Chino Moreno
Photo: MTV News

When you front two different bands like Chino Moreno does, you've got to prioritize.

Sure, Moreno would like to devote just as much time to both projects, but at the end of the day, he knows which band butters his bread: the Deftones. So, while Deftones fans can expect the follow-up to 2006's Saturday Night Wrist to be on store shelves by fall 2008, followers of the singer's electronic side project, Team Sleep, will need to wait until 2010 for that outfit's sophomore effort.

In the meantime, though, Moreno said Team Sleep will issue a series of free, downloadable EPs to whet fans' appetites for the impending follow-up to 2005's Team Sleep (see "Chino Moreno Says Ambient Team Sleep Aren't A Snooze").

"We've got two weeks of shows coming up, so we get to play together again," Moreno said of Team Sleep's upcoming mostly West Coast run, which kicks off November 29 in Sacramento, California, and runs through December 16 in San Francisco, with former From First to Last frontman Sonny Moore, Strata and Monster in the Machine in tow. "We're going to put out the first of the EPs to coincide with the tour, and we'll probably make the music available for download on a new Web site we're setting up."

So, what is the new material sounding like? "It's mostly electronic stuff," Chino explained. "We've been working on it the last few years, and we'll continue to write over the next couple of years, while I'm doing Deftones stuff. And in 2010, hopefully, we'll be able to release a full record. It's a big, long, drawn-out plan, but it works."

For the recording of Team Sleep's eponymous debut, Moreno took time off from recording the Deftones' Wrist, which, he now admits, delayed the release of the Deftones' fifth outing and led to some considerable tension within the ranks. He said his balancing act nearly led to the D-tones' demise — but that won't be happening again.

"To do both, right now, I'd be trying to squeeze in too much," he said. "The last time, I was in the middle of a Deftones record, and it wasn't thought out ahead of time, which caused me a lot of problems."

Team Sleep are still working on the EPs, and they have about 20 songs to choose from — some instrumentals and others featuring Moreno's unmistakable pipes. The band is offering the material gratis, Moreno said, because he has no illusions about what kind of act it is.

"You just want people to hear it," Moreno said. "I'm not looking to make a bunch of money from this. It's not like anything that I think is pop-oriented, that, all of a sudden, is going to turn into something gigantic. It's the music I like, and a lot of people who enjoy music like ours will love to hear it. I just want to share it with them, it's as simple as that. And it's also a promotional tool for us. We make our living from playing shows, and being out there touring. We don't make it from record sales, so the EPs are an advertisement for our show."

Along with the EPs, Moreno promised several free videos would be making it onto their site, which all of the bandmembers have been working on over the past few years. "The EPs will be a little less live-sounding," he explained. "There were live drums on our last record, but this stuff's more electronic, I'd say. There is still a lot more of the whole initial idea of Team Sleep, which is just down-tempoed, dreamy kind of stuff."

As for the new Deftones album, which they plan to produce themselves, Moreno said they've spent about six weeks writing for it and want to spend the next three coming up with even more material.

"The band's been working really good together and utilizing our time really well," he said. "We have a little more than half an album's worth of material right now — written completely. We plan to have a record's worth of material written before the holidays, and we'll start recording at the beginning of next year.

"The last two records have been a lot more impersonal," Moreno continued. "Once we started using computers, it got super impersonal. Everybody would come in separately and do their parts. We looked back to our sophomore album, where we wrote and recorded it and mixed it in four months, and that's still one of my favorite records we've ever done. We want to work in that way [again], all together in one room, and we just play everything until it's memorized, and then we'll record it live. That's what we did with our first records."

It wasn't until 2000's White Pony that the Deftones discovered ProTools. "That's when it started becoming more separated," he said. "So this is kind of us going back to the easy way of doing things."

Moreno said he won't be contributing guitars to the yet-untitled LP, and he feels that aids the creative process. "[Guitarist] Stephen [Carpenter] has been writing tons of songs, and he's got some really great ideas," Moreno said. "I don't think I'm slowing things down by trying to change everything in the midst of writing it — I am letting them write the music, and I'll take care of the vocals."

