Sergio Vega of Deftones Joins The What Podcast

Upon its release, the Bonnarooo 2020 lineup was one of the greatest we had ever seen.

Then COVID happens and we wonder who will remain? Who will be added?

One band that joined the fun? Deaf Tones.

Our guest today, Sergio, from one of the most iconic punk bands of all time, Deaf Tones.

With Barry Courter, Lord Taco, myself, Brad Steiner.

This is The What Podcast. It starts rrrrrr right now.

We have talked about almost every genre when it comes to, especially Bonnarooo, over the last three years.

One genre in particular never really dipped a toe in the pool of metal.

Barry Courter, Lord Taco, for the first time we talked to a real, legit rock star.

Yeah, I think I told you the other day when I was doing some research.

I was like, ooh, these guys are not what I thought. This is gonna be fun.

I can't believe that. That's really funny because, you know, I consider Deaf Tones to be so

in the nomenclature of what we do that I don't, like, research sounds strange.

It would be like, okay, hang on. I have to look up Oliver Tree.

Who is this guy? It's funny that you had to do actual, like, work to dig through what the Deaf Tones are.

I am not too proud to tell you that there are a lot of bands that I think I know what they are, you know,

just by name, and I think I know, and this was one of them.

And no, this is not at all what I thought.

Interesting. It's funny because, look, I love Deaf Tones.

And I think that one of the things that me and Russ have in common is our love of Deaf Tones.

Russ, a big fan as well. This is a big day for you, sir.

Yes, sir, it is. I have a story about this.

And this is gonna, I know what this is gonna do.

You guys are gonna use this to just beat me up for the rest of time.

Where's my pencil? Where's my pen?

By the way, Barry Courter, Lord Taco, I'm Brad Seiner.

This is The What. Which bands this year that matter, one of the bands being Deaf Tones,

we'll talk to, look, I know that, you know, Deaf Tones have come through so many different iterations

and a couple of different versions of the band.

And I think that's why I like the idea of talking to the newest member of the Deaf Tones.

We'll talk to him here in a second. But I have a Deaf Tone story to tell you,

and I'm not proud of it. 16, it all revolves around 16 year old Brad Guy.

Now, you guys know who some of my artists were that I was obsessed with at 16 years old, right?

Just go ahead and name them. You guys know me that well.

Yeah, the one that came right to my head surprises me, to be honest, which is Hootie.

Hootie the Blowfish, yeah.

I mean, you traveled the world, right?

I did. I did. I followed him around the country.

I had a very odd musical taste when I was 16.

It was Hootie the Blowfish, Neutral Milk Hotel, Death Cab for Cutie, and Deaf Tones.

And I'll tell you why I like the Deaf Tones so much, because when I was 16,

I would hang out with my buddy and his older brother who was going off to college was a huge Deaf Tones fan.

And I wanted to be part of the Cool Kid Club and be into what the college guys were into.

Well, it also helped that when you're 16, especially back in the days of going to Sam Goody,

and you were looking at CDs and you really picked your favorite CDs based on the CD cover.

You're really just picking out things that really...

And I always seem to as a 16 year old, and you guys correct me if I'm wrong,

when you're 16, you really only pick the albums who have hot chicks on the front of the album.

So you just pick the CDs where they decided to put a half naked woman on the cover.

So what happens? Deaf Tones put out an album with a girl in a bikini on the cover.

So enter my obsession with Around the Fur.

So 1997, I get Around the Fur and I buy it again, not knowing really what it was, Barry,

because all I knew about it was college kids like it and hot chick on the cover.

I put it on and needless to say, knowing the kind of musical thing, the bands that I was listening to,

Depth Tones didn't really fit.

Didn't really fit and I didn't really know what I was listening to and it took years and years for me to finally figure it out.

But somewhere along the lines, they came to DC.

And as a kid that was living outside of Richmond, Virginia, we were going to DC all the time.

One of the times that we were going to go to DC was going to see the Depth Tones.

Now, this was 1997 or 1998.

We're getting in the car to go to DC to see Depth Tones.

And my buddy's brother looks at me goes, so Brad, are you ready to mosh?

And I said, what's a mosh?

What is what are you talking about?

Now you guys know me.

How how big and stature do you think 16, 17 year old Brad guy was?

What he meant to say was, are you ready to get mushed?

Yeah, I was tiny when I was 16.

