The friends and family of Deftones bassist Chi Cheng have posted the first two in a series of webisodes online that will form a documentary about Cheng's 2008 car accident and aftermath. Cheng remains in a semi-conscious state as a result of the crash and his family and fellow musicians have been soliciting financial aid for his care ever since he was dropped by his insurance company just two months after the accident.

Two more webisodes will be posted in the days ahead, leading up to an August 14th free benefit show for Cheng at the Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Deftones recently released their sixth studio album, Diamond Eyes, which the band began recording following Cheng's accident.

Lead singer Chino Moreno told us that the songs on the record were not really influenced by Cheng's situation: "I didn't really even feel like, with this record, that we had -- because we were going through what we were going through -- that we had to make a record that was directly addressing what we were going through. I think the music, if anything, was an escape. You know, I think a lot of times when people go through hard times, what they do is they bury themselves in their work. Our music being our work, you know, I think that's what we did and it was really therapeutic for us."

Longtime Deftones friend Sergio Vega is currently playing bass with the band and appears on Diamond Eyes.

Deftones will begin their own headlining tour on August 6th in Ventura, California, before hitting the road with Alice In Chains and Mastodon, starting September 16th in Chicago.