The singer said the material the band has come up with so far is "dance-y" and "way uptempo-ish, which is kind of neat."

"[Drummer] Abe [Cunningham] is playing really, really fast, and I like that," Moreno said. "It's way more energetic. Our last couple of records have been more midtempo, which is the stuff I tend to write. But on this record, everything is more snappy."

• Deftones
• Team Sleep

The Deftones' Chino Moreno
Photo: MTV News

There was a point a few years back when Chino Moreno just didn't want to make another Deftones record. Neither did the rest of the Sacramento, California, rockers.

Moreno told the rest of the band he'd be doing his own thing for a bit. That thing was Team Sleep — Moreno's ambient, experimental side project, which released its self-titled debut in 2005 (see "Chino Moreno Says Ambient Team Sleep Aren't A Snooze").

"I wasn't interested in making a Deftones record at the time, and we were writing songs here and there, but no one really wanted to take control of the project," he explained. "With Team Sleep, there was just so much creativity going on, and everybody wanted to try all these weird, different things. So I just had more interest in it, and I told everyone [in Deftones] I was going to go away for a while. And Team Sleep was really fun for me. Some people enjoyed it, some people didn't."

As you'd imagine, Moreno's temporary departure from the Deftones created tension within the group, and he said there were several months where he didn't even speak to any of his bandmates. "Hole in the Earth," the tentative first single from the Deftones' forthcoming, still-untitled LP, addresses the internal strife that paralyzed the band for a time, as well as the feelings Moreno grappled with upon his return to the 'Tones.

"We wrote it live, with everyone writing their part right along with each other, and it's the best of what we do," he said. "It's really, really in-your-face, and yet it kind of sways and it's pretty ... but it's aggressive and it's sort of bleak. That's what I like about our band, and it's all in that song. It's sort of ruthless and mean, but it had to be said at the time."

In the song's lyrics, Moreno talks about wanting to leap into a hole and disappear. "I think it was healthy for me to do," he said, regarding Team Sleep — a project he plans to revisit. "It was healthy that we all took a break. When I came back, we wanted to make the record, and we all got together and had the best time ever, just talking about what we wanted to do. We had to do other things. I had to do Team Sleep. I had to go just make music, different music with different people. I didn't want it to get stale at all — just making a record for the sake of making a record. I wanted to make something really good and that, hopefully, 10 years from now, people will still be listening to."

And that record, the Deftones' fifth full-length offering, is due September 12. The band spent two years writing the album (see "Why Is The New Deftones Album Taking So Long?"), and ended up recording 17 tracks — a dozen of which will make the final cut. The Deftones worked on most of the songs with producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction) at his home studio in Connecticut and then returned to the West Coast to put the finishing touches on them.

"Most of the vocals I've been doing with [former Far guitarist] Shaun Lopez," Moreno said.

"He has a studio right around the corner from [where I live], and every day, I've just been at his house, just recording, and it's been the most comfortable, best way of recording music ever. He knows Deftones just as well as we do. We all grew up together. He knows what he likes about our band and what we like about our band, and he wants to really bring that out. [This record] took awhile, but I think it was for the right reasons. The record is coming towards the end of two years of work, so I'm ready to just close the book on it and that's it."

Rich Costey (Audioslave, My Chemical Romance) has signed on to mix the record, which is a mixture of some of the Deftones' heaviest material to date and some of their "sweetest," Moreno said. "The heavy stuff is really, really heavy, like really aggressive, and the stuff that's sweet and weird or whatever is sweeter and weirder. A lot of people will probably compare it to [2000's] White Pony, because that was one of the most diverse records that we did. This one's probably the most diverse record we've done."

And there are several guests who'll be appearing on the album, he said, including Giant Drag singer/guitarist Annie Hardy on the electronically inclined "Pink Cell Phone," which "reminds me of a club song, but it's Deftones, and that's what's awesome about it," said Moreno. System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian appears on the song "Buffalo."

