In a remarkable twist of music industry fortune, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has opened up about the significant role Madonna played in launching the band’s career when she signed them to her Maverick Records label in the mid-1990s.
The Sacramento-based alternative metal band, comprised of teenagers at the time, found themselves unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight after Madonna’s team discovered their two-song demo tape through connections following a Los Angeles performance.
Moreno, who was working at Tower Records when the life-changing call came, describes the experience as “mind-blowing” for a 20-year-old musician.
I was just stocking CDs at Tower when my entire future changed with a single phone call.
“It was surreal to have an idol endorse us,” Moreno recalls of the meeting that took place in Beverly Hills at Maverick’s offices. The band was flown from Sacramento to Los Angeles by Maverick executives, including Madonna’s manager Freddy DeMann and A&R representative Guy Oseary, to perform in a rehearsal space on the same day they were being considered for a contract. After performing just two songs during audition, DeMann immediately offered the band a record deal.
Madonna co-founded Maverick Records in 1992 and was actively involved in talent acquisition, not merely serving as a figurehead.
Following the release of her own album *Erotica*, she sought to diversify the label’s roster with promising unsigned acts. Deftones fit perfectly into this strategy, joining other Maverick artists like Alanis Morissette and Candlebox.
Despite Madonna’s status as label head, she granted Deftones significant artistic freedom rather than dictating their creative direction.
This partnership proved fruitful as the band released multiple successful albums through Maverick, including *Adrenaline* (1995) and *Around The Fur* (1997), cementing their position in the alternative metal scene.
For Moreno, Madonna’s endorsement represented more than just a business opportunity; it was emotional validation from an artist he had admired since childhood.
The unexpected support from a pop icon crossing genre boundaries provided Deftones with vital resources and exposure, enabling their shift from Sacramento’s underground scene to international recognition, and demonstrating how established artists can elevate emerging talents across different musical styles.
The pop superstar occasionally attended the band’s shows, which created a sense of nervousness among members who were still developing their performance skills and musical identity.
This early success paved the way for Deftones to develop diverse income streams beyond album sales, eventually exploring merchandise, licensing opportunities, and other revenue channels that sustained their career for decades.
The band later leveraged streaming platforms to further expand their reach, utilizing playlist placements and high-fidelity options to introduce their distinctive sound to new generations of listeners.