And so the idea of 16 year old kid getting in a mosh pit with a whole bunch of 19, 20, 25 year old dudes.

How well do you think that was going to go?

There are so many things about this story.

I could think of five panic induced.

I was panicked.

He explained to me what a mosh pit was.

And he and I thought to myself, this is what I am going to.

I freaked out.

I totally freaked out.

I became scared shitless.

So I promptly got out of the car and went home.

I never did went to a Depth Tone show until Bonnarooo this year where we will see them probably on a late night.

This tent, that tent sort of thing.

Don't you think?

All right.

So where to start?

Okay.

First of all, Around the Fur is just such a classic teenage boy album title.

I mean, can it get any more juvenile?

Yeah.

Well, I mean the next album is named White Pony.

What do you think that has to do with?

Which is great.

Number two, we should do a whole show or maybe two on how our older siblings influenced our musical tastes.

Yeah.

That's a great topic.

Number three, we had a guy.

I used to do a lot of record reviews for the paper back when those were a thing.

And one of our reviewers, he had a theorem, I guess, a theory that the nakeder the girl on the cover, the worse are the album.

Oh, it might be true.

I mean, like I'm trying to think of like the other albums that I absolutely bought because of there was some sort of nudity on it.

And I can't think of one that I really, really liked except for maybe Around the Fur.

And but the other thing too was was, you know, we were in that time of 1997 where we're just now seeing mid drifts, you know, you had no doubt pop.

I mean, Gwen Stefani changed everything with the middrift and then the classic and you're going to you're going to laugh.

But you built you all know it.

We all know it.

Herb Albert showed his midriff.

No, you know, the album cover.

We all know that one.

It's it's classic.

It's one of the top five album covers of all time.

But she didn't show anything.

It was just sexy.

But yeah, isn't that funny?

You know, what's bizarre about this is that we bought things based on Hot Chicks on the cover of albums.

But yet a decade or two decades before we were buying albums where it was legit crotch shots.

You know, we bought an entire Bruce Springsteen album because it showed his ass.

Yeah, sticky fingers, sticky fingers out of zippers.

Yeah, Rolling Stones literally bulge on the front of the album.

I'll take that.

Zipper. What I don't I don't what's the what's the innuendo there?

What's going to happen if I unzip that zipper?

Can you can you tell me a show like what's the hardest show that you think that you've been to?

Oh, I saw Marilyn Manson here a couple of three years ago.

Metallica saw ACDC up in Knoxville with I don't remember who opened.

I think the Bullet Boys was one of them and they were terrible.

That's my least favorite band of all time.

I've never said that.

But we could do it. We could do an episode just bands that we hate.

Top of my list is MGMT.

I absolutely love this band and it's not because I don't like their music.

I like their music.

I just I despise how lazy they are on stage.

But anyway, I've told you I've told you I got to tell this though because I mentioned reviews because I think it's funny.

I can't remember who I reviewed.

Maybe it was Garth Brooks.

I did when he was just coming out and I thought I did a great review.

I said this guy may be the savior of country music, but he's not a classic singer doesn't have a great voice.

I got a hate letter.

Oh, I got all kinds of hate letters.

But this girl in particular said you should quit right now.

You're terrible.

And then she signed it, which I totally respected.

Well, about two weeks later, the Bullet Boys came and I hated them.

Hated them. And she agreed with me.

And she's like, so she wrote back, which I again respected, signed it.

But her last line was keep up the OK work.

I still have it.

Honestly, and to her credit, you really never did stop the OK work.

No, I never got past OK.

Man, that could be on my headstone when I'm down.

When I'm dead and in the ground, please just say he was OK enough.

There's Barry Courter.

OK, work Billy Joel.

Great work.

It's a very easy ranking system, let's be honest, but it cuts straight to the core.

Taco. I mean, it's it's great.

OK, bad, bad work.

I think that every if everything was that easy, we would be a lot better off.

If you Barry did your quote unquote research about death tones,

what was the thing that stood out the most for you?

I like it. I like it a lot.

It's not the it's not that throaty metal, which I don't I mean, it's cool,

but it all sounds the same.

It's more of a prog rock metal.

I mean, that's my initial.

I mean, Ruskin certainly correct me.

No, I think you're right.

It's yeah, it's a little more melodic.

It's a little more thought out.

I like I like I like I like melodic.

I also use artistic a lot.

I get into a lot of arguments about the industry now about how,

you know what we're jumping on as a format as as radio in general

just never feels artistic enough for me.

