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SYSTEM OF A DOWN Guitarist Says Rock And Roll Is Suffering — And He's Willing To Help

July 26, 2003

SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian recently spoke to Revolver magazine about his record label, EatUrMusic, which inked a worldwide distribution deal with Sony.

"I wanted to produce record, and starting a label gave me an outlet to release stuff that I want to produce," he explained. "If I like a band, I can sign them now, and that helps where I want to go with my producing — more than having to wait around and see what everyone else is signing. Because I don't really like what everyone else is signing, you know? I do have my opinions about rock and roll, about how it's suffering and how I can help.

"When rock and roll started, it wasn't a bunch of people pretending to be somebody else — Pete Townsend was Pete Townsend, right? And Keith Richards was Keith Richards, and THE BEATLES were THE BEATLES. When those people came out, they were originals, but now most rock bands just seem to follow formulas. Well, my band didn't follow any of those formulas! And that's why my band's successful. The [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS? Original. TOOL? Original. They're all original bands, the ones that stand out, but there aren't [enough of them]. When a big band comes out, everybody wants to copy that band. You've gotta look for true characters, true artists, the people who don't give a shit what people think of them. That's why rap is so popular right now — there's nothing in rock and roll that the rebellious kid can really grab onto."

When asked how EatUrMusic differs from Serjical Strike, the label of SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian, Malakian said, "Serj is not into rock music, so I don't see him signing rock bands. If he listens to rock, he listens to shit that's out there. His is more of a pregressive-style label — I can't say it has more of an artsy twist, because my stuff will have that, too. I'm more into songs, though. I'd say you could probably take some of my shit to radio, but that's not because I'm looking for the next radio hit. It's just that songs turn me on. They always have."

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