Glockenspiel

Other names	bells, orchestra bells
Classification	keyboard percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	idiophone
Playing range
written like F3-C6, sounds like F5-C8
Related instruments
xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, tubular bell

Two bell lyres in use

A Mardi Gras musician playing a glockenspiel.

A glockenspiel (German pronunciation: [ˈɡlɔkənˌʃpiːl], glocken:bells and spiel:play) is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, thus making it a metallophone. The glockenspiel, moreover, is usually smaller and higher in pitch.^[1]

In German, a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel, while in French, the glockenspiel is often called a carillon.

When used in a marching or military band, the bars are sometimes mounted in a portable case and held vertically, sometimes in a lyre-shaped frame. However, sometimes the bars are held horizontally using a harness similar to a marching snare harness. In orchestral use, the bars are mounted horizontally. A pair of hard, unwrapped mallets, generally with heads made of plastic or metal, are used to strike the bars, although mallet heads can also be made of rubber (though using too soft of rubber can make a dull sound). If laid out horizontally, a keyboard may be attached to the instrument to allow chords to be more easily played. Another method to playing chords is to play with four mallets.

The glockenspiel is limited to the upper register, and usually covers about two and a half to three octaves, but can also reach up to 3.5 octaves. The glockenspiel is a transposing instrument; its parts are written two octaves below the sounding notes. When struck, the bars give a very pure, bell-like sound.

Glockenspiels are still quite popular and appear in almost all genres of music ranging from hip-hop to jazz. Percussionist Neil Peart of the rock band Rush uses the glockenspiel in several of the band's arrangements, most notably in the commercial hit songs "The Spirit of Radio" and "Closer to the Heart", and also in album tracks "Xanadu" and "Circumstances". The glockenspiel was also featured in Jimi Hendrix's classic ballad "Little Wing", Avenged Sevenfold's song "Nightmare" during the intro, as well as in indie folk music by artists such as Paul Duncan of Warm Ghost.^[2] George Martin, The Beatles' producer, plays glockenspiel on the band's song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! to help create the atmosphere of the Pablo Fanque circus performance that inspired the song. ^[3]

Two well-known classical pieces that uses the glockenspiel are Handel's Saul and Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, both of which used instruments which had bells.^[4] (The part is sometimes performed on a celesta, however, which sounds quite different from the intended effect.) A modern example of the glockenspiel is Steve Reich's 1970–71 composition Drumming, in which the glockenspiel becomes a major instrument in the 3rd and 4th movements.^[5]

Other instruments that work on the same struck-bar principle as the glockenspiel include the marimba and the vibraphone. There are also many glockenspiel-like instruments in Indonesian gamelan ensembles.

In England, the United States, and Canada, there is a form of glockenspiel called a bell lyre, or bell lyra. The bell lyre is a form of glockenspiel commonly used in marching bands. It is played upright and has an extendable spike which is held on a strap. The player marches with the strap over his shoulder and plays the instrument upright with a beater. Another variation of the bell lyre exists which is held by a strap round the shoulders and back. This variation is played horizontally with two beaters as it does not need to be held upright. Since the middle of the 19th century this form of the instrument has also been used in military bands in Germany, where it is called a Stahlspiel or Militär-Glockenspiel.

See also[link]

• Keyboard glockenspiel
• Balafon
• Timpani
• Lamellophone
• Lithophone
• Mbila (musical instrument)
• Musical Stones of Skiddaw
• Thongophone

Gallery[link]

• 

  Most orchestral glockenspiels are mounted in a case

• 

  Glockenspiel and crotales

References[link]

1. ^ Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
2. ^ Peter Funk (19 January 2006). "Paul Duncan: Be Careful What You Call Home". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/duncanpaul-becareful. Retrieved 2011-05-08. 
3. ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. 
4. ^ Luttrell, Guy L. (1979). The Instruments of Music, p.165. Taylor & Francis.
5. ^ "The Vibraphone and Glockenspiel". All About Mallet Percussion. http://www.mallet-percussion.com/vibes.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Glockenspiel.

Look up Glockenspiel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Glockenspiel at the Vienna Symphonic Library
• Royalschoolsources Percussion Pages—Online sources for the prescribed music of the Royal Schools of Music practical exams

Cory Arcangel
Born	(1978-05-25) May 25, 1978 (age 34)[1] Buffalo, New York
Nationality	American
Field	New media
Training	Oberlin Conservatory
Works	Various Self Playing Bowling Games, I Shot Andy Warhol, Sans Simon, Sweet 16, Colors, Super Mario Movie, Super Mario Clouds, F1 Racer, a couple thousand short films about Glenn Gould

Cory Arcangel (born May 25, 1978) is a Brooklyn, New York artist who makes work in many different media, including drawing,^[1] music,^[1] video,^[1] performance,^[2], and video game modifications, for which he is perhaps best known.^[1] Arcangel often uses the artistic strategy of appropriation, creatively re-using existing materials such as dancing stands,^[3] Photoshop gradients,^[1] and YouTube videos^[1] to create new works of art. His work explores the relationship between technology and culture.

