SERJ TANKIAN: ‘ELECT THE DEAD’ VIDEOS TO BE SHOWN ON BIG SCREEN

Blabbermouth.net, NY
et/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=82311
Oct 8 2007

Serj Tankian – the visionary frontman for multi-platinum rock band
SYSTEM OF A DOWN – has asked a collection of video and film directors,
painters, and digital artists to each create a video for one of the
12 tracks on his forthcoming solo debut album, "Elect the Dead",
which will be released on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on October
23, 2007.

"For me, the great pleasure of ‘Elect the Dead’ has been not only
to make the record with the pure vision of what I feel artistically
through my music and poetry, but also to multiply the art factor by
bringing in other great artists, in this case directors, and putting
forth their interpretations of my music and words," Tankian says.

"This serves two functions: to create more art from the original
source, the album, and to offer more than just a CD to people
interacting with the music, thus giving us more points of connection
with each other."

The directors involved in the project include a prestigious array
of artists whom Tankian has befriended over the last decade. They
include music video director Tony Petrossian (TAKING BACK SUNDAY,
SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), who shot the video for "Empty Walls",
the first single from "Elect The Dead", photographer/video director
Greg Watermann (MUDVAYNE, LAMB OF GOD, HOWIE DAY), Oscar-nominated
Puerto Rican playwright and screenwriter Jose Rivera ("The Motorcycle
Diaries"), French film director Diran Noubar ("Armenia: A Country Under
Blockade"), digital artist Roger Kupelian ("The Lord of the Rings";
"Flags of Our Fathers"), documentary director Sevag Vrej (SYSTEM OF
A DOWN, FAIR TO MIDLAND), and Beirut-born filmmaker Garine Torossian
(SPARKLEHORSE), among others.

"I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of
my work," Tankian explains. "They were asked not to write treatments
and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been
overwhelmingly amazing!"

A complete list of videos and directors is below:

01. "Empty Walls" – Director: Tony Petrossian 02. "The Unthinking
Majority" – Director: Tawd Dorrnfeld 03. "Money" – Director:
Ara Soudjian 04. "Feed Us" – Director: Sevag Verj 05. "Saving
Us" – Director: Kevin Estrada 06. "Sky is Over" – Director: Jose
Rivera 07. "Baby" – Director: Diran Noubar 08. "Honking Antelope"
– Director: Roger Kupelian 09. "Lie, Lie, Lie" – Director: Martha
Colburn 10. "Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammo" – Director: Greg
Watermann 11. "Beethoven’s C***" – Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer
12. "Elect The Dead" – Director: Garine Torossian

All 12 videos will be shown at the following locations on Monday,
October 22 beginning at 8:00 p.m.:

Elect The Dead: The Short Films – Theater Listening Parties (visual
Interpretations of the debut solo album from Serj Tankian)

Herricks Cinema 3324 Hillside Avenue New Hyde Park, NY

Parsippany Cinema 3165 RT 46 Parsippany, NJ

Embarcadero Center Cinema 1 Embarcadero Center Promenade Level San
Francisco, CA

Ultrastar Theatres Mission Valley 7510 Hazard Center Drive San
Diego, CA

Kendall Square Cinema One Kendall Sq Bldg. 1900 Cambridge, MA

Century Centre Cinema 2828 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Emagine Novi 44425 W. 12 Mile Road Novi, MI

Clearviews Anthony Wayne Cinema 109 W. Lancaster Avenue Wayne, PA

Metro Cinemas 911 N.E. 50th Street Seattle, WA

The River Oaks 2009 West Gray Houston, TX

Lagoon Cinema 1320 Lagoon Avenue Minneapolis, MN

Harkins Tempe Marketplace 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway Tempe, AZ

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress