Quotes from Shavo Odadjian

That's what a producer does - make it better; help make the song better and make the band better. Not write music for the band or tell a band what to do. And Rick Rubin doesn't tell you what to do; that's why some people don't like him.

When I hear a song, I close my eyes and see a lot of stuff happen, and I love making those visuals come to life. It's always been a passion.

I directed videos for System, I do stage production visuals for the band, so that's important to me.

I've never rapped. I karaoke-d 'Paul Revere' from Beastie Boys when I was 15, 14 years old, but that's it.

I was born born April 22. I got married May 22. System of a Down started started blowing up when I was 22.

I don't want every member of System to have their own label. It will be like a circus.

Well here's how I look at it, I've always been someone that's liked to have things on my plate, it just keeps me going.

We're four guys that play music. We're not a part of any genre. We just happened to have come out in 1998.

I always play music at home, every day I grab a guitar and start riffing.

We want to sound like a band you can't clone or even categorize. We like to throw everyone off.

I'm used to being in a band and collaborating.

I used to always wear Vans back in the day. I had every type of Vans and Converse there was. I was a Chucks guy and a Vans guy.

When something's taboo, the kids get a sense where they want to do it because it's taboo.

We don't preach, but we just tell you what we think, and it provokes thought.

We're musicians and despite that, we get more political questions than musical questions, which kind of irks me.

The people who hate us, I don't think they are wrong. That's what they think, and I promote thought.

I'm kind of right in the middle - I'm an Independent, not far Left or far Right. But I don't think everyone needs to know about that, do they?

I've been a fan of Bad Brains ever since I can remember. They are iconic pioneers of punk, not just the music but the attitude.

To me, punk rock isn't a style of music, it's something you live.

So, there's a lot of 22 in my life. That always followed me and has always been good to me. I also have a condition that is synesthesia, where you relate different senses with each other. So every time I think of numbers, since I was a kid, each number has had a color in my head.

I've always questioned death and birth and life. Where do we go? Are we here now? Or is this just one of the lives that we live?

I come from the '90s where there was rap-rock and I was never a huge fan of it. I loved Rage, I loved some of the other stuff that was going on, but it got really oversaturated and it got kind of cheesy at some point - we can all say that.

I'm not a giant rock star. I play one on TV, though.

System of a Down is my lifeline. It'll never go away.