Sergio Vega’s days are spent consumed with music. “There’s not much going on in my world but making music and the occasional sketch here and there.” he says down the phone line, sounding like a man deep in his element.
Since joining the Deftones after bass player and back up screamer Chi Cheng’s tragic car accident in Santa Clara, California in 2008, Vega has been somewhat of an enigma to long time followers of the group.
He explains his childhood was drenched with creative influences. “My father was a painter and my mother did sketching and painting as well,” he says.
“They were both art teachers and I also had a cousin who played keyboard in a synth band in the 80s.”
“He sparked my interest in making music like that and I got my first job in a telemarketing place. I was a teenager and I’d just do what I could to make sales just to get up the money, then basically as soon as I got a bass I lost my motivation and wound up being out of there weeks later.”
The musician adds that it was his “cousin’s friend” who played the instrument, and “would come over and jam and I was like ‘alright cool I’m gonna do that’, but the music I listened to wasn’t really live, it was all electronic stuff.”
Vega was living in the Bronx at the time and it was a childhood crush on a girl he never met that would shape his musical future.
“I got my head shaved,” he continues, “and I’d go downtown and buy records. I started going to this venue downtown and I didn’t have any friends that would go down there with me but I remember this one girl I never got to meet who had this cool leather jacket,” he recalls fondly. “I bring her up sometimes and people are like ‘dude this girl really shaped your whole shit’ and I don’t even know who the hell she is.” – Sergio Vega
“I bought the records of all the bands on her jacket with all my savings. That was my first entry into guitar music like The Cure, Alien Sex Fiend, and The Cult.” A far cry from his musical diet of electronic music and hip-hop.
“I thought that [those bands were] punk until I realised it was more on the gothy side, but I had no-one explaining anything to me because I was just working it out myself.”
“She was cute man!” he exclaims, you can almost feel him reliving the moment he first laid eyes on her. “I bring her up sometimes and people are like ‘dude this girl really shaped your whole shit’ and I don’t even know who the hell she is.”
“She wasn’t someone who hung out at CBGBS or in Tompkins Square Park or Washington Square Park where we used to hang out,” he continues, “I only ever saw her at this one club 2 or 3 times. If there were online social networks back then I would definitely have tried to find this person. I am forever indebted to [her], whoever she is.”
Vega went on to help form the New York post-hardcore group Quicksand in 1990. The band went on to release two major label LPs before they disbanded and Vega returned to his electronic roots and began DJing around the city.
“I got into DJing with a friend of mine Chaka Malik who was in Burn and Orange 9mm, and we basically did it because it was exciting,” he says. “For me I was doing it because I like the idea that music sometimes makes people react before their mind kicks in and they decide they don’t even like it.”
“On a physical level you have this impulse that just makes you move in some way and that has always intrigued me. There are certain tracks out there that will make somebody move against their sensibilities and that to me was so interesting. I tried to explore what that was, and try to see if I could somehow figure that out and incorporate that into my music.”
So what did his experiments on the human body and mind’s relationship to music teach him? “I realised a lot of it is to do with tempo and spacing” he replies.
“I like the idea that music sometimes makes people react before their mind kicks in and they decide they don’t even like it.” – Sergio Vega
“What I really came to realise is that context is king,” he states, “the intent and the presence the artist has in the song somehow permeates through music. A lot of things that aren’t technically good or sound too raw, like punk bands, really translate well because it really conveys this energy that’s true and pure,” he adds.
“So it’s really about believing in what you’re doing. Unless you’re some super master craftsman who knows about it and can make pop music where people won’t really love it but they’ll react to it.”
Vega’s relationship with the Deftones goes back to the very first Vans Warped Tour of 1995, while he was on tour with Quicksand. “These guys told me ‘You gotta check out Deftones because they’re really cool’,” he recollects with infectious energy.
“I’d never heard of them before and wondered if they were hardcore and found out they were from Sacramento and sounded like Bad Brains. I love the Bad Brains they’re like gods.”
After seeing their set for the first time, Vega recounts heading to “their ride” to meet the group. “Seeing them live was super intense, and then hanging out with them I found out they were super chill, which felt like my world. They resonated with me right from the jump.”
Though he became Cheng’s replacement in 2008, eventually becoming a permanent addition following the tragic news of Chi Cheng’s death last April, but Vega first played with Deftones as a fill-in in 1999.
An event that cemented the bassist’s admiration for the band. “I remember thinking, ‘Jesus you guys are really into it’. It was so much fun,” he says. “I’m keenly aware how special that group is… I mean the circumstances for me being in the band suck but we’re really making the most of it.” – Sergio Vega
“Afterwards when I was DJing in New York they would come and check me out a few times and we maintained contact… I mean the circumstances for me being in the band suck but we’re really making the most of it.”
Vega’s comfortable presence in the group can be seen in their live shows. He oozes enthusiasm both on the bass and while on the microphone; harmonizing with vocalist Chino Moreno, adding extra layers to old songs.
He’s also been allowed more creative input in the writing process over time. Vega’s influence on the band’s last two releases, Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan, very naturally complements the groups other personalities.
“I’m keenly aware how special that group is,” says Vega, “they all have so much to offer as individuals. They’re so excited to hear what each other has to bring to the table.”
While some acts are protective of their ideas and position, says Vega, his bandmates where receptive “from the moment I came in.”
“They’ve had so much trust in me. They’ll be like ‘yeah, whatever man, let’s do something with this, let’s make music!’”
“In the records everyone is really energy based and it’s not so much about what it is but more how it comes across,” he explains of the process.
“Everyone is so open to things but at the same time they set a high bar for the quality because we all listen to so much music. You really want things to be awesome because you know that there’s so much awesome stuff out there, so you’re always trying your best to refine these things you’re coming up with.”
Koi No Yokan is out now through Warner Music Australia. Deftones’ Australian Tour kicks off next week. Full dates and details below.
Deftones Australian Tour 2013
TUESDAY 14 MAY BRISBANE, THE TIVOLI – 18+
www.ticketek.com.au
WEDNESDAY 15 MAY SYDNEY, UNSW ROUNDHOUSE – Lic A/A
www.ticketek.com.au
FRIDAY 17 MAY MELBOURNE, THE PALACE – 18+
www.ticketek.com.au and www.oztix.com.au
SUNDAY 19 MAY ADELAIDE, HQ – 18+
www.oztix.com.au and www.venuetix.com.au
TUESDAY 21 MAY PERTH, METRO FREMANTLE – 18+
www.oztix.com.au
