Former Deftones bassist and drummer Dominic Garcia has opened up once again about his time with the alt-metal heavyweights. Though this time, he’s setting the record straight on his role in the band’s origins.
Speaking in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, Garcia pushed back against the long-circulating narrative that he was simply an early recruit. “That’s not true – I’m a founding member,” he insisted, recalling how he and drummer Abe Cunningham first connected in high school before linking up with guitarist Stephen Carpenter.
Back then, the trio were just making noise: “Stephen [Carpenter, guitarist] lived in the neighborhood – he was 18, a couple of years older than us. He’d ride around on his bike, and one day we were jamming out and Stephen must have heard us ’cos he poked his nose through the window and invited us to come jam with him at his house.
“At that point, it was the three of us. We were mostly just making noise, but Stephen was the riff master – he came up with all these amazing riffs. It was Stephen who came up with the name The Deftones, because he loved Def Jam Recordings so much. It was always The Deftones when I was in the band, from what I can remember.”
The band’s early days were a blur of experimentation and unlikely influences. After auditioning vocalists – including a straight-up MC – they eventually landed on a young Chino Moreno, whose party trick of singing The Smiths songs helped set him apart. Early originals like “Butt Booty Naked” reportedly fused funk-metal vibes with crushing riffs, hinting at the genre-blending identity the band would later refine.
When Cunningham left to join local act Phallucy, Garcia moved from bass to drums – a switch that opened the door for the late Chi Cheng to enter the fold. Garcia remembers Cheng fondly as “wonderful” and deeply creative, with a love of poetry that added a new dimension to the band.
Despite never formally quitting, Garcia‘s time in the band came to an unceremonious end. While juggling roles in both groups, he discovered through a third party that he’d effectively been replaced. “I was a little bit heartbroken,” he admitted, though he maintains there’s no lingering bitterness.
In the years since, Garcia has taken a very different path. He’s since moved away from rock and immersing himself in world and ethnological music, particularly Latin traditions: “Phallucy wound up breaking up because of management stuff, but I was kind of moving away from rock music at that point.
“I took a world music class at Sacramento City College and started getting into ethnological music – that touched my soul. I started digging into the roots of Latin music and that’s been my passion ever since. I recently got a grant to learn how to carve sacred Bata drums, which are used in spiritual Yoruba ceremonies.”
As for Deftones, Garcia holds no regrets. In fact, he still shows up – albeit with mixed results. Recalling a recent hometown gig, he laughed: “I enjoyed the show a little bit too much… I got kicked out of the pit. I was like, ‘I used to be in this band!'”
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