Serj Tankian

[fuckin crazy]

The following is a kerrang article that was typed up by Sugar on Serj's board


*


?The Simple Life?
Words by Tom Bryant; Photos by Ashley Maile
Kerrang! Magazine
Issue 1182
October 27, 2007

Private man, political activist, and avid kitchen cleaner ? Serj Tankian is a rock star unlike any other. Welcome to his world.

The road to Serj Tankian?s house is a long and winding one. A few miles north of the bustle of Los Angeles, high up in the Malibu hills that fringe the Californian coast, the lane to his home passes under shady firs. On the right is a neigbour?s place, in the front garden ? a field, really ? are a couple of grazing horses, cool under the forest-like expanse of trees that cover the hilly countryside here. Meanwhile, all around, there?s an air of laid-back living, of calm ? we?re a long way from the other rock star mansions that crowd Beverly Hills.

Round the bend, and perched clinging to the hillside is Tankian?s house. Outside is a Toyota Prius, the more ecological car that the singer now drives instead of the Mercedes saloon he favoured a few years ago. The house itself, made of dark wood, peers over the dappled canyon below.

We arrive to find that Tankian is out taking a hike on the nearby mountain trails with his dog; at the door is a friend with keys who lets us in and asks us to make ourselves comfortable. It really is an extraordinarily trusting gesture ? one that few neighbours might make to friends, let alone a platinum-selling musician to a journalist and photographer.

Inside, the living room, dining room, and kitchen make up the top floor where the front door is. Below, underneath and down the hillside, are Tankian?s bedroom and office. Upstairs, here, dark red and lighter beige walls compliment understated sofas and heavy wood tables and chairs.

There?s no TV, just a light airy feel from the broad windows that make up much of the walls of this surprisingly small, welcoming house. In the centre of the living room hangs a suspended fireplace, while all around are Japanese-inspired prints on the walls. Outside a balcony overlooks a hot-tub below while wind chimes tinkle gently as the breeze softly stirs. It?s here, as Tankian will mention later, that he sits every morning with a cup of coffee and a roll-up cigarette to wake up, ?clear my mind, and try to enjoy the fact that I?m alive.? At his feet will be his dog Bowie, so named because, like his namesake, one eye is a different colour to the other.

Though he?s lived here for five years, there are few reminders as to Tankian?s day job ? that of System of a Down frontman and talented solo artist ? just a gold disc for the South Park album to which System contributed (itself hidden halfway down the stairs) and an MTV Award, perched carelessly, out of sight on top of a kitchen cupboard. A record collection and stereo reveal a wide and varied interest ? an Interpol album lies on top of the CD player, the racks alongside listing a cornucopia of music, from Frank Sinatra to the Velvet Underground, from Jeff Buckley to Johnny Cash with lots of jazz in between.

Next door is Tankian?s studio, tacked on to the side of the house. It was here that he recorded every song on his new solo album, Elect the Dead. Completely soundproofed, this is Tankian?s refuge. His day will start around 9 am when he wakes and heads out onto the balcony. An hour-long hike will follow, maybe some yoga, a quick shower, and then he deals with the reams of emails and phone calls that go along with running his record label Serjical Strike ? home of Fair to Midland and the label on which he will release his solo project.

It is then, by mid-afternoon, that he retreats into this sanctuary on the side of his house. Here is where he lets his mind wander, composing, writing, tinkering, and producing. It is here, you sense, he?s at his happiest ? in his own world.

When Tankian returns from his hike, sweaty and all-smiles, he?s instantly welcoming, remembering me from an interview two years ago. He even recalls where it took place, what we discussed and what we laughed about. He?s that kind of guy.

He makes us drinks and excuses himself for a minute while he showers. Then, when he returns, we head through to his living room and sit in his deep sofas to talk.

?It?s so good of you to come up to my house,? he starts with immaculate politeness. ?It?s so great to have you here ? as a friend, not just as a journalist. It?s great to have a drink together, have a coffee, and hang out.?

And with this Serj Tankian opens our conversation and immediately dissociates himself from every other rock star in the world. Because yes, he has a solo album due out ? and a fine one, too ? but were the topic not to arise today, you sense he wouldn?t mind at all. He?s here to talk, to forge links. Because, as he says, ?We?re here to connect. And connections are the most important thing. The most important??

[fuckin crazy]

CONTINUED:



IT?S VERY PEACEFUL UP HERE ? IT MUST BE A GREAT PLACE TO WRITE
?Oh it?s wonderful. It?s so quiet and there?s a beautiful clear sky above, I can go into the studio and just write with no interruptions. Then I can record it and start the day over again. I like cosy homes like this. I would find it strange to have a house so big that you might have a room that you wouldn?t go into for a month. I don?t like those big, American, 7,000 square foot homes. They don?t feel homey to me. We?re out in the country and I know all my neighbours. It?s like a village, a real little community outside Los Angeles.?

