Editing Stephen Carpenter (section)

==Early life==
Stephen Carpenter was born on August 3, 1970, in Sacramento, California, to an American father and a Mexican mother.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deftonesworld.com/txt/mtv_1100.txt |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 1, 2011 |archive-date=June 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606064204/http://www.deftonesworld.com/txt/mtv_1100.txt |url-status=dead }}</ref> He has a sister named Marci. He is first cousin to [[Testament (band)|Testament]] singer [[Chuck Billy (vocalist)|Chuck Billy]].<ref name="lambgoat">{{Cite web| last = Ailes| first = Drew| title = Deftones interview| publisher = Lambgoat| date = March 27, 2006| url = http://www.lambgoat.com/features/interviews/deftones.aspx| access-date = 2007-12-20}}</ref> He grew up in the Sacramento area and pursued many hobbies, including [[skateboarding]].

When Carpenter was 15 years old, he was hit by a car while skateboarding. He used a wheelchair for several months. It was at this point that he began teaching himself guitar by playing along with the records of bands such as [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], [[Stormtroopers of Death]] and [[Metallica]].<ref name="GWstef">Interview with Stephen Carpenter, ''[[Guitar World]]'', October 1997.</ref> It has been reported that the driver paid Carpenter a cash settlement that allowed the band to purchase equipment,<ref name="GWstef"/><ref name="AMGbio">{{cite web|author=Prato, Greg |title=Deftones biography |website= [[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p168233|pure_url=yes}} | access-date=2007-12-14}}</ref><ref name="pollstar">{{cite magazine |author= Unknown |title= Hotstar&nbsp;– Deftones |url= http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewhotstar.pl?Artist=DEFTON |magazine= [[Pollstar]] |date= December 22, 1997 |access-date= 2007-12-16 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020612011710/http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewhotstar.pl?Artist=DEFTON |archive-date= June 12, 2002 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> but drummer Abe Cunningham commented in an interview that this was "a myth about how our band was started."<ref>Interview with [[Abe Cunningham]], ''[http://www.metaledgemag.com/ Metal Edge]'', January 2007.</ref>

Carpenter attended [[McClatchy High School]] with future bandmates [[Chino Moreno]] and [[Abe Cunningham]]. They were childhood friends and remained friends through the [[skateboarding]] scene in Sacramento.<ref name="GWstef"/> When Moreno found out Carpenter played guitar, he set up a [[jam (music)|jam session]] with Cunningham and the three began playing regularly in Carpenter's garage circa 1988.
After playing with several bassists, the band settled on [[Chi Cheng (musician)|Chi Cheng]] and within two years the band began playing club shows and later expanded their playing territory to San Francisco and Los Angeles where they played shows alongside bands such as [[Korn]].<ref name="pollstar"/><ref name="RS">Deftones [interview], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', 2000.</ref>