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Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has spoken about how “mind-blowing” it was to get the “thumbs up” from Madonna when they were first signed.
The band were one of the earliest signings to Maverick Records, the label co-founded by the Queen of Pop in 1995.
They went on to release five albums under the label before it folded in 2009, including their debut ‘Adrenaline’.
Speaking to the Irish Times, Moreno said: “It was [A&R rep] Guy [Oseary] who discovered us first, and then he and [Maverick co-founder] Freddy DeMann flew us from our base in Sacramento to Los Angeles, where we played a couple of songs for them in a little rehearsal space.
“That same day we were invited to the record-label offices in Beverly Hills, where I got to meet Madonna, which was mind-blowing.”
The Deftones frontman continued: “So, yeah, she definitely gave us the thumbs-up. It was crazy to be a 20 year-old kid and have somebody whose music I’ve been listening to since I was 10 years-old give us her approval. It was hard to take in.”
He also spoke about how Madonna attended a number of the band’s concerts over the years.
Moreno added: “They were a little nerve-wrenching, because you knew she was watching you… One of the biggest artists in the world knew who we were. It was awesome and very, very cool.”
The frontman also praised her for not interfering with their creative direction and said she “wasn’t as hands-on as maybe you would think. In no way was she dictating our creative direction or anything like that, and, in general, the label let us be us”.
Moreno recently sat down for a new interview with NME, celebrating the release of Deftones’ ’10th album ‘Private Music’ in which he also revealed that Liam Gallagher once hailed him in a tweet.
It came earlier this summer when a fan got in touch with Liam on X/Twitter, sharing a photo of him and Moreno backstage at a festival. “Do you remember meeting Chino Moreno from Deftones? You two look absolutely BEAUTIFUL,” the fan wrote, to which the Manchester legend responded: “He’s a dude”.
Looking back at the tweet, Moreno told NME: “I had to ask [my PR] what that meant. I was like, ‘Is that good? Is that bad?’”
When being told it was high praise, Moreno joked, “Awesome, I love it.” He then said he would be going to see Oasis‘ when they performed in Chicago last month, as part of their current North American tour.
Speaking about Deftones’ ability to keep making new fans, over three decades since they first formed, Moreno said that he doesn’t take it for granted and he compared it to the overwhelming hype that Oasis have generated for their current reunion tour, adding: “I can say that without sounding arrogant about Oasis, too: that’s why their shows are what they are and why they have this broad demographic there.
“They write great songs. I’m not saying we write as great a song as they do, but I’m saying that if you go through a catalogue, there are a handful of songs that transcend time.”
He continued: “Multiple generations are into what we’re doing. When I’m on stage, it is inspiring to look out there and see fresh faces, and familiar faces as well. I don’t think that’s something that any of us anticipated.”
NME gave ‘Private Music’ a glowing five-star review, writing: “‘Private Music’ once again finds the band as masters of beauty and brutality rolling over the horizon in one stunning but powerful storm. Batten down those hatches, throw up those horns, and lean in close.
“Very much a whole journey through a full-bodied and expansive fever dream, but this time somehow spiritual, intimate and direct, Deftones’ 10th album is a gift for fans old, new, and certainly finding them in the very distant future. Their peers can’t touch them.”
Next year, Deftones will play a run of UK and European dates, including a huge show at The O2 in London on February 20. Denzel Curry and Drug Church will be joining them as special guests, and tickets are available here.
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