Chi Cheng – One Love – By: Darius
By: Darius
Chi Cheng
Nearly one year ago, on September 18th, 2008, I saw the Deftones play a surprise show at the 260 person capacity Spaceland club in Los Angeles. It was one of the craziest shows I’ve ever been to and I was banged up and bruised for days afterwards. It felt like an old-school metal show: non-stop moshpits, crowd surfers, sweaty metalheads screaming at the top of their lungs, and people literally swinging from the rafters. Check out “Headup” below.
I have seen several Deftones shows and loved every single one of them, but this one was my favorite. Who knows when the last time the band played a bar that can’t even house 300 people? The band played one more show after that in nearby Ventura and than returned to their homes in Northern California to complete the finishing touches on their latest studio effort, titled Eros.
Deftones
On November 4, 2008, barely two weeks after the Spaceland show, Deftones bassist Chi Cheng was seriously injured in an automobile accident in Santa Clara, California, leaving him in a coma. He was not wearing a seat belt. To this day, Chi rests in a hospital bed, slipping in and out of consciousness. The band has soldiered on with their friend Sergio Vega, filling in for Chi during his absence. Eros, however, has been shelved indefinitely.
On Stage - Chi Cheng
Medical bills have been mounting, as Chi has undergone several surgical procedures to save his life. Chi’s family is not rich and they do need help. A website called One Love For Chi was created in efforts to raise funds for Chi and his medical expenses. Hospital stays and surgery is extremely expensive and Cheng’s insurance company has reportedly refused to continue coverage for his ongoing treatment.
Fieldy, Korn’s bass player, recently recorded a song with a multitude of heavy metal musicians called “A Song for Chi” and it is available as a free download on its official website. It’s a cool song and is definitely worth a listen. Because it’s a free download, please consider donating money for Chi Cheng instead.
Chi Cheng - In Our Prayers
If anyone has ever been lucky to see this man onstage, than you know he is one of the very best in the business. I have never personally met Chi Cheng but have seen him standing outside the tour bus signing hundreds of autographs. Apparently, he is one of the most gracious musicians around and never hesitates to talk with the fans and take pictures.
I encourage everyone to take a look at the One Love For Chi and A Song For Chi websites and consider donating any amount to the cause. And please, wear your seat belt.
- A Song For Chi Musicians
Fieldy and Ray Luzier (Korn)
Jim Root and Sid Wilson (Slipknot)
Clint Lowery and Morgan Rose (Sevendust)
Wayne Lozinak (Hatebreed)
Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage)
Brian “Head” Welch (ex-Korn)
Rob Trujillo (Metallica)
Mr. Hahn (Linkin Park)
Noah “Wuv” Bernardo (P.O.D.)
Mike Wengren (Disturbed)
Dave McClain (Machine Head)
** Also possibly of interest...**
My first Deftones show was in 1998 at Roseland. I was dragged by a friend and only knew My Own Summer. They opened with that song. I remember thinking that they blew their load in the first 4 minutes. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was hooked from this point. They did Headup as the encore that night. It’s sad watching the footage from Spaceland and not hearing Chi scream “Soulfly!”
1942(Quote) (Reply)
That was the first time I saw Deftones too and have seen them another 4 times since then. Still can’t beat the first time you see them live. I saw them open for Godsmack many years ago and they didn’t resonate well in a 20,000 seat venue setting.
Keep up the impressive articles.
Dennis(Quote) (Reply)
i met all of the deftones except for abe in hartford on the release of the s/t. chi was a cool dude. he chatted with everyone. i made a small $ donation months ago. deftones are the most original band EVER. GET WELL SOON CHI!
gorenforbidden(Quote) (Reply)
I AM HUGE SUPPORTER OF DEFTONES AND WAS GUTTED TO HEAR WHEN THIS HAPPEND LAST YR! THEY ARE IN THE SAME VANE AS SEVENDUST. BROTHERHOOD. DEFONTES ARE A BROTHERHOOD.
THANKS FOR THE GOOD ARTICLES N STUFF YOU BEEN WRITING BRAH
mAAT(Quote) (Reply)
ON SONG FOR CHI, HOW WAS THERE 4 DRUMMERS
WUV
MCCLAIN
MORGAN
WENGREN
ALL DRUMMERS! ANY BAND WITH MORGAN ROSE AND DAVE MC CLAIN ON DRUMS IS THE BADDEST ASS BAND EVER
mAAT(Quote) (Reply)
The guy who made the post before this has irked the crap out of me for years but he raises a good point. Can you imagine how intense a Deftones/Sevendust tour would be? Talk about two bands who rode the wave and came out on top.
