features vocals from Serj Tankian from System of a Down. Is that a band that you guys listen to?

Yeah, I really like those guys. I'm really glad Serj did some stuff on there.

I get almost a U2 feel on that song. Do you hear that?

No. I like U2, I really do. But they weren't even considered at all during the process of that song.

On "Interlude," it sounds like it's almost a jam that Jefferson Airplane would have done back in '67. It has a psychedelic, LSD jam-type feel about it.

Yeah, well, minus the LSD part. Me and Chi, we were jamming. Chi was playing this bass line and I just got on drums and played with him. They had recorded it while we were doing it and then later on Chino added some keyboards and guitars to it. I think Frank got some stuff on there. I don't remember if he did anything on it or not. I want to say it's mainly me, Chino, and Chi.

Does the instrumental side of the music intrigue you?

I love it. I've told Chino now for three records, since he started playing guitar, "Why don't we just get rid of the vocals in the group and just do all music? We can go out there and just do sick-ass, fucking instrumentals and just jam!"

You could really get off on that?

Yeah, I love it. I think the only people that worry about, though, are the people that are trying to sell our records. And we need vocals because it's gonna sell more records, so they can make some money. Otherwise, it's not interesting to them. It's nonprofitable. Fucking pigs!

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continuation.....


"Pink Cellphone" is a pretty strange tune.

All Chino, everything about it.

Talk about the track "The Earth."

It's a song we wrote towards, I'd say, mid-way through the process. I had that riff that I really liked and just molded around it until I had something I liked. It's more about the energy on that song, having a song that just keeps moving all the way through.

Were there any other guitars that you brought in for certain tracks?

No, I use the same setup live and in the studio. I'm pretty simplistic. I've got a gang of equipment. It's by no means all basic and simplistic, but I try to keep everything consistent. It's performance and the energy of actually performance versus, "Oh, this equipment has got this certain sound."

So you never look too long about a perfect setting or anything like that?

Yeah, I never waste time on that. I'm not saying that I don't mess with my gear. If I come across a sound that I like, it will trigger some parts to come out and I'll maybe jump-start a song from that. But lots of times, for me, it's really more about an attitude and trying to create a certain mood or vibe. That's usually a volume. You can get a lot of mood control with just volume.

Are you actually changing the volume on the guitar for each track?

Sometimes, yeah.

What songs might have you have done that on?

"Cherry Waves," definitely. "Hole In The Earth," like the actual melody line. I start off really quiet on it, but as it gets built up to the chorus, I'm playing into it harder. I put more attack on it. Just little things. It's not meant to be really drastic.

You record with Pro Tools?

Yeah. We've actually recorded every record since Around The Fur on Pro Tools.

Do you think that Pro Tools sounds like tape does and works for you on that level?

I don't know. I come from a garage band mentality. At the end of the day, it's the song that counts. It's not the sound quality. It's nice to have something that's running through some really nice equipment. I personally really care about the performance of the song far more than I do the sound quality. I actually really can appreciate songs that are recorded on fucked up sounds and settings.

Did you tend to listen to bands with that kind of sound?

I'm most often quoted as being the metal guy, but I really love stuff like Primus, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, old Soundgarden, Nirvana. These are just the ones popping off the tip of my tongue. Mr. Bungle – I love Mr. Bungle! Faith No More. If I kept going, I could really think of a lot more. But there are so many bands out there that mix so much stuff up, and that's really what it is that we're trying to do. Just keep it interesting musically interesting by contrasting the different styles and sounds, without being so blatantly obnoxious about it.

A lot of bands, in a real unoriginal sense, sport their influences in a blatant and the music really comes out lifeless.

I totally know what you mean. I think, like I said, musically the five of us are those people where we hear stuff and we're like, "Man, it's so obvious." We don't consider ourselves in a sense where we're like, "Oh, we're special because we tweak it all around." We actually just try to tweak it around, not for a Deftones sound, but so it sounds good to us without sounding like someone else. It's so easy to have somebody else's sound. All you've got to do is recreate the way they sound.