It just feels like a money grab and you know,

that don't have a specific thing that they're trying to say.

And I I missed that a lot with what's happening in music right now.

We had a decade in the 90s that was,

you know, primarily defined on, you know, gobbledygook like Limp

Biscuit and and in corn, which were never really saying something.

They were never really saying things like Rage Against the Machine

were saying, not trying to make a point.

That's why I like that.

Deaf tones. I think they're they're literally trying to have a conversation

wrapped in the type of sound that works for them.

Yeah, a lot of tension there.

Yes. Right. That is such a great point.

It's very intentional.

There's the there there are true artists and talking to Sergio today.

I'm most excited to learn about seeing because he wasn't with them from the outset.

What was his view going on tour with them as an opening band?

What did he see before actually becoming part of the deaf tones?

And what were some of the things that he was right about?

What was wrong about when it came to assessing their place in the pantheon of all of this?

Because I know this is up for argument,

but I just don't know another band in their sort of genre that have been more influential

that have stood the test of time that influenced so many people across so many different genres

to be a part of that and first off watch it from afar and then be a part of it too.

I think is an interesting perspective from Sergio who by the way plays bass for a death tones.

We didn't say that part of the beginning, but I don't know.

I don't think that they get enough credit.

I think at the end of the day, I agree.

I totally agree because like I said, they're fairly new to me and that's that's on me.

Not them.

I was you know, I'm older than you.

So I wasn't 14 about to get my ass whipped.

What did you think it was?

You know, you have this you have these bands that sort of live out in the him the atmosphere

of your life that you don't really ever engage in.

What did you think that they were?

I'll be honest.

I mean, it's it's all on me.

I thought it was more of a New Orleans type of what I mean, Cajun band just because of the name.

Cajun band?

Not to care.

What is?

I'm doing Zydeco.

You think they're doing that?

They're playing the spoons and wooden sticks that they find in the yard.

Maybe I honestly didn't know to be honest.

Ma, Pa, I whipped up this guitar from a broom and let's get on the porch and play some Zydeco music.

We're the deftones.

Nice to meet you.

I would see that I would go to see that that is really of all the things that you were going to describe the day.

I was going to say, you know, I guess I guess I thought that you were going to say it was going to be some sort of like electronic.

I'm like, no, no, no, no.

I mean, I totally based on the name.

I knew nothing.

It is really telling you the truth.

I'm just did you.

Okay. So did you think that they had a career that spanned all the way to the early 90s when you heard the name or did you just think that they might be some sort of, you know, newfangled cage inside to coact?

I knew they'd been around, but I didn't know anything.

I knew nothing.

I'm just being honest.

That's fine.

I don't mind the honesty.

I just I'm of all the things that you could have described them as in your mind.

That is one of the most surprising ones.

That one.

That one catches me off guard.

I wonder if there's a band like that for me.

When I hear the name, I think that I know them, but I don't think that I know them.

Now I kind of want like a side to go remix of diphtones.

Taco, I know the people that could make that happen.

Yeah, I know we're on to something.

Yeah, I think I live three blocks from the bayou.

I think there's someone living in the bayou right now that can do that for you.

But we can get Bochelay get Bochelay to do the death tones.

I love this.

That's the band I was trying to think of is like Bochelay.

That's what I thought they were sort of.

I'll try to think of what mine will be.

I'll see if I can harness who I have completely mistaken for years.

I really want to try and dig deep on this one.

This is a really exciting for me.

The death tones Sergio from the death tones next on the what podcast to Barry Courter Lord

Taco and Brad Steiner.

Thanks for joining us. Hello, there is there is I hate to take this conversation in the

wrong direction, but I'm immediately jealous of your hair.

I have your hair in me to be honest with you right now.

You know you want video I had to like spruce up.

I can't you know, I can't just I just woke up.

Well, as you should by the way Rockstar should not be calling be called in double digits.

This is not happening.

I do get up early at times but if you're gonna if you're gonna come strong with any excuse

the hair is a good one.

It's a hair man and the lights I accidentally I accidentally I'm on portrait mode, but I'm

sitting in front of my my recording setup.

Are you in LA right now?

I live in New York.

Okay, New York native.

All right.

So what is your normal day consist of what is your post in a post quarantine world obviously

in a post quarantine.

Yeah, I think it's a fairly similar to a quarantine world.

