System of a Down’s Serj Tankian

Episode notes

(Photo by Richard Robey/Maximum Fun)

Serj Tankian is best known as the lead singer of System of a Down. The hard rock band that recorded the 2001 smash hit Chop Suey. “Wake Up! Grab a brush and put a little make-up!” It’s an iconic nu-metal track with groovy drums and Serj’s unique vocals.

Tankian is of course more than just a lead singer. He’s authored seven solo albums, including a classical symphony, two books of poetry, and now a memoir. Down With The System: A Memoir (of Sorts) was published this past May.

(Courtesy of Hachette Books)

Serj joins Bullseye to talk all about the book. We get into his time in System of a Down and hear about his love for Iron Maiden, Rick James, and the incomparable Barbara Streisand. Plus. a scream from Serj to shake things up.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Guests

Serj Tankian

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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