Chino Moreno Says Stephen Carpenter’s Unwillingness to Tour Abroad is “Something That I Think He’s Figuring Out”
one of the strangest things that’s come about from the Deftones camp in recent years was the revelation that guitarist Stephen Carpenter refuses to play any of the band’s international shows. He just doesn’t travel abroad and no one really seems to know why, though there are some reports that suggest what’s going on there…
Still, it’s been since 2022 that the guitarist has chosen to stay home while the band embarks on their international tours. In the past, the only explanation he’s offered has been: “With everything going on in the world, I’m just not ready to leave home and leave the country yet.” Which like… I get it. That’s fair given the everything going on.
Still, it’s got to be hard for the band doing gigs without such an integral piece to their sound. And while they’ve adjusted by hiring guitarist Lance Jackman to handle Carpenter’s parts on stage, it’s just not the same. And though there have been attempts at clarifying why he won’t travel abroad, even Deftones frontman Chino Moreno sounds like he’s not entirely sure what’s going on.
“I don’t want to speak for him. And even if I could, I still don’t have an answer. Really I don’t.
“It’s still something that I think he is figuring out. And if he does have an answer, I think it’d be great if one day he would share it. But yeah, we support him. We have to. He’s our friend. And his health, be it physically or mentally, always takes the forefront of anything.”
Moreno shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with Metal Hammer. In that interview, Moreno said the band is still a cohesive unit while writing new tunes or playing domestic shows, it’s only when they leave the confines of the United States that things get a bit wonky.
“It’s sad, I want him onstage with us at every show. If you ask me what I prefer, I want him there every day, every time we do anything, with the band. But it literally comes down to: there’s two ways to deal with it. We accept what he can and will do, or we just don’t play. And we want to play.”
With the band’s new album Private Music out now and a North American tour already underway, it’s likely that we’ll see Carpenter back on stage with Deftones when they start playing U.S. shows again. You can check out the list of tour dates below to see when they’ll be hitting a venue near you.
Deftones live dates:
8/25 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
8/27 Winnipeg, MB Canada Life Centre (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
8/29 Minneapolis, MN Target Center (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
8/30 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
9/1 Buffalo, NY Key Bank Center (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
9/3 Toronto, ON Rogers Stadium (w/ System Of A Down, Polyphia & Wisp)
9/5 Toronto, ON Rogers Stadium (w/ System Of A Down, Polyphia & Wisp)
9/7 Quebec City, QC Centre Videotron (w/ Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California)
9/8 Montreal, QC Bell Centre (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/10 Cleveland, OH Rocket Arena (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/11 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/13 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/15 Denver, CO Ball Arena (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/17 Kansas City, MO T-Mobile Center (w/ IDLES & The Barbarians Of California)
9/19 Atlanta, GA Shaky Knees
9/20 Louisville, KY Louder Than Life
10/3 Sacramento, CA Aftershock
