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Founding Deftones Bassist Says He Was Escorted From His Former Band’s Hometown Show for Aggressive Pit Behavior

“I enjoyed the show a little bit too much,” he admits

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Not even the founding bassist of Deftones is immune to the laws of the pit. Speaking with Metal Hammer, Dominic Garcia revealed he was escorted out of his former band’s live show for being “too aggressive in the pit.”

Garcia helped form Deftones in 1988, when there was still a “The” in their name. He played bass alongside childhood friends Abe Cunningham and Stephen Carpenter, and they later added Chino Moreno on vocals. Eventually, Garcia took over drumming duties, and Chi Cheng joined on bass.

But Garcia’s contribution is often downplayed in accounts of the band’s formation, as he left before they hit the mainstream. Around 1992, Cunningham left Deftones to join Phallucy, prompting Garcia to take over on drums. When Phallucy’s bassist left, Garcia “figured it’d be super-cool to play two different instruments in two different bands,” he told Metal Hammer.

Unfortunately, Carpenter replaced Garcia with John Taylor on drums, which Garcia found out about secondhand. “I was a little bit heartbroken because I’d started the band, but we were still friends,” he said of Carpenter.

Even After Being Replaced In Deftones’ Early Years, Dominic Garcia Still Went to See Them on Tour

Dominic Garcia eventually moved away from Deftones, Phallucy, and rock music almost altogether. He explained that he discovered world music after taking a class at Sacramento City College.

“I started getting into ethnological music—that touched my soul,” he said. “I started digging into the roots of Latin music and that’s been my passion ever since.”

But Garcia still made time to see his old band on tour. Deftones came through Sacramento twice in 2025, playing a show on March 1 at the Golden 1 Center and on October 3 at the Aftershock Festival. While Garcia didn’t specify which show he attended, he shared that he took his daughter with him.

“I don’t have any regrets about leaving the band,” said Garcia. Earlier, he admitted that he didn’t even officially leave the band; he was just replaced after a misunderstanding. Still, he made it clear there were no hard feelings.

“I went to see them the last time they played in Sacramento,” he said. “I took my daughter, [and] I enjoyed the show a little bit too much—I wound up getting kicked out of the show ‘cos I was being too aggressive in the pit, I got escorted out! It was funny—I was like, ‘I used to be in this band!’”

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