The Manifestation of 22Red: An Interview with Shavo Odadjian

How did that evolve as you started System of a Down?

When we started the concept of the band, our guitar player, Daron [Malakian], was already smoking. We didn’t even have a drummer yet. We’d drive down to Alvarado Street to buy $5 “nickel sacks”, that was all we could afford. We’d go back to the studio and smoke all night, talking about what System was going to be.

We weren’t just “getting high”; we were manifesting. We’d play songs we’d written for each other, talk about how we were going to “blow it up,” and map out exactly what System was going to be. Those hours of smoking and creating were where the bond was sealed.

It sounds like weed played a big role in those early relationships.

It was integral. Cannabis is something that brings people together, and for us, it took away the “edge” of boredom. It keeps your mind active. Since Daron and I were both such creative souls, we bonded over it. It allowed us to sit in a room for eight hours straight and just focus on the art. It gave us the headspace to dream big when we had nothing. Those formative years were defined by that grind, working day jobs, then going to the studio to smoke and create until the sun came up.

You were actually managing the band during those years, too. How did you balance that “constant grind” with the cannabis culture?

It was a 24/7 hustle. In ’96, I was 22 years old, working at a bank doing wire transfers. While I was on the phone making those transfers, I’d be calling clubs trying to book shows. Then I’d go to school, then to rehearsal, then to Kinko’s to make flyers and stickers.

Cannabis was the reward and the fuel for that grind. Even when we had to go to dangerous areas in South Central. Places like 52nd and San Pedro, where there were shootings and helicopters. We’d risk it for the weed. We’d throw $60 through a screen door just to get an eighth of “kind bud.” We were willing to risk everything for it because it was so tied to our creative process.

Once the band blew up and you were on the road, how did you manage to stay connected to the culture, especially before legalization?

It actually made us closer to our fans. When we started touring in ’98, we were in a van or an RV. We couldn’t afford hotels, so we’d be parked in the venue lot. The first thing we’d ask fans was, “Do you have any weed?”

I remember once in Denver, touring with the band Clutch. Daron and I, along with their drummer, walked nearly eight miles in freezing weather to some random frat house because we heard a guy there had bags of mushrooms and “kind bud” under his mattress. We bought it and walked all the way back just so we could smoke at the venue. That shared mission, that “just to smoke” mentality, is part of the struggle that made the band what it is.

You’ve now transitioned that passion into your brand, 22 Red. There’s a lot of talk in the industry about “white-labeling” and losing authenticity. How do you overcome that?

It kills me. Some brands take one strain, like a Lemon Cherry Gelato, and give it four different names just to move product. They deceive the smoker. That’s not the culture I grew up with.

With 22 Red, I’m involved in the “pheno-hunting” process. It’s like having a baby and naming your kid. I have synesthesia. You relate different senses to each other. Music is colorful for me. When I can paint you a song, and then the song will sound good, it’s just weird. But when I hear a song, I see visuals. I see the video. Numbers have colors in my head. Twos have always been red, which is where the brand name comes from. Because of that, I see music in visuals, and I see cannabis in a very specific way. That’s why I direct most of the System videos.