Scars on Broadway

The Daron Malakian-led rock and metal project formed by the System of a Down guitarist after that band decided to take an extended break following their Mezmerize and Hypnotize releases, Scars on Broadway came to life in late 2005 and early 2006. While some demos appeared (a 2003 collection labeled Ghetto Blaster Rehearsals) that were credited to Scars, Malakian has disavowed the link between the current project and the one on the tape. That disbanded project, which featured Shavo Odadjian and Casey Chaos, was in no way -- according to Malakian -- connected to what he was working on in the studio as of 2007. With System drummer John Dolmayan as a collaborator, Scars on Broadway began recording tracks, and in March of 2008 posted their first track online, the alt-metal selection "They Say." With live dates in the offing for Malakian and Dolmayan, lineup additions were needed. Coming on board were Franky Perez (guitar and vocals), Dominic Cifarelli (bass), and Danny Shamoun (keyboards and percussion). The band played its first gig in April of 2008, at the Whisky a Go Go, and later that month played the Coachella Festival. The group's debut album, Scars on Broadway, was released in July of that year.