Early life[link]

Arcangel grew up in Buffalo, New York and attended the Nichols School, where he was a star^[1] lacrosse goalie. He was exposed to experimental video artists such as Nam June Paik through the Squeaky Wheel Buffalo Media Arts Center. He was very interested in guitar, practicing eight hours a day by the time he turned seventeen. He studied classical guitar at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, but later switched to major in the technology of music. At Oberlin, Arcangel met Jacob Ciocci and Paul B. Davis. Arcangel and Davis formed the Beige Programming Ensemble in 2000, and released a record of 8-bit music entitled "The 8-Bit Construction Set".^[1]

Arcangel credits Pauline Oliveros, with whom he took a composition class, for his "fascination with finding artistic inspiration in unlikely machines". He describes a piece in which she connected sine wave oscillators to loudspeakers and output the exact audio frequency as the resonance of the concert hall, creating an increasingly louder sound. This, he says, was what made it "click" for him.^[1] Arcangel counts many among his influences, including Steve Reich, Tiger Woods, and Weekend at Bernie's.^[1]

Works[link]

Super Mario Clouds[link]

Arcangel's best known works are his Nintendo game cartridge hacks^[1] and reworkings of obsolete computer systems of the 1970s and 80s.^[4] One example is Super Mario Clouds (2002), a modified version of the Super Mario Bros. video game for Nintendo's NES game console in which all of the game's graphics have been removed, leaving only a blue background with white clouds scrolling slowly from right to left. 

Pizza Party[link]

Pizza Party (2004) was a free, functional software package that could be used to order Domino's pizza through a command-line interface. The program allowed users to order pizza by typing in commands such as pizza_party -pmx 2 medium regular, which - according to the artist^[5] - would order 2 medium crust pizzas with pepperoni, mushrooms and extra cheese. The piece was commissioned by Eyebeam Research and Development and implemented by Mike Frumin.^[6]

Sans Simon[link]

In this 2004 single-channel video, Arcangel points the camera at a television screen that is playing a tape of the concert. Each time Paul Simon appears in the frame, Arcangel places his hand over Simon's image.^[7] The work is one of several videos, performances and lectures by Arcangel based on Simon and Garfunkel's live concerts. 

Punk Rock 101[link]

Punk Rock 101 (2006) is an example of Arcangel's work with the Web as an artistic medium. For this piece, he re-published Kurt Cobain's suicide letter alongside a series of Google Ads. The ads are tailored to the content of any given page, and the piece juxtaposed of Cobain's angst with ads selling social anxiety treatment and motivational speaking. Art critic Paddy Johnson wrote of the work, "This is quite possibly the most brilliant subversion of the medium I have seen."^[8]

a couple thousand short films about Glenn Gould[link]

In 2007, Film and Video Umbrella commissioned Arcangel to produce a new work, a couple thousand short films about Glenn Gould,^[9] using tiny fragments of video, each containing a single note produced by various instruments (and some performing pets) to create an arrangement of Bach's Variation no. 1 (from the Goldberg Variations). To do this, he had to create his own video-editing software.^[10]

The Bruce Springsteen Born to Run Glockenspiel Addendum[link]

Arcangel's 2007 LP is an intervention into Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album Born to Run. While the album's title track includes a glockenspiel part, many of the songs on the album do not. Arcangel created a glockenspiel part for each of these songs, releasing them on this vinyl record, which can be played in sync with Springsteen's original to add a 'missing' part to the original album.^[11] In addition to the LP, Arcangel has also performed the piece live.^[12]

Photoshop Gradient Demonstrations[link]

Arcangel's series of Photoshop Gradient Demonstrations are large, colorful prints produced using the gradient tool built into the popular image-processing software Photoshop. The title of each of these works describes the process by which it was made. For example, one 2008 work is titled Photoshop CS: 110 by 72 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels, default gradient "Spectrum", mousedown y=1098 x=1749.9, mouse up y=0 x=4160.^[13] With these instructions, any Photoshop user can reproduce Arcangel's abstract images exactly on their own computer.

