How Deftones Almost Changed Their Name Before Signing First Album Contract

Deftones (Instagram @deftones)

JAKARTA - After facing pressure from industry executives, the band Deftones almost changed its name before signing their first album contract.

This news was shared by former Roadrunner Records executive Monte Conner, where he reflected on the days he worked with Deftones before they contracted.

In a post that has now been deleted on Facebook, Conner recalls how he almost signed Deftones when they first appeared on the rock scene, and almost convinced them to leave the name Deftones.

In the summer of 1993, I was sent a Deftones demo by their manager Dave Park... I was immediately fascinated; their music I've never heard of before," he started (via The PRP).

Even though these bands are usually grouped with Korn as the founder of numetal, I never consider their music to be similar to that of Korn, or any other band that quickly places numerals on the map of a genre. Deftones had its own unique sound from the start.

According to TRP, Conner is ready to sign Deftones to Roadrunner after hearing the demo but only on condition that they continue with different band names.

Alasannya adalah bahwa bagian 'Def' dari nama tersebut sangat dikaitkan dengan Rick Rubin pada saat itu, yang baru-baru ini mengganti nama labelnya Def American Recordings menjadi American Recordings.

Similarly, he fears that the final piece of the word '-tones' will make them feel part of the popular Ska movement at the time.

"In 1993, after seeing 'def' added to the dictionary, Rick Rubin, determined all trendy things, decided that the word had lost its cool factor, and took bold steps by changing the name of the record label which was very successful," he explained.

More importantly, at the same time, there is a massive ska movement going on in America with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones... For me, the'signa' part of the band name makes them sound like a ska band.

As reported in the original post, the frontman Chino Moreno et al. was open to the idea of rebranding, and even suggested a new name 'Engine No. 9' title one of their demo songs at the time but the deal ultimately failed due to other factors.

"Six months later they signed a contract with Maverick Records, released "Adrenaline" in 1995, and the rest is just history, "concluded Conner. "It seems that overnight this album was launched, the band exploded, and every metal fan around the world wore a Deftones shirt. I really feel ridiculous."

Conner also claimed he later met guitarist Stephen Carpenter, who told him that Maverick also pushed the members for the band's new name, but eventually gave up when they didn't find a better alternative.

I learned two valuable lessons from the whole experience. First, you can't see the name of the band in a vacuum,' he added. Music band is what makes their name! Second, it's important not to be a victim of myopia. Not everything that seems important in our often isolated world of music industry is important for fans in the real world.