System of a Down’s Serj Tankian on Turning Passion Into Purpose

Michael Gervais (0:00)

How can we channel the intensity of our emotions, like frustration, anxiety, love, into creative power that impacts the world? Welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training, a high-performance psychologist. Serj Tankian is a Grammy-winning artist, activist, and frontman of the iconic genre-defying rock band System of a Down. Serj is known for his dynamic vocals and thought-provoking lyrics. He blends creativity, activism, and mindfulness into his music, poetry, and art in order to inspire change, advocate for justice, and explore the depths of human emotion. In this conversation, we dive deep into Serj's mindset, his journey, and we explore how he transforms emotional tension into creativity and art. So with that, let's dive into this week's conversation with Serj Tankian. Serj, this is awesome.

Serj Tankian (1:10)

Thanks for having me, Mike.

Michael Gervais (1:12)

Two things. One is, I kind of can't believe I'm sitting with you.

Serj Tankian (1:17)

Oh, come on.

Michael Gervais (1:17)

Yeah. No, like I grew up surfing, skating.

I love the edge of just about everything. There was just an energy to three, four, five bands that I loved. This is when I was, I don't know, 16, 17, 18 in that range there. What you stood for and the energy that you brought, I was like, I didn't even know what you were saying. But I was like, there's something here. And so I just love that I'm here and I love that our mutual friend, Peter Park, put us together.

Serj Tankian (1:54)

Absolutely. I love Peter. He's the best.

Michael Gervais (1:56)

I texted him last night and I said, Serj is coming on and he says, yeah, we're talking about it. And I said, I loved his book. His book was smart and I love that you read. I did the audio version and I just really appreciated it. And I said, obviously smart, super intense, passionate, global citizen is working at a system level. No pun intended here yet. And I said, is he kind of nerdy? And he fired back, F no. He's like, he's so passionate. He's so intense, like politically, musically, like no way. And he's also the most humble and kind person.

Serj Tankian (2:41)

It's very kind of Peter, but I am nerdy. I have to tell you, one of the last texts I just did was to my friend Tom Morello legend. Yeah, we have a game on Saturday night and we're playing Pirates.

Michael Gervais (2:57)

Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. No, you just took a turn. You have a game.

Serj Tankian (3:02)

Well, it's kind of like, you know, they play D&D. I haven't played since I was a teenager, a young teenager.

Michael Gervais (3:08)

Yes, I can't.

Serj Tankian (3:09)

So they were going to play D&D, but then they changed it to a Pirates game. And I actually went to my friend Joe Mangionello's house and he invited me to play this pirate game. Now, I was there for hours and I really enjoyed how they played it and I loved their company. So I really enjoyed it and the pizza was awesome. But I didn't really I didn't really get into the game at all. Like I was just like the game was kind of boring, but I'm going back because I love those guys and it's fun being with them. But yeah, I mean, I am a nerd. I was a 4 student in high school and, you know, university and honors and all that. But, you know, I yeah.

Michael Gervais (3:51)

Were you a 4 student in high school because your parents were like, that's what we do. We're coming to this United States of America, this great land of opportunity. And I know that you've got a beautiful understanding of our country from first generation from Armenia. So I do want to get into all of that. Was that because your parents were like, this is what we do? Or did that come from inside? Like, no, I love learning and this is amazing. And it could be a hybrid, of course.

Serj Tankian (4:22)

I think I was the older son in the family. I've got a younger brother. And I think my mom specifically had a lot of expectations from a very young age. So she would sit with me with my homework. And it was something that we would do together. And there was a lot of care taken into. I mean, I'm talking about even when I was a kid, you know, I was born in Lebanon, raised in Los Angeles. So even before coming to the US. But coming to the US., you know, there's always the challenge, the language challenge. And, you know, you're kind of a great behind with your language. So you got to catch up. And that kind of gives you even more of a motivation to try to outdo.