Artist: Deftones
Song Titel: Interview mit Abe
Album:
-------------------------------------------------------------------


Deftones
Questions answered by:
Abe Cunningham (Drums)
03/24/01
Interviewed by Brian Webb
Official Website


PRP: Although "White Pony" has been embraced by the fans and
hailed by the critics as one of the great albums of last year, yet in
terms of sales it hasn't seen you take the leap many had expected,
with the album recently falling off the Billboard charts and not yet
selling platinum. How do you feel about that?
Abe: Every record we've done except for the first one there has been
hype about being the next big thing. We don't care, we don't give a
shit about what people expect. Its the biggest record we have ever
had and we do what we do at our own pace. Doing it this long, we
are happy with ourselves. The music business is a strange business.

PRP: Nearly a year after its release, what songs have really stood out
for you on the "White Pony"?
Abe: I like it all. I love playing "Feiticeira" live though.

PRP: What has been the highlight of this past year? What with Rock
In Rio, Grammy, key to city, etc....
Abe: The whole year man. All these years we've been waiting for
2001 to come. It's been amazing and it's not over yet. It's been great
and I can't really highlight anything. Just the fact that we can still do
it.

PRP: So how did it feel to win the Grammy?
Abe: Even just being nominated we were amazed. It was totally out of
the blue. It was exciting, but more so for our parents.

PRP: Since the release of your third album, yet again, another host of
new bands have appeared. Do you have any favorites of the current
crop?
Abe: I don't really buy any of those records. I like to listen to older
stuff but I really like Glassjaw.

PRP: How does it feel to have Linkin Park support you despite the
fact they are more commercially successful right now?
Abe: I think its funny. I couldn't give a shit. They have never been
over here before. Linkin Park are a band that you either love or hate
and they got a lot of shit.

PRP: At theprp.com we ran a feature asking bands such as Machine
Head, A Perfect Circle, System Of A Down and more what their fave
albums for the year were and "White Pony" consistently appeared
more than any other album. It seems that amongst artists you are the
most respected band out there. How do you feel about that?
Abe: That's the best thing in the world, better than selling millions, to
have the respect of your peers. It's very cool.

PRP: A lot of younger bands who've toured with you like Taproot and
Glassjaw have said its like a dream come true, how does it feel to
have such an impact on these groups?
Abe: Yeah, we've done the same thing too though, touring with
bands we grew up listening to. You listen to a band and you hope
their cool people and not pricks. Treat people how you want to be
treated.

PRP: There has been rumors circulating lately that Maverick Records
may shut down sometime in the not too distant future, are you guys
confident with your future on the label?
Abe: I heard that they gave it some more time. Either way it wont
affect us.


PRP: With "Change (In The House Of Flies)" making TRL, the
following singles never quite lived up to the success that "Change"
had. Do you find this frustrating?
Abe: No because you have to understand that we never have had
any radio play before. So its all a success. We built everything we
have on touring. Our worries are elsewhere, we are beyond that.

PRP: How many other singles do you plan to release from the album
and are there any other tracks being eyed as potential candidates?
Abe: To us, the whole record could be singles. For the label its a
whole different story, they could consider it to be a dead record now.
PRP: A lot of people would love to see "Knife Party" as a single.
Abe: That was supposed to be the first single so who knows.

PRP: It seems that with Warren Entner managing you guys and also
putting together the Faith No More tribute record, it would be a
perfect fit for you to show up on the tribute. Have there been any
discussions about this and which Faith No More track would you like
to cover if given the choice?
Abe: I think their songs are too perfect to be touched, why fuck with
it. We talked about doing some really early stuff off the very first
record. "RV" is what we came to and then we decided to fuck it,
there's a lot of bands on the album we aren't too keen on.

PRP: Does it anger you that whenever you release an album, your
style of music becomes copied quite quickly by other acts?
Abe: I mean everyone copies and we've certainly copied bands too, I
think its how you take it. You cant just TAKE IT, you got to run it
through your heart and soul and give it your own pace. Bands should
try to get their own fucking thing.

PRP: Where do you feel the band will head with your new album and
have you been writing any new songs recently?
Abe: Anywhere, that's the beauty of it. We set ourselves up to do
whatever we want and people can't expect anything. We have so
many ideas but mainly we are just trying to find different sounds rather
than the simple standard instruments. We haven't written anything
yet, its all in our heads.

PRP: How much of a shock was it in seeing Chi without his dreads
and how have the fans reacted?
Abe: No, it was great. He came in the next day and we were like god,
it was quite a shock. Those dreads stunk, I felt sorry for his wife and
kids.

PRP: With Chino cutting his dreads, Stef cutting his long hair, Chi
cutting his dreads, what dramatic appearance change do you have in
mind?
Abe: I'm growing mine long! Like back In the old days, it's been a
long time.

PRP: Speaking of the old days, what can you tell us about you old
band Phallucy?
Abe: We did a record almost eight years ago but it was never
finished. We were home last month and I got together and we talked
about it and we went and finished it, mixed it and it sounded really
good. We are going to put it out just on the internet on a site we are
going to make for it. It's just kind of cool and interesting. Even eight
years later it's still sounding good.

PRP: This summer it seems like you'll be doing an Amphitheater tour
with Godsmack in what seems an unlikely partnership. Are you
excited about this tour?
Abe: Initially we were like fuck that and there will probably be a
backlash from people but I couldn't give a fuck. Lets make it in to a
positive thing, it doesn't need to be negative. Why not tour with
Godsmack, it's one tour and I think it could be a good thing. I'm not a
Godsmack fan but we can still have fun, its summertime.
PRP: You've yet to hit Australia or east Asia yet. Any plans to?
Abe: We were going to be playing Japan but I don't think that's
happening now. We'd love to get to those places but its more to do
with the dollar down there and also the yen. It's all to do with our
management and basically it's to expensive to go at this point but we
cant wait to get to those places.

PRP: With the amount of covers you guys have both recorded and
played live, will we ever see a covers album?
Abe: Yeah, maybe when we have time. It's not at the top of our
minds.

PRP: You also have a number of acoustic songs that fans,
particularly on the net, cant get enough of. You could really shine on
something like MTV unplugged. How would you react to that? and is
that something you have ever thought of in terms of performing
acoustically live?
Abe: Yeah we just did this thing called "Music In High Places". A
show that takes bands around exotic locations and we did four
acoustic songs on this lava flow. I think the songs translate really
well, even the heavier shit.

PRP: The rumors of the band touring with Tool or Weezer never
seem to cease, are possible tours with these acts any closer to a
reality yet?
Abe: Same as it is. Rumors.

PRP: Apparently you have a home video in the works. Any firm plans
for that and if so what kind of footage can we expect?
Abe: Well the "Digital Bath" video is out. The cool thing is we did it all
ourselves. We all have cameras and stuff, most of it was my footage.
We hired a friend to edit it. Chino and I went to school with this kid
and he went to film school and now he has backing for this company
to do documentaries and stuff. The last tour we did in the states he
came out and documented most of that. This is different from the
home video that we will put out though before the end of the year
though.

PRP: With many of the band having their own outlet other than the
Deftones, do you feel this has a negative or positive affect on the
band.
Abe: I think its healthy. It makes us tighter and relieves some of the
pressure.

(www.born2rock.de.vu)