I wake up.

I make some coffee.

I work out and either kind of like catch up on emails hang out with my wife.

Make music and cook.

Okay, very simple.

And yeah, so usually the first two things are going to be coffee and exercise.

Yeah, the music thing is it's something you've been able to do from home and were you always

able so that really hasn't nothing changed.

Yeah, years before years before the pandemic.

I've had a home recording set up of some sort.

So I mean because of this now I've I've kind of updated it or improved it.

But I've always it's been kind of a part of my routine for a long time.

Are you writing stuff at the house just for yourself?

Are you writing for other people?

Are you just normally just playing around and if you have something that you really

start to like what do you do with it?

It's all of the above.

If I'm let's say like being in deftones and being in quicksand, I don't have something

and then presented to one or the other after the fact.

It's usually with the intent to go to to that.

Interesting.

Okay.

I don't I think that it's I don't know.

I don't know how other people work and it's not like a judgment thing.

But for me it's part of my life ethos to say like this is intended for deftones like before

you start before I start.

Wow.

That is a great point because it may I was going to lead down this path at some point

with this conversation because I wonder how much when okay.

So Dave Grohl said something really interesting one time and he said that I wrote this song

but just wasn't Foo Fighters enough.

I had to hear that all the time.

I wrote this.

I intended to write a bluegrass or rock song and it kept going country or whatever.

What mindset do you think changes that it has to be a deftone song?

What's the what's the is it a tonality?

Is it a certain writing style?

In certain ways it's like in the process of writing an album like early on things are

very ambiguous.

We don't really you know you don't set up you don't start off with a conscious plan

but you just kind of just start riffing ideas and just putting out ideas and but what I'll

do is I just say this is for deftones and if I'm programming drums or something that

I think I know like what would something like that would resonate with Abe and then like

when I'm laying down because if I present an idea I don't just present a bass line because

I've learned over the years they don't.

People need to hear the guitar they need to hear the vision or else if they hear a bass

line you give too much room for other people's thing and it doesn't it's not as likely to

live.

So I'm protecting my position I present the song and what happens with that is like you

can pick that apart or not so I send me a whole demo but it's like oh this is something

that I think Abe you know this is in Abe's wheelhouse so this is something that's fun

or I can listen to to like deftones material and just get into like a groove of like how

he plays.

And you feel when you when you say that get into a groove do you find yourself when you

are in making a deftones making a line for that do you keep with the deftones thing you

just go to the next one to the next one the next one or when you're done you just sort

of got to shake it off and start all over again.

I think it just kind of it'll be like that afternoon or that session that day so I'm

just kind of like all right cool this is all fun and stuff and then if I get like stuck

on something I can kind of I'll switch gears and do things just for myself and just to

say like all right this is this is just like free play I guess and I'll just do whatever

and sometimes those things you know like give me the opportunity to test new things new

sounds new whatever that can go back to that then those things can go back to either deftones

or quicksand.

Like I keep my tone and my style pretty much the same for both knowing that the when the

other people get involved they take it to completely different places.

How much does it change does it change?

It does the way I see yeah particularly much.

I think like deftones it's kind of it's like if I if I if I were to present here's the

same bass line you know to both bands they would take it such different places that it

wouldn't even I kind of used to try to say oh well here's a deftone style thing or a

quicksand style thing but I just do things that I think are cool now for the band and

with the intent of presenting it only to that man and if they don't like it it doesn't go

to the other man.

How long did this sort of like take you to figure out?

What was the was there like a magic like potion that you finally sort of said voila there

it is.

I think for me like in being in a couple of bands it just kind of it's just the way my

mind worked.

I don't know I didn't think it was like it wasn't a process it was just the idea that

I want to give both like a hundred percent and I don't want to give like some I don't

want to give like something that was rejected to someone else like if I was like a producer

or a standalone songwriter you shop a song like your baby and you give it to as many

people as it takes to land but when I'm in two bands that have a history and that have

a thing it's just oh I'm deftones Sergio today I'm just jamming in that vein.

The tunings are different so that kind of changes things a lot.

I would I wouldn't be able to say oh here's something a drop C for a quicksand that that

just doesn't happen.

I mean I'm fascinated by this I have to say I've done.

Yeah we jumped right all into the bolts of this didn't we.

Just before we get too crazy Sergio it's an honor to meet you first of all I'm really

really excited about this I'm Brad that's Barry yeah that's Lord Taco up at the top.

