SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian‘s side project, SCARS ON BROADWAY, will embark on a short West Coast tour in early March.
Mar. 03 – San Diego, CA – The Obsevatory
Mar. 04 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Mar. 06 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Mar. 07 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
Mar. 08 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
SCARS ON BROADWAY‘s latest album, “Dictator”, was released last July. The band itself, now rebranded DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY, has undergone a complete overhaul, with none of the members from the group’s 2008 debut — including SYSTEM drummer John Dolmayan — appearing on the new songs.
Malakian explained the personnel changes in an online post, saying: “Nobody quit. When I first started SCARS, I always said that it would be different lineups from album to album. Depends on the type of direction I want to take. Different musicians work for different styles. That is partly why I added my name in front of the band’s.”
“Dictator” saw Malakian write, produce and play every instrument — including all vocals — over the course of a 10-day recording session. The album’s cover art was created by Daron‘s father, Vartan Malakian, who also designed the artwork for SYSTEM OF A DOWN‘s twin 2005 releases, “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize”.
“Dictator” was recorded in 2012 but remained unreleased until last year.
SCARS ON BROADWAY previously performed in 2012 as the opening act for DEFTONES in Los Angeles.
The group has only played live sporadically over the years: a headlining trek in 2008 was canceled, with Malakian citing his lack of enthusiasm and “his heart not being into touring” as the chief reasons behind the decision.
The guitarist later explained that he thought it was “almost too soon” for him to go on the road after SYSTEM OF A DOWN went on hiatus in 2006, also citing issues in his personal life that “made it impossible” for him to tour.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN, which has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, has a couple of festival shwos coming up in May but has not released new music in 14 years.
