WHAT’S BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT FROM THE SHOWS YOU’VE PLAYED BACK TOGETHER IN THE LAST FEW YEARS?
“There are so many. The four of us, together, yield something that is really special, energetically to me. As dynamic as we are on that stage, we are equally dynamic offstage, too. This makes things complicated at times, but we always rekindle, and you all know the product that comes as a result of that. It’s been great, unpredictable, and par for the SOAD course.”
WHAT WAS PLAYING THOSE SHOWS LIKE COMPARED TO BEFORE THE BAND WENT ON HIATUS IN THE MID-00s?
“We are ever-evolving. One thing I can say for certain, is that we are always changing. It’s in our personalities. We are more serious than ever now about the actual ‘playing’ of our instruments and sound, and giving these songs their proper and best emulation.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU ALL KEEP IN CONTACT THESE DAYS?
“It varies between members; we all have families and different things we have to tend to. Johnny [Dolmayan, drums] and I play poker once a week. Daron [Malakian, guitar], John and I have been jamming recently, and Serj [Tankian] has been working on some solo stuff that he’s had to take care of. But very soon we are about to start rehearsing for the tour, and I’m really looking forward to getting together with all of them.”
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOUR DOWNLOAD SET? ANY ADDED BELLS AND WHISTLES?
“Of course there are bells and whistles – we just call it a System Of A Down show. It’s nothing I can talk about beforehand, because when I walk onstage, things just happen. Yes, we will have a set setlist, and yes, I have been working on production, but once we start playing, we have two hours to deliver a fantastic show to our amazing fans.”
WHEN YOU MENTIONED NEWS OF NEW SYSTEM MATERIAL A WHILE BACK, THE INTERNET BLEW UP. DID YOU EVER ENVISION THIS BAND COMMANDING THE STATUS IT NOW DOES WORLDWIDE?
“Not to sound pompous, but yes – once the four of us had a few songs under our belt, and we played a few shows in LA, I knew that there was something special about the unit. We are so grateful for our fans. Without them, we don’t matter, period.”
WHAT WOULD YOU PERSONALLY LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS FOR SYSTEM?
“First and foremost, for all four of us to be healthy and happy. Life flies by and the journey is what matters more than anything. We are a dynamic four, on and off the stage, and in and out of the studio. We’re so blessed to have had this much success, as well as the wonderful experiences and opportunity to make a living doing what we love. I would love to continue to touch, inspire and deliver our form of art and live performances with my band of brothers for many years to come.”
System Of A Down headline Download festival on Friday June 9