Thank you Lord Taco.

He is the Lord I bought him a five foot by five foot plot of land in England that he

is officially the Lord of just you know in case he wants to renounce his citizenship

to America and live in that five foot.

Yeah.

We're going there won't we.

Lord Taco those are two things to be a Lord is great and to be a taco might even be better.

Thank you.

Yeah I guess let's I know we jumped right into that and it's because you know you're

I mean you're you're amazing that's that's so it's easy to jump into a conversation like

that but I wanted to like just reset the table real quick because the deftones are such an

influential part of at least my life when I was a kid and talking to somebody that is

part of this history is really really a big deal and and not only is it a big deal for

me but for this this show that we do is a big deal for us.

We've never dipped our toe into the quote unquote metal pool we've just never done it.

It's never been something that has been comfortable I think for us to talk about almost like when

Barry wants me to talk about EDM music I just can't do it I can't talk about EDM stuff it's

very difficult but for you guys and and specifically for you on we're recording this two days after

the eighth and I hate using this word anniversary of the original bass bass players death but

you came into the deftones from another band that had spent so much time with the deftones

on the road I've always wondered what you felt about deftones before being in the band

and then now being a part of it and part of this sort of like zeitgeist of a moment years

ago so it's like I've never had an objective opinion because I've never heard the band

without knowing them if that makes sense say for the first time we met on the first warp

tour and some friends of mine were like oh you should check out this band deftones they're

playing on the stage you know and I was like well are they a hardcore band like what's

the deal like just coming from that world is very provincial you know for lack of a

better term and I was like well they're not hardcore but they like bad brains and they

have these influences and let's like oh bad brains is great and I went and I saw them

and at that time was or not I don't know how early it was in their career but I guess you

know they had really reached you know put out a record to my knowledge and you could

it was like a kind of root error you know like the adrenaline kind of that 95 and I

saw their set and then I just went over to their to their vehicle they were in a winnebago

and I just introduced myself and hung out with them and we talked and stuff and that

was really it so we were always kind of like homies and I never so I don't have like an

objective thing I was like I like these guys I like their energy and I come from a musical

background where that's what's valued you know so it's like you make friends with the

people you make friends with you know your friends the people in your audience are your

friends the people that you're playing with your friends it's a it's more like that kind

of thing and you just supportive and like what people are doing you know so I've always

I've always appreciated their music I've always thought it was cool like how they've grown

and they've taken chances and I've appreciated how they they also are kind of in a sense

were free from the parameters of being in like a rigid type of music you know so like

they're kind of they took a left turn very early and open themselves up to a lot of pathways

and so that's always been cool but they've always just been my homies and friends so

I'm like just I was like these guys are cool and and I like that.

What was it like joining the transition and you said it was I mean you know you're watching

a band that you know and like how did that go?

It was easy I mean we're friends I had filled in for Chi in 1999 on a tour he injured his

foot and you know so there's always been that thing it's just it doesn't sometimes when

I read people's perspective of it you know like if people who don't owe me or my history

now they do more but it was always be like oh I was plucked out of something and I was

like maybe plucked out of a crowd or for a band that I'm like a super fan of and I've

just known them so it's like it's just I don't have an objective thing you know it'd be different

if like let's say Radiohead picked me up and they're like I'd never met them you know I

never met them I didn't I never saw them I don't know them I've never filled in I just

these are it's like a cold drop into something and that would be like what the heck you know

because you don't know them as people it's abstract.

Well it almost it almost frees you up to it almost frees you up to just the comfort level

automatically there and it's probably why they wanted you to be a part of the future

it was just too easy of a fit.

I mean my understanding is you know because they like quicksand the style fit I had filled

in already that worked out well we were friends and from my perspective it was they were always

like I came into something as a friend you know I was like these are my friends in need

and how can I help and just kind of put my best foot forward and never looked at it from

any other perspective.

So going back to our original thing that we were talking about especially with the technical

and the the inside the weed sort of writing process thing when you bring something to

the table musically are you still not bringing anything in general not not bringing anything

but in general is everything pretty much written by Chino is he bringing the lyrical things

to the table or is there are there other voices at this point now 25.

As far as what as far as what aspect is there sorry lyric lyrically lyrically yeah that's

like that is going to be like predominantly him on the lyrics you know overwhelmingly

like maybe a word or a line here from something really you know like it's just someone saying

something or something but and then as far as melodic structure that's that there's more

like singing in the band and singing that like there's a lot of opportunity for in the

development of melodies to be like hey here's some melodic shape so we can like riff over

stuff together.