For us, we didn't even try to recreate our own sound let alone someone else's sound. It is a benefit to us that we're that way, but when we're all writing music, it can be a serious fucking bummer for us and people around us. Once we hit a wall, where somebody's like, "Well, I don't like that because of whatever reason," all progress comes to a stop. We'll just go back to hanging out. We're a bunch of friends before we're a band. That's a hard thing for a lot of people to understand. We've spent three years on this record, not because we're slow musically, but we're just living our lives and just happen to be making a record during that process. It's just been wild times. I mean, four of the five of us have all gone through relationship issues with divorces all in the last four years. So It's been a hectic time for us personally, let alone the music. The music has been more of an escape for us thankfully.

"I'm not trying to win over the minds of the people that are just picky that they can't be pleased."
It sounds like there were some pains in giving birth to this album.

Yeah, there's been pain for the last three (releases).

Do you think people look to the Deftones for new styles and wrinkles? Can you step back and answer a question like that?

It's very flattering to be considered in that sense, but I think really ultimately I feel the fact that we've become unique in any way is sheer chance. Ultimately our only intent is not to repeat ourselves and that pushes us into other avenues musically. Like I said earlier, we could have, after Adrenaline, when everybody was really into us, just made another Adrenaline record. That would have just been really lame. So we went to Around The Fur and it was a little more aggressive and I guess energetic, if you will. I'm not sure if that's the way other people see it or not. But that was a really fast project for us. We did it all really fast. Everybody was really pumped. White Pony was five years after we had already done our first record. That's when we started to slow down just as people and as a band. It was like, "Let's just kick back. What's the rush? We're a band. We make music. We do this for a living. Let's not rush it. Let's enjoy it and let it be what it's gonna be."

That kind of process has been the process where we've really been since 2000. We've been consciously living our lives and trying to become better people in the process and making many mistakes throughout the way, of course. We're very emotional people. We feel a lot of things. When it comes to jamming time, it really is more of a social time for us to hang out than it is to be like, "Oh, check out this new lick I got." If somebody's got an idea or whatever, we'll definitely drop it on each other, but I think it's more fun for us to hang out than it is to just try to bash out some songs because people want a new record and they need some new music.

There really sounds like there is a purpose behind what you guys do and it feels genuine. Does that come from that sense of camaraderie you've described?

At the end of the day for us, it is us; it's just us being us musically. There's a lot of emotion in this band. We're really hard on each other. We talk a lot of shit about each other. We're very verbally abusive to each other at time. Or it's more in the sense when somebody's really starting to get off track and they get in their own little world, the rest of us are quick to start clowning and bring that person back to reality. Like, "Look, you're losing track, buddy. Come on back! Come on, big buddy! Come on back." I'm starting to taper off it now, but for the past month and a half with interviews I've been doing, I've really been harsh on Chino and Abe. I really have. But it's only because I feel like I've talked to them so many times about these issues that I got to like I get brushed off. So I'm like, "All right. Well, you guys don't want to hear me, maybe you'll hear it from the rest of the people you don't even know. Maybe that'll make you hear me." So we're always just trying to get each other's attention. More times than none we're gonna do something that's gonna be offensive or say something offensive to each other because that's the only way you get someone's attention that you've known for 20 years. We're a five-man marriage is what it comes down to. We've all outlived our own personal marriages. It's something to be said for just that alone. That very little bit of essence, that is the thing that keeps us together. No matter what issues we deal with, we're gonna deal with them. Sometimes we can solve the problems and issues right away, and other times they just burn us for ages.

Is it true that Chino went through some hard times with the vocals?

Oh, yeah, certainly. He's had a lot of weight on his shoulders for the last few years. I feel for the brother, but through it all I would also like to see him approach things with a more positive attitude, a more confident stance, and a more cooperative stance. He can be very stubborn and selfish, and it really affects the rest of us. That's when I started calling him a dick. I'm like, "Look, you don't have to be a dick. We're all family here. It doesn't have to go to that fucking level." Like I said, none of us are afraid to say anything to each other. A lot of people really do get thrown back from it when they hear it. Like I said, we say some really wild shit to each other and we'll say it in front of people, too. People will be looking at us like, "Oh, my God! Do you hear that?" We're just like, "Whatever." We don't always know the right place and time for what we say. That's what we're working on.

