Shavo Odadjian

Shavo Odadjian married a lady called Sonia in 2009.

He is a human rights activist as well and has protested against human atrocities. He actively involves himself in youth mentoring, and participates in charitable events to support research for cancer-stricken children.

He uses Gibson Thunderbird basses, Fender Jazz Bass, Ibanez BTB bass guitar, Music Man StingRay and Warwick basses.

Shavarsh Odadjian was born on April 22, 1974, in Yerevan, Armenia in the Soviet Union. At a young age, he moved to Los Angeles where his grandmother raised him.

He attended an Armenian parochial school, Alex Pilibos Elementary School, in Los Angeles. His future band mates Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian were also in his school. In college, he majored in psychology.

During his youth, he spent most of his time skateboarding and listening to punk rock and heavy metal music. He credits Dead Kennedys, KISS, Slayer, The Beatles, and Black Sabbath for impacting his musical development and career.

In 1993, while still in college and also working in a bank, Shavo Odadjian joined the band Soil as the manager. Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, who were members of the band, had met him at a recording studio and had called upon him to assist them.

In 1994, he became the band's bassist, and renamed the band as System of a Down, after a poem written by Daron. They also hired Velvet Hammer Music for managerial responsibilities.

Shavo not only plays bass in the band, but also sings live backing vocals. He also writes songs for the band; his songwriting credits include ‘Toxicity’, ‘Sugar, ‘Jet Pilot, ‘Bounce,’ ‘Mind,’ ‘Dreaming,’ and ‘U-Fig.’ He has directed the majority of the band's music videos, and also designs the stage and lighting for their live performances.

In June 1998, the band released their debut album, ‘System of a Down’, which enjoyed moderate success. In November, the band was credited for providing music for the song ‘Will They Die 4 You?’ on South Park's ‘Chef Aid’ album. In 2000, the band contributed the song ‘Snowblind’ to the Black Sabbath tribute album ‘Nativity in Black 2’.

The band released their second studio album ‘Toxicity’ on September 4, 2001,which featured elements of multiple genres of music like folk, progressive metal, progressive rock, jazz, Middle Eastern music, and Greek music.

In 2008, Shavo Odadjian founded Ursession, an online art platform and networking site, which aimed at bringing artists of all genres and styles from around the world on the common forum. Ursession started off by announcing ‘The 100K Battle’, an online contest in which the artist with the most votes by the community would win a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles to perform on Power 106's The World-Famous Wake-Up Show, along with other prizes.

He is a popular DJ in Los Angeles, and has played in events like Rock/DJ Explosion in 2001 at The Roxy in Hollywood. In September 2008, he played guitar in a live performance on ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ with Clinton. He also appeared on Clinton's 2008 album ‘George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love’.