The drummers are solid. Wuv is a great drummer that never will be given his due because of the way POD is viewed by music fans. Wengrem uses a machine and is a waste of space on any project.
Get well soon Chi!
5150(Quote) (Reply)
when i heard chi was in a coma, i was really worried. he’s a good man. treats people with respect and everything. i met him when he and the band came to south dakota. even though i was just washing dishes for the hotel they stayed at, chi treated me like a friend, which was awesome since the deftones have been one of my favorite bands since middle school. i’m sorry to hear about everything that’s happened to him since this incident occurred, but i’m happy that there is so much world-wide support for him and that he has such a loving family and friends to watch over him and do things like this for his benefit. get well soon chi, my prayers go out to you and your family and friends.
aredeyemonster(Quote) (Reply)
Saw this awhile ago, sad stuff Chi is a great bass player. On a bad note if you don’t wake up within the first month of going into a coma it makes it unlikely you will wake up
I hope he recorded/wrote some of the stuff for the new album…The Deftones wouldn’t be the same band without that Rhythm section.
chris(Quote) (Reply)
I was unaware of this. It’s a shame. I have always been a mediocre Deftones fan at best, but Chi is great I think. I’d say he is more talented than is required for that type of music and some of my first cover’s in a band were Deftones songs. Far a guy starting out they were great lines, not terribly technical, but little nuances that had to be picked up to get the lines just right. Hope he makes his way back to the band and has a full recovery.
bassplayerlousy(Quote) (Reply)
Id actually talked to Steph about Chi. He informed me Chi lost both his brothers last year and was coming home from the service of one of them when he got into the accident. Chi’s brother Ming (who is still alive) used to book my band so I had a little connection I guess.His family has had a very rough gothrough 2008.
God BlessYOU
tim-rage(Quote) (Reply)
I truly hope Chi recovers, but the chances are very slim. I keep him in my prayers.
Before Deftones were Deftones, they were a reggae band. Does anyone else go back that far or was this forgotten?
Lajon from 7D was also an r&b singer.
Carla(Quote) (Reply)
I was reading on another site about the bashing of the insurance company. I understand their perspective in all of this, and we can put our visions of this musician ahead of what makes sense.
I do hope he recovers but the chances are slim. I can’t wait for Eros, or whatever will come of the new material.
zebo(Quote) (Reply)
They sounded awesome on all the Youtube videos in the past few weeks ….. most especially the European shows.
Oscar(Quote) (Reply)
I really enjoy Darius’ articles but they all seem mistimed.
hatuespatue(Quote) (Reply)
one love
down39(Quote) (Reply)
hatuespatue- thank you for the compliment but just to let you and everyone else know, the purpose of this article wasn’t so much as to inform people of chi’s condition, since most of us already know about it.
my true intentions behind this article was to highlight the recently released “A Song For Chi” download and hopefully bring in more donations for Chi. just doing my part to promote the cause.
I hope this clarifies my timing.
darius(Quote) (Reply)
i enjoy reading your articles man, do ur next one on kanye west.
zun666(Quote) (Reply)
RIP. Jeez did he get chubby.
dystemper(Quote) (Reply)
I came back to see some of the comments. That first pic of Chi is unflattering. Change it.
Dennis(Quote) (Reply)
Great article!
Andrew Bilach(Quote) (Reply)
Does anyone else find it eerie that this happened? I didn’t listen to Deftones much since White Pony. Chi was really nice and spoke to me and my boyfriend for several minutes.
bright*young*kitten(Quote) (Reply)
Deftones bassist Chi Cheng continues to make progress with his recovery following a car crash last November that left him in a coma with a variety of other medical complications having cropped up in the time since.
Cheng has since been moved out of the hospital and is now at home recovering under direct medical supervision, undergoing basic physical therapy and has begun to try to form words, while also responding to questions by blinking his eyes.
Given the nature of his medical bills, more donations are currently being sought for his ongoing care however, those interested in helping out can do so at http://www.oneloveforchi.com.
darius(Quote) (Reply)
Приятно конечно понимать, что остались действительно интересные блоги в этой мусорке рейтинга Яши. Ваш – один из таких. Спасибо!
Владимир(Quote) (Reply)
Did anyone see the online video live performance of the new song?
gblockx(Quote) (Reply)
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