Sergio Vega, who recently split from Deftones after 12 years with the act, has refuted claims that the split was financially motivated.
Former Deftones bassist Sergio Vega has refuted claims that his split from the act was financially motivated.
In an appearance on the Talk Toomey podcast, Vega clarified that his split from Deftones was more about finding a sense of belonging.
“It started to become more of a thing of, ‘Hey, I would really like to belong to this’,” he said. “Whenever it would come up, it was more like they were good with the status quo. But it was not financial ’cause they were like, ‘Oh, here’s more money, here’s a raise’. It was never about money, it was about a sense of belonging.”
His words referred to the video statement Vega had issued earlier in March. In said video, he hinted that he had never been made a permanent member of the act despite spending 12 years and recording four albums with them.
“I had worked with the band for 12 years, and at the start of every album cycle, I asked about becoming an official member, but the contract would be improved instead.” he said in his video message in March.
“Ultimately, in parting ways, it was not a function of me trying to renegotiate during the pandemic. It was a function of the contract being canceled. And me having a little conversation with [Deftones singer Chino Moreno] and then another conversation with a couple of the guys.” he told Talk Toomey.
Love Metal?
Get the latest Metal news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
He also added that when he expressed his wishes to be instated as an official member, Deftones seemed reluctant. This came as a surprise to Vega, specially because keyboardist Frank Delgado had been offered membership – something he also alluded to in his March statement.
“When they wanted to reinstate [the contract], I was like … Now would be the time to get off of this type of structure because it’s not really working for anybody. … It’s been 12 years at this point, let’s make good on that. … And that was it. We couldn’t really come back on that.” he explained.
For more on this topic, follow the Metal Observer.
Check out Sergio Vega talking about his split from Deftones:
