Stephen Carpenter shreds in this rare Deftones Public-Access TV performance from 1992

Stephen “Stef” Carpenter of Deftones
(Image credit: Scott Legato/Getty Images)

Rare footage has emerged on YouTube of Deftones performing on Public-Access TV in 1992. 

The clip – taken from a broadcast on the Sacto Active Rock community-access TV show and shared to the DeftonesLive YouTube channel – sees the band perform Answers – a self-released dub/reggae-influenced track written prior to their 1995 debut, Adrenaline

Abe Cunningham – who left Deftones in 1990 before rejoining in 1993 – is, of course, absent in the video; John Taylor – who was a member of the band from 1991 to 1993 – can be seen instead. 

But what's perhaps most notable about the newly-surfaced clip is the fact that guitarist Stephen Carpenter – who, back then, was playing Jackson – offers up a pretty shred-worthy solo. 

As fans will be quick to corroborate, Deftones aren't known for the inclusion of guitar solos in their music.

In a 2016 interview with the Independent, frontman Chino Moreno explained, “We never do guitar solos; I can't play them and [Stef] probably can but he doesn't, so we never have.”

Deftones recently reunited with producer Terry Date for their ninth studio album, Ohms. Date had previously worked on the band's first four albums, as well as the group's unfinished record, Eros.

The latter was shelved after bassist Chi Cheng was left in a coma following a car crash in 2008. He later died as a result of cardiac arrest in 2013, and was replaced by Sergio Vega, who remains a member of the band to this day.

However, in an interview with NME last year, Moreno revealed that he hasn't ruled out finishing the album. “It would be interesting to finish at some point, and I’ve never said we won’t,” he said.

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Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.