Various Self Playing Bowling Games (aka Beat the Champ)[link]

Arcangel created Various Self Playing Bowling Games (aka Beat the Champ) (2011) by hacking various bowling video games (for game consoles from Atari 2600 to Nintendo GameCube) to throw only gutter balls. Arcangel says, "But throwing a gutter ball is just humiliating. That's what makes the piece so ridiculous, but also sad and even oppressive. The failure seems funny at first–then it flips."^[1] Art critic Charles Darwent from The Independent described the work as "complex and funny and moving." Andrea K. Scott of The New Yorker compared the piece to Bruce Nauman's "Stamping in the Studio", where he stamped in an empty room for an hour, as "a ritual of isolation and futility".^[1] 

Exhibitions[link]

Arcangel's work has appeared in many museum exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at the Migros Museum in Zurich, Switzerland,^[14], and exhibitions in the Barbican Centre in London, England^[1] and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois. His work has also been exhibited in many places in New York City, including the Museum of Modern Art's Color Chart,^[15] the Whitney Museum,^[1][16][17] and the New Museum.^[18] His work is included in public collections in locations such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Miami Art Museum, Migros Museum, and Neue Nationalgalerie. Arcangel is represented by Team Gallery in New York, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris and Salzburg, Lisson Gallery in London, and Galerie Guy Bartschi in Geneva.

At 33, Arcangel was the youngest artist ever to receive an entire floor for new work with Pro Tools, his 2011 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Arcangel is married to Hanne Mugaas, a Norwegian curator. Arcangel was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. His treatments gave him both concentration and memory issues, completely wiping out his short-term memory for a period of time. It also temporarily affected his work, leading him to create works that he described as "hyper-structuralist" or void of "real content". The cancer returned in 2009, and his lymph nodes were removed, freeing him of the disease.^[1]

External links[link]

• Cory's home page
• Team Gallery
• Cory Arcangel Artist Biography at Electronic Arts Intermix
• Lecture given by Cory at Columbia University
• Cory Arcangel on Tinkering and doing Stuff An interview with Cory Arcangel from August 2007
• Legacy Hackster An interview with Cory Arcangel in Petitemort, issue 1, story #2, 2003
• Interview in Switch
• BEIGE
• Artist Biography and list of video works at Electronic Arts Intermix.

References[link]

Del Shannon (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990) was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.

Biography[link]

Del Shannon was born Charles Weedon Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Coopersville, a small town near Grand Rapids. There he learned ukulele and guitar and listened to country and western music, including Hank Williams, Hank Snow, and Lefty Frizzell. He was drafted into the Army in 1954, and while in Germany played guitar in a band called The Cool Flames.

When his service ended, he returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, and worked in a furniture factory as a truck driver and selling carpets. He also found part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in singer Doug DeMott's group, working at the Hi-Lo Club.^[1] When DeMott was fired in 1958, Westover took over as leader and singer, giving himself the name Charlie Johnson and renaming his band The Big Little Show Band.^[2]

In early 1959 he added keyboardist Max Crook, who played the Musitron (his own invention of an early synthesizer). Crook had made recordings, and he persuaded Ann Arbor disc jockey Ollie McLaughlin to hear the band. McLaughlin took the group's demos to Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik of Talent Artists in Detroit. In July 1960, Westover and Crook signed to become recording artists and composers on the Bigtop label. Balk suggested Westover use a new name, and they came up with "Del Shannon", combining Shannon Kavanagh with Del, derived from the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, his favorite car.^[2]

Success[link]

He flew to New York City, but his first sessions were not successful. McLaughlin then persuaded Shannon and Crook to rewrite and re-record one of their earlier songs, originally called "Little Runaway", using the Musitron as lead instrument. On 21 January 1961, they recorded "Runaway", which was released as a single in February 1961, reaching #1 in the Billboard chart in April.

Shannon followed with "Hats Off to Larry", which peaked at #5 (Billboard) and #2 on Cashbox in 1961, and the less popular "So Long, Baby," another song of breakup bitterness. "Runaway" and "Hats Off to Larry" were recorded in a day.^[3] "Little Town Flirt", in 1962 (with Bob Babbitt), reached #12 in 1963, as did the album of the same title. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the U.S., but continued his success in England, where he had always been more popular. In 1963, he became the first American to record a cover version of a song by The Beatles: his "From Me to You" charted in the US before The Beatles' version.

