The Serj Is Working
I'm not a religious man, but if I was I'd be thanking God for bringing Serj Tankian to Earth.The insanely gifted vocalist for System of a Down has nothing to prove to the music industry anymore, nor has the tireless advocate for peace and civil liberties anything left to prove to American sociopolitics in general. But that hasn't stopped him from doing whatever he can whenever he works, whether for the online activist clearinghouse Axis of Justice (co-founded with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello) or in the halls of Washington. At bottom, he's a man against violence, which is ironic considering how much his music makes you want to bang your head until your brains come out.
And now he's back with a new solo effort aptly named Elect the Dead, which rocks just as hard as anything SOAD has done and, better yet, fronts a video for the single "Empty Walls" that's as poignant as it is satirical. Think Romper Room meets Abu Ghraib and you're there. In honor of Serj's new solo effort, Morphizm is posting the "Empty Walls" video (plus the prescient headbanger "Sugar") and tour dates below, as well as digging up its past chat with Serj below for your reading pleasure.
That should tide you over until our new interview with Serj rolls in sometime in the next couple of weeks. Activate!
"The Future Does Not Exist": An Interview with Serj Tankian[Scott Thill, Morphizm]
"There's a lot of repression in a lot of countries, not just in Guantanamo Bay. But yeah, it's kind of weird that we're using Guantanamo Bay as a holding cell for what we can't do on American soil. It's unconstitutional, if I'm not mistaken. But, man, it's just time for a change. We're in a new century, and I wish everyone would start acting like it. And I also wish everyone would start realizing how threatening wartime is; but, at the same time, I wish everyone would realize how positive things could be. I wish everyone would realize that these times could actually bring a new type of living, a new type of understanding, a new type of conscience. In one way, George Bush's unilateralism -- not just his administration, but his unilateralism -- has kind of unified everyone in the world that believes in peace. You know, this is the first time we've had 10 million people protesting a war that didn't occur at the time. Historical stuff. And that movement is getting huge, people are more aware of the world that they want to live in, and now they have to realize that they can actually create that world and fight for the things that are worth fighting for and not feel apathetic. I mean, we are all going to die. There is no point in holding anything back. We have to live with our hearts and enjoy every minute. It's like when you eat. Why not pay attention to your food while you are eating? Why take that for granted? Everything in life should not be taken for granted. Everything has its place and everything should be enjoyed and learned; that's why we're here. We're all going to die, so we've got to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences are -- whether it's a job, whether it's a career, whether it's perception. You've got to do the right thing...."
MORE @ MORPHIZM
10/12 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10/14 - Toronto, ONT - Guvernment
10/15 - Boston, MA - Paradise
10/17 - NYC - The Fillmore & Irving Plaza
10/18 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
10/20 - Atlanta, GA - The Roxy
10/22 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
10/25 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
10/27 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
10/28 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
VIDEO: SERJ TANKIAN, "EMPTY WALLS"
VIDEO: SYSTEM OF A DOWN, "SUGAR"
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