"I've done a lot of stuff with a lot of people, and Serj came by and sang a little melody in this little part of this one song," said Chino. Other tracks planned for the record include "America," "FM" and "Beware." "I like to use people for what it is I like about what they do, and to me, I really like — I'm not too into System of a Down, lyrically, so much as I like some of the melodies that him and [guitarist] Daron [Malakian] do. That's what I utilized him for."

Moreno said the 'Tones will incorporate as much of the new material as possible into their set this summer, when they head out with Korn for the resuscitated Family Values Tour (see "Korn Resurrect Family Values Tour With Deftones, Stone Sour"). Dates have not been announced yet, but the run's expected to make stops in 30 cities.

• Family Values: A Look Ahead

• Deftones
• Team Sleep

Team Sleep (file)
Photo: Maverick

If you've listened to the self-titled debut from Team Sleep, you might think the band is worlds apart from Chino Moreno's other group, Deftones. Team Sleep's ambient, experimental sound seems a far cry from the meaty aural assault Moreno churns out with his primary band. But while some might argue there's a stark sonic difference between them, Moreno doesn't quite see it that way.

"You know, everybody thinks that it's just all down-tempo stuff, but Team Sleep actually has a lot of dynamics to it, and that's one thing Deftones has that I think draws people in," he explained. "With Deftones, there's the loud-to-quiet, hard-to-soft dynamics that go on, and the same's true for Team Sleep. It's not as hard as Deftones, not as aggressive, but in some ways, [Team Sleep's] a lot more chaotic. It's not quiet the whole time, this whole sullen atmosphere. It gets pretty chaotic at times, and I think there's a misperception that people have, that it's just this really quiet thing."

To be fair, Team Sleep (see "Deftones Singer's Team Sleep Emerge With Dreamy Debut") isn't a far cry from some of the tunes Moreno's made with Deftones over the years. After all, that band's eponymous 2003 release contained the like-sounding "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event" and "Lucky You." Also, "Teenager," the moody but melodic, electronically enhanced gem from 2000's White Pony, was originally conceived in Team Sleep's creative, collective womb.

"I don't approach Team Sleep any different when I'm singing," Moreno added. "Anything I do with Team Sleep, I'd do with Deftones as well. With [Deftones guitarist] Stephen [Carpenter], it's just straight-up metal all the time. What's cool about Deftones is, I kind of counteract it, and this is just another thing. It has chaos in it, but it's not that straight-up, 'I'm gonna punch you in the eye'-type stuff."

Team Sleep — currently in the midst of a European tour with openers Idiot Pilot — recently put the finishing touches on their first video, for the track "Ever (Foreign Flag)."

The clip, shot in downtown Los Angeles by director Shaun Peterson (... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), features footage of the entire band — Moreno, guitarist Todd Wilkinson, bassist Rick Verrett and turntablist/programmer DJ Crook — moseying across the city's cluttered sidewalks and through unruffled parks and alleyways as black images of numbers, letters, splashes of paint, flowers and trees waft through the air, quickly sprout and then gradually mushroom across the screen. Like the song "Ever (Foreign Flag)," the video possesses an atmospheric, tranquil and, at the same time, melancholic feel to it.

Moreno said Team Sleep have already written 15 songs' worth of material for their sophomore album. The band will start rehearsing and recording the tracks this fall while Moreno's on the road with Deftones; when he returns to Sacramento, California, he'll lay down vocals for the songs. Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha will contribute, Moreno said.

"Koolade," which didn't make the cut for Team Sleep, will be released overseas as the B-side to "Ever (Foreign Flag)." On the track, Moreno trades vocals with Fantômas/ Faith No More legend Mike Patton. "It just really didn't fit in context with the album itself," Moreno said. "It's kind of a novelty-type song — it's also kind of funny and spooky, too."

Deftones are expected to release their as-yet-untitled fifth album later this year.

