Jon Robin Baitz's "Vicuña" now has a different resonance for actor Harry Groener, who plays a Donald Trump-like character; the final part of Richard Nelson’s trilogy, “Women of a Certain Age,” was set on election day and it premiered at N.Y.'s Public Theater as Americans voted; Serj Tankian of the metal band System of a Down is also a symphonic composer.
Serj Tankian: From System of a Down to writing symphonies
Most rock fans know Serj Tankian as the frontman for the politically outspoken metal band, System of a Down. The band has released five albums, won a Grammy Award, and sold tens-of-millions of records worldwide.
The band took a break in 2006 and Tankian started a solo career. He began writing rock songs, but now he’s composing music for films and video games. In 2012, he also wrote a classical work called “Orca Symphony No. 1."
The Frame’s James Kim spoke with the L.A.-based musician about the beginnings of System of a Down, his transition into composing symphonic pieces, and what he wants to say as an artist.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
On how being Armenian-American shaped him musically:
My musical tastes are based on my ethnic background [and] upbringing. Born in Beirut, raised in Los Angeles, I was here in the '70s listening to disco and soul music. Growing up as an Armenian and listening to Armenian music, Arabic music, French music — that also gave me a world music background to begin with.
But it's not like I came out playing pop music trying to make it on the radio. I came out with System of a Down and everyone was like, What the f--- is that?
On System of a Down breaking into the mainstream:
I remember one of the heads of a major Los Angeles [radio] station [said], We can never play music like this. But it didn't stop us because, when you have a specific musical vision that you feel strongly about, you don't give up and you keep on going, and it somehow worked.
The first few years we were on tour consistently and our second record had a lot of radio [potential]. At that time, funny enough, the major station that wouldn't play our music became our biggest supporter.
On his lack of musical training:
I wasn't a singer, I didn't go to music school, I didn't learn composition. For me, it was about making sound with my voice and saying something that I believe in. When you sing something, when you say something, when you write something in a song or in a piece of music, you really have to feel that. But I came from the school where it's just like, I have all these things to say, I'm gonna f------ say them all.
On how he started writing symphonic music:
I had never written classical music and I thought, Wow, this could be really interesting! So I started stripping down my rock songs into their basic elements. At the time, I wasn't very proficient in composing [with] an orchestral palette. So I had a lot of help from this amazing composer friend of mine, John Psathas. He helped me arrange the "Elect the Dead Symphony."
But that got me into orchestral composition, and now I compose ground-up for orchestra for films [and] video games. That became my foray into the classical world.
On not worrying about what others think of him:
In our industry there's almost a stigma [against] artists doing different things. They're like, Oh, they've gone way too far off base. Most artists that I know and respect adhere to that formula to a certain degree. But the ones that I really love are the ones that just make whatever they want to make, whether people are going to like it, listen to it, buy it or not.
So I want to learn more. I want to create more. I want to express more in different ways that I haven't been able to. And whether I suck at it or get good at it doesn't matter. That's for someone else to judge. I just want to be able to do it and learn and grow as an artist, and have one more avenue of expression.
Serj Tankian performs at the Valley Performing Arts Center on the Cal State Northridge campus on Nov. 10 and 12, accompanied by the university’s student orchestra. System of a Down has just announced that the band is working on a new album.
Jon Robin Baitz's play, "Vicuña," has a new post-election resonance
The theater has traditionally been a platform for exploring the American condition, and this pivotal election year has been no different.
Currently at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City is “Vicuña,” a new work by acclaimed playwright Jon Robin Baitz. The protagonist is a Republican presidential candidate, a thinly-veiled version of Donald Trump. The play is set as the candidate — named Kurt Seaman — prepares for a debate and spars with the immigrant tailors who are making a suit for him.
We spoke with the playwright just after “Vicuña” had its world premiere Oct. 30. But that was before the presidential election. After the first post-election performance of the play, we wanted to find out if there was now a different resonance for the cast and the audience. Harry Groener, the actor who plays the Trump surrogate, came to The Frame studio and explained why the performance was more difficult after the election:
We had to be careful almost not to listen to what we were saying, because some of what is in this play now has completely different meaning. It could conceivably take you out of the scene at the moment, and all of a sudden you become an audience [member] and you hear what you just said.
But unlike the divisive nature of the presidential race itself, the performance agreed with both Clinton and Trump supporters. Groener says:
Robert Egan who directed the play, met some Trump supporters and said, Oh, you must have hated the play. And they said, Quite frankly, we enjoyed the play very much because we felt that it was fair and that the argument for the other side was expressed.
Onelection night, Baitz’s “Vicuña” also had a reading at the Ivy Club in London. It was directed by Lindsay Posner, spoke with The Frame following our election. He described what the mood was like as the reading was taking place and ballots were being counted in the United States:
It was a slightly surreal situation. Everybody was totally absorbed, and by the end of the play, as well as being entertained, there was a feeling of fear in the room ... Sure enough, a few hours later, as the results started coming in on the big screen, everybody sank in despair.
But “Vicuña” wasn't presented as a means of answering any questions, he says.
I think [Baitz's] analysis of Trump, and of the political situation that's contained within the play, certainly widened my understanding of it. In that sense, although you're not given answers, your eyes have been opened to certain aspects of reality.
Groener, the play's star in Los Angeles, also sensed that the play contained a wider message:
We have to continue to be aware and try to find some way to work through this as a country. And not just as one side of a country, but as a complete country, as a whole country, as a united country. My god — the Civil War was fought for unity. Lincoln basically went into the war to maintain the Union. It was less about slavery and more about maintaining the Union.