Berlee Records and move to Amy[link]

By August 1963, Shannon's relationship with his managers and Bigtop had soured, so he formed his own label, Berlee Records, named after his parents^[4] and distributed by Diamond Records. Two singles were issued: the apparently Four Seasons-inspired "Sue's Gotta Be Mine" was a moderate hit, attaining #71 in the US and #21 in the UK (where Shannon's records continued on the London label). The second single, "That's The Way Love Is", did not chart, and Shannon patched things up with his managers soon after. In early 1964, he was placed on Amy (Stateside in the UK), and the Berlee label disappeared.

He returned to the charts immediately with "Handy Man" (a 1960 hit by Jimmy Jones), "Do You Wanna Dance" (a 1958 hit by Bobby Freeman), and two originals, "Keep Searchin'" (#3 in the UK; #9 in the US), and "Stranger in Town" (#40 in the UK).

In the latter part of 1964, Shannon produced a demo recording session for a young fellow Michigander named Bob Seger, who would go on to stardom much later. Del gave acetates of the session to Dick Clark (Del was on one of Clark's tours in 1965) and by 1966 Bob Seger was recording for Philadelphia's famed Cameo Records label, resulting in some regional hits which would eventually lead to a major-label deal with Capitol Records.

Also in late 1964, Del paid tribute to one of his own musical idols, with Del Shannon sings Hank Williams, Amy Records 8004, released in the closing days of 1964. The album was recorded in hardcore country honky-tonk style and no singles were released.

Shannon opened with Ike and Tina Turner at Dave Hull's Hullabaloo in Los Angeles, California on 22 December 1965.^[5]

Moves to Liberty, United Artists and Island[link]

Shannon signed with Liberty in 1966 and revived Miss Toni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" and the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". Peter and Gordon released his "I Go To Pieces" in 1965.^[2] Shannon also discovered country singer Johnny Carver, who was then working in the Los Angeles area. Del got Carver a contract with Liberty Records subsidiary Imperial Records, writing, producing and arranging both sides of Carver's debut single "One Way Or The Other"/"Think About Her All The Time". Carver went on to have nearly twenty Country-chart hits during the late 60s and 70s. The liner notes to his debut Imperial album acknowledge Del's role in his being brought to the label.

In the late 1960s, not having charted for several years, he turned to production. In 1969, he discovered Smith and arranged their hit "Baby, It's You," which had been a hit for the Shirelles in 1963. In 1970, he produced Brian Hyland's million-seller "Gypsy Woman", a cover of Curtis Mayfield.

During Shannon's Liberty Records tenure, success on a national scale eluded him, but he scored several "regional" U.S. chart hits with "The Big Hurt", "Under My Thumb", "She", "Led Along" and "Runaway" (1967 version). The 1967 version of "Runaway" (recorded in England and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham) also did well on Canadian and Australian pop charts.

In early '67, Shannon recorded the album Home And Away in England, with Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham at the helm. Intended by Oldham as the British answer to Pet Sounds, Home And Away was shelved by Liberty Records, although a handful of singles were issued. It was not until 1978 that all of the tracks were eventually issued (with three non-related tracks) on a British album titled And The Music Plays On. In 1991, all of the tracks were released in the US as part of the Del Shannon – The Liberty Years CD. In 2006, 39 years after it was recorded, Home And Away was finally released as a stand-alone collection by EMI Records, in the UK. This CD collected the eleven original tracks in stereo and the five single releases (US, UK and Philippines) in their original monaural mixes.

In September 1967, Del began laying down the tracks for "The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover", which would be highly regarded by fans and critics alike, despite disappointing sales. The album yielded two 1968 singles, "Thinkin' It Over" and "Gemini" (recently the subject of a Pilooski remix). In October 1968, Liberty Records released their tenth (in the USA) and final Del Shannon single, a cover of Dee Clark's 1961 hit, "Raindrops". This brought to a close a commercially disappointing period in Del's career.

In 1972, he signed to United Artists and recorded Live In England, released in June 1973. Reviewer Chris Martin critiqued the album favourably, saying that Shannon never improvised, was always true to the original sounds of his music, and that only Lou Christie rivaled his falsetto.^[6] In April 1975, Shannon signed with Island Records.^[7]

After he and his manager jointly sought back royalties for Shannon, Bug Music was founded in 1975 to administer his songs.^[8]

A 1976 article on Shannon's concert at The Roxy Theatre described the singer as "personal, pure and simple rock 'n' roll, dated but gratifyingly undiluted." Shannon sang some of his new rock songs along with classics like "Endless Sleep" and "The Big Hurt." Writer Richard Cromelin said "Shannon's haunting vignettes of heartbreak and restlessness contain something of a cosmic undercurrent which has the protagonist tragically doomed to a bleak, shadowy struggle."^[9]