That's great that you can be so honest about everything.

When it comes to just even the music itself, I don't really feel a great need to spend a lot of time on songs. My explanation to the guys is like, "Look, let's just write songs. If you want to spend a lot of time, I mean, that's cool. I understand. That's not personally how I enjoy doing it. I will spend some times with you guys on it, but I like to wrap stuff up right away." When it comes down to it, after it's all said and done, opinion is just that. It's just an opinion. There are gonna be people that are always gonna like stuff and there are gonna be people that always don't like stuff. You cannot please everyone. My intent is not to please everyone. I'm not trying to break records for someone, the most records or anything like that. I want to play music that I enjoy and for those who enjoy it. I'm not trying to win over the minds of the people that are just picky that they can't be pleased. I can't concern myself. That's crazy almost to worry about that. I've told people, "I've long surpassed the point in time in music where I have wanted to achieve."

Since then, it's been worlds of experience and different things. It's been like all of it is another learning experience for me. The most gratifying thing that comes from all of it that we've done ultimately is that there's actually people that really like our music and it really touches them and makes their lives better. Versus them like, "Oh, hey, I bought your record. It's pretty cool. I like it. Cool songs." The songs actually touch these people. Some people are like, "Man, your record, it saved my life through this period of time. If I didn't even have it, I don't even know what I would have done." When you hear that stuff, all I can say is, "Thanks." I know what it's like to have music that feels good and I know that feeling, what they're trying to express. The reply from me is really hard. I'm not sure I understand a proper way to reply to it other than saying, "Thank you." I definitely have nothing but gratitude for all those who have been there and supported us because it has supported them.

Is Saturday Night Wrist the album that you hoped you would create after three years away from the studio?

I listen to it and really love the songs in the finality, the way they are, because every one of our records has been nothing more than capturing a period of time where we are at. It isn't a plan to do what we're gonna do. It's not to experience a thing all the way completed and stuff like that. I'm happy with what I've done. Is it everything I want to do? No, it's not everything I want to do. But I am very happy with what has been done and I do always look forward to making more stuff and twisting it up.

I talk about all the time like, "I want to make a Deftones death metal record. I want to make a Deftones fucking straight-up hip-hop, R&B, in-the-club record. I want to make a jazz record; I want to make a fucking blues record. I want to make a total experimental record." But these are all things individually where we all come from these individual tastes and ideas. These little things pop in here and there, but I would like to do a record of all cover songs, new songs, old songs. The desires of what I want to do musically is I'm still just barely doing it. It's just little bit by bit. I figure there's no rush. I've got all my life. I don't need to put out the definitive record right now that defines everything about me because I don't know everything about me. I just know where I'm at right now and where I've been and trying to make where I'm going a good place.

You're currently on the road right now?

Yeah, we're out till like almost Christmas, not quite Christmas day or anything, but really close. I think like four or five days before Christmas. Then we'll probably get about 5 weeks off and then we're gonna go back to some more international dates. We're gonna go do Australia, through the Pacific Rim including Japan. I think Thailand. And also before that, actually we're gonna do Mexico, South America, and then to the Pacific and Australia and those countries. After that, we're gonna go back over to Europe for probably about another eight, nine weeks, do another headlining tour out there, and then we'll be back over here in the States. Actually we're probably gonna come back and do Canada first, I think, because we've been wanting to do a full-blown Canada tour for almost a year. We're gonna go do a full Canadian run for all our fans up there. Our last record was like #1 or #2 up there and we hardly did anything up there. Canadians have a lot of love for Deftones. There's a lot of love for us around the world, but I'm just saying that we really need to get there. There's a lot of places we really need to go.

The hardest part, and I try to explain to these people, is like the desire for us to come is large. The hardest part is the money. Some people aren't willing to pay what it takes to get us there and cover our cost. That's okay, I don't blame anyone. Money is money. Business is business. If we can't afford it, what we need, that's fine. But we've still got to cover our expenses and stuff like that. That's the largest thing that keeps us from going places. But other than that, the desire to go everywhere and play for people that enjoy our music is all the way there.

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continuation....