The reason I asked that I asked that specifically because the way that Chino has written for

so long has been so about whatever is happening in the world or he's got a perspective on

a certain topic that he wanted to absolutely make sure that the world knew I wonder with

so much happening around us do you guys as a band just trust him that he's going to get

there or do you say hey we should really do George Floyd was a big deal we should probably

touch everyone's politics are touched in their personal lives on their personal accounts

and things and this is more like impressionist art these aren't like there's never really

like rarely coming into a song with a topic it's often building up off of sounds and shapes

that make sense and then finding words and things and then after you can look back at

it and analyze it and you know for when people hear the stuff they often have like they have

your association so you're gonna say this is clearly about that or this is clearly about

this and maybe even after the fact you know like you could say oh this song seems like

it's about this but at the time it's it's more often than not just like finding things

that come together and shapes and it takes structure and you can look back at it and

see where it is but we're not the type of band musically or lyrically to say this is

gonna be about this and we're gonna make a kind of record like this it doesn't work you're

just constraining it's unnecessarily constraining it's so true but man you look back at some

of these some of these songs and you feel like it was I mean crafted specifically for

topic here it's almost almost hard to believe that it grew almost organically and naturally

without trying to get into that space that is kind of surprising I mean that's human

nature like how did we find shapes and stars because we we strive to make shape we strive

to make sense of things that's our advantage we're not the strongest creatures on earth

we don't live very long we have our advantage is trying to predict things and by nature

we try to make sense of things and and often by like the confidence of ignorance we just

a ship sure that we know what's being spoken about and I see that all the time and the

sure the conviction the often the further away from reality it is I've been thinking

about this for months and I'm I don't think anybody knows yet I'm curious to see how we

come out of this last year with songwriting I mean are we gonna is it gonna be you know

gloom and doom is it gonna be ready to move on is it gonna be happy is it gonna be you

know a bazillion songs about being holed up in my basement for 12 months and so radio

guy I'll tell you the answer whatever tests well I think that I think that I think that

that's up to the artist like I know people have already made quote unquote COVID records

and it's been interesting to see like what that given artist what that take is you know

and like without naming names of artists mainly because I don't necessarily remember but I

remember reading an art there was like a pop singer one of the Jonas Brothers made a record

and it was like his conus his COVID record sorry yeah and it would they were love songs

because he was like from this seat you know of being in this situation I these are the

things that made sense to me and blah blah blah and now here's my record that's influenced

by COVID and their love songs to my wife and maybe that's like backtrack talking you know

because you had a body of songs we never know we never know you know people are gonna put

things out there and yeah it did I know exactly you're talking about it did come across a

tad like PR spin you know how can I how can I make this of the moment when it's a song

you know it's a it's a horror movie soundtrack oh yeah sure we don't know but like yeah the

truth is is that it's impacted everybody in some way and whether or not they wear it on

their on their chest or they have it tucked away you know it's undeniable that you know

it impacts that's a great point because I think that's what's different is it has impacted

everybody.

I mean worldwide it's not just a regional thing you know where you know it happened

to you but I can still feel it no it happened to me too so it that in that way it's different

the other part of it I wonder and and I don't know if you guys have even thought about it

when Bonnarooo announced what you guys are on the lineup when they announced the lineup

I mean it's nearly sold out and so there's this feeling of we're all ready to get out

and have this explosion as a band how excited are you guys to get back out and play live

again and what does that mean I mean are you talking about it is it a big deal is it you're

just ready to get out or.

I think it's like it's kind of like all of the above in the sense that like let's say

speaking for myself you know like it's always been about doing the things to ensure a positive

result to make sure that that's all that happens you know there's some we live in a time where

things are everything is so fragile and things are in flux and a lot of things are in our

control and like living in New York City I get in turn sometimes because you know like

when things open people there's a lot of fatigue and rightly so and I see people doing things

that are kind of like congregating too close on top of each other and things and I get

worried that it's like we want to get back you know we want things to happen and whatever

you know like whatever is the best course you know to doing that and whatever the threshold

for acceptable levels of safety is I think that it's like to me it never hurts to lean

towards being more to being you know better safe than sorry do the things that it's you

know like you can take the chance to say oh if I'm just this safe it's going to be okay

but it's it seems to me clearer that if you're if you're if you tend towards the conservative

you know like you're insured with less risk a better result so for me I'm just like I

want to do everything possible to get back to to being around people and making music

because it's it's our life's blood it's like what we do it's how we express every emotion

we have and it's fun and and we don't get to do that you know so.

Just to that point are you I mean you guys with the new album and then a tour that was

put on hiatus now going back out how worried are you how nervous are you?

I'm worried and and I'm worried but my things are like do it you can't do with what is in

your control to do and do the things that it takes to make sure that things have a positive

outcome you know so like that's kind of the perspective I have it's like I am concerned

because you can't really control everything and not everyone is on the same page but what

I can control is my environment so in the interim you know I work out I keep myself

healthy I practice I avoid situations that that could get me sick and.

You got those shots?

I'm halfway there.

You're halfway there?

Yeah and that was a bit for my wife and I that was a big thing you know like we're cut

off from our families we're cut off from our friends cut off from our bandmates and you

know I've seen these guys once in over a year.

And we talk and it's you know it's this is it's it's our it's our thing you know it's

like way more than just our career it's our it's our life so yeah it sucks but but again

to you know stay positive everyone's excited to play it in short everyone is super hyped

for for the ability to get back to work and play and and in the interim I've noticed that

like people do the things at home to like stay creative and to keep your to keep your

chops up.

What does the schedule look like I mean is it Bonnarooo and then one or two other things

or is it.

Actually it keeps it keeps it's everything's always in flux yeah so it's like everything's

in flux and then like whenever sure till it's announced that even after it's announced things

can still be in flux.

I can't thank you enough for joining us on this.

To wrap up I did a little Google search of deftones just because I don't know I haven't

done it in 15 years.

So I this is one of my favorite Google also search for terms when I entered deftones.

Okay so you know I get the the Google and then also also search for as a whole bunch

of the stuff that you can also search for and you just answer these questions for me

if you can see if Google got it right.

Is deftones still a band.

Yes.

Okay.

Are deftones good live.

Mostly yeah.

Is deftones an emo.

Is deftones an emo.

No definitely not an emo or even just emo without the end.

And then finally my favorite is deftones a shoegaze.

Is deftones a shoegaze.

I feel like no.

No no no.

Definitely not shoegaze.

But with influences from that far more than emo.

I will say one of my favorite Chino quotes years and years and years ago and I'll butcher

this but he said something to the effect of somebody asked him if he was an emo singer

and dude goes I'm as good as two emo singers.

I am as good as two.

Put them both together.

Yeah I'm really I'm really really excited about this show.

What is post covid what does a deftones show look like.

What's it like to be seen.

We still have to see each other.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I guess it would be like I think if if the band as a whole brings a lot of energy and

excitement to play normally then with a year plus not being able to do that then I think

you just kind of magnify that a little.

I mean I ask mainly because you know the tour was supposed to coincide with a new album

and the 20th anniversary of White Pony.

So I wondered if there was an opportunity there playing White Pony from start to finish.

You know for myself I always skew towards the newest.

You know I think even as a band there starts to be a little fatigue for being stuck on

in a moment because it kind of just like I don't ever want to be like your best days

are behind you.

Well see I guess in my mind I'm because of as fans we've been talking about this so much

for 16 18 months what it's going to be like.

I guess I'm under the assumption that you guys as bandmates have been talking every

week saying I can't wait to get out.

Here's what we're going to do.

You know but that's not the case right.

I mean the cases I think the same as your life it's like how's your family doing.

Who's still healthy who's good.

Checking on your friends who's sick.

How are they doing.

OK cool.

How are we going to make ends meet.

You know how does this happen.

How does this really looking forward to a time that we can play.

But I think that we're there's a lot more to life than that.

So it's a very important facet of our lives.

But unfortunately you know these circumstances put a lot of things on your plate.

It's that's been the theme for me from everything that I do all the interviews that I've done

for the paper is that if there is a theme for the last year it's that we've all figured

out what's really important.

Yeah.

I mean like checking it.

I haven't seen like I said I haven't seen any really.

My wife and I are our our our germ pool.

So it's the two of us like day by day and with the rare well can't wait for you to be

a bottom.

I can't wait for you to see the germs at Bonnarooo.

Yeah I wouldn't know how to.

I mean when we do like outside dining and so when I just walk by a crowd I'm just kind

of like well and I mean that's my life right.