Later career[link]

Shannon's career slowed greatly in the 1970s, in part due to his alcoholism.^[10] Welsh rock singer Dave Edmunds produced the Shannon single "And the Music Plays On" in 1974.^[2] In 1978 he stopped drinking and began work on "Sea of Love", released in the early 1980s. This song came from Shannon's album Drop Down and Get Me, produced by Tom Petty. The album took two years to record and featured Petty's Heartbreakers backing Shannon. RSO Records, which recorded Shannon, folded, and the LP was recorded by Network Records and distributed by Elektra Records. Seven songs are Shannon originals with covers of the Everly Brothers, Rolling Stones, Frankie Ford, and "Sea of Love" by Phil Phillips. It was Shannon's first album in eight years.^[3]

In February 1982, Shannon appeared at the Bottom Line. He performed pop-rock tunes and old hits. New York Times reviewer Stephen Holden described an "easygoing pop-country" manner. On "Runaway" and "Keep Searchin," Shannon and his band rediscovered the sound "in which his keen falsetto played off against airy organ obbligatos." In the 1980s Shannon performed "competent but mundane country-rock".^[11] In 1986, Shannon enjoyed a top-ten hit as a songwriter when pop-country singer Juice Newton released a single of her cover of Shannon's "Cheap Love," which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

Shannon enjoyed a resurgence after re-recording "Runaway" with new lyrics as the theme for the NBC-TV television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt this was definitive of the era in which the program was set.^{[citation needed]} The new lyrics replaced "wishin' you were here by me... to end this misery" with “watchin’ all the things go by... some live, while others die,” reflecting the violent, mob-related show.

In 1988, Shannon sang "The World We Know" with The Smithereens on their album Green Thoughts. Shortly after, in 1990, he recorded with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and there were rumors he would join The Traveling Wilburys after Roy Orbison's death.^[10] Previously, in 1975, Shannon had recorded tracks with Lynne, along with "In My Arms Again," a self-penned country song recorded by Warner Brothers, which had signed Shannon in 1984.^[2]

Death and legacy[link]

Suffering from depression, Shannon committed suicide on February 8, 1990, with a .22 caliber rifle at his home while on a prescription dose of the anti-depressant drug Prozac in Santa Clarita, California. Following his death, The Traveling Wilburys honored him by recording a version of "Runaway". Lynne also co-produced Shannon's posthumous album, Rock On, released on Silvertone in 1991.^{[citation needed]}

Shannon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999,^[12] and his contributions have been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Shannon was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.^[13] In 2007, Shannon's recording of "Runaway" was voted the #1 Legendary Michigan Song.^[14] Shannon has had two other recordings recognized as Legendary Michigan songs: "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" in 2008 and "Hats Off to Larry" in 2009.^[15]

Film and television[link]

Filmography[link]

• It's Trad, Dad! (aka Ring A Ding Rhythm) (1962)
• "Daytona Beach Weekend" (1965)
• The Best of Del Shannon, Rock 'N' Roll's Greatest Hits in Concert, (Live from the Rock & Roll Love Palace, Kissimmee, Florida, 1988). a television program hosted by Wolfman Jack.

Television[link]

• "American Bandstand" (1961)
• "Milt Grant Show" (DC) (1961)
• "The Buddy Deane Show" (1962)
• Shindig! (1965)
• "Hulaballoo" (1965)
• "The Lloyd Thaxton Show" (1965)
• "Shivaree" (1965)
• "The Merv Griffin Show" (Monday, August 16, 1965)
• Hollywood A Go-Go (1965)
• "Where The Action Is" (1966)
• Late Night with David Letterman (1986)
• "The Swingin Kind" ABC Television with Lee Alan

Hit singles[link]

• ^APeaked at #56 on Hot Country Songs.

Literature[link]

• Bak, Richard (July, 2011). Del Shannon's Runaway Success Led to his Downfall. Hour Detroit. http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/July-2011/The-Flip-Side-of-Success/. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 
• DeWitt, Howard A. (2001). Stranger in Town: The Musical Life of Del Shannon. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publ.. ISBN 978-0-7872-8854-9. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Del Shannon at the Internet Movie Database
• Del Shannon at Allmusic
• Del Shannon at Discogs

System of a Down
System of a Down at Download Festival On June 12, 2005.
Background information
Also known as	Soil (1992–1994) SOAD System
Origin	Los Angeles, US
Genres	Alternative metal, progressive rock, hard rock, experimental
Years active	1994–2006, 2011–present
Labels	Sony Music, American, Columbia
Associated acts	Achozen, Axis of Justice, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, Scars on Broadway, Serj Tankian and The F.C.C., The Apex Theory
Website	www.systemofadown.com
Members
Daron Malakian Serj Tankian Shavo Odadjian John Dolmayan
Past members
Ontronik Khachaturian

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California, formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums).

