Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian

Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian (born April 22, 1974) was the bassist for the Los Angeles-based rock band, System of a Down.

Early life

Odadjian was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. In his youth, Shavo used to spend all his time skateboarding and listening to punk rock and heavy metal music. Among others, he names Dead Kennedys, KISS, Slayer and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands with great influence on his future musical development.

Odadjian moved to Los Angeles, California at a very young age, where he was raised in large part by his grandmother, after whose death he claims to have lost faith and to have stopped praying every night as he did before. He attended the Alex Pilibos Elementary School in Los Angeles, an Armenian parochial school, along with his future bandmates Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, although they were not acquainted at the time due to the age difference.

System of a Down

While working in a bank, he started managing Soil, the band of Malakian and Tankian in 1993 after meeting them in a recording studio, where he was recording with his own band. 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, which was written by bandmate Daron Malakian.

Shavo Odadjian plays both guitar and bass, and claims to play guitar better than he does bass. He usually plays bass with a pick, but he can be seen using his fingers during certain songs.

Without knowing, Shavo became famous for his long large braided beard, spiked arm bracelet, large height, bald head, and freaky faces. Bandmate Serj Tankian had mentioned to him that he should have one like his. In 2006 the band all had beards that reached past their shoulders.

AcHoZeN

Odadjian has started a side project with The RZA from The Wu-Tang Clan, and they have already begun recording. They have plans for tours and a movie. They recently picked up a name for the band, Achozen, and their first live show was at the Key Club in L.A in December 1, 2006.

Other projects

In addition, 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, CA and collaborating with bandmate Tankian on SerArt, the singers side project with multitalented Armenian musician Arto Tunçboyacıyan. He goes by the name DJ Tactic.

Recently, Shavo has appeared playing as part of the backing band of George Clinton (of Parliament/Funkadelic). In September 2008 he appeared (playing guitar instead of bass) in a live performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno with Clinton. Shavo also appears on Clinton's 2008 album George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, which features many guest musicians, including Shavo's Achozen bandmate RZA, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Carlos Santana.

Shavo is also the executive producer for the band, Onesidezero. Shavo is currently helping the band Chameleon Conductor record their debut album. Shavo's brother Dave plays bass in this band.

Film work

Stating himself to be a "very visual person," he has also directed music videos for System of a Down (being Aerials, Toxicity, Question! and Hypnotize), and Taproot (Mine), creating surreal atmospheres and using innovative methods in filming. On May 15, 2007, it was revealed that Shavo Odadjian would be directing the first video from Bad Brains's album Build a Nation.^[4] Director Shavo Odadjian makes an appearance at the end of the concert video with frontman H.R. The two are seen charismatically walking stageside, passing and smoking a marijuana joint. Shavo also appeared in the 1993 "Big Gun" video by AC/DC, standing alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the crowd, sporting a backwards baseball cap. He also appears as an audience member during the awards ceremony in Zoolander.