System of Down on the upswing
Friday, August 19, 2005
NorthJursey.com
By MARIKO BECK
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
[...]
Daron Malakian never expected commercial success as a musician. Born to immigrant parents and raised in a ramshackle area of Hollywood, System of a Down's guitarist and vocalist admits he's a little leery of mainstream adulation.
"I always knew I would be an artist, but to be successful is crazy," Malakian says. "I have two parents who are artists, but they never made any money."
Indeed, the Los Angeles quartet, all of Armenian descent, would seem an unlikely candidate for arena rock band status. They're definitely not pretty boys. Two of them sport creative facial hair. And their music is confrontational and unrelenting in a time of "American Idol" pop ballads and heartfelt emotion.
[...]
"To really get to know any place in the world, you have to go to its ghettos," Malakian says. "You can say I lived in the ghettos. I grew up in a neighborhood where there was a hotel with hookers out in front and stuff like that."
As part of their cultural heritage, the band members also grew up in the shadow of the Armenian genocide.
For the past three years, System of a Down has performed a benefit concert to commemorate the genocide and raise money for human rights groups. More than a half-million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923. The survivors scattered across the globe.
The diaspora is evident by looking at the birthplaces of the four System members. Malakian is the only U.S. native. Lead vocalist Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan were born in Beirut. Bassist Shavo Odadjian was born in Armenia.
[...]
System of a Down has developed a reputation for questioning the powers that be and for biting political and social commentary. "Mezmerize" is no exception. In the track "BYOB," Malakian and Tankian share vocal duties. The war in Iraq transforms into a party where everybody is "dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine." Then they ask: "Why don't presidents fight the war?/ Why do they always send the poor?"
[...]
The self-effacing Malakian says he never expects anyone to like the band's songs. Despite the acclaim that "Toxicity" brought, the group never once thought about how "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" would be received by critics or by fans. Trying to force songs into a mold is the artistic kiss of death, Malakian says. "We've got to be our favorite band," he says. "We have to love ourselves. If you love yourself, other people love you, too.
"Even my own tastes can't interfere with the song," he continues. "The song comes from another place. You can't feed the song what you want. The song asks for things, and you have to give them."
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
NorthJursey.com
By MARIKO BECK
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
[...]
Daron Malakian never expected commercial success as a musician. Born to immigrant parents and raised in a ramshackle area of Hollywood, System of a Down's guitarist and vocalist admits he's a little leery of mainstream adulation.
"I always knew I would be an artist, but to be successful is crazy," Malakian says. "I have two parents who are artists, but they never made any money."
Indeed, the Los Angeles quartet, all of Armenian descent, would seem an unlikely candidate for arena rock band status. They're definitely not pretty boys. Two of them sport creative facial hair. And their music is confrontational and unrelenting in a time of "American Idol" pop ballads and heartfelt emotion.
[...]
"To really get to know any place in the world, you have to go to its ghettos," Malakian says. "You can say I lived in the ghettos. I grew up in a neighborhood where there was a hotel with hookers out in front and stuff like that."
As part of their cultural heritage, the band members also grew up in the shadow of the Armenian genocide.
For the past three years, System of a Down has performed a benefit concert to commemorate the genocide and raise money for human rights groups. More than a half-million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923. The survivors scattered across the globe.
The diaspora is evident by looking at the birthplaces of the four System members. Malakian is the only U.S. native. Lead vocalist Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan were born in Beirut. Bassist Shavo Odadjian was born in Armenia.
[...]
System of a Down has developed a reputation for questioning the powers that be and for biting political and social commentary. "Mezmerize" is no exception. In the track "BYOB," Malakian and Tankian share vocal duties. The war in Iraq transforms into a party where everybody is "dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine." Then they ask: "Why don't presidents fight the war?/ Why do they always send the poor?"
[...]
The self-effacing Malakian says he never expects anyone to like the band's songs. Despite the acclaim that "Toxicity" brought, the group never once thought about how "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" would be received by critics or by fans. Trying to force songs into a mold is the artistic kiss of death, Malakian says. "We've got to be our favorite band," he says. "We have to love ourselves. If you love yourself, other people love you, too.
"Even my own tastes can't interfere with the song," he continues. "The song comes from another place. You can't feed the song what you want. The song asks for things, and you have to give them."
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:15 AM
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