The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums; from which three debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and won the award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "B.Y.O.B.". The group went on hiatus in August 2006, but reunited in November 2010, embarking on a worldwide tour in 2011.

History[link]

Soil (1992–1994)[link]

Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, and Shavo Odadjian all attended Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School while children, although because of their eight-year age difference they did not meet until 1992 while working on separate projects at the same recording studio.^[1] They formed a band named Soil with Tankian on vocals and keyboards, Malakian on vocals and guitar, Dave Hakopyan (who later played in The Apex Theory/Mt. Helium) on bass and Domingo "Dingo" Laranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian (another Rose and Alex Pilibos alumnus) as manager, although he eventually joined Soil as rhythm guitarist. After three years, only one live show, and one jam session recording, Hakopyan and Laranio quit the band, feeling that it was not going anywhere.

Demo tapes and signing (1994–1997)[link]

After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian, and Malakian formed a new band, System of a Down. The group took its name from a poem that Malakian had written titled “Victims of the Down."^[2] The word "victims" was changed to "system" because Odadjian believed that the alteration would appeal to a much wider audience and also because the group wanted their records to be alphabetically shelved closer to their musical heroes, Slayer. Odadjian switched from guitar to bass and passed on his managerial duties to Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and its founder David “Beno” Benveniste.^{[citation needed]} The band recruited drummer Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, an old school friend of Malakian's and Odadjian's who had played with Malakian in a band called Snowblind during their teens.^[2]

System of a Down quickly made what is known as Untitled 1995 Demo Tape, which was not commercially released but appeared on file sharing networks around the time of the band's success with Toxicity about six years later. Demo Tape 2 was released in 1996. At the beginning of 1997, System of a Down recorded their final publicly released demo tape, Demo Tape 3. In mid 1997, drummer Khachaturian left the band because of a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan).^[2] Khachaturian was replaced by John Dolmayan.

The band's first official release of a professionally recorded song was on a collection called Hye Enk ("we're Armenian" in English), an Armenian Genocide recognition compilation, in 1997. Soon after playing at notable Hollywood clubs such as the Whisky-A-Go-Go and Viper Room the band caught famed producer Rick Rubin's attention who asked them to keep in touch with him. Showing great interest, the group recorded Demo Tape 4 near the end of 1997. Unlike the previous demo tapes, however, Demo Tape 4 was made only to be sent to record companies (although it has since been leaked onto the internet). Rubin signed the group onto his American/Columbia Records, and System of a Down began to record in Rubin's studio, laying down tracks that would eventually be released on their debut album.

Also in 1997, the group won the Best Signed Band Award from the Rock City Awards.^[3]

Debut album (1998–2000)[link]

In June 1998, System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down. They enjoyed moderate success as their first singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" became radio favorites and the music videos for both songs were frequently aired on MTV. After the release of the album, the band toured extensively, opening for Slayer and Metallica before making their way to the second stage of Ozzfest. Following Ozzfest, they toured with Fear Factory and Incubus before headlining the Sno-Core Tour with Puya, Mr. Bungle, The Cat and Incubus providing support.

In November 1998, System of a Down appeared on South Park's Chef Aid album, providing the music for the song "Will They Die 4 You?" Near the end of the song Tankian can be heard saying, "Why must we kill our own kind?" a line that would later be used in the song "Boom!" Although System of a Down is credited on the album, South Park character Chef doesn't introduce them as he does for all other artist featured on the record.

System of a Down's former drummer, Ontronik Khachaturian, briefly reunited with the band at a show at The Troubadour in 1999, filling in on vocals for an ill Tankian.^[2] In 2000, the band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.

[edit] Toxicity and Steal This Album! (2001–2003)

Guitarist Daron Malakian met Serj Tankian for the first time in 1993 before forming the band a year later.

