Review by S.O.A.D.orV.O.A.D.  

"Nothing too interesting happened with John or Daron, except that on one take Daron's strap came off and he was playing without it. Franky was very energetic all night, and during one take, he just ate it and fell into a bush on the floor. it was really funny because he tried to play it off like nothing happened, so he kept playing on the floor, looking like he was having a seizure.

The rest of the guys started cracking up, as did everybody else for a good while. All the crew were nice people... the fans that were there were great, it was about 25 of us.

The location was this place literally in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception or anything. They had us make political signs, which was pretty cool.

Greg Watermann was there, which is always great, we got to talk a good bit throughout the night. I can't wait to see this video, it's gonna be really cool, it was definitely major budget video production. "

Check VERY Exclusive photos for the Video Shoot HERE (credits S.O.A.D.orV.O.A.D)

Scars on Broadway is currently touring Europe through Sept. 21, and will begin an American tour in October, check out all the Tour dates and info HERE

"I think the main difference is the music," Dolmayan offers. "[Scars is] more rock and song oriented, whereas System is more metal-oriented and schizophrenic, bouncing from one style to another." "Scars On Broadway" was recorded at Hollywood's Sunset Sound, and produced by Malakian.

"They're all really good guys," Dolmayan says. "The most important thing when you're touring is that you enjoy the people you're with. Otherwise it can be a very miserable experience. You're in close quarters, and you've got to be around each other a lot. So when you're around people you actually enjoy, it makes life a lot easier."

With the buzz building around the Scars tracks "They Say" (which also has a video) and "Chemicals," there has been much speculation about System of a Down's future.

"Everything is cool," Dolmayan explains. "I just hung out with Shavo about a week ago, hung out with Serj about three weeks ago, we had dinner. The guys are doing great. Of course we support each other in our projects. System will eventually play again, but right now Daron and I are concentrating all of our energy on Scars, because that's what you have to do to make something into a success."

-Various sources

WARNING! SOME SPOILERS:

I got there three hours late so I couldn't be in the killer sunset/protest sign scene but I did indulge in the last six hours of the shoot! Before I even was put on set, I was just mingling with the other peeps, including S.O.A.D.orV.O.A.D. I went to have a cigarette break in a designated cigarette spot and lo and behold, John was sitting there with a couple of his friends right outside of his trailer! I think he was talking about Family Guy. I asked one the crew members if it was okay to ask for a picture and they said, "Go ahead and ask him." I went up to him and asked him and I guess he misunderstood me or just made a joke about it and said, "What you wanna see some hookers? There's four hookers in the trailer in back of me right now!"and after I laughed and corrected him I told him that I was the "bra girl" at the union station and I talked to him on Loveline. He then said, "That was you? I swear to God I was gonna wear the bra on my head for a couple of songs!" And then he pointed to his friend, "He actually took it and put it on." and then one of his other friends (I think it was their manager) said, "Actually I put it on." and lifted up his shirt . I then got my picture and went back to where the rest of the extras were.

During the breaks, Daron and Franky (separately) would come over to my side a few times and talked to me and a couple guys that I hung out with/sat next to me during the sets. Daron was so stoned through out the whole shoot! I asked for a guitar pick from Daron and he gave me one. It had picture of his CD cover for "Steal This Album" but instead of the couple having clothes on them, they were naked! And under it, it said, "FUCK THE SYSTEM" and then I asked him the question that I've been dying to ask him for a while:

"Would you ever smoke weed with a fan?"

He laughed and then I said, "Cuz I got my recommendation and all. I do it for..." and then I did the little quote fingers and said, " 'anxiety' " and he repeated it back to me with the same quote fingers, "Oh you do it for 'anxiety'?" and we both laughed. I told him I got some bubba kush and he said "You shouldn't say that that loud cuz people will..." and then he was called back to set.

During the breaks, they would talk about random jibber jabber which was totally interesting to hear. Daron kept on saying there was somebody with a sniper on the hills ready to take him out and Dom was totally laughing. Daron also went to smoke a bowl on the side but the Fire Marshall gave him shit and told him to stop.

