Deftones to play Bamboozle Left

The Deftones are preparing their first appearance since bassist Chi Cheng went into a coma after a car accident in November, 2008. Former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega, who filled in briefly for Cheng in 1999, will perform with the band in the Bamboozle Left festival on April 5th, 2009.

The band issued this statement:

Our fallen comrade has not made significant progress as of late, but continues to fight on from his accident. Doctors are working feverishly to return our brother to us, and we continue to hold out hope and faith that Chi returns to the life he has waiting for him and can join us on stage once again.

For everyone that knows Chi, knows that he never wanted down time. Chi always wanted to keep working and never slow down, which is why we feel confident in returning to the stage at Bamboozle in April. Chi would want it, and we want to make sure we’re keeping his legacy alive.

Back in 1999, Chi had to leave the band for a brief moment and our close friend Sergio Vega filled in to keep the train moving. 10 years later, Sergio is going to step in once again while Chi is down. Sergio is family to us, and had received Chi’s blessing before, so without a doubt we know that if Chi could tell us now, he would give us his blessing again.

In the meantime, we continue work on our record, and as for Bamboozle, we felt like we needed to poke our heads up for a quick breath before we buckle down and get this record finished. So we’ll see you all in Irvine.

No word on when the new album will be released, though the album title is tentatively known as Eros.

We wish Cheng a speedy recovery and hope to see him back with his band mates soon.