Deftones Add New Track to Pony
September 18 -- How do you improve on an album that's already good — and gold? By adding another track.
That's what the Deftones are doing to their third album, White Pony. Out since June 20, the disc has already sold more than half a million copies and received mixed but generally strong reviews. On Oct. 3, however, it comes out again, with a new track, "Back to School (Mini-Maggit)," which ties into the quintet's Back to School tour, kicking off Oct. 13 in Seattle. The re-release will also sport a new cover.
Deftones worked on "Back to School (Mini-Maggit)" for inclusion on White Pony but didn't finish the song in time for the album. When the uncompleted track — which is built around the chorus from the album-closing "Pink Maggit" — began surfacing on Napster and other Internet music sharing sites, the band decided to hit a Los Angeles studio and polish it off.
"We did the vocals, which were never done in the first place, sang all the parts, and mixed it," says Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham. "It really turned out cool; everyone was happy with it. Then the label got hold of that and was extra happy. They wanted to put it on the album."
There was, of course, the consideration that more than 500,000 people already owned White Pony. But they don't have to purchase the album again; they can simply add the song to their existing copy, because White Pony is an enhanced CD that enables fans to download material. Beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 20, fans can access the new track by inserting the album into their CD-ROM drive, clicking on the "Worldwide" section, and following the instructions from there.
"It's something else for our fans," Cunningham concludes. "The way it's working out, people who already bought the record don't feel gypped; they're able to download it, and the people who don't have the record yet can get a better version." And both camps can look forward to enjoying the tune on TRL soon — the Deftones are working on a video for "Back to School (Mini-Maggit)" this week in Los Angeles with director Paul Hunter, who has lensed clips for the likes of Eminem, Will Smith, and Puff Daddy.
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