 Franky kept on kicking dust on one poor girls face from rocking out and dancing on the desert and he kept on apologizing but she kept on saying she didn't mind at all. He also kicked a rock he thought that was real really hard but it ended up being just a small, hollow fake one and he kicked it about 20 feet away and then laughed. Dominic threw out his hip at one point. When Franky fell on this prickly bush, I thought it was on purpose and so did Joel because it looked that way when I saw it but Franky said, "No I just ate shit!" He then took off a part of his shirt to ask Danny and a crew member if he was bleeding.

John was busting up about it and during the break, the crew, the band, and a few fans watched different shots of Franky falling. John kept on rewinding it over and over again.  And I think he laughed for at least a good ten minutes straight. When they went back to their set place John said, "First let me make sure the bush looks alright." He then fluffed the bush out lightly like it was hair. He then said "Hey Franky can you fall on the other side of the bush to make it look evened out?"

When lunch break came, I caught Franky's attention for that picture. He took it with me while I gave him a side hug (all his sweat got on me which I thought was kinda sexy). Then one of the guys I was hanging with walked with him and asked him some pretty interesting questions about his history. He said he knew all the System guys even before SOIL!! That he always would hang and jam with them and one day Daron just asked him if he wanted to join and he said yeah. Franky also said he had some solo stuff.

At the point where they guaranteed they were getting a shot of our side, they told me to stare at the flame the whole shot, which is hard cuz I really wanted to just watch the band! (But I took a few peeks along my peripheral vision so it's all good. ) We then did what Joel liked to call, "A do-whatever-the-fuck-you-want take" where they were capturing the fans and we could do whatever the song inspired us to do. Moshes ended up happening almost too close to the flame though...we did three shots of that. After the first shot, Franky said something to the sorts of: "Man I enjoyed watching you guys! It almost made me take my attention off of what I was doing!" The last one had Daron's girlfriend Jessica in it and I think Joel is gonna use that shot even though it was our least energetic cuz it had Jessica. He then said to Daron, "It was like watching Jessica and the back up dancers."

One of the other guys I hung out with (Miguel) asked Daron when they were making another Scars record. Daron laughed and said, "We just made this one and we're just starting the tour...you got wait a while before we start that...but we do have this hidden unreleased not everywhere track called, "Hungry Ghost" We all said we had it.

 I then asked Daron, "Can you sign one last thing? Can you sign my..." and he said, "Your weed?" and I said, "No my pick but you never did answer my question!" He then signed the pick and asked "What question" and I said it again: "Would you ever smoke weed with a fan?" and he smiled and said, "Yeah I would but not now cuz the Fire Marshall was just giving me shit about it." I said, "Yeah I saw that." I then asked, "Do you have a recommendation?" and he said, "No, I do it illegally...it keeps the thrill alive!" he laughed and then I said, "Always on the edge!" and we both laughed. Then Dennis said, "Yeah I almost got to smoke Neville's Haze." (Supposedly, Daron said in an interview that Neville's Haze was his favorite.) And Daron said, "You got a hold of that? I could only find that in Amsterdam!" and Dennis said, "No I found it in a shop down here but I didn't have enough money for it." and Daron said, "Supposedly the strain of that here is supposed to be as good as the one in Amsterdam." I then told him my friend grows but then accidentally dropped my digicam and had to pick it up.

 I asked, "So will Dominic, Franky and Danny be involved in the making of the next CD or is it gonna be all you again? Either way it'll probably be great." He then said, "Well it's probably just gonna be me. I mean that's just how I work. Even with System, I wrote practically all the songs by myself. But if the guys have an idea or any input, I won't shoot it down. I'll take it into consideration."

 Dennis asked Daron if he ever talks to Shavo (Dennis is a big Shavo fan.) and Daron said, "Not really....like we'll say happy birthday to each other but that's basically it."

Needless to say it was unforgettable and one of the best experiences of my life!

Check More Photos from Flora-Laura on The PHOTO Gallery

Share on Facebook