• Team Sleep

Team Sleep (file)
Photo: Maverick

If Deftones first album, 1995's Adrenaline, revealed frontman Chino Moreno's fascination with the churning, abrasive rock side of Smashing Pumpkins, the self-titled debut album by his side project, Team Sleep, illustrates his previously covert obsession with the more textural electronic dabblings of Billy Corgan and company.

But Team Sleep, which came out last week, isn't really aimed at Smashing Pumpkins fans — or even Deftones devotees, for that matter. The album is an evocative combination of experimental beats, textural guitars and ominous melodies that's both original and enjoyable. Yet as excited as he is with songs like "Tomb of Liegia," "Ataraxia" and "Your Skull Is Red," Moreno isn't that concerned with how many people hear them.

"It's not something I believe people have to hear," he said. "It's mainly something that was done for fun and something that I really like. It's definitely not supposed to be similar to the Deftones. That band is pretty aggressive and metal-based, and when we're doing a record, I have to constantly think about not being too self-indulgent and not being completely myself. But when I'm making Team Sleep records, there are no guidelines, so I can go out and do whatever the hell I want."

Which is exactly what he and his Team-mates, who include ex-Faith No More singer Mike Patton, Pinback vocalist Rob Crow and ex-Helium singer Mary Timony, have done. "Ever" layers radiant guitar dribbles over a slow backbeat and melancholy vocals, "Princeton Review" features delicate vocals and gliding guitars reminiscent of Cocteau Twins and "Our Ride to the Rectory" is a melange of buzzing keyboards, handclaps, gliding guitars and vocals that cross Moreno's patented whine with music that is far more serene.

Team Sleep has been more almost a decade in the making. Moreno and his high school friends Todd Wilkinson (guitars) and DJ Crook (programming, turntables) first started working on electronic-based four-track demos, which they'd exchange by mail, in the mid-'90s. The first song they released was a remix of the Deftones track "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," from the band's 1997 album Around the Fur.

In 2001, Team Sleep entered the studio with Deftones/ Pantera producer Terry Date (see "Deftones Singer's Team Sleep Project Awakening On West Coast"). Since then, they've recorded with producers Ross Robinson and Greg Wells, and gradually compiled the material, along with some four-track demos, into their debut full-length. What frustrated Moreno most wasn't that the disc took so long to complete, but that an incomplete version of the sessions with Date leaked to the Internet in 2003.

"That sucked, because the first thing people heard formed their immediate perception of Team Sleep, and that early stuff was totally not intended to be at all representative of us," Moreno said. "So we took a step back from it for a couple years, and during that time I worked on the last Deftones record."

When Team Sleep finally got back together last summer to finish their album, they were a different band. Not only did they want to make sure their disc was a departure from the songs that had leaked, they decided to alter their approach after recruiting drummer Zach Hill for their live shows.

"The first practice we had, he started playing the drums, and it washed out everything else," Moreno said. "You can't really turn the drums down, so we had to amplify the guitar sounds. And that's pretty much when it stopped being this little electronic project and actually became a full-on band. Before then, we hadn't even used much distortion."

Lyrically, Moreno wants his work with Team Sleep to be as different from the Deftones as it is musically. "In the Deftones, it's all about my pain and my life, so with Team Sleep I try as much as possible to step out of myself and write about other things," he explained. "Like, one song is about cults like Jonestown and Heaven's Gate, and another is about medieval castles and diamonds. I didn't want to complain anymore. I just wanted to fantasize a little bit."

Moreno received ample help with his flights of fancy from Timony, whose own songs are filled with myths and magic.

"I love mystical stuff, and Mary is all about that," he said. "She's so good at doing things that take you away from reality, and having her on the album inspired me to escape all the more. After years and years of screaming my head off, doing that felt really good."

• Team Sleep
• Deftones

Weezer's <I>Make Believe</I>
Photo: Geffen Records

Harvard student, meditation aficionado and prolific musician Rivers Cuomo will give fans what they have been aching for this week as Weezer release their first album in three years.

Led by the single "Beverly Hills," Make Believe is the band's fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2002's Maladroit. The album comes chock-full of expectedly self-analytical musings, along with some sunnier instrumentals.

The Dave Matthews Band are back to doing what they do best — packing in jammy, summery grooves. The band's 13th album, Stand Up, is its first studio LP since 2002's Busted Stuff and arrives on the heels of its melancholic debut single, "American Baby."

If you've ever listened to Christina Aguilera's ballad "Beautiful" and wished you could implant a thumping techno beat into the instrumentals, Superstars #1 Hits Remixed will make your electro-dreams come true. The album features pumped-up remixes of tracks including Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," Dido's "White Flag" and Maroon 5's "This Love."

For those looking for slightly more inventive, upbeat rock, there's the newest release from Austin, Texas, quartet Spoon. The band's Gimme Fiction hits stores this week. A bit north, Brooklyn-bred all-female trio FannyPack take a walk on the brazen side of hip-hop with their newest release, See You Next Tuesday.

Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant releases his newest album with the Strange Sensation, Mighty Rearranger, while Canadian import Bryan Adams delivers with Room Service. Fans of "American Idol" rocker Constantine Maroulis, meanwhile, may want to check out the self-titled debut by his band, Pray for the Soul of Betty.

Also out this week are albums by Sloan (A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005), John Cena & Tha Trademarc (You Can't See Me), Goldie Lookin Chain (Straight Outta Newport), Story of the Year (Live in the Loo: Bassassins), Styx (Big Bang Theory), Athlete (Tourist), Hal (Hal), Scout Niblett (Kidnapped by Neptune) and Team Sleep (Team Sleep).

Out Tuesday May 10:

