Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter is a firm believer that media is destroying the world, but when it comes to doing interviews, he’s more than likely to turn a 20 minute phoner into an hour-and-a-half long conversation.

Why? Because he loves to talk.

Whether it’s about his band, his childhood, his fans or his government, Carpenter has something to say.

He loves to give advice and he’s got plenty of it. He loves to share his dreams and he has plenty of them.

Most importantly, Carpenter loves to talk about real life.

“I speak out — but it’s purely my opinion — that’s all it is,” Carpenter explained. “I don’t worry what anyone else thinks, so they don’t have to worry about what I think.”

Carpenter, like his bandmates, was raised a middle class kid in Sacramento, Calif. His first real passion was in skateboarding and by the time he was 13, it was nearly an obsession.

But Carpenter’s skateboarding dreams where crushed two years later when he was hit by a drunk driver while skateboarding. He spent a two weeks in the hospital before his doctors told him a future in skateboarding may be out of the question.

A week after he was released, a friend came to visit and happened to have a guitar with him. Carpenter accidentally played his first chord and instantly found his new passion.

He immediately assembled a group of musicians and with the money he was awarded from the accident, bought all of the equipment the group needed to start a band.

A decade later, Carpenter’s Deftones has two major label releases under its belt (“Adrenaline” and “Around The Fur”), several major tours (with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Pantera) and a loyal fanbase that stretches around the world.

“If I had to sum up our band I would say we are truly lovers of music,” Carpenter said, more specifically, the band’s own music.

“It sounds so arrogant — but I’m not stuck up — I just totally, genuinely, love our music,” Carpenter said. “I love what we’ve done. I can’t wait to do our next record, I’m already looking forward to it.

Carpenter loves “Around The Fur,” the Deftones latest release, so much he has been listening to it two or three times a day since it was released Oct. 28.

“I don’t listen to it as a member of the band,” Carpenter said. “I listen to is as a fan. I am a fan of our music and that is what amazes me. We’re finally at a point where we can make music that we love to listen to.

“All of us have so many ideas, I always say we should just jam every night at soundcheck — make some noise.”

“Around The Fur” debuted on the Billboard albums chart at number 29 and sold over 39,000 copies in its first week. The first single off the record, “My Own Summer” has since become a radio and MTV hit, fronting the current hardcore movement with the angst-packed chorus “Shove it, shove it, shove it.”

“What kids don’t want to realize is that so called ‘hardcore’ is heavy metal, but with a new name,” Carpenter said. “I do think metal in the ’90s is more real — it’s from the heart — it’s not a joke.

“I don’t think of myself as a metal player though. To me, it’s the songs we make that have music — not the instruments. But I don’t want to be doing what was happening back then —it’s become redundant. You can only play a power chord so much. I’ll always be a fan of heavy music, but I like to put my own twist on it.”

Carpenter follows the same mentality on life — he likes to put his own twist on it. His motto: do whatever you want to do because there’s no point in living unless you are completely happy.

“There are so many opportunities out there,” he said. “A job can always be replaced — so don’t miss your chance to do something you’ve always wanted to do.

“You know what I hate, is when people say, ‘my town sucks. I say, you suck. Go out and make it happen. Don’t wait for it to be handed to you on a silver plate.”

Carpenter plans to take his “make it happen” attitude and fulfill some of his life long dreams, although he admits to having “so many plans, but no timeline.”

“I want to make a lot of money, not because I want to be rich, but because I want to do whatever I want and have the opportunity to do the things I want to do.

“I want to make a movie, one that people can relate to. I don’t even want it to be good —or what other people would consider good — just real shit. Crazy shit. Have you ever seen the movie ‘Man Bites Dog?’ It’s a documentary of a serial killer and it appears to be real, but it’s all been scripted. That’s the kind of movie I want to make.”

Carpenter also plans on writing a book and owning his own poolhall, restaurant and recording studio. “There are a couple of bands I want to do stuff for that I think are great also,” he said.

But Carpenter’s book has been set aside for a while as he has found it hard enough just to keep a journal on tour. “I’m supposed to be writing this tour journal for Rolling Stone on-line, just little tidbits, but I have yet to turn it in. I can never find the time.”

If Carpenter would take a journal, chances are, it would look something like this: Noon — wake up, 1:00 — skateboard, 5:00 — sound check, 10:00 — play, Midnight — party with fans.

“I have a respect for our fans — if it wasn’t for them — I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do what I’m doing. I love hanging out with fans, I just enjoy it. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t times that I want to be by myself.

“It kind of sucks, because if you want to be by yourself, than people misunderstand and think you’re a rock star. I just want to say ‘fuck you’ to those people, you know. I’ll hang out with kids all day and somebody will have the nerve to talk shit.”

Carpenter said he has the most fun sitting with a group of kids just talking about whatever. “True conversation is always exciting,” he said. “They’re usually just like ‘wow.’ They don’t know us as people. ‘You see, I do other things than play in a band.'”

While Carpenter once lived for skateboarding, his ideals have changed since the sport nearly cost him his life.

“I live for life and music is as much a part of it as skateboarding or biking,” he explained. “I just want to have a smile on my face all of the time. I’m only 27, I’m too young to not be having fun.

“I just love the feeling of being in the air and landing a good jump. There’s no way to explain that feeling. I live for the rush. But, it’s not my priority to be updated on the latest trick.”

As a 27 year-old guitar player, one would expect politics to be the last thing on Carpenter’s drug-soaked mind. But he can’t put politics aside when there are so many questions without answers?

“Why do we pay taxes to a company that we created with our tax money?” he asked “And if I don’t, the police that I pay for throw me in a jail that I pay for.

“We could all just one day say ‘fuck you, we ain’t payin’ taxes’ and what could they do? But people in our country would never do it.”

Carpenter doesn’t let his frustrations with the government get in the way of his “live happy” persona. “You don’t have to like what everyone’s doing, but you can still get along,” he said.

“There’s a constant double-edged sword in life and it totally sucks. The extremes of good and bad are so close to each other. You need to have a good time, but you have to respect one another.”

And that is what the Deftones is all about — a good time and mutual respect between the band and the fans.

Deftones will be headlining “Mancow’s Jingle Ball” at Supertoad in Des Moines Sunday night with Limp Bizkit and 35″ Mudder. The show sold out in 20 minutes — a surprise even to Carpenter.

“I never would have expected it,” he said. “It’s so cool to know that people actually like your music. In all my dreams, I never actually pictured myself actually in the scenario, it’s kind of trippy. That’s what it’s all about — somewhere in the middle of nowhere — there’s someone rockin’ to our record.”