Shavo Odadjian recently admitted that he was “disheartened” when System of a Down stopped being as active in the mid-90s and noted how his new band Seven Hours After Violet (SHAV) allows him to channel his creativity as S.O.A.D. is “just not doing as much as [he] want[s] to.”
Shavo Odadjian opens up on System of A Down
System of a Down’s current state of occasional one-offs seems to be a compromise between the parties that don’t like living life on the road, and those who miss being a full-time rock star.
“I like what we’re doing because we’re all in agreement. We all are happy doing what we’re doing, so that’s what it’s about”, Shavo said recently.
It seems that the occasional gig, no matter how large, isn’t enough to scratch Shavo’s creative itch. This is why he kickstarted SHAV, which released its self-titled debut album earlier this year, the bassist told Loudwire Nights in a recent interview:
“I enjoy writing music. Sometimes I think to myself [how] we got really big, and then we stopped writing music. And I go, ‘That’s not cool, because now I want to write music, bro.’ I want to write, I want to perform. I want to play more shows. I’m that guy in the band, you know? I’m always the one that wants to do more.”
“And so, this is how I do more. I had to do something right now, [bring] some new guys in. And as much as I love System, we’re just not doing as much as I want to do personally. So this is the best thing for me. And I’m having fun.”
Looking back on the period following the release of S.O.A.D.’s last two albums to date (“Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize”), Shavo said:
“We started System when I was 20, 21 years old. We wrote a lot, we played a lot… And then, years passed, and it was like 2005, 2006 when it just stopped. It was disheartening to me, personally. I’m not going to speak about what other people felt, and I don’t want to talk about others in this band… I, personally, was really distraught.”
“That’s a big part of my life. Until today, I still keep it alive. I think it’s alive. That’s why we have shows coming up, we have things we want to do, but the whole writing thing, disheartening is the right word for that.”
