Steven Sater is an American poet, playwright, lyricist, television writer, and screenwriter.

Life and Career

Born in Evansville, Indiana, Sater attended Washington University in St. Louis as an undergraduate. Due to an apartment fire Sater was forced to jump from his balcony and damaged his spine, as well as several other limbs. The months spent recovering from his injuries and burns inspired Sater to teach himself Ancient Greek and seriously pursue the arts, and he went on to study English literature at Princeton University.

After completing his graduate program, Sater took a position with a New York literary agent, but continued to write plays on the side. It was during this time that he joined the Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist organization. His membership has proved important to his life beyond spirituality, as it brought Sater together with both his future wife, and his future creative partner, Duncan Sheik.

Soon after meeting, Sater collaborated with Sheik on his play ''Umbrage'', with Sheik providing the music for Sater's lyrics. To produce Sheik's third studio album ''Phantom Moon'', Sater gave Sheik lyrics and Sheik set them musically, cooperatively producing the album. They returned to stage to produce ''Nero'' at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, California, with book and lyrics by Sater and music by Sheik. The project remains in active development, most recently workshopped with New York Stage and Film at the Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College in July 2008, starring Idina Menzel, Lea Michele, and Michael Arden, under the direction of Daniel Kramer.

Sater and Sheik continued their stage work with ''Spring Awakening'', a musical interpretation of German playwright Frank Wedekind's play of the same name. In 2007, Sater won two Tony Awards for his work on ''Spring Awakening''. He won the Tony for Best Book and Best Musical Score, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, and the Outer Critic Circle Award for Best Lyrics. The pair received the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and, in addition, The Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama Desk, the Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Drama League Award, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical. ''Spring Awakening'' currently is on its second national tour in the US and has opened internationally in over 25 countries, including Australia, Sweden, Japan, Israel, Serbia, Brazil, Korea, Argentina, Norway, and Great Britain (in London, at the Lyric Hammersmith and Novello theaters). Productions are already scheduled for eighteen countries around the world throughout Europe, Asia, and South America.

Works

Stage

Sater and Sheik are currently at work on a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Nightingale", which will be part of the 2011 Powerhouse Season of New York Stage and Film (directed by Moises Kaufman, and produced by Dodgers Theatricals). The piece, also called ''The Nightingale'', has previously been workshopped at the O'Neill Musical Theatre Conference, La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, and New York Theater Workshop.

Sater has also worked with System of a Down's Serj Tankian on a musical version of ''Prometheus Bound'', directed by Diane Paulus, which opened at the American Repertory Theater on March 4, 2011 to rave reviews. The A.R.T. partnered with Amnesty International on Prometheus Bound, dedicating each week of performance to a different prisoner of conscience around the world. “The Hunger”, a single from the show recorded by Shirley Manson, has been released on iTunes, with all proceeds going to Amnesty International.

Sater is currently working with recording legend Burt Bacharach on a new musical, called ''Some Lovers'', based on the short story The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry. The musical will be produced at La Jolla Playhouse in December 2011. British vocalist Rumer recorded a single from the show as part of a special Christmas album, also featuring Bacharach’s ''Alfie''.

Film/TV

Sater is also co-creator and executive producer, with Paul Reiser, of recent pilots for both NBC and FX, and has developed two projects for HBO, and another for Showtime. He is also at work on a feature film with Jessie Nelson. In 2010, he completed a draft for Sony Picture’s upcoming remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Sater's screenplay for a movie adaptation of Spring Awakening is currently in development at Playtone, with McG attached to direct.

Music

Sater works as a lyricist with various composers in the pop/rock world, including Burt Bacharach, Johnny Mandel, Andreas Carlsson, Leo Z, Desmond Child, Brian Byrne, and William Joseph.

Sater wrote two songs with Sheik for Michael Mayer's feature film A Home at the End of the World as well as the independent features ''Brother's Shadow'' and Mary Stuart Masterson's The Cake Eaters.

Further recorded songs include: Trash (Play) Ragdoll (Lucy Woodward) Some Lovers (Rumer) Come In Ogni Ora (Karima, Burt Bacharach) Just Walk Away (Karima, Burt Bacharach) Something That Was Beautiful (Mario Biondi) The Hunger (Shirley Manson, Serj Tankian)

Sources

New York Times - "Storming Broadway From Atop a Fortress"

Variety - "Reiser and Sater set for TV laffer"

Playbill - The Nightingale workshop

Playbill - Nero workshop

Sater and Jessie Nelson collaborate

Playbill - Prometheus Bound workshop

The Telegraph - Spring Awakening London opening

The Independent - "Spring Awakening opens at the Lyric"

Variety - "Spring Awakening opens overseas"

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American Buddhists Category:American poets Category:Princeton University alumni Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:Members of Soka Gakkai Category:Living people

it:Steven Sater

Coordinates	50°23′34″N20°58′41″N
Official name	Säter
Pushpin map	Sweden
Coordinates region	SE
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Sweden
Subdivision type3	Municipality
Subdivision name3	Säter Municipality
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Dalarna County
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Dalarna
Area footnotes
Area total km2	3.78
Population as of	2005-12-31
Population total	4,438
Population density km2	1175
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Coordinates display	displayinline,title
Website	}}

Säter is a locality and the seat of Säter Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 4,438 inhabitants in 2005.

Säter is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city''. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.

History

At the location was a royal mansion named Säter's Royal Mansion.

Sweden's first copper mint was built at the location in 1624, influenced by its proximity to the copper mountain at Falun with its tannery that had been located to Säter a few years earlier.

The town Säter was founded in 1630, and much of its old town today has still kept wooden houses and street structure from that time, which few Swedish cities have. One of the oldest houses is the city hall.

On May 8, 1642, the town was chartered by Queen Christina of Sweden, making it one of the Cities in Sweden. The chosen coat of arms depicted a miner.

Today

The Säter hospital was opened in 1912 and was at the time Sweden's largest mental hospital. The serial killer Thomas Quick was admitted there for a short while earning him the nickname "the Säter man".

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Säter:

Säters IF FK

The ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships has been held in Säter twice.

Travel

Säter has a railway station along the Dala Railway with trains to Mora, Falun, Arlanda Airport and Stockholm. Suitable airports for travelling to or from Säter are Borlänge Airport (20 km distance) and Arlanda Airport (177 km).

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Säter is twinned with: Joutseno, Finland

References

Category:Municipal seats of Dalarna County Category:Swedish municipal seats Category:Populated places in Dalarna County

bg:Сетер de:Säter fr:Säter hr:Säter it:Säter nl:Säter (stad) no:Säter nn:Säter pl:Säter pt:Säter ro:Säter fi:Säter sv:Säter tr:Säter

Coordinates	50°23′34″N20°58′41″N
name	Duncan Sheik
background	solo_singer
birth name	Duncan Scott Sheik
born	November 18, 1969 Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
instrument	Guitar, piano, voice, electronics
genre	Rock, pop, alternative rock, acoustic rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, composer
years active	1993–present
label	Atlantic RecordsNonesuch/Elektra RecordsZoë/Rounder/Universal RecordsRhino/Atlantic Records
website	Official website }}

Duncan Scott Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the multiple award-winning musical ''Spring Awakening''. He resides in New York City.

Biography

Early years

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Sheik's upbringing was split between his grandparents' home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and his parents' in New Jersey. His grandmother, a graduate of Juilliard, taught him to play the piano and encouraged his musical development. Sheik graduated from the Eaglebrook School before attending Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1988. He subsequently studied semiotics at Brown University. After college, he moved to Daly City, a suburb near San Francisco where he started his music career.

Career

Sheik began his professional career playing for other acts, including Liz and Lisa (with Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell), and played on His Boy Elroy's 1993 album. Through connections from fellow Brown alum Tracee Ellis Ross.

His 1996 self-titled debut album for Atlantic was certified Gold and spawned the #16 hit single "Barely Breathing" in the United States, which remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-setting 55 straight weeks during 1997-98. It also enjoyed lengthy stays on Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts where it reached #2. In early 1998, Duncan was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category for "Barely Breathing" but lost to Elton John's "Candle In The Wind".

A lay Buddhist, Sheik's involvement with Soka Gakkai has increased steadily over the years. In 2000, Sheik wrote the foreword to ''The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions'' by Soka Gakkai leader Daisaku Ikeda.

In his second album, 1998's ''Humming'', Sheik experimented in the studio with meticulous string arrangements while keeping the haunted vocal sound of his first album. Additionally, on some tracks Sheik took a step away from his pop roots to address larger social issues.

His next record, 2001's ''Phantom Moon'', was a collaboration with poet and writer Steven Sater, whom Sheik met through his Soka Gakkai involvement. The two collaboratively created the album by drawing inspiration from the each other's simultaneous work, with Sheik sending Sater the music and Sater sending Sheik the lyrics.

In 2002, Sheik made a brief commercial comeback with the album ''Daylight'', including success with the singles "On A High" and "Half-Life". Eschewing the Nick Drake-like sound of ''Phantom Moon'', ''Daylight'' featured a lighter, more modern sound with production effects and electronic backgrounds. Sheik indicated in interviews that the record was an attempt to create an album of pure pop songs.

Sheik composed original music for a New York Shakespeare Festival production of ''Twelfth Night'', which opened July 21, 2002, at the Delacorte Theater.

In 2003, he portrayed Bobby Darin in an episode of the television series "American Dreams". He also composed the score for the 2004 film ''A Home at the End of the World'', including two original songs.

In 2006, Through the Fire was released, for which Sheik served as the composer. Through The Fire follows the senior high school year of Sebastian Telfair.

His fifth album, ''White Limousine'', was released on January 24, 2006, on the Zoe Records label. The first single released from the album was the title track. Like its predecessor ''Daylight'', subtle electronic influences are a hallmark of Sheik's fifth studio album, as well as many songs that are politically charged. The album is both Sheik's first to be released outside of what is now Warner Music Group, and his first with companion software on a DVD-ROM to remix individual album tracks.

Working continually with Steven Sater, Sheik wrote the music for the Tony award winning musical ''Spring Awakening'' over a period of eight years. The musical, which premiered off-Broadway in New York in May 2006, opened on Broadway to much critical acclaim in December 2006. ''Spring Awakening'' is based on the controversial German expressionist play, ''Spring Awakening'' by Frank Wedekind. Sheik won two Tonys for his work on the musical —for Best Orchestration and Best Original Score (Music)—and the show won the Tony for Best Musical. The original cast recording album, released in December 2006, received the Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Musical Show Album. The guitar Sheik used to compose songs for Spring Awakening is on display at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

On January 27, 2009, Sheik released ''Whisper House'', his first new studio album since 2006 and first release under his new deal with RCA Records on their RCA Victor imprint. This marks Sheik's first full length album on a major label since 2002's ''Daylight''. Singer-keyboardist Holly Brook plays a prominent role alongside Sheik on some of the songs. Sheik toured throughout the first half of 2009 in support of the album. He was a judge at the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

Sheik composed the music for the Musical adaption of ''American Psycho''.

Sheik's Facebook page announced March 15, 2011 that he planned to release a full album of 1980's songs that he has recorded his interpretation of on June 6, 2011.

It was announced that Sater and Sheik wrote an adaption of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' called ''Alice By Heart'', which is being workshopped at the Royal National Theatre. It was commissioned by the National Theatre Connections. Sater said "It's about how to leave childhood behind and the challenge and struggle in that." The two week workshop will be directed by Jessie Nelson and musical direction by Lance Horne.

Sheik is working on the musical score for a Broadway play based on the book "American Psycho" at his home in upstate New York. http://www.observer.com/Duncan-Sheik-American-Psycho-Maserati. Duncan described the musical as "The American Psycho score is, so far, completely electronic. Prophet 5, Moog, various drum machines. Imagine Depeche Mode as the pit band!" on his Twitter feed on 8/20/11.

Charity

In 1998, Sheik recorded " Embraceable You" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album ''Red Hot + Rhapsody'', a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, which is an initiative to support Tibet, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights situation in Tibet. The album was issued on August 5 via iTunes and on August 19 in music stores around the world.

Work

Musicals

''Nero (Another Golden Rome)'' - 2006

''Spring Awakening'' - 2006, 2007—2009

''The Nightingale'' - 2006 (based on ''The Nightingale'')

''Whisper House'' - 2010

''American Psycho'' - In production

Discography

Studio and compilation albums

Note: All certifications based on current data from RIAA's website: http://www.riaa.com

''Duncan Sheik'' (June 4, 1996), Atlantic) (Certified Gold)

''Humming'' (October 6, 1998), Atlantic) (Out of Print)

''Phantom Moon'' (February 27, 2001, Nonesuch) (Out of Print)

''Daylight'' (August 27, 2002, Atlantic) (Out of Print)

''White Limousine'' (January 26, 2006, Zoe)

''Brighter/Later: A Duncan Sheik Anthology'' (October 24, 2006, Rhino)

''Greatest Hits: A Duncan Sheik Collection'' (March 6, 2007, Rhino)

''Whisper House'' (January 27, 2009 RCA Victor)

''Covers 80's'' (June 7, 2011 Sneaky Records)

Extended play albums

''At the Reservoir'' (1997, Atlantic)

''Humming Along'' (1998, Atlantic)

''White Limousine EP'' (2005, Zoe)

''Whisper House EP'' (2008)

''80s Covers 2010'' (2010, self-produced)

''"Duncan Sheik & David Poe: Music from the Motion Picture 'Harvest' " EP'' (May 3, 2011 via digital platforms)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions					Album
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
	"Barely Breathing"	16	19	2	—	10
"She Runs Away"	—	—	24	—	—
"Reasons for Living"	—	—	—	3	—
	! scope="row"	—	—	—	—	—
! scope="row"	—	—	—	—	—
1999	"That Says It All"	—	—	—	—	—
2001	"A Mirror in the Heart"	—	—	—	—	—
	"On a High"	—	—	—	1	—
"Half-Life"	—	—	—	—	—
	"White Limousine"	—	—	—	—	—
"The Dawn's Request"	—	—	—	—	—
	"Earthbound Starlight"	—	—	—	—	—
"Play Your Part"	—	—	—	—	—

Other recordings

"Wishful Thinking" from ''Great Expectations: The Album'' - Atlantic Records - 1997

"In the Absence of Sun" from ''The Saint (soundtrack)'' (CD) - Atlantic Records - 1997

"Songbird" from ''Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours'' (CD) - Atlantic Records - 1998

"Embraceable You" from ''Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove'' (CD) - Antilles Records - 1998

"View from the Other Side" from ''Friends Again'' (CD) - Warner Bros. Records - 1999

"Now or Never" from ''Boys and Girls: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture'' (CD) - Ark 21 Records - 2000

"I am a Pilgrim" from ''Transamerica: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (CD) - Nettwerk Records - 2005

"A Purple Trail" from ''Other Songs and Dances, Vol. 1'' (CD) - Backlight Records - 2006

"Something Somewhere" & "There's A Home" from "A Home at the End of the World" (2004).

"There Once Was a Pirate" (bonus track) from ''Spring Awakening (Original Broadway Cast)'' (CD) - Universal Music Classical - 2006

Videography

''On Stage at World Café Live: Duncan Sheik'' (DVD) - Decca Vision - 2007

Recent and current tours

Sheik toured throughout Europe during the spring of 2010, followed with 15 dates around the United Kingdom later in the year, from September until October 2, 2010. Touring continued into the winter, with three performances in Asia during January and February of 2011.

Concert dates in support of ''Covers 80's'' were announced for cities on the U.S. east and west coasts for late spring and early summer of 2011, but later canceled due to Sheik seeking treatment for alcohol addiction. In an August 24, 2011 message to fans and friends in his tumblr blog, Sheik noted that he had entered a treatment center on the same day his latest album was released and had told his staff, "My record is coming ''out'' and I’m checking ''in''."

See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

External links

Duncan Sheik official website

Rounder Records Group artist page on Duncan Sheik

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American Buddhists Category:American alternative rock musicians Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rock musicians Category:Songwriters from New Jersey Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Brown University alumni Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Members of Soka Gakkai Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:People from Montclair, New Jersey Category:People from Beaufort, South Carolina Category:Phillips Academy alumni Category:Tony Award winners

de:Duncan Sheik es:Duncan Sheik fa:دانکن شیخ it:Duncan Sheik nl:Duncan Sheik pt:Duncan Sheik

Coordinates	50°23′34″N20°58′41″N
background	solo_singer
birth name	Serj Tankian
born	August 21, 1967 Beirut, Lebanon
genre	Heavy metal, experimental, alternative metal, progressive rock, alternative rock, art rock, classical
occupation	Musician, singer–songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet, political activist
years active	1992–present
instrument	Piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, synthesizer, violin, harmonica, melodica, bouzouki, dulcimer, theremin, sampler, drum machine
label	Serjical Strike, Reprise, American, Columbia, Axis of Justice
associated acts	System of a Down, Axis of Justice, The F.C.C.
website	www.serjtankian.com
notable instruments	}}

Serj Tankian (Armenian: Սերժ Թանգեան ; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down.

During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan (''Serart''), as well as two solo albums ''Elect the Dead'' and ''Imperfect Harmonies'' and a live orchestral version of the former incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra named ''Elect the Dead Symphony''. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

On August 12th, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music.

Biography

Early life

Tankian was born in Beirut, Lebanon on August 21, 1967. At age seven, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles, California. In his youth, he attended a school for Armenian-Americans, The Rose & Alex Pilibos School, which was also attended by Tankian's future System of a Down bandmates Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian. Having achieved academic success in high school, and UK MTV. Tankian appeared on MTV's You Rock The Deuce to promote ''Elect the Dead''. A music video was directed and filmed for every song on the record, each by unique directors. Tankian explained, "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!". Some music videos were initially released exclusively to those who purchased the limited edition of ''Elect the Dead'', while all of the music videos, except "Money", have since been publicly released on Tankian's website and YouTube channel. Some videos have alternative versions which were originally released as well, but later altered.

Three different promo versions of the album have surfaced to the public. The instrumental promotional version, issued by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records and intended for the music and movie industry, contains instrumental versions of the twelve album tracks. Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form. This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to . Before this a similar but undated promo, also under the name 'Smart Talk', was issued featuring the final versions of the songs, albeit not yet mastered. Whilst the printed track list on this version is identical the released album, tracks ten and eleven are in fact juxtaposed on the promo itself.

The official tour for ''Elect the Dead'' commenced on October 12, 2007 with a show at Chicago's Vic theater. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by his former band, System of a Down, he performed "Charades", a song co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of System of a Down. Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.), to provide guitars, drums, and bass. The songs "Beethoven's Cunt", Empty Walls, and Sky Is Over are available as downloadable content for ''Rock Band'' . A portion of the song "Lie Lie Lie" is currently featured in the opening title sequence of NBC's ''Fear Itself'', a horror anthology show from the creators of ''Masters of Horror'', and can be viewed on the show's main website..

More recently, he sang with Les Rita Mitsouko on the song "Terminal Beauty". Also, he sang with the band Fair to Midland during a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho", from the album ''Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True'', which was a massive hit with fans. He often collaborates with his close friend, director Diran Noubar on various projects, including the voice-over of Noubar's ''Armenia, a Country Under Blockade''. Noubar played some guitar on Tankian's ''Elect the Dead'' album on the track "Saving Us" and directed the music video for "Baby". Tankian is also politically involved. Together with Tom Morello, he founded the organization Axis of Justice. Tankian is a New Zealand resident and has a secondary vacation dwelling there. There has been a misconception that he intends to stay in New Zealand until the Iraq War is over, but as stated in an interview, Tankian has no intention of doing so. He often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon.

On March 16, 2009, Serj performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand, an orchestral version of the album ''Elect the Dead''. The live performance was captured in a CD/DVD titled Elect the Dead Symphony which was released on March 9, 2010.

Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater. It is based on the Ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound. It will open at the American Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.

In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the band Viza (previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor". Viza is signed to Tankian's Serjical Strike label.

On February 15, 2010, Serj Tankian released a new single, "The Charade." The song is available as a digital download on iTunes.

''Imperfect Harmonies'' (2010–present)

Tankian's third solo album was originally due in 2009. It is said to be more of a jazz and orchestral based sound. Said Tankian of the second album, "I'm structuring the next record kind of like a jazz orchestral. I've got a full orchestra interested, so I want this giant electric guitar in the air to be played by a full orchestra. I want the orchestra to be the electric guitar. I want to make an orchestra do what it's never done before, like a GG Allin type orchestra. Think of that." The album had the working title ''Music Without Borders'', however, the final album title is ''Imperfect Harmonies''. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming album ''Imperfect Harmonies'' was released called "Borders Are." The first radio single from'' Imperfect Harmonies'', "Left Of Center", was released on July 13, 2010. A third single, "Disowned Inc." was released on August 9, 2010. ''Imperfect Harmonies'' was released on September 21, 2010. Preceding the album's release, two contests were announced (one consisting of brainteasers related to the album/song titles, the other an art contest) in which fans could win prizes such as Tankian's autograph and merchandise. On August 22, 2010, a music video for ''Left Of Center'' was released on Tankian's MySpace account.

The premiere date for Tankian and Sater's ''Prometheus Bound'' at the American Repertory Theater is February 25, 2011. The singer has said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him. “I’ve been using a lot of my archives, a lot of different types of music that I had already put together for underscoring and what not,” he said. “It’s quite diverse, from noise to jazz to electronic stuff to hip-hop songs to rock songs to cool, piano dark underscores, and that’s a whole different bag of tricks there because it’s always evolving. Unlike a film score that’s very linear and you get a scene to score for, this is something where you do another workshop and one song is gone, that underscore changes to 20 seconds and they need something else on the spot. Everything’s always changing until the show comes, so it’s quite interesting.”

In January 2011 Tankian released a music video for his song ''Reconstructive Demonstrations'' from his album ''Imperfect Harmonies''. Tankian also announced on his Facebook page, during the video's release, that a new EP entitled ''Imperfect Remixes'' will be released sometime within 2011. On February 3, Serj uploaded a photo of him singing into a microphone onto his Facebook fan page, accompanied with the description "New music video coming soon..." On March 1 Serj released ''Imperfect Remixes'' and the music video for ''Goodbye'', a remix of ''Gate 21'' from ''Imperfect Harmonies''.

System of a Down Reunion (2011)

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they will play shows In Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in US. Dates are between May and July 2011. 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." Dates have been announced in the official System of a Down website.

Animal rights

In recent years Tankian has taken a stance supporting animal rights. He also has become a vegetarian who has strong feelings against the establishment of industrial slaughterhouses. In an interview with PETA, he also claimed his change due to "touring and its variety of edible crap," and also he felt it was "instinctive somewhat." Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect towards 'mother earth'.

In July 2009, Serj signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chickens in KFC slaughterhouses.

The F.C.C.

The F.C.C. (Flying Cunts of Chaos) was Serj's backing band when he played live up until 2009.

;Final line-up

Mario Pagliarulo  — bass, vocals

Erwin Khachikian  — keyboards, piano, synthesizers, vocals

Troy Zeigler  — drums, vocals

Dan Monti  — guitar, vocals

Jeff Mallow  — guitar, vocals (2008–present)

;Past members

Larry "Ler" LaLonde  — guitar, vocals (2007–2008)

Discography

;Solo

''Elect the Dead'' (2007)

''Imperfect Harmonies'' (2010)

''Imperfect Remixes'' (2011)

;With System of a Down

''System of a Down'' (1998)

''Toxicity'' (2001)

''Steal This Album!'' (2002)

''Mezmerize'' (2005)

''Hypnotize'' (2005)

;With Serart

''Serart'' (2003)

;With Buckethead and various artists

''Enter The Chicken'' (2005)

;With Tony Iommi

''Iommi'' (2000)

;With Wyclef Jean

''Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant'' (2007)

Bibliography

''Cool Gardens'' (2001)

''Glaring Through Oblivion'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

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 |- | || "Chop Suey!" || Best Metal Performance || |- | || "Aerials" || Best Hard Rock Performance || |- | || "B.Y.O.B." || Best Hard Rock Performance || |- | || "Lonely Day" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||

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 #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs list

References

External links

Serj Tankian's official Flash-based website

Serjical Strike official website

System of a Down's official website

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