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WA today
/music/hard-rock-humorist/2009/01/15/1231608869754 .html
Jan 16 2009
Australia

System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian says the band is "still
on hiatus".

Wit and activism are natural to Serj Tankian, writes Andrew Murfett.

SERJ Tankian’s steadfast political activism often gets in the way of
his sense of humour.

Tankian, the frontman for dormant hard rockers System of a Down, has
long supported an array of causes, including movements related to his
family’s native Armenia and anti-globalisation groups. He has also
been a strong voice against the Bush Administration and its policies
on Iraq.

When EG checked in with him last March, he was collaborating with
fellow rock activist (and close friend) Tom Morello of Rage Against
the Machine on an event at last year’s South by Southwest festival,
in Texas, centred on the moving anti-war documentary Body of War.

With the solo debut Elect the Dead released late in 2007, last year was
spent mostly on the road. There were European festivals, North American
club dates and a new musical he is composing with playwright Steven
Sader. Next week he arrives in Australia to play the Big Day Out.

Elect the Dead sounds, ostensibly, like a System of a Down record. It
features Tankian’s trademark barking vocals and System’s breakneck
guitar playing and percussion. However, it has sold about a tenth of
his band’s regular, million-plus-selling albums.

"You have to be realistic," he says. "You’re almost starting over,
building it back up. If you’re out with System of a Down, you have
a name that will automatically draw millions of people to it."

While Tankian is doing just fine financially, he says: "If I wanted
to print money, I’d be in other businesses not dying like the arts."

Tankian’s humour comes out when he talks about the band he put together
for his solo work. He decided to name it the FCC – the Flying C–ts
of Chaos.

"I was actually going to call the record that, but I thought it might
be a bit much," he says. The album contains the song Beethoven’s C–t.

"Even with System of a Down stuff, we were doing our own thing. With
the solo stuff, I have been even more in control and connected to
the vision. The only problem was we couldn’t use the word `c–t’
on the artwork if we were to be present in certain stores. I’ve done
all of these things with System before and I knew it was just easier
to put stars there and allude to the word."

The name of the band offers an instant ability to subvert the platform
through which he promotes his work. For instance, when reminded of
his band’s appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, Tankian cracks
up laughing.

"Robin Williams was on that night and Jay announced us as Serj
Tankian and the FCC," he recalls, between chuckles. "Robin Williams
kept pestering Leno to tell the audience what the band’s name stands
for. It’s cool to poke fun, I guess."

Meantime, not one for restraint, he made a staggering 14 videos to
promote Elect the Dead.

Now he is focusing on his imminent Big Day Out shows. Tankian has form
with the festival, having played twice before and appearing with both
Tool and Rage Against the Machine on various BDO stages.

In fact System of a Down’s 2002 Big Day Out tour captured the band
at its peak. Insiders suggest there have been few more excitable Big
Day Out crowd reactions than the extraordinary reception given to
the likes of Chop Suey! and Toxicity.

However, when asked about the status of his band, Tankian is mildly
terse: "System is still on hiatus since 2006, nothing’s changed."

The Auckland orchestra gigs are no coincidence. The lanky vocalist
is now also a resident of New Zealand – a home owner in Auckland –
where he spends two to three months a year. So, what is it about New
Zealand he loves so much?

"The first time I toured there, I got a really amazing feeling about
it. The more I explored the country and what it stood for, the more
excited I was to be a part of it. I love it."

He recently began working with the Auckland Philharmonic and has
written string arrangements for all of the songs in Elect the Dead. He
will perform the album in full with a 67-piece orchestra in Auckland
on March 5. The show will be recorded for a possible live album.

"The sound coming out of those instruments is more powerful then
any electronic device," he says. "It’s so emotive. To hear 67
people play my songs and me singing with them, it’s going to be
phenomenal." Alluding to his famed sense of humour, he says his
next solo record will be a more abstract project centred on jazz and
classical music. Er, really?

"Yeah, after the orchestra gig I might do some more of that."

Serj Tankian plays The Palace on January 25 and the Big Day Out on
January 26.