“If he does have an answer, it’d be great if one day he would share it”: Chino Moreno doesn’t know why Stephen Carpenter isn’t touring internationally with Deftones
Deftones’ Chino Moreno has shared his sadness regarding guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s decision to step down from international touring, though he’s still not sure as to his reasons why.
Deftones are due to release a brand new record, titled Private Music, this Friday 22 August. They’re due to kick off a tour in support of the new record that same day in Vancouver, with dates across Europe, the UK, and Ireland set for early 2026. Guitarist Lance Jackman has been known to fill in for Carpenter overseas.
READ MORE: “At that time, my guitar sound was garbage”: Stephen Carpenter recalls tone struggles during this Deftones album era
Back in 2022, Carpenter announced his decision to step away from playing shows with the band outside of North America. Many believed this was down to his anti-vax views, which he shared via the Tin Foil Hat podcast back in 2020, surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Carpenter has also spoken openly about mental health struggles with anxiety. In a 2024 Rock Feed interview, he insisted that he’d already made the decision to step down from international tours prior to the pandemic, but said that it had worsened his anxiety.
Now, speaking to Metal Hammer, Moreno has shared support for Carpenter and says the band accept his decision to do things his own way: “I don’t want to speak for him. And even if I could, I still don’t have an answer,” he says.
“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.
“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,” concludes Moreno.
Deftones’ new album Private Music is available to pre-order now. View their full list of tour dates via the band’s official website.
The post “If he does have an answer, it’d be great if one day he would share it”: Chino Moreno doesn’t know why Stephen Carpenter isn’t touring internationally with Deftones appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
