| SOUNDCHECK | t Music wellness, 22Red sponsored the free-of- charge street-culture bash from 5 to 10 p.m. It was a match made on cloud nine, as after the attendees took family photos with the System of a Down bassist, the parents or guardians kicked it and had a drink with him. At the same time, the groms skated on the North First Street course, which was blocked off from incoming East Roosevelt and North Central traffic. Or the kids skated vert or ollied inside the aforemen- tioned pop-up skatepark in the warehouse, with staffs from 22Red and Cowtown Skateboards chaperoning. Some lucky parents, guardians, fans, and of-age skaters copped bounce-back coupons for 22Red flowers and the newly released concentrates sold throughout metro Phoenix. Gus Briseno, 27, a Tempe skateboarder 22Red Skate Away System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian dropped some gems and wax on Go Skate Day. BY MIKE MADRIAGA concentrates — and Go Skate Day. That night, June 21, Odadjian and his S 22Red crew skated with their buds from Cowtown Skateboards and hundreds of skaters of all ages in front of The Churchill, where there was a street skate course. They also skateboarded inside a nearby abandoned warehouse with ramps, hand- rails, quarter pipes, and loud punk rock and heavy metal music. On some of the music tracks blaring from the loudspeakers, the groms got a taste of Odadjian playing bass guitar — years before he and his SoaD bandmates copped a Grammy for “B.Y.O.B.” in 2006. Before Odadjian took to the electric guitar and bass guitar, he rocked a skate- board at age 5. “So my parents would work two jobs [and we were] living in a little apart- ment in Hollywood on North Kingsley Drive,” he recounted in a Phoenix New Times interview earlier that night. “And when they were at work, I would skate halfway, take a bus, and head to Venice Beach without my parents knowing — at 12 years old. I would skate with these greats, bro.” Then-tween Odadjian skateboarded 32 with Paulo Diaz, Natas Kaupas, Christian Hosoi, and Jef Hartsel, who would all havo Odadjian, bassist and founder of System of a Down, skated into The Churchill in Phoenix to celebrate the launch of his four new 22Red become pro skateboarders. “I learned tricks like no complies and varials from the main guys,” Odadjian continued. “So until today, I’m 48, I still see a curb, and I got that skater’s eye. I’m like, ‘Dude; I could do that,’ even though I don’t do it. I don’t want to break anything because I play music.” But Odadjian made an exception in front of The Brill Line’s whiskey, cocktail, and beer bar inside The Churchill. The Grammy winner hopped onto his 22Red employee’s skateboard and busted tricks. The bar patrons cheered. Not even winded, he continued, “That’s why being at events like this, and being the founder of these events, means so much to me because I relate with everyone around here. It’s just a big part of me. And when I started 22Red, it was like music, art, and skating. That was the goal. And look where it’s at after three years. Bro, [outside of the bar area] there’s like 2,000 people doing this. “I came to have a drink, and there are the cool [husbands], the wives, the kids — three kids are wearing 22Red T-shirts. ‘22’ is not just a weed brand, it’s a movement, and I believe in it; it’s artistic, creative.” He paused. “…. Yeah, there’s weed in it, but kids don’t have to know that.” Metro Phoenix parents and guardians lined up to meet with the rockstar-turned cannabis entrepreneur. Some fans brought their groms with a #GoSkateDay poster in one hand and a skateboard in another to get autographed by the bass guitarist. A local father, who requested not to be named as his “wife was not invited,” brought a vintage cassette tape for Odadjian to autograph. The father continued, “I want to show our chil- dren how we musicians blew up in the 1980s-1990s by making demo tapes like this.” In ’94, Odadjian connected with Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian, and the trio formed the System of a Down heavy metal band in Glendale, California. They’d perform at the nearby Los Angeles “it” Shavo Odadjian was the founder of 22Red and System of a Down spots in the ’90s. Then the “nu” and alter- native metal music on their demo tapes made its way onto online music sharing platforms — Napster, LimeWire, and Kazaa — and was transmitted via the World Wide Web as we called it, and downloaded worldwide. Consequently, the System’s unique style of music went even more viral, including “Sugar” (1998) — and “Toxicity,” which would peak at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. It would still be a few years before YouTube, and other social media platforms would somewhat replace the “demo tape” concept of marketing and promotion. A local mother, who goes by the @mrs. dabulite handle on Instagram, posted an IG photo of her carrying her daughter and Odadjian carrying her son as the son played with Odadjian’s signature rubber- banded goatee. She captioned the photo, “Thanks for being so awesome with our kids ….” Steve Lucero captioned their Instagram photo with the rock star-like father, saying, “My sons and I had the plea- sure of meeting @ShavooDadjian yesterday!! Coolest mfkr ever!” “My two sons, they were born two years and 22 days apart,” Odadjian noted. “One was born September 8, the other one was born September 30, two years apart — 2011 and 2013.” (In a previous interview with Forbes, Odadjian reportedly said, “I don’t think you should smoke until you’re 21, because I think it stunts growth in youth. I don’t condone it.”) He told New Times, “The number ‘22’ is a manifestation number. It’s the angel number. I was born with it. I was born April 22. I got married May 22. I was 22 when System of a Down got signed. I was 44 when I thought of 22Red.” A Los Angeles-based lifestyle brand focused on cannabis, fashion, music, and for 16 years, spoke on the fusion of skate- boarding and weed. “I think it’s a lifestyle that’s existed for a while, not to say it’s the norm of it, and not everybody who skates smokes weed. But I feel like they go so well together.” Not too long ago, some people partici- pating in both lifestyles “have been outcasts,” he added. But since recreational cannabis use became legit in Arizona in late 2020, the same year skateboarding was scheduled to make its debut at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (then postponed to 2021 because of COVID-19), “it’s really cool to be a part of a community that accepts everybody.” Last month, New Times reported on the Shred 22 and Portuguese Kush concen- trates from the four newly launched 22Red line. Briseno, also a local sales manager for the 22Red canna-biz, spoke on the other two concentrates: Papago Punch, which is a badder, and K9, a sauce. “So we get all the starting material supplied by Sonoran Roots,” he explained. “So the live resin product comes out super terpie.” Sonoran Roots is an Arizona-based culti- vator with a 33,000-square-foot space in northwest Mesa and a Tempe spot with an extraction lab, where processed products and concentrates are produced. Briseno continued, “The Papago Punch terps are good for like after skating when you’re trying to just relax after a long day out in this Arizona sun.” And if you’re sore or injured, “it’s just going to kind of ease your body pain, relax the mind a little bit, kind of help with the sleep.” The K9 is “going to have THCA diamonds in there with the terp sauce. It’s like a hazy, gassy profile to it … and good for daytime [use],” he said. The company adds that the 50/50 hybrid sauce is a blend of Triangle Kush and Josh D OG, with plenty of bark and an aggressive bite. And how does dabbing affect Odadjian when he plays his bass guitar? “They don’t necessarily go hand in hand, but some like Shred 22 as it works well for songwriting and daytime use because it’s a sativa, which is rarer nowa- days,” he noted. “With sativas, there’s defi- nitely more of a chance that I’ll >> p 34 JULY 7TH–JULY 13TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
