Bassist of the System of a Down Shavo Odajyan

On April 22, 1974, Shavo (short for Shavarsh) Odajyan, the famous bass player of the legendary American alternative rock band System of a Down, was born 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 US, where they bought a house in Los Angeles and stayed alive.

Childhood and youth

A huge role in the education of Shavarsh was played by a grandmother who was a very religious person. After her death Shavo Odajyan lost faith and stopped reading the evening prayers. Ironically, he studied at the same parish Armenian school as his future colleagues in the group, but there they were not destined to meet, because Serge is several years older than him, and Daron is younger.

Young Shavo spent days on the street skating on his favorite skateboard, and in the evenings he listened to the heavy and punk that he loved. In terms of music, he was influenced by such famous bands as Black Sabbath, The KISS and The Punk Angle.

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

Musical career

Initially, Shavo was a guitar player, and, he says, he likes a guitar much more than a bass. Rehearsing with his friends in the studio, he met with the beginning band Soil, which included Serge Tankian with Daron Malokyan. Odajyan was asked to help with the recording of several songs, and then he was invited to become a member of the group, although only as a manager, but later he revealed his musical talent, becoming the rhythm guitarist of the group.

In 1995, it was decided to rename the group in the System of a Down. True, in the title it was planned to use the word Victims - according to the name of the poem written by Daron, but Shavo persuaded the participants to call it System, including to ensure that their disks were on the same shelf with Slayer, the beloved band of the musician. Now he finally became established as a bass player. On the instrument, he plays using a mediator, but in some cases uses finger technique. Odajyan is the author of several songs, he also recorded backing vocals to some of them. Undeniable is his contribution to creating an atmosphere for live performances of the group, where he prepares the design of the scene and lighting.

Other Shavo projects

The bassist of the American rock band, besides the main activity, also participates in other projects. In 2001, Shavarsh played SerArt, a group that included Serge Tankian with his friend, musician from Armenia Arto Tankboachan. The band played for a while in Hollywood and enjoyed the favor of the local audience. At the same time, the musician was invited to shoot the film "Exemplary male." Since Shavo is very fond of movies, he happily agreed and played the role of a divan in Ben Stiller's painting . Odajyan admires the talent of actor Christopher Walken.

Achozen is one of Odajyan's side projects. The group was founded in 2005. In the project, together with Shavo, known under the pseudonym of the DJ Tactician, such performers as RZA, Kinetic 9, as well as Reverend Father William Burke joined together. The band teamed up to create music in the style of experimental hip-hop. In 2006, they gave several concerts, and some songs were available on the Internet. True, the album never saw the light, although it was supposed to be released back in 2009. Also in the role of DJ Shavo Odajyan took part in the famous experimental music festival Rock / DJ Explosion.

Possessing an unusual vision, the bass-guitarist SOAD directed for the band such clips as Aerials, Toxicity, Hypnotize, and also shot video for Taproot. His vidotvoreniya differ surrealism and a special atmosphere, this is facilitated by innovative filming and editing.

Reuniting the group

After the statement in 2006 on the termination of activities and the creation of several solo projects by the participants, the group decided to rejoin, and at the end of 2010 announced it officially. SOAD gave several concerts in 2011, 2013 and 2015, but they did not start writing a new album, in particular, due to the unavailability of vocalist Serge Tankian to work in the studio. Shavo himself is very worried about this and repeatedly shared his experiences with the fans of the band.

Than Shavo Odajyan, in addition to appearances with SOAD, is currently engaged, no one can say with certainty, however, according to the photos published by him, one can conclude that the musician spends most of his time with his family, as well as in the studio, at the rehearsals of the sibling group.