• Bryan Adams - Room Service (Mercury Nashville)
  Buy Now: Room Service (Mercury Nashville)
• Athlete - Tourist (Astralwerks)
• Billy Bang - Vietnam: Reflections (Justin Time)
• Dierks Bentley - Modern Day Drifter (Capitol Nashville)
• Alison Brown - Stolen Moments (Compass)
• John Cena & Tha Trademarc - You Can't See Me (Columbia)
• Cheb I Sabbah - La Kahena (Six Degrees)
• Graham Collier - Workpoints (Cuneiform)
• Bobby Conn & the Glass Gypsies - Live Classics Vol. 1 (Thrill Jockey)
• Cranked Up! - This Is a Weapon (Blackout)
• A Day to Remember - And Their Name Was Treason (Indianola)
• DDM - Snow on the TV EP (Dim Mak)
• Electrelane - Axes (Too Pure/ Beggars)
• Estampie - Signum (Noir)
• FannyPack - See You Next Tuesday (Tommy Boy)
• Renée Fleming - Haunted Heart (Decca)
• The Frank & Joe Show - 66 2/3 (Hyena)
• Rosario Giuliani - More Than Ever (Dreyfus)
• Goldie Lookin Chain - Straight Outta Newport (Record Collection)
• Parry Gripp - For Those About to Shop, We Salute You (Oglio)
• Gush - Norrköping (Atavistic)
• GZR - Ohmwork (Sanctuary)
• Hal - Hal (Rough Trade)
• Headphones - The Headphones (Suicide Squeeze)
• The Hootz - Too Hoot to Handle (Koch)
• Robert Earl Keen - What I Really Mean (Koch)
• James Kochalka Superstar - Our Most Beloved (Rykodisc)
• Bryan Lee - Live and Dangerous (Justin Time)
• Fred Longberg-Holm Trio - Other Valentines (Atavistic)
• Joe Lovano - Joyous Encounter (Blue Note)
• Dave Matthews Band - Stand Up (RCA)
• Mercury Switch - Time to Shine (Indianola)
• Miriodor - Parade + Live at Nearfest (Cuneiform)
• Calvin Newborn - New Born (Yellow Dog)
• Scout Niblett - Kidnapped by Neptune (Too Pure/ Beggars)
• Old School Freight Train - Run (Acoustic Disc)
• Pacifics - Sunday's Chicken (All Natural Inc)
• Stephen Pearcy - Fueler (Cleopatra)
• Picastro - Metal Cares (Polyvinyl)
• Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation - Mighty Rearranger (Sanctuary)
• Pray for the Soul of Betty - Pray for the Soul of Betty (Koch)
  Read: " 'Idol' Singer Constantine Maroulis' Band Inks Label Deal"
• Present - A Great Inhumane Adventure (Cuneiform)
• Prince Paul - Itstrumental (Female Fun)
• Psychograss - Now Hear This (Adventure)
• The Punks - Thank You for the Alternative Rock (5 Rue Christine/ Kill Rock Stars)
• Qntal - IV (Dancing Ferret)
• Radio Massacre International - Emissaries (Cuneiform)
• The Robot Ate Me - Carousel Waltz (5 Rue Christine/ Kill Rock Stars)
• Sharp Things - Foxes & Hounds (Bar/None)
• Sloan -A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005 (Koch)
• Spookie Daly Pride - Medicine Chest (Funzalo)
• Spoon - Gimme Fiction (Merge)
  Read: "The Truth About Spoon's Fiction? You Could Call It A Whim"
• The Starting Line - Based on a True Story (Drive-Thru)
• Story of the Year - Live in the Loo: Bassassins (Maverick)
• Styx - Big Bang Theory (Universal)
• Team Sleep - Team Sleep (Maverick)
• Juliet Turner - Season of the Hurricane (Valley Entertainment)
• The Unseen - State of Discontent (Hellcat/Epitaph)
• Van Zant - Get Right With the Man (Columbia)
• Doug Wamble - Bluestate (Marsalis Music)
• Weezer - Make Believe (Geffen)
  Read: "Weezer Album Preview: Wailing Guitars And New-Wave Ballads"
• Lucinda Williams - Live @ the Fillmore (Lost Highway)
• X - Live in Los Angeles (Shout! Factory)
• Various artists - Atlantiquity (Rhino)
• Various artists - Café De La Noche (Sunswept)
• Various artists - Jazz Lounge Remix (box set, Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Pure Techno, Vol. 3 (Water Music)
• Various artists - Superstars #1 Hits Remixed (BMG Heritage)
• Various artists - The Majestic Collection: The Best of Soul Fire Records (Truth & Soul/ Fastlife)
• Various artists - "Inside Deep Throat" soundtrack (Koch)
• Various artists - "Monster-in-Law" soundtrack (New Line)
• Various artists - "The L Word Sessions" soundtrack (Tommy Boy)
• DVD: Billy Cobham - "Culturemix: New Morning Paris Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Robben Ford - "New Morning: Paris Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Marillion - "Marbles on the Road" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Donny Osmond - "Live at Edinburgh Castle" (Decca)
• DVD: Vibrators - "Live Energized: CBGB 2004" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Various artists - "The Best of Rock 'n' Roll Greats in Concert" (Passport)

May 17:

• Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (Mercury/Universal)
  Buy Now: Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (Mercury/Universal)
• System of a Down - Mezmerize(Sony)
  Read: "System Of A Down Album Preview: Band Pulls No Punches With The Pummeling Mezmerize"
• Various artists - American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers (RCA)

May 24:

• Audioslave - Out of Exile
(Interscope)
Read: "Audioslave's Morello Says New LP Feels Less Like Soundgarden + Rage"
• Gorillaz - Demon Days
(Virgin)
Read: "Cartoon Gorillaz Put A Muzzle On Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn"
• The Wallflowers - Rebel, Sweetheart (Interscope)

May 31:

• Better Than Ezra - Before the Robots (Artemis)
• Maxïmo Park - A Certain Trigger (Warp)
• Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (Sony)
  Read: "Noel Gallagher Refuses To Watch New Oasis Video"

• Weezer
• Dave Matthews Band
• Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation
• Spoon
• FannyPack