On September 3, 2001, System of a Down had planned on launching their second album at a free concert in Hollywood as a "thank you" to fans. The concert, which was to be held in a parking lot, was set up to accommodate 3,500 people, however, an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 fans showed up. Because of the large excess number of fans the performance was cancelled by police officers just before the group took the stage. No announcement was made that the concert had been cancelled. Fans waited for more than an hour for the group to appear, but when a banner hanging at the back of the stage that read "System of a Down" was removed by security, the audience rushed the stage, destroying all the band's touring gear (approximately $30,000 worth of equipment) and began to riot, throwing rocks at police, breaking windows, and knocking over portable toilets. The riot lasted six hours, during which six arrests were made. The band's manager, David "Beno" Benveniste, later said that the riot could have been avoided if the group had been permitted to perform or had they been allowed to make a statement at the concert regarding the cancellation. System of a Down's scheduled in-store performance the next day was cancelled to prevent a similar riot.^[4]

The group's big break arrived when their second album Toxicity debuted at No.1 on the American and Canadian charts, despite the events of September 11. The album eventually achieved multi-platinum certification^{[citation needed]} and has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]} It was still on top in America during the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding the album's hit single "Chop Suey!" The song was taken off the radio as it contained politically sensitive lyrics at the time such as "(I don't think you) trust in my self-righteous suicide." Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the album's second single, "Toxicity". Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!" (which earned a Grammy nomination), System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with "Toxicity" and "Aerials". In May 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the No.14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

In 2001, the band went on tour with Slipknot throughout the United States and Mexico. Following a performance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Odadjian was harassed, ethnically intimidated, and was physically assaulted by security guards backstage, who then dragged him out of the venue. Odadjian received medical attention from police and later filed a suit against the security company.^[5] Despite the incident, the tour was a success and System of a Down and Slipknot went on the Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein in 2001.

In late 2001, unreleased tracks from the Toxicity sessions made their way onto the internet.^[6] This collection of tracks was dubbed Toxicity II by fans. The group released a statement that the tracks were unfinished material and subsequently released the final versions of the songs as their third album, Steal This Album!, which was released in November 2002. Steal This Album! resembled a burnable CD that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the band. The name of the album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book, Steal This Book as well as a message to those who leaked the songs onto the internet. The song "Innervision" was released as a promo single and received constant airplay on alternative radio. A video for "Boom!" was filmed with director Michael Moore as a protest against the War in Iraq.

[edit] Mezmerize and Hypnotize (2004–2006)

Serj Tankian has gained reputation for his large vocal range along with his unusual vocal tactics.

Between 2004 to 2005, the group recorded the follow-up to Steal This Album!, a double album, which they released as separate installments six months apart from each other, notably including album cover artwork by Malakian's father, Vartan Malakian, which was designed to connect the two separate album covers. The first album, Mezmerize, was released on May 17, 2005 to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at No.1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it System of A Down's second No.1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning single "B.Y.O.B.", which questions the integrity of military recruiting in America, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!" was released with Shavo Odadjian co-directing the music video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip supporting.

The second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at No.1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with The Beatles, Guns 'N Roses, and rappers 2Pac and DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at No.1 in the same year.^[7] In February 2006, System of a Down won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B.", beating out other established artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Robert Plant. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. System of a Down released "Kill Rock 'N Roll" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" as their next promo singles. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the main stage.

Whereas on System of a Down's previous albums most of the lyrics were written and sung by Tankian and the music was co-written by Tankian and Malakian (and sometimes Odadjian) much of the music and lyrics on Mezmerize/Hypnotize were written by Malakian who also took on a much more dominant role as vocalist on both albums, often leaving Tankian providing keyboards and backing vocals.

Concert footage and interviews with the band concerning the importance of helping create awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide were featured in the 2006 film Screamers, directed by Carla Garapedian. An interview with Tankian's grandfather, a survivor of the Genocide, was also included in the film as well as Tankian's and Dolmayan's meeting with (then) Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert during which the two musicians campaigned for the United States government's official recognition of the Genocide. Footage of Tankian and Dolmayan marching with protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington D.C. was also used in Screamers.

System of a Down was honored at a University of Southern California game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The Trojan Marching Band, along with Dolmayan and Odadjian, performed three System of a Down songs: "Toxicity," "Sugar," and "Hypnotize." System of a Down's song "Lonely Day" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, but lost to "Woman" by Wolfmother.

In May 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Malakian confirmed the break would probably last a few years, which Odadjian specified as a minimum of three years in an interview with Guitar magazine. He told MTV, "We're not breaking up. If that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this Ozzfest. We're going to take a very long break after Ozzfest and do our own things. We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take some rest."^[8]

May 2006 also saw the UK publication of a biography of the band entitled System Of A Down: Right Here In Hollywood by writer Ben Myers. It was published in the US in 2007 through The Disinformation Company.

Hiatus (2006–2010)[link]

Malakian announced he was forming a band called Scars on Broadway, which was joined by Dolmayan. System of a Down's final performance before their hiatus took place on August 13, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."^[9]

Tankian released his debut solo album Elect the Dead in the autumn of 2007 to great critical and commercial acclaim. Malakian and Dolmayan released Scars On Broadway's debut self-titled album on July 29, 2008. Dolmayan, alongside working with Scars on Broadway, formed his own band, Indicator, as well as opened Torpedo Comics, an online comic book store.^[10] Odadjian pursued his project with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, a hip-hop group named AcHoZeN, worked on his urSESSION website/record label, and performed as a member of funk legend George Clinton's backing band.

Reunion and tour (2011–present)[link]

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would be reuniting for a string of large European festival dates in June 2011.^[11] Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download Festival, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival and Finland's Provinssirock. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts – we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans."^[12] On March 1, 2011 the band announced they will play several shows in western North America in May and June. The reunion tour commenced on May 10, 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta.^[13] On May 4, 2011, Brazil event organiser and promoter Roberto Medina announced that System will be headlining, alongside Guns N' Roses, his Rock in Rio 2011 festival on October 2 in Rio de Janeiro.^[14]

System's first tour through Mexico and South America began on September 28, 2011 in Mexico City, ending in Santiago, Chile on October 7, 2011.^[15] From late February to early March 2012, they will headline five dates at the Soundwave festival.^[16] This will be the band's first visit to Australia since 2005.

Asked in October 2011 whether System of a Down will record a new album, drummer John Dolmayan replied, "We're gonna take it day by day. [...] For the people who are waiting for an album — I know there's a lot of people waiting for an album; I'm waiting for an album just like they are. It's gonna happen when it's right and when we can make something that tops what we've done in the past. Because we don't really wanna rest on our laurels — where what you've done in the past is what you depend on. Well, I don't wanna do that, and I know the rest of the guys don't wanna do that. Instead of resting on our laurels, we wanna throw them away and create something new and specific for this generation that they can say that's their System of a Down."^[17]

On August 11 and 12, 2012, System will play the Heavy MTL and Heavy T.O. music festivals in Montreal and Toronto, respectively.^[18]

On April 23, 2012, it was announced on the band's website that they would do a summer tour of the eastern United States and Canada with special guests, Deftones.

Style[link]

Lyricism[link]

System of a Down's lyrics are often oblique^[19] or dadaist,^[19] and have discussed topics such as drug abuse,^[19] politics^[19][20] and sexual intercourse.^[19][20]

All four members are of Armenian descent, and are widely known for their outspoken views expressed in many of their songs confronting the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as well as the ongoing War on Terrorism.

Music[link]

The stylistic variety and level of experimentation^[21] in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe, but the group has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal,^[22] alternative rock,^[23] art rock,^[24][25] avant-garde metal,^[26] experimental rock,^[27][28] hard rock,^[22][29] heavy metal,^[22] new prog,^[30] nu metal,^[31][32] progressive metal^[33][34] and progressive rock.^[35][36]

Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene"^[37] and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet."^[38] In interview with Mike Lancaster, he also said, "People always seem to feel the need to put us into a category, but we just don't fit into any category."^[39] According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, [our music] is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. [...] But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."^[40]

The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars.^[41] According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E♭ tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band.^[38] Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound—most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway—but it's also thicker and ballsier."^[38]

Influences and comparison to other artists[link]

The band's influences include Middle Eastern music,^[42] Ozzy Osbourne,^[37][42] Dead Kennedys,^[43] Frank Zappa,^[44] Slayer^[42] and Van Halen.^[43] One reviewer claimed that their music encompasses different sounds, from sounding like "Fugazi playing Rush" to sometimes "tread[ing] close to Frank Zappa territory."^[35] Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band."^[45] Dolmayan stated "I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down."^[46] Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are."^[46]

Awards and nominations[link]

System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song B.Y.O.B.. The band has also been nominated for several Kerrang! and MTV awards.

Grammy Awards

General

• In 2005, System of a Down won for Best Alternative Act in the Europe Music Awards
• In 2006, System of a Down won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"
• In 2006, System of a Down's song "Toxicity" was No.14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs list

Band members[link]

Occasional contributors

• Arto Tunçboyacıyan – percussion, composition (on Toxicity: "Science" and "Arto". Steal This Album!: "Bubbles" and some live concerts in 2005)^[47]
• Harry Perry – rhythm guitar (Ozzfest 2006)

Discography[link]

• System of a Down (1998)
• Toxicity (2001)
• Steal This Album! (2002)
• Mezmerize (2005)
• Hypnotize (2005)

References[link]