2010 was good but I think 2011 is going to be a really great year. I’m back in Los Angeles for good (and done with Columbia) – should be an exciting few months coming up with life and music. Yes that is an amazing shot below that I found of the crowd taken from behind the oud neck… Jake you are the man.
Here’s some food for thought as we start the new year – click here to read…
Proceeds to Aid Homeless in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA – Viza is back at the Key Club for the second annual Feed the Need benefit show, set to take place the night before Thanksgiving, November 24, 2010. Viza will be joined that evening with a lineup of some of LA’s hottest bands such as Valley Circle, LeaveItAlone, Prisoners of Disguise, R-Mean and Opus Dai. Each person attending will help benefit The Los Angeles Mission, a non-profit organization serving the homeless in Downtown Los Angeles.
“We are musicians but we are also members of the Los Angeles community, and we want to support a great cause in helping the homeless – especially during a time of year where people are supposed to give thanks,” said Viza’s Andrew Kzirian. “This is our way of trying to make a difference – and it also gives fans a chance to contribute to a worthwhile effort,” he added.
Building off the enormous success of last year’s Feed the Need concert at the Troubadour, Viza continues to establish a strong track record of social activism on community issues including helping the destitute, donating funds for orphanages and raising awareness of human rights tragedies through genocide prevention education. Last year’s concert raised over $1200 dollars for the Los Angeles Mission and also featured a special guest appearance by System of a Down front man Serj Tankian, who joined Viza on stage to perform the band’s single “Viktor”.
“It’s important to get the word out about these problems – and doing that through music and art helps to educate ourselves and society in a unique way,” stated Viza frontman Knoup.
Having just returned from a wildly successful European tour, Viza has already hit the studio writing new music and preparing for more international and national dates in 2010. Stay tuned for more information on Viza shows, social justice work and other news.
The Key Club is located at 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. This show is 18 and over. Doors open at 8 pm. Viza show time is at 11:00 pm.
For tickets ($20) and more information please visit http://www.experienceviza.com/Viza/Tour.html.
For more information on the Los Angeles Mission please visit: http://www.losangelesmission.org/Home.aspx
Click here for Viza’s November Newsletter hot off the press.
Big benefit show (Feed the Need II) for the homeless coming up, photos from our Viper Room show by Jake Hagopian, an interview with the Zurich House Mafia and a feature on Jivan – what else could ya ask for? I know everyone is probably wondering about our new music video – coming soon!
Viza at The Bataclan in Paris
It’s our first show since coming back from Europe – and to top things off it’s K’noup’s birthday (you can buy him a drink maybe?). Click here for details and ticket information.
It's my (K'noup's) birthday!
So in Armenia during our Viza tour through Europe, the great Djivan Gasparyan (grandfather of fellow Viza member Jivan Jr.) very graciously invited us over for dinner to welcome us to his home. We had a great time and I had a chance to catch up and discuss music, life and pretty much anything else with the legend that is “Armenian Duduk.” This was especially interesting for me given all the work Jivan Jr. and I do together using oud and duduk – which represents a very unique blend of Western Armenian musical tradition over the centuries (Armenian mastery of the oud in Anatolia) and Eastern Armenian music where the duduk is widely considered the quintessential representative of Armenian musical culture. East meets West – well kind of… credit to Jake Hagopian on these shots.
That food looks so good.
Check out Viza’s most recent newsletter here. Lots of great information on the European tour with Serj Tankian, awesome photos and video from the trip and the latest on Viza in the news. You have to check it out! Stay tuned for more from the band in the coming weeks…
What a tour. We had a great time – reached out to new fans and totally rocked it man. Now on to Philly for cheesesteaks, Sako, my brother the MASTER CHAIRMAN of the Olympics, umpiring softball and of course, the EMPEROR HIMSELF (aka the FATHER of GOD).
Viza members waiting to go on stage at Bataclan in Paris.
Athens didn't like us at all... (sarcasm)
We are at Heathrow stylin’ around. Suguru and Shant are on their phones, Orbel is passed out, and I’m on the laptop… Flight was not bad at all – the apparently unlimited open bar that Virgin Atlantic offers on international flights was incredible. Only 3 more hours until our flight to Haleb.
Oh yeah and by the way here is our latest newsletter – check out our Viza blog run by Shant Mastikian too – it’s got all the latest news and updates on the band and our adventures.
Getting things ready for our shows abroad. In case you missed it Viza is opening for Serj Tankian’s shows in a bunch of countries. Pretty exciting time for the band and we are eager to hit the road. Be sure to check out http://vizainvades.wordpress.com/ which is a blog run by Shant Mastikian while we are on tour. Looking forward to it all…
Great night – chill with Vahe Berberian at his art exhibit opening, some good food with Knoup, random shot with Todd Lewis from the Toadies at the Troubadour (yes we were there 2 nights in a row ), stop off at Mr. Chris Daniel’s estate for some style to close out the night, etc.