So touring is still an expensive undertaking for a band at your level?

Yeah. It can be difficult. It's not always difficult. Just certain places people don't have money to throw around. There's not a lot you can do about it. If we had some sort of corporate sponsors that are willing to pay for us to go there, we're always down for that, too. That ultimately meets everybody's needs. Some company gets to promote their product, gets us in there promoting us to our fans who have never seen us, who couldn't afford to have us come in there, and allows us to come play for people like that. Other places we go and we make great money doing it and it's a big-time event. It really is a trip. Like I said, coming into this whole thing, I never imagined half of the stuff that we've gone through and experienced.

I really still feel like we're that garage band. I'm 36 years old and the only thing that's really changed for me is myself, personally, is just maturing. I realized that I am immature and the only way I can ever be a mature person is to actually make better choices and be more mature. I don't wish to be mature at the sake of not having any fun. But I like to have fun and be responsible while I'm doing it now versus being just, "Oh, let's do whatever!" I actually do care what people think. My intent is not to offend anyone. I feel like all the people I have ever offended in my life, I've got nothing but an apology to them and "sorry." I wish it wasn't that way, but I'm thankful for all the things that have happened in my life. All the good and bad events in my life have ultimately brought me to where I am, and where I'm at is a great place. So I can't look back on regrets, but I can make always my future a better way than my past. That's the way I'm living and it does turn over into the music. I say that I'm trying to make music that's fun and interesting, but without sacrificing being artistic. I want it to be something original or creative, if you will. So it's not so, "Oh yeah, it's just the same old formula." It's so easy to make music in a certain formula because that's the way it's gonna get heard.

But simultaneously, along that same line, it's also better to throw everyone off the entire time. I would love to make a record of songs, where riffs in the songs – or parts if you will, not even just riffs – never repeat. Like you might hear a hooky part you think the hook is the song, but once that part is gone, it's gone. You won't hear it again unless you play the song over and come back to that part. Time goes forward, this song goes forward. You want to come back in time, you've got to start the song over.

Are there other interesting bands out there and is 2006 a healthy time for music?

I absolutely think there's not only a lot, there's an abundance of it. It's just not on the radio sadly. The commercial music is designed for people who don't have a lot of time to search out and find the most rarest attraction. It's meant for people who are on a schedule. It just fits in their schedule, if you will. I don't look upon modern music in any negative way, actually. Even a lot of bands that people would even consider to be just whatever, I give them respect, too. They are hopefully doing what it is that I think everyone's doing, and that is making music they like. If they're doing it for any other reasons outside of what they like, the likeliness of continuing with doing it will probably decrease as time goes by. I think you've got to have that core of enjoyment there because if you don't enjoy it, it's just not gonna be something you want to do.

At first, I was looking at the band in a way I shouldn't, which is looking at it like any other band out there.

I'm the same way. I know exactly what you're talking about. Honestly, if I was home, if you spent one year of your life with me, you'd probably hear more talk radio than you imagine and you would be playing golf with me everyday. That's my days. Throw in some beautiful women here and there and some weed. If anything, if I've got any message to the world, it's free the fucking already. Jesus Christ. Stop all these lame excuses for doing it! It's like, "It's just fucking weed." It's sad that a lot of people have to go medical route just to smoke week legally. Just abandon and abolish all these dumb-ass rules attached to it.

So marijuana is okay in your world?

I'm saying in the world Earth, the planet we all live on, just about everywhere you go people smoke weed. And not just like a couple I meet – everyone everywhere smokes fucking weed. Even the mere mention, just the word marijuana, if you just say it in a room full of people you thought wouldn't like it, look around and see how many people are smiling just from the mere mention of the word! It just befuddles me that it can be considered in any part, especially in the United States of America, we, the freest people in the world, allegedly. We should be smoking the weed because we are the freest people in the world! How can we, the freest people in the land of the planet Earth, have so many childish restrictions on such a substance that causes no harm to anyone? Those who are harmed by it were harmed somebody who was harmful to begin with. It wasn't the weed.

So in your mind it should be legalized?

