Daron Malakian was born July of 1975 in Glendale, California to Armenian immigrant parents. He still lives with his parents in that city. As a child he wanted to play drums but he parents did not want him to because of the factor that drums cannot be turned down. They in turn bought him an electric guitar and he practiced and eventually got proficient, and started to write songs. He then began to show up playing in various heavy metal and rock bands as a teen and young adult. While at a studio he met a company owner named Serj Tankian who was from Beirut Lebanon, and later became the poetic singer of the band. He later met Shavarsh (Shavo) Odadjian from Armenia, and John Dolmayan from Lebanon all from the USA and eventually they all formed a band called System of a Down after trying out other names and members for a lineup. The name System of a down was chosen because of a poem Daron wrote called Victims of a Down. His signature Ibanez Iceman guitar was developed recently, and he owns his own record company called Eaturmusic. Daron is considered one of the greatest hard