My life is being in a crowd and being you know in front of them.

But that's just me and my wife just rocking in our room.

I'm waiting for the festival one day just a festival to name a stage dysentery.

Man you've just been so great.

And I could I mean legitimately I could keep you here all day because I just love you guys

so much.

You're set up.

You're set up back there.

Yeah.

What do you got plugged in.

Are you are you plugged in now.

Are you about to work on something.

What do you what are you going to hammer out today.

I usually usually work late night.

But I have what my neighbors is is a Mac M1 mini.

And Apogee Duet interface fractal audio.

I forgot which model is here but I used fractal audio for modeling bass and guitar IK multimedia

keyboards.

I use Ableton Live and my Fender guitars are out of the frame.

But I have a bunch of Fender guitars here.

How many have you gotten the same room.

How many are you working on at one time.

Currently there's a bass and two guitars here.

OK.

That's a lot later than I thought it would be.

No I have a closet full of all my you know full of everything.

So we have like strangely just because of the way things shut down I only have one bass

here but I have four electric guitars here and three or four acoustic guitars here.

The new album out now.

We'll see it at Bonnarooo.

And yeah when you show up at Bonnarooo make sure to bring whatever hair care product you

have so I can share.

OK.

You know what it is water and sometimes just water and sometimes a little bit of conditioner.

I can do conditioner.

It just gets too big.

I think I can't control the condition.

Just a little bit.

You just take a little dot.

OK.

Just run your fingers through it.

OK.

But if you have curly hair you can't touch it after you do it.

Then it goes like.

Sergio thank you so much.

You're the best.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It's a good way to start the day.

Good morning by the way.

Don't get this kind of information anywhere else.

Thank you so much.

Thank you guys.

It's a pleasure.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for having me.

The most amazing part of talking to Sergio from Deaf Tones is and I didn't want to spend

too much time on it but is worth repeating that not only he's amazing.

He has every reason to be celebrated.

It's just tough.

Two days after the anniversary of the death of the original bass player.

Really one of my favorite bands of my entire childhood.

Oh you know what we didn't do?

Damnit Taco.

We didn't ask them about Deaf Tones time as a Zydeco rocker.

We totally forgot.

I was waiting for that.

For the Bayou Boogaloo that was Barry Courter.

I totally forgot.

I know.

I hung the curve ball for you and you let it go by.

You just looked at it.

Maybe they'll hear this episode and then surprise us with a jazz.

You know if I was a more skilled broadcaster I would have asked him to pick up that guitar

and perform a Zydeco number for us right then and there.

I failed you guys once again.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

All right there you go.

What do you think Barry?

Great.

You're debriefed.

Great stuff.

I think he's now hearing and it makes perfect sense.

I mean his answer was spot on.

It was you know what he's been doing and what's been important and I really just think that's

been the thing I've been hearing from everybody.

No matter what vocation they have.

We're just all figuring out what's important.

I guess in my mind the reason for my question is that like these bands are just itching

to get out and they're finally on a schedule.

But no.

They're still every bit as in flux as everyone else.

So that was interesting to me.

Knowing their sets the way that they're set.

They're going to be it's going to be the same set.

You know I mean once they figure it out they're going to figure it out.

But I bet they're a lot like we are as we walk out of the door every day.

We're like I don't know where I'm going to go but I'm out.

I'm out.

I'm going to do some stuff and we'll see where I go.

And it is early.

It's early.

But it's not though.

I mean you're going to turn around you're going to look at where you know it.

We're going to look at it's going to be Labor Day.

I mean how many days are we away from Bonnarooo.

I mean we I mean any moment the Lollapalooza lineup is going to drop and we're going to

be at the end of July and we're like oh it's Lollapalooza weekend.

Before you know it this this stuff's going to creep up really really fast.

No question.

But I guess what I mean is they're professionals.

They do what they do.

They know what they do.

They're not going to they're not going to come out with like you just said something

completely different.

And I guess part of me is thinking somebody will.

There might be a higher level of energy but I don't see bands reinventing themselves just

because they've been on hiatus for a year.

I guess that's what I'm.

Yeah you don't you don't necessarily think it would be breaking down to Rick Astley covers.

They're not going to do both.

They're going to come back in the side of go man just goes.

So happy to see you guys.

It's your taco.

It's Barry Courter and that's time to the What Podcast to talk to you next week.