Shavo Odadjian
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| Shavo Odadjian Շավո Օդադջյան |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Shavarsh S. Odadjian |
| Born | April 22, 1974 |
| Origin | Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |
| Genre(s) | Alternative metal, Hip hop, Experimental rock, Nu metal, Hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, director |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar, Guitar, Backing vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Label(s) | American, Columbia, UrSession |
| Associated acts | System of a Down Achozen |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Gibson Thunderbird | |
Shavo Odadjian (Armenian: Շավո Օդադջյան) (born April 22, 1974, Yerevan, Armenia as Shavarsh Odadjian) is the bassist for the Armenian American-based alternative metal band System of a Down and a member of the group Achozen.
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[edit] Early life
In his youth, Shavo used to spend his time skateboarding and listening to punk rock and heavy metal music; his favorites included Metallica, Punk Angel, the Dead Kennedys, Slayer, Kiss and Black Sabbath.
Odadjian moved to Los Angeles, California He attended Alex Pilibos Elementary School in Los Angeles, an Armenian parochial school, along with future bandmates Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, although they were not acquainted at the time due to the age difference. Serj being the oldest, born 1967, Daron, born 1975 and Shavo, born 1974.
[edit] Career
While working in a bank, he started managing the band Soil with Malakian and Tankian in 1993 after meeting them in a recording studio. In 1995, Shavo became the permanent bassist of the band. They then named themselves "System of a Down" after a poem titled "Victims of a Down" authored by bandmate Daron Malakian.
Odadjian is a popular DJ in the LA area, taking part in such events as the "Rock/DJ Explosion" on March 2, 2001 at The Roxy in Hollywood and collaborating with bandmate Tankian on SerArt, the singer's side project with Armenian musician Arto Tunçboyacıyan. He is known to use the name "DJ Tactic." He is also the executive producer for the band Onesidezero.
[edit] Film work
Stating himself to be a "very visual person", he has also directed music videos for System of a Down ("Aerials," "Toxicity," "Question!," and "Hypnotize") and Taproot creating surreal atmospheres and using innovative methods in filming. It's said that the music video for "Question!" was based on a dream that Shavo had.
He appeared in the 1993 "Big Gun" video by AC/DC, standing alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the crowd, sporting a backwards baseball cap.
Shavo recently directed a music video for Bad Brains and is soon to be released.
Shavo will co-produce a horror movie: the director saw the SOAD music videos and thought his work can be good for the movie. Shavo didn't want to say the name of the director or the name of the movie.
Shavo also appeared as an extra in the movie Zoolander starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. There is a short glimpse of him as an audience member in the upper-left hand corner during the Model of The Year awards ceremony.
[edit] Odadjian the musician
Shavo, who was originally a guitarist, played for Soil in that capacity for a short period of time, and claims to play guitar better than he does bass[citation needed]. Shavo often plays with a pick, but sometimes uses his fingers. Apart from playing bass, Shavo did some vocals live on the songs "Bounce" and is heard in backup instead of Daron on some Steal This Album! songs like "Innervision". In the song "Sugar", he says the word "who" in the chorus just before the "can believe you?", sung by Serj. Another appearance is on "Lost in Hollywood", where he performs backing vocals near the end. Odadjian can be heard several times in the song 'ATWA' screaming the words, "ANYMORE!" during the chorus behind Serj Tankian's vocals. He can also be heard repeating Serj Tankian's lyrics near the end of 'Pictures' yelling the words, "Fear waits, for us! Away! Gold dust! Fear waits, for us! Revealed! Then turns, to rust!" He can also be heard repeating Serj Tankian's lyrics in 'Needles' repeating 2 words.
[edit] Discography
[edit] System of a Down
- 1998: System of a Down
- 2001: Toxicity
- 2002: Steal This Album!
- 2005: Mezmerize
- 2005: Hypnotize
[edit] Achozen
- 2008: Achozen's 1st Studio Album
[edit] Awards
- In 2006, System of a Down won their first Grammy for Best hard rock performance for B.Y.O.B.
- In 2006, they won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"
- In 2006, they were #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs with "Toxicity"
- In 2007, they were nominated for a Grammy Award in Best Hard Rock Performance for their song Lonely Day
[edit] Collaborations
- Static-X featuring Shavo Odadjian - "I'm with Stupid (Live)
- 2006: RZA, Metal Skool and Shavo Odadjian - "Free Style" (Live)
- 2007: Wu-Tang Clan featuring Shavo Odadjian - "Unpredictable" - 8 Diagrams
- 2007: Wu-Tang Clan featuring Shavo Odadjian - "Windmill" - 8 Diagrams
- 2007: Performed with the Wu-Tang Clan during the Rock the Bells 2007 tour.
- 2008: The score for the movie Babylon. [1]
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Basses
- Gibson Thunderbird IV (Main bass)
- Gibson Blackbird
- Ibanez BTB1000 or BTB500
- Music Man StingRay
- Meatball Iron 8088 Pro Super Bass
[edit] Effects Pedal
- SansAmp bass pedal
[edit] Amplifiers
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Shavo's MySpace page
- The Official System of a Down Site
- Shavo's page at SOADFans
- Achozen's Myspace page
- UrSession official website
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