YOUR RECORD IS MUCH MORE PERSONAL THAN YOUR WORK WITH SYSTEM OF A DOWN. IS THAT A RESULT OF RECORDING IT AT HOME?
?With System, the problem was that there were three songwriters in the band, Shavo [Odadjian, bassist], Daron [Malakian, guitarist], and myself. We ended up trying to funnel all three aspects into one. That?s why we ended up putting out double albums for our last two releases ? we had way too much material! But music can never be as intimate or vulnerable with two other people?s ideas, in my opinion. Lyrically, Elect the Dead is definitely more intimate. It?s just me talking and I don?t have to represent anyone else. That makes it easier to talk personally.?

DO YOU FEEL VULNERABLE WHEN YOU PUT SONGS OUT?
?I?ve been listening to a couple of the tracks on the album, songs like Saving Us [based on the break-up of a relationship]. I?ve noticed the difference; I?ve been thinking that these are probably more intimate than I?ve ever written.?

DOES IT SCARE YOU TO RELEASE THESE EMOTIONS?
?No ? you have to be vulnerable to be an artist, it?s synonymic in some ways. You have to be open. You have to let everything flow. It?s not the reaction to the music that makes me feel vulnerable, it?s that the songs have an emotive vulnerability above and beyond what I?ve done before.?

YOU ARE A FAIRLY PRIVATE PERSON ? NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT YOUR LIFE AWAY FROM MUSIC. ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT WILL CHANGE BY RELEASING A MORE PERSONAL RECORD?
?I am, actually, a very private person. I always have been. I don?t have parties here in the house. There are certain things in my life I like to keep away from the public eye. Years ago, for example, someone showed up at my parents? house looking for me. They didn?t think anything of it, but I thought it was a little strange. That?s one reason why it?s smart to keep a certain distance, so that there?s some security. When people put music out, then everyone wants to know everything about the makers ? that?s natural. But, ultimately, I think, ?Just go and fucking listen to the music.? The guy put that out for you, for the public, so go and listen and make what you want to out of it. Sure, I like to find out about people I respect too but sometimes that?s not necessarily the best thing for music.?



When Serj Tankian talks, he does so very gently, very soothingly. He has a calm conviction to what he says: it?s hard to place ? somewhere between a friendly therapist and a passionate hypnotist. He?s someone who has something important to say but believes tranquility and reason are the best way to convey the point, rather than raised hands and big gestures. It?s how he likes to live his life, too.

It?s a life divided between this house in the Malibu hills and another near the ocean on New Zealand?s North Island ? in fact, he can do a mean New Zealand accent if asked. In time, he sees himself spending more and more time Down Under, so enchanted is he by the way of life there. ?It?s just a joy to go there, it?s the ultimate escape,? he says. ?I have a beautiful piano in my home there, so I can write. I just feel an aura of safety when I?m there. It feels comfortable.?

Recently he turned 40 and sees it as something of a milestone in his life. For one thing, it marked his 10th anniversary as a professional musician ? System signed their record deal 10 years ago, though music was something he first investigated as a relative latecomer aged 19. But his 40th was an event that also caused him to stop for a while and reassess his life, to work out where he was going.

?But then,? he adds with a twinkle, ?I do that all the time anyway.?

What he saw was this: that he has a girlfriend, that marriage is something he thinks about and settling down and starting a family could soon be a possibility.

?I can see myself with kids in a few years time,? he agrees, ?but I can also see myself not having kids too. I?m at an age where I?d be okay if I didn?t have them and okay if I did, if that makes sense. When you grow older, you get more conservative and you can lose patience over things.?

Is he set in his ways then, too settled to welcome much change?

?Oh, I?m more set in my ways than I used to be. I?m older now, so I tend to find things I enjoy and stick to them. That does mean there?s less change in your life though, and I always like to leave room for change. Life is all about change and it?s important to be open to that.?

He realised too, when stopped, that he doesn?t get angry like he used to anymore. ?Not so much, no,? he says. ?It does happen, I lose it once in a while ? the same as everyone else ? I think I just go back to normal more quickly now.?

In his 20s, though, he said he could carry on a rage for a week. Then, he says he was always on the edge, his emotions constantly fluctuating.

?I?m more level now,? he thinks. ?Still, once in a while, something happens that makes me lose it and go ?Fuck!? The difference between now and my 20s, is that now I can barely remember what I was angry about by the following day!?

[fuckin crazy]

CONTINUED:




WHEN WE SPOKE BEFORE, YOU TALKED OF A SEISMIC EVENT THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE IN YOUR 20s. YOU WOULDN?T TELL ME WHAT IT WAS THOUGH.
?Years and years ago, when System was beginning, I had come to a point. As a human being, no matter what you do in life, you reach a point where your daily reality skews your thinking so much that you get stressed and overwhelmed by things. There comes a point where you don?t know how to handle your emotions, you get overwhelmed and stressed out.?

IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?
?I had got to a point where I was so over the edge in my life. It was just a build-up of life, of regular daily life. I had panic attacks and all of that kind of stuff. The point is how you look at that moment though, how you deal with your life from there on. I stopped and thought, ?Okay, what?s going on here, what?s really happening?? When I backed away and looked at it, I gained a lot of perspective. I realised why I was overwhelmed and I realised that I didn?t need to be. I saw that I could let it go. The important thing was being able to step back and get perspective on the situation.?

WHAT DID YOU SEE WITH THAT PERSPECTIVE?
?One of the things I realised then was that we?re all in this together. We?re all living this lifetime together in a very unique way. We each have our own paths but they all connect into one collective path. That was an awakening for me. Since then my attitude in life has changed. We all have a vision and a path we must lead. We won?t be happy unless we?re following the road we?re meant to be on. Musically, and work-wise, I?m now 110 per cent sure I?m on the right path.?

YOU SEEM VERY SETTLED, VERY HAPPY.
?I?m very happy. My family is mostly healthy and I?m doing what I love for a living and I?m doing it in my own way ? which is an amazing honour. I?m just going down my path and seeing where it goes.?

IT MUST BE NICE TO SIT BACK AND THINK, ?THINGS ARE GOOD?.
?I try to think and act as though I should have died yesterday. That means that everything I do from now on is like gravy, everything I do is a bonus. That?s how I?ve started to look at life. I have everything I want, materially. You can always buy more stuff, more CDs or whatever, but I?m thankful that, really, I don?t need anything. To me, life?s all about opening doors. There are enough closed doors. The way to change the world is to pen doors and let people in.?

IF YOU THINK AS THOUGH YOU DIED YESTERDAY, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED DEATH?
?I?ve read a few books on near-death experiences actually, and they?ve changed how I think about dying. But I think that, yes, like lots of people, I am afraid of dying. I?m not afraid to say I?m scared of it. But I?ve let go of some of that fear as a result of trying to understand it.?

IT SEEMS YOU?VE HIT ON A WAY OF LIFE THAT WORKS FOR YOU. IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU?D RECOMMEND FOR OTHERS?
?No, I think we all have our own vision and you have to work it out for yourself. People ask me if I think music should be more political. I don?t know! I just do what I feel is right for me. Should every artist be political? Absolutely not ? that would mean losing love songs and all sorts of other things. Everyone should follow their own path. The point is that the journey is the important thing, not where you get to. We?re all going to the same place; we?re all going to die. Why not tell the truth and have a good time along the way?


As personal philosophies go, this is probably as close to Tankian?s as you?ll get: why not tell the truth, and have a good time along the way?

We?ve been talking for nearly two hours now and Tankian needs to leave to get to rehearsals with his new band ? the splendidly named Flying C**ts of Chaos. He stands and then shakes my hand warmly, thanking us again for agreeing to come out to meet him at his home. He pats his dog, then stretches his arms and grins beatifically as he shows us to the door.

Time in his company is always engaging, always interesting and, as he says, it?s a chance to connect, to understand each other a little better ? not so that he can flog a few albums. Because Serj Tankian really believes in connecting with people, in making new friends, and wouldn?t the world be a better place if everyone else did too?

It?s best he explains it himself:
?The world is broken up between people who think everything is connected, and people who don?t,? he says. ?The former try to ask the right questions and see what their vision is. They want to find out what they?re really supposed to do.

?I believe everything is connected??



ME TIME: Serj Tankian reveals what he does to kick back and relax...

GO HIKING
"I love to go hiking, maybe around a lake, maybe up a mountain. The trails where I live in the Santa Monica mountains and Malibu State Park are amazing. I love to go wandering there. Just me and my dog."

WASH THE DISHES
"I find it very therapeutic. It's like a psychological therapy for me. You have to focus so you don't break your dishes and then, when you're done, you have a clean kitchen. That relaxes me. It really does!"

MEDITATE
"Sometimes you wake up with thoughts and you try to clear your mind. Either sitting, meditating or just listening to music will calm me."



*photo courtesy of "bribme"

[fuckin crazy]

If you have not heard his solo album "Elect The Dead", it is worth a listen. There are a few SOADish song on it, but it is much more personal and mellow.

[CheapJon]

I like all songs i've heard..

might see him this summer

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Saw him open for the Foo Fighters last night.

Think the sound guys did him wrong.

[axlrosegnr]

This is an amazing video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEkQR9Wzock&feature=player_embedded#

[FunkyMonkey]

EXCLUSIVE: Serj Tankian Rocks With an Orchestra!

WATCH: Serj Tankian, "Sky Is Over"

http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-serj-tankian-rocks-orchestra