When he joined the Deftones in 1997, Frank Delgado was nothing more than the DJ — he’d never played an instrument, and anything he sampled was from an existing record. But since 2000’s “White Pony,” he started dabbling with synthesizers, which led him to write songs on keyboards even though he doesn’t read music.
“We all get together and we make noise. And when there’s something good there, we all start building on it. That’s kind of how it is still. It’s a matter of me figuring out stuff that works and sounds good, and being able to play it again,” Delgado says, laughing, admitting that so far he’s had luck remembering riffs and melodies.
“[But] you can go back and remember where you were and figure it out. I could take the easy route and sample things, but I’m trying to better myself and be creative with my buddies. Just bringing a DJ into the band just shows you how open-minded this band is.”
While every record has been a labor of love for the California group (which headlines Monday at the 9:30 Club), the recent release “Saturday Night Wrist” tested the Deftones’ patience, mettle and work ethic. With tunes such as the first single “Hole in the Earth,” it’s not as dark or morose a record as 2003’s self-titled effort, Delgado says, and maybe even uplifting.
Of course, the members didn’t see that for a while because of the drama. There was a long lull between the recording of the music and vocal tracking — since singer Chino Moreno was on tour with his side project, Team Sleep — and the Deftones had a sitdown to see if the band even wanted to finish the CD at all.
“It was more or less communication — not really talking and no one really know what everyone was feeling,” Delgado says. “After that, a whole new creative process took over and that’s probably where it started the uplifting feeling.
“You don’t ever think you need an intervention. You never want to rush something,” he adds. “Between all that and now, it got us to an amazing record we’re very proud of. Whatever it takes.”
Deftones
The Deftones appear with Deadsy on Monday (doors open at 7:30 p.m.)
Venue: 9:30 Club, 850 V St. NW, Washington
Tickets: Sold out
More info: 202-265-0930
