Serj Tankian on System of a Down Chris Cornell Film Scores
Chris Cornell
Since you mentioned The Promise  I wanted to tell you that when I interviewed  Chris Cornell  about  his  song for the film shortly before  his  death   he  said  he  consulted you to make sure  he  got the tone right. What do you remember about that?
We were both friends with [producer] Eric Esrailian  and we were both giving him advice on the music. He was asking for support. So  Chris  and I became closer as friends because of The Promise. At one point  I think they wanted us to do the main theme music together  and then they realized they were going to need two end tracks. So he did the title track  and I did this beautiful  classical-jazz rendition of an old Armenian folk song called "Sari Siroun Yar." But he sent me an email and he goes  "What do you think?" And I loved it. I told him  "It's really emotional and you're bringing everything out." He made a great connection in the song. The most important thing to realize about the Armenian Genocide is not just what happened 100 years ago  but how it's relevant today  because that shit's happening now. That's what he did with the song; he made that connection. I was really grateful for that.
And I'm a huge fan of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell  growing up. And he knows that [laughs]. We became friends  but I've still always been his fan  you know? So his support on the film was incredibly important.
He was like that  man. He was very gracious with his emotions  his time. He was careful and conscientious. He did a great job in not just the music but supporting it  whether it's interviews or TV specials with the song and talking about it and the need to take care of survivors that are around today in Syria and around the world. Him and his wife Vicky have a charity  and I had the honor a few weeks back of giving Vicky  in  Chris ' name  a human rights award from Human Rights Watch at their yearly gala in Los Angeles. Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil were there. It was very special.
Since you mentioned The Promise  I wanted to tell you that when I interviewed   [TGT] about   [TGT]   song for the film shortly before  his  death   he  said  he  consulted you to make sure  he  got the tone right. What do you remember about that?
We were both friends with [producer] Eric Esrailian  and we were both giving him advice on the music. He was asking for support. So  Chris  and I became closer as friends because of The Promise. At one point  I think they wanted us to do the main theme music together  and then they realized they were going to need two end tracks. So he did the title track  and I did this beautiful  classical-jazz rendition of an old Armenian folk song called "Sari Siroun Yar." But he sent me an email and he goes  "What do you think?" And I loved it. I told him  "It's really emotional and you're bringing everything out." He made a great connection in the song. The most important thing to realize about the Armenian Genocide is not just what happened 100 years ago  but how it's relevant today  because that shit's happening now. That's what he did with the song; he made that connection. I was really grateful for that.
And I'm a huge fan of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell  growing up. And he knows that [laughs]. We became friends  but I've still always been his fan  you know? So his support on the film was incredibly important.
He was like that  man. He was very gracious with his emotions  his time. He was careful and conscientious. He did a great job in not just the music but supporting it  whether it's interviews or TV specials with the song and talking about it and the need to take care of survivors that are around today in Syria and around the world. Him and his wife Vicky have a charity  and I had the honor a few weeks back of giving Vicky  in  Chris ' name  a human rights award from Human Rights Watch at their yearly gala in Los Angeles. Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil were there. It was very special.