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(7/6/02 11:40 am)
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Official Chat transcript.
ColumbiaRecords.presents
System Of A Down
Music Chat
March 06, 2000
The members of System Of A Down answer questions about their music, touring and who has influenced them, both musically and in life.
SonyMusic: Welcome to the System Of A Down online chat at www.the-ird.com the Independent Record stores Directory. Welcome!
System Of A Down: Hello!
The Kater: What bands influenced you?
Shavo: A lot of bands influenced us, from Slayer all the way to the Beatles and everything in between. And folk music, and life itself. People in general - people you encounter on an everyday basis, and music and words, I guess.
Mute86: What do you guys do to pass the time on the tour bus?
John: Well, we all do our own thing - we do a lot of reading, play poker, listen to a lot of music, meet people, and fool around with each other.
Serj: Manipulate circumstances. And try to figure out intimate information about John!
SeVen4520: Will there be another single off this album and, if so, what will it be?
John: There were singles off this album? (laughing) We're not planning one right now, but you never know.
Miss Q: I see where you will be appearing on Late Night with Conan. What other TV shows have you appeared on and/or will be appearing on in the future?
John: I don't know what we've been on - a couple of things in Europe, but not much here in the States, except Public Access. We're going to play "Spiders" on Conan.
Shaffmer: Are you guys going to tour with Rage Against the Machine anytime this year?
John: We're not really going to be touring too much more this year because we're going to be working on our next album.
Water Spryte: What other social or political involvements are you involved in as a band?
Serj: As a band, we're not involved in any political or social involvements. We're involved individually in our own things. I talk about a lot of political stuff, but Amnesty International is a favorite of mine, as is Greenpeace. And we support recognition of the Armenian genocide - any organization working towards that gets our support as a band
Shavo Is Hot: What is the power drink that you guys drink to keep energized?
Shavo: We drink Red Bull, which is really bad for your kidneys. It's got caffeine and taurine in it, and scientists created it so peoples' kidneys will fail before they turn 40. (smile)
Siggie: How was the Sno-Core Tour?
Serj: It was great! It was really enjoyable touring with Mr. Bungle and Incubus and Puya. It was a real fun tour!
Rayanne: What bands were your favorites to play with and party with on the Sno-Core tour?
Serj: We partied with all the bands! (laughing) When you're on a tour, the bands aren't the distinction - you chill with the people.
Shavo Is Hot: What is the weirdest thing a fan has said to you guys?
Shavo: That they wanted to make love to me. And that's a fact!
Serj: Having a baby! That's kinda weird .
John: "Hey, aren't you the brother of that guy from System of a Down?" "Are you the drum tech?" (laughing)
The Evil Deicide: For the new CD, do you intend to appeal to more of the underground again, still harbouring a 'heavy' sound, or are you going to appeal to the masses with a toned down sound?
Serj: We're going to appeal to our own asses! We're not intending to do anything - we'll just do the music that comes out of us, and we don't know yet what that will be.
Shavo: The songs we've written so far are pretty heavy, but the album will have a bit of everything on it.
Wankel: Are you guys going to be making up any of the cancelled Florida-Southern shows from September?
John: We're really not planning on doing any more touring. It's important for us to work on the second album. I'm sure we'll get back to Florida after the album's finished.
-HEDY-: Hey guys, if you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be and why?
Shavo: "Careless Whispers" by George Michael. And the reason is that it was my first slow dance.
John: "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh, because that was my first slow dance with Shavo!
Nat: Do you guys read and write your music or just improvise when writing songs?
John: We don't know how to read and write!
Serj: In any language!
Suezzzq: How did you like performing with Mr. Bungle?
Serj: It was the most awesome thing in the world. It's good to be playing with a band that's so on-the-edge in terms of completely catering to whatever they want to do, and not what others want them to do.
Steve548: Do you have any suggestions for a new band that is looking for a good start?
John: Just keep it up, keep playing, and don't give up. Be very pushy with the business people!
Shavo: Watch "The Sopranos" a lot!
Jillybean: Is there any band you wouldn't want to go out on the road with again?
Serj: Ourselves.
Shavo: The Serj Tankian Trio!
Serj: Serj and his G7 (grin).
Shavo Is Hot: Where does the band see its self in five years?
John: First of all, where did you come up with that nickname Shavo is Hot?
Shavo: On the street in five years. We're still going to hopefully do what we love to do, which is create music.
John: I don't want to be playing with you guys in five years!
Shavo: Me and Liberace will be doing something together.
Miss Q: Is it hard to be creative for the next album while touring for the current album?
Shavo: That's why we're going to stop touring while we make the next album, so we can write more music and be more creative for it.
EZGuest344: You guys are so awesome. I just wanted to ask, which song is your favorite to perform?
John: My favorite song to perform is all of the songs.
Serj: PLUCK.
Shavo: I like playing new songs - they're more exciting to play because you haven't done them as much as the old ones.
Mute86: What's your typical songwriting process?
John: Generally speaking, Daron writes a lot of the material and then he brings it to the band, and Serj writes the lyrics. But Shavo also does a lot of the writing, and Serj I think is going to do a fair bit of the writing too. I do nothing!
Serj: John does arranging, and gives back rubs!
Shavo: When we're writing, the music comes first, but that doesn't mean that the words weren't written already.
Chick N Stew: If you could meet anyone, living or deceased, who would it be?
John: Keith Moon!
Serj: I'd like to meet someone who's not living AND deceased.
Shavo: Christopher Walken.
Partygirl: Are you going to be on the Ozzfest again this summer?
Shavo: Probably not. NO!
Belvedere: When will you do an international tour?
John: Define international. There's always possibilities that we'll go somewhere, but it's more important for us to get in the studio and get the songs ready and let them mature, so they don't sound like we just did them in two weeks.
Shavo: We need time to make sure it's a good album.
Queen Bee: What is the meaning behind the name System Of A Down?
Serj: It's open to interpretation.
John: It's derived from a poem Daron wrote, called "Victims of a Down."
Shavo: We all felt that "System" was more of a broad word - the same meaning, but more open to interpretation so we changed it to that.
Inkling: Do you think that your lyrics can incite some kids to violence?
John: It probably has just as much chance of inciting someone to violence as it does inciting them to have compassion.
Wizard: What were the most important political events of the decade?
Serj: The Kosovo situation, continued sanctions against Iraq, the re-emergence of a centralized power structure in the former Soviet Union, and East Timor.
Moshin2slipknot: What would be the perfect concert for you? Like how many in the crowd and etc?
Serj: Five.
John: A perfect concert is one where we enjoy ourselves, which is almost every night. Or where Sako (the drum tech) falls off my drum riser.
Musicluver: What are the top 5 albums everyone on the planet should own?
Shavo: Top five in whose book? Everyone has their own top 5. I think that's unanswerable, because it will probably change in 2 weeks anyway.
Superstar: How did the band form?
Shavo: We all met in a studio, when we were all in different bands. But somehow we all joined to form System of a Down.
John: It just kinda got pieced together through the years. I'm the last member to join the band at this time (until I get kicked out).
Serj: It was cold fusion, actually.
SaodFan: Where can I get a hold of the early demo tapes? I've heard tracks on the web.
John: eBay is the only place that I know of that has it - we don't have it.
Shavo: I have some, but I'm not giving them out! I only made a few for the band and I'm the only one now who has multiples.
Absent000: Please explain the whole speech given before the song "War."
Serj: It's different every day. Basically, we talk about global imperialism. How multinational corporations rule the world so we live in corporate run America, and how the CIA and the Pentagon have sold out the American Dream.
John: On a happier note, our environment is being destroyed and we won't be here long enough to enjoy it. But we still have time to make a choice. But there's still hope, because if there isn't, we should die right now.
Serj: The real question is "When is Taco Bell going to start packaging diapers with their food?"
Zumbi: Serj, do you keep a journal and what types of things are you writing in it now?
Serj: Words, yes. Yes, words.
ShavoRules: Serj, I heard you will be doing something on the Snot Tribute album is that true? Peace, Sarah
Serj: Hi PeaceSarah! Shavo did some tracks on a song that Max Cavalera is going to do for that particular compilation as well. And I am doing a song for it too, and it's done already.
DrOctag0n: As a band, or on a personal level, what do you feel has been your greatest moment, or most memorable occasion?
John: It was July when our album had just been out for a couple of weeks. I walked into Towers and bought our album there, and that was very memorable for me.
Serj: The emancipation of birth from the womb is the most exciting and auspicious event in my life.
Shavo: Opening for Black Sabbath. That was this past winter, in December.
Frenchcowboy: Who's behind the story on Peephole because it's one of the deepest songs I've ever heard.
Serj: Frenchcowboy, you sound like you're deep!
Shavo: It 's about smoking cannabis.
Soadchick1: Who wrote that paragraph on the back of the CD? It's the most intelligent thing I have ever read!
John: Serj wrote it.
Serj: I don't remember what it's about - it just came to me and I wrote it.
Ed: What do you think of the state of music right now?
Shavo: Everyone's copying each other.
John: It's waiting for something fresh so that the labels can sign 100 things that sound just the same as that.
Serj: I like seeing the emergence of new labels that specialize in music that's really cool. Like Ipecac, and Action Records from New York. There are labels that specialize in interesting music.
Ams123: what do you guys do the day of a concert before coming to the show?
John: It's always different. Everyone does their own thing, whether it's walking around in the town we're in, or enjoying herbal pleasures, or going shopping for rare records and comics. We're all individuals, so we all do our own thing.
Coatjones: What made you come out to the Imperial March from "Star Wars?"
Shavo: It's a very powerful intro, a very powerful orchestration. It was
Daron's idea, and it worked, so we started using it as our intro. The actual intro we had been planning to use broke, so we put this one in instead, and it worked.
Mostaste: In your spare time, where do you like to go, and what do you like to do?
Shavo: In my spare time I like to stay home. I'm a DJ, so I mix. I watch music, and listen to music.
John: I catch up with friends that I haven't seen for a while. Play a lot of poker. Listen to new music, whatever I can get my hands on, and I like to go see new bands whenever possible.
Smack: What is the strangest object you have ever been asked to autograph?
John: I autographed a tampon!
Serj: A pee cup.
Shavo: Breasts. Men's breasts.
Zero1307: was it hard getting noticed in the music industry?
Shavo: Yes, it was. But you have to be pushy and stick with it, and not give up. I called up the clubs in LA every day for hours at a time and bugged them until we got a show at The Roxy.
Bizhedcore: what was your favorite moment from snocore?
John: Taking money from Alex from Incubus in poker every night.
Shavo: In New Jersey, I puked my brains out outside the bus and I threw up on a girl.
Serj: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I'll skip that one! Ix-nay on the estion-quay.
Scooby: Do ya'll play with a double-bass or single-bass?
John: It's a single bass, with a double bass pedal.
Ams123: Do you plan to tour with any specific band after you finish your new album?
John: No.
Shavo: No one specifically.
Zumbi: Hey guys, when is the Nativity in Black follow up going to come out? I heard the new track at Sno-Core and want to hear it again.
John: We don't know exactly when it's going to be released, but I just heard the whole album the other night, and it sounds great!
Rayanne: If you weren't in System Of A Down what would you be doing?
John: I'd probably be selling comic books and Japanese animated videos. And porn!
Shavo: I was going to say that I'd be starring in porn!
Serj: Playing music.
Absent000: What does the hand symbolize?
Serj: It's something from John Hardfield. In the 1920's he put it out in a Communist newspaper, called "The Hand with Five Fingers." It symbolizes the ability of people who rebel against totalitarianism.
Monkeyvoodoo: if you were a tree, what tree would you be?
John: Oh that's a good question! I don't know .
Shavo: A cherry blossom.
John: Shavo stole mine!
Serj: I'd be a weeping willow.
John: I'd be an oak. They're strong.
Sheila: How do you deal with fans who are pushy?
Shavo: We push back! I'm a fan of music and other musicians, but I'm not pushy with them.
John: Stop stealing our shoes!
VikaA: You guys are really well humored - have you ever lost it and yelled at people?
Shavo: We do it every day!
John: Ask our manager.
Serj: In Poland on tour, I yelled at the whole crowd because they threw coins at us.
Monkeyvoodoo: Would you rather go out in a blaze of glory but be on life support or fizzle out when you decide to stop the band?
John: We don't go out in blaze of glory - we are not Jon Bon Jovi!
Shavo: We'll probably just end it when we want to end it.
SonyMusic: Thank you so much for joining us. Unfortunately, our time is almost up. Do you have any parting words for our audience?
John: Thank you for listening.
Shavo: Thank you for all your questions.
Serj: I love you Satan. 666!
SonyMusic: Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out the downloads section of the www.the-ird.com to download a live version of "SPIDERS" for free. Check out the coupon at www.the-ird.com/coupon.html good for a SOAD mouse pad at your local indy record shop. Get all the official System Of A Down info at systemofadown.com. SonyMusic: A production of Talk City Inc. Copyright 2000SonyMusic: All Rights Reserved.
Copyright ® LiveWorld, Inc. 2002
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