It should not only be legalized, it should be a dead topic. All this negativity and stereotypes that are attached to it should just fall to the wayside because it's absolutely ignorant. People who enjoy weed should not be made to feel like lower-class citizens or ignorant or criminals because they enjoy some marijuana. I enjoy it. I tell the world, "I enjoy it and I will smoke it till the day I die."

Is smoking marijuana part of the creative process for you?

I do, but I don't smoke nearly the amount that people think I do. I have a little taste here, a little taste there. Previous years, when I was first getting into it, I was all about it, had the fat sack. I was puffing joints, the biggest joints all the time. Man, I was the shit. If I could rewind the clock back, let me tell you, I would have saved a lot of money. It shouldn't have to be about money! That's the sad part about it. It's a fucking plant. All you've got to do is grow it. Are you kidding? You can grow tomatoes, cucumbers and every other vegetable or fruit you like, but if you grow that marijuana plant you're a criminal. What the fuck? The American government has absolutely gone insane. They have lost their minds on a level that the normal human beings of the world just cannot understand. Not even themselves understand. But the only reason they're there, the only reason those rules exist, is the very same reason all these other rules exist: just to dig into our pockets, get a little of that money. Jesus, you guys created the money! Why you got to steal it from us? Just make some fucking more!

Were the other Deftones' records created while you were smoking?

Around The Fur and forward. Adrenaline, I did not smoke weed. But the tail-end of the Adrenaline period is when I started smoking weed and I've been high ever since. And quite responsibly, I might add. I believe that any day anyone wants to Pepsi challenge this stoner, I will gladly mentally run circles around them unless they are truly more intelligent and enlightened than I am. I believe I will enlighten them. I believe I can grant them some advice that might be useful to them. I'm sure I am most certain that I am more courteous and cooperative than most who are totally sober. I believe that there's more people out there like me. Like I said, I consider myself to be quite immature and I'm just trying to make a better way for myself and be a little more mentally understanding of everything and everyone around me.

"I'm saying in the world Earth, just about everywhere you go people smoke weed."
Do your bandmates adopt your philosophy?

Not certain. I can't speak for them. I can only speak for myself. It would certainly give them a nice chuckle. How about that? And that's fine with me. Like I said, try it one day. I tell everyone, "Why don't you just try it and find out?" Just mention the mere word marijuana around a crowd of people and see what happens. I guarantee you 50% will be smiling.

If someone said that your playing was off because of smoking marijuana, would you take that to heart?

Again, I say at the end of the day, "Every one of us is good for nothing. All we've got is opinions. And you know what? Try focusing those opinions on yourself. That's all I'm trying to do." When everyone become a little more self-aware and self-assuring and a little more understanding of themselves, only then can they understand someone else. Until they start to understand themselves and judge themselves before judging me or anyone else, it's just an opinion and I really don't got time for opinions. That's all they are. We've all got them and no one really cares about them. The only time anyone's opinion matter is somebody actually asks you for it. If somebody really wants your opinion, that's because they need a little help or to maybe help them understand what you're thinking. But otherwise, your opinion means nothing. My opinion means nothing. No one's opinion matters.

That's why every day we watch the news. We all go home and we all sit there and yell at the fucking TV like our opinion matters. The TV ain't fucking listening. They don't give a fuck. You can go into the fucking Congress and scream and shout all you want, but your opinion don't mean shit in there either. You can vote if you want. All your votes don't mean shit either because you don't count. It's the final electoral vote that makes the difference. Our system is completely broke, but somehow it works. It works – in a dictatorship sort of way it works. People need to wake up to reality. The reality is shit can be as good as we want it to be if we decide to. And we have to decide as a group, otherwise we're all just chasing our tails, spouting off all our own opinions. I could come with a billion opinions of my own about every topic you want, but it's just that: my opinion. And really, who cares? I tell people all the time, "How about before you spout off an opinion, why don't you consider a solution? If you've got a solution, talk about that then. And if nobody likes your solution, don't be mad. Come up with another one. Maybe that one wasn't good enough, wasn't all-encompassing enough."

Are you going to run for local politics?

No. I'm not a good enough liar to be a politician. I can lie, I guess, if I wanted to. But I personally would be destroyed within and that's not the way I want to live. Shame on all those who fucking do it already because they've done nothing but made the quality of life for most of us fucking shit.

We still have it better than anybody else, though.

I don't know. I'm not sure I buy into the old school American philosophy. It might have been like 50 years ago, but I honestly believe that people in Europe are really living well. People in Australia, living really well. I think people outside of the United States are living well. I mean, you go to places where you think they're not living well, and I promise you, they're probably living better than you can think. And if you're talking war-torn territory or a place where it's just pure fucking dictatorship living, I can't speak for that. I've never been to that and I don't have no desire to. I don't need to know what that is. I understand the root cause of it and the root cause of it is people don't have self-respect. Any self-respecting citizen of the world would never lash out at another human being. That mentality is a human mentality and it exists around the world. All these problems we have are all directly related to somebody's opinion, somebody being nosy, and somebody having no consideration for others. Any problem. You pick the problem. I don't care what it is. Any topic, you pick it. It's gonna stem from the exact same source. Until people around the world acknowledge that, we will all live with the crap we live with.

Would you move to Australia?

I would love to live in Australia. I would love to live in Europe.

Where would you move to in Europe?

I would move to Barcelona, Spain, with a quickness. If somebody said, "Steph, I've got this little villa for you in Barcelona. Would you love to move in?" I'd say, "Absolutely! Here I come!" I would like to go there. Would I like to live there for the remainder of my life? No, but I would enjoy spending a period of my life in Barcelona. I would love to enjoy another period of my life in Italy. I would love to spend a bit of time in Moscow. I think it's fucking really cool in Russia, too. Japan, Tokyo, would be awesome. Sydney, Australia. Perth. These are just places where I've been. I'd love to live in Toronto a little bit. But I'm 36. Even if I did 5 years in these 5 cities, I'm gonna be fucking almost 60 by the time the end of this comes around. I guess I can only do it in 1-year blocks if I want to fucking move there.

Or at least until your pot runs out.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't think anyone needs all this money. Money buys you things you like and makes life easier, but it is absolutely not necessary for you to enjoy and have a happy life. You can make a lot from nothing if your mind is working. You've got to have a brain. If your intent in life is to never think and just go through it and let things happen, sure, go for it. You're going to find out the hard way. You've got to be conscious of your decisions in life and all decisions matter, whether they're small or large. You've got to think that way. Otherwise, you'll end up just dealing with what you get.

But if this record sells twice what the last record sold, that would be a good thing.

You know what? I can't even speak on sales because I don't understand that mentality. "Go buy my record." How does that sound? That sounds corny. I can't even say it with a straight face.

Isn't more better than less?

If you had a choice, if you had somebody offer you richness over poorness, you're a fool to choose poor. We need money. There's no doubt about it that you need it. But money is certainly not what makes the person better. You don't need money to be a great person. You don't need money to have a happy life. But if you want to have the things that are going to make you happy in life, you need money.

If you were just doing club tours, would that be okay with you?

Yeah, absolutely. It's hard to accept for some people, it really is. My passion is, when it comes to the music and performing the music, I like to perform the music for those that enjoy it. If that happens to be a large audience, well, man, hallelujah! Let's have a good time! If that's a small audience, hey, let's blow it up. Let's have a good time, too.

That's great. The philosophy according to Steph.

Yeah, it's very simple. Have a good time. Be the best person you can. Be courteous and respectful of others and have fun.

From photos you are an intimidating presence and I wasn't expecting these answers.

I think having that image is what pushed me there because I feel that sometimes. I know that I could walk into a room where everybody's all conservative and whatever, and everybody's gonna be looking at me like, "What a fucking animal!" But I'm just like, "Whatever. Who cares? I don't care. This is me. This is the DNA I was born with. I'm sorry it fucking freaks you out. I've got what I've got. I can't change this shit. Until they come up with a medical process that allows me to alter my own personal DNA and recreate and redesign myself, I am stuck with this. I'm just gonna have fun with what I've got." It can't be that far into the future, right?

the end 

[333tone]

^thanks a lot man! cool interview!
Does the instrumental side of the music intrigue you?

I love it. I've told Chino now for three records, since he started playing guitar, "Why don't we just get rid of the vocals in the group and just do all music? We can go out there and just do sick-ass, fucking instrumentals and just jam!"
(they should do that!)

[snw9]

this is one the most interesting and best threads ive ever seen!

[Drakesmoke1]

Wow! Stef is like some wise old sage! That was a brilliant read thanks Mono.

[makoe5]

stef is going to be the coolest old guy ever.  salt and pepper long hair, guitar in hand, blunt in one corner of his mouth, spitting wisdom out the other corner

[aj]

http://www.theprp.com/reviews/deftones1.shtml

Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist

As with any Deftones album, the recording process behind it remains self-destructive. However, the list of casualties incurred during the recording of "Saturday Night Wrist" is severe - even for Deftones standards. A butting of heads with the albums original producer Bob Ezrin saw them leave the studio; an alleged lack of motivation nearly saw band frontman Chino Moreno kicked out of the band; and you can bet that the trademark Carpenter vs. Moreno feuds were also in full effect.

So what does all this tension and strife amount to when captured on recording equipment? Well for starters, it seems like an odd mixture of two of the bands previous outings. The strain and uneasiness that sees ideas mildly stilted, plus the sharp nature of some tracks, recalls their last self-titled affair. But the liberal usage of dreamy soundscapes and focused experimentation give a nod to the "White Pony" days.

There are coarse jagged riffs and screams on occasion, but they are often buried underneath the abstract melodies and slow, lingering build-up's that anchor nearly each track. There really isn't that much in the way of rage on this album as much as there is a pleasantly numbing melodrama that, while on par for the mutated new wave the Deftones have championed, can at times feel lackluster in delivery.

A slow plodding beast, "Saturday Night Wrist" is packed with songs flush with depth, yet they rarely provide a clear vision of the ideas behind them. In that sense it's somewhat frustrating as it almost feels like the dense instrumentation and drawn-out build-up's are merely a cover-up for writer's block in certain places.

The guest appearance from System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian on the track "Mein" is nearly transparent, while the skeletal electronics and throwaway lyrics of "Pink Cellphone" (featuring Annie Hardy talking about hot carls and more) falls flat as the albums biggest mistake. But even it isn't enough to derail the majesty this rare band who credibly escaped the nu-metal collapse are once again able to conjure up.

(4 / 5)

wookubus

[Drakesmoke1]

stef is going to be the coolest old guy ever.  salt and pepper long hair, guitar in hand, blunt in one corner of his mouth, spitting wisdom out the other corner

Brilliant image, nice one!

[Zevaka]

stef is going to be the coolest old guy ever.  salt and pepper long hair, guitar in hand, blunt in one corner of his mouth, spitting wisdom out the other corner

Haha yeah, he's cool, but stop saying they are old, they are still not!:D

Brilliant image, nice one!

[punkflop01]

http://www.reflector-online.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/11/10/4553e70ed3eac

Pretty good review - apart from the nu-metal mention...guess they can't shake it

[deafnotes]

im just wondering how many magazines did deftones appeard on?

[psychotic_CALM]

I loved the part of the mobile studio Thanks!

haha, the guys are so lazy that i'm sure they'll be fuckin' around in that moile studio! i really can't understand why bands have to make a record every 1-2 years for the sake of it.

I think it's something about making money.

[333tone]

So, did anyone buy Gyitar One magazine? i think they were supposed to be featured there. i was checking out November's issue, but i didn't find something

[psychotic_CALM]

They are also going to do an article in Bass Player (magazine) as well....

[mono_cathartica]

yadahyadah....DEFTONES FOR LIFE... now heres a bonus for yall busy peeps....check out the photo galleries....i uploaded some deftones chicks....just wanna sharelungs with yall.....add me up at myspace.com/boobop_1

[mono_cathartica]

yadahyadah....DEFTONES FOR LIFE... now heres a bonus for yall busy peeps....check out the photo galleries....i uploaded some deftones chicks....just wanna sharelungs with yall.....add me up at myspace.com/boobop_1

[SaladTripp]

^^ somebody should really do somethin about that guy... 

[tarkil]

Yeah, something like kicking him in the balls...