System of a Down, courtesy.

There’s an interconnectedness to the each of the branches that grow from the creative organism of System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian. Whether it’s gigging with the band he’s played with for nearly three decades, launching new band Seven Hours After Violet, cheering on LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club) or running cannabis lifestyle brand 22Red, Odadjian leans all the way in.

The flexibility afforded by System of a Down’s schedule allows Odadjian to pursue his passions while also continuing to thrill fans onstage.

“We’re not a big touring band anymore. We kind of have our own things and families and stuff. We haven’t released a record in a while,” Odadjian said. “But we love to play live and we still love each other, and we’re never not going to be together anymore. We’re going to be together no matter what.”

One of those handpicked gigs is a show in Golden Gate Park, the first to take using the Outside Lands footprint the weekend after the festival and the first time a band will play at the park at night other than at the festival.

“We love the cool little experiences, one-offs, [having] people fly in from different places to check it out,” Odadjian said. “Things that leave lifelong memories; this was one of those.”

Fans likely agree, as the outdoor show was a quick sellout. The stacked bill also features Viagra Boys, VOWWS, Deftones and The Mars Volta, the last two of which Odadjian said are close friends wit his own.

The Bay Area has provided plenty of musical memories for Odadjian. He recalled Ozzfest ’99, back in his self-described “young and crazy days.” He said San Francisco was a proving ground as System of a Down was on its way up.

“S.F. has this different attitude,” he said. “It’s not like a southern city where they go buck wild and love you right away; you play a note and they’re in there. We had to kind of prove ourselves to them.”

He also mentioned an early career gig opening up for Slayer at the Warfield in 1998. The crowd wasn’t receptive right away, he said. The band had to step it up to ultimately win it over. He described that tour as a “heavy metal boot camp” that helped chart System of a Down’s course.

“If you can open up for Slayer in S.F., you can open up for anyone,” Odadjian said.

The Golden Gate Park show is the only System of a Down show in 2024 other than its Sick New World festival in Las Vegas last April. The band is now planning the future of the event, with the possibilities including taking it on the road or finding a second home on the East Coast to alternate with Vegas.

Shavo Odadjian performs with System of a Down at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2022. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

The more flexible touring schedule has allowed Odadjian to start Seven Hours After Violet with vocalist Taylor Barber (Left to Suffer), guitarists Alejandro Aranda (Scarypoolparty) and Michael “Morgoth” Montoya (Winds of Plague) and Winds of Plague drummer Josh Johnson. Odadjian connected with Morgoth at a party hosted by L.A. radio station KROQ and exchanged numbers. The two started writing music with the idea it would be for other artists. The sessions went so well that Morgoth suggested Odadjian keep the songs for a solo record. The bassist had reservations.

“I’ve never done heavy music outside of System,” Odadjian said. “I’ve always tried to stay against the grain with EDM, hip-hop and some rock stuff.”

Eventually, the two had enough songs for two albums. The pieces kept falling into the place, so Odadjian rounded out the band and signed a distribution deal with Sumerian Records. Fans’ first take of the new material from Seven Hours After Violet, or SHAV (get it?), is unrelenting heavy track “Paradise,” which showcases the band’s metal chops.

“I wanted to release something brutal first,” Odadjian said. “I think the world needs to hear really heavy music from me right now. After that, we can move into the other stuff.”

He said the record will include some groove and melody as well. While Barber is best known for his deathcore, Odadjian said Seven Hours After Violet allows him to show off other abilities.

“He sings like a canary as well. His range is so huge, he was so perfect to come in and do all the parts,” he said.

The band will make its live debut at the resurrected Mayhem Festival in San Bernardino in October before going on tour. If the hectic music schedule wasn’t enough, Odadjian is also laser-focused on his cannabis and lifestyle brand, 22Red. He founded the company with close friend Mike Basteguian during the pair’s weekly poker game; later, grower Sean Oganesyan joined in.

As a connoisseur of the product, Odadjian said he enjoys geeking out at a culture that shares many similarities to that of fine wine.

Shavo Odadjian, courtesy 22Red.

“Each flower has its own distinct taste, and flavor, and what it does to you,” Odadjian said. “I wanted to enjoy it because when you mix business and pleasure, it doesn’t always work out so well.”

A fan of numerology, he said the name is derived with the combination of his lucky number with the color he associates with it through his synesthesia.

“I’m born April 22, I married [on] May 22, System of a Down was signed when I was 22. I thought of this when I was 44, my two boys are 2 years and 22 days apart; you couldn’t write that,” Odadjian said.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.