Special Los Angeles Screening with Serj Tankian in Attendance on October 23rd to Benefit Axis Of Justice

OCTOBER 18, 2007 – Burbank, CA – Earlier this year, Serj Tankian – the visionary frontman for multi-platinum rock band System Of A Down – asked a collection of video and film directors, painters, and digital artists to each create a video for one of the 12 tracks on his forthcoming solo debut album, “Elect the Dead,” which will be released on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on October 23rd.

The directors involved in the video project include a prestigious array of artists whom Tankian has befriended over the last decade. They include music video director Tony Petrossian (Taking Back Sunday, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold), who shot the video for “Empty Walls,” the first single from “Elect The Dead,” photographer/video director Greg Watermann (Mudvayne, Lamb of God, Howie Day), Oscar-nominated Puerto Rican playwright and screenwriter Jose Rivera (“The Motorcycle Diaries”), digital artist Roger Kupelian (“The Lord of the Rings,” “Flags of Our Fathers”), documentary director Sevag Vrej (System Of A Down, Fair To Midland), short film/music video director Adam Egypt Mortimer (Against Me!, Idiot Pilot) and Beirut-born filmmaker Gariné Torossian (Sparklehorse), among others.

“I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work,” Tankian explains. “They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!”

Among the videos posted on Tankian’s website www.serjtankian.com
is an animated clip for the song “The Unthinking Majority” by filmmaker/video director Tawd Dorenfeld. Also available for viewing on the website are the videos for “Empty Walls” and “Saving Us”.

To celebrate the artistic collaboration of the music and visual interpretations of Serj Tankian’s solo album, Reprise Records and Serjical Strike, in conjunction with digital cinema/music marketing company D&E Entertainment (www.DandEentertainment.com), will screen the videos of “Elect The Dead” back-to-back, accompanied by an introduction by Tankian at movie theaters across the nation at 8pm on Monday, October 22nd. This unique experience on the eve of album release offers fans a preview of “Elect The Dead” in a premium listening and visual environment. A special screening event on the October 23rd album release date will take place in Los Angeles with Tankian in attendance.

Special screenings of “Elect The Dead – The Short Films” will be held at 8pm on Monday, October 22nd at the following locations:
Long Island, NY: Herricks Cinema
Parsippany, NJ: Parsippany Cinema
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
San Diego, CA: Ultrastar Theatres Mission Valley
Boston, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
Chicago, IL: Century Centre Cinema
Detroit, MI: Emagine Novi
Philadelphia, PA: Clearview’s Anthony Wayne Cinema
Seattle, WA: Metro Cinemas
Houston, TX: The River Oaks
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
Phoenix, AZ: Harkins Tempe Marketplace
To usher in the release date on Tuesday, October 23rd, Serj Tankian will attend a 9pm screening that evening of “Elect The Dead – The Short Films” in Los Angeles at the Vista Theater (4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027). Starting at 7:30pm on October 23rd, the first 300 people in line at the box office to buy tickets for the 9pm showing will be able to have their CDs autographed by Serj after the show. Lining up at the Vista Theatre before is 7:30pm is prohibited. Copies of “Elect The Dead” will be available for sale at the Vista Theater that night, along with a free poster for every CD purchased. Tickets will be sold for $10 a the box office, with all net proceeds donated to Axis Of Justice (www.axisofjustice.org), an organization founded by Tankian and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine.

Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead cover

(1) Pre-order info

Pre-Order Serj Tankian’s ELECT THE DEAD at iTunes and get 3 bonus tracks (The Reverend King, Blue, and Falling Stars) and the video for “Lie Lie Lie”

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPreorder?id=265917405&s=143441

(2) Limited edition

Special Limited Edition

Linen wrapped hardbound book contains 4 bonus tracks, 48-page color booklet containing artwork & poetry, and unique code to unlock exclusive content.

Bonus CD Tracks

1.Blue

2. Empty Walls (acoustic)

3. Feed Us (acoustic)

4. Falling Stars

http://store.warnerbrosrecordsstore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=1548612&sys=WBR

In support of his debut solo album, Elect The Dead, which will be released on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on October 23rd Serj has lined up a bunch of dates for a tour. Touring alongside of Serj will be Fair To Midland and Tom Morello. Check out the dates below:

SERJ TANKIAN US TOUR DATES:
10/12 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
10/14 – Toronto, ONT – Guvernment
10/15 – Boston, MA – Paradise
10/17 – NYC – The Fillmore & Irving Plaza
10/18 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA
10/20 – Atlanta, GA – The Roxy
10/22 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
10/25 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
10/27 – Los Angeles, CA – Avalon
10/28 – San Francisco, CA – Slims

VIDEO: “Empty Walls”:
Serj Tankian – Empty Walls

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Serj Tankian, the visionary frontman for multi-platinum rock band System Of A Down, has set a date to release his debut solo album, entitled Elect The Dead, which will be released on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on October 23rd.

Known for his work with hard-rock agitators SOAD, Tankian says he had no clue he was about to make a rock record when he began to record at his home studio in Los Angeles last summer. “I was writing more traditional type songs on my piano and acoustic guitar, with a classical, almost operatic flavor; and lo and behold, it ended up being a rock record. Funny what happens when you add distorted guitars and drums,” he says. “There are political songs, funny songs, love songs, songs about painful experiences, vanity, and the environment. It has a deep melancholy that runs from the personal to the global, with a glimmer of hope in the solidarity of spirit.”

Tankian produced Elect The Dead himself and played most of the instruments, though the album does feature guest drummers John Dolmayan (SOAD) and Brian “Brain” Mantia (Guns n’ Roses, Primus). “The singularity of vision is strong when you work alone,” he says. “I was a bit skeptical about producing it myself, but I knew how I wanted it to sound. And as I kept going, I realized it was coming together really well so I just finished it on my own. But I had to be careful to push myself like an outside producer would until it was great. I had the same energy and enthusiasm making this album as I did making the first System record.”

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Armenian parents, Tankian is known as an outspoken political activist who puts his money where his mouth is. In 2006, he and Dolmayan met with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., to campaign for support for the Armenian Genocide Recognition Bill. Tankian is also the co-founder, along with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, of Axis Of Justice, a non-profit dedicated to uniting musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice.

With System Of A Down, which has released five best-selling albums, including two Number One’s in 2005 — the critically acclaimed Mezmerize and Hypnotize — Tankian helped the band earn a reputation for musically innovative, politically uncompromising rock. Through it all, Tankian, who has also published a collection of his poetry, has written his own songs, amassing an archive of material from many different genres. “I write all the time for no reason but to write,” he says. “I’m just doing what I’m told to do by my heart and nothing more. I just follow my vision and end up where it takes me.”

Serj interviewing himself. Notice anything weird? “News In Rock – Serj Tankian’s Elect the Dead.”