System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Shavo (short for Shavarsh) Odadjian, the famous bass player of the legendary American alternative rock band System of a Down, was born on April 22, 1974 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The boy lived in his hometown, until one day his parents decided to move to Italy, and then to the USA, where, having bought a house in Los Angeles, they stayed to live.

Childhood and youth

A huge role in Shavarsh's upbringing was played by his grandmother, who was a very religious person. After her death, Shavo Odadjian lost his faith and stopped reading evening prayers. Ironically, he studied at the same parochial Armenian school as his future bandmates, but they were not destined to meet there, because Serge is a few years older than him, and Daron is younger.

Young Shavo spent days on the street riding his favorite skateboard, and in the evenings listening to heavy and punk he adored. Musically, he has been influenced by such famous bands as Black Sabbath, The KISS and The Punk Angle.

Young Shavo Odadjian took a job as a bank clerk while continuing to attend college. At the age of 18, he took part in the filming of the video for Big Gun by AC / DC, where he lit up in the crowd of spectators next to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Music career

Shavo was originally a guitarist, and he says he likes the guitar a lot more than the bass. While rehearsing with his friends in the studio, he met the up-and-coming band Soil, which included Serj Tankian and Daron Malokian. Odadjian was asked to help with the recording of several songs, and then invited to become a member of the group, although only in the role of a manager, but later he revealed his musical talent by becoming the rhythm guitarist of the group.

In 1995 it was decided to rename the group to System of a Down. True, it was originally planned to use the word Victims (Victims) in the title - after the title of a poem written by Daron, but Shavo persuaded the participants to call themselves System, including so that their discs would be on the same shelf as Slayer, the musician's favorite band. Now he has finally established himself as a bass player. He plays the instrument using a plectrum, but in some cases he uses a finger technique. Odadjian is the author of several songs, he also recorded backing vocals for some of them. Undeniable is his contribution to creating the atmosphere for the live performances of the group, where he prepares the design of the stage and lighting.

Other Shavo projects

The bassist of the American rock band, in addition to his main activity, also participates in other projects. In 2001, Shavarsh played in SerArt, a group that included Serj Tankian and his friend Arto Tankboyachan, a musician from Armenia. The group performed in Hollywood for some time and enjoyed the favor of the local public. At the same timethe musician was invited to shoot the film "Model Male". Since Shavo is very fond of cinema, he gladly agreed and played the role of a DJ in the film by Ben Stiller. Odadjian admires the talent of actor Christopher Walken.

Achozen is one of Odadjian's side projects. The group was founded in 2005. The project, together with Shavo, known under the pseudonym of DJ Taktik, brought together artists such as RZA, Kinetic 9, as well as Reverend Father William Burke. The group came together to create music in the style of experimental hip-hop. In 2006 they played several concerts and some of the songs were made available online. True, the group's album never saw the light of day, although it was supposed to be released back in 2009. Also, as a DJ, Shavo Odadjyan took part in the famous experimental music festival Rock/DJ Explosion.

With an unusual vision, SOAD's bassist has directed videos for the band such as Aerials, Toxicity, Hypnotize, and also directed videos for Taproot. His video creations are surreal and atmospheric, thanks to innovative filming and editing.

Group reunion

After the announcement in 2006 of the termination of activities and the creation of several solo projects by the participants, the group nevertheless decided to reunite, and at the end of 2010 announced this officially. SOAD played several shows in 2011, 2013 and 2015, but the writing of the new album has not yet begun, in part due to the unavailability of vocalist Serj Tankian to work in the studio. Sam Shavohe is very worried about this and has repeatedly shared his feelings with the fans of the group.

What Shavo Odadjyan is currently doing besides performing with SOAD, no one can say with certainty, however, from the photos he publishes, we can conclude that the musician spends most of his time with his family, as well as in the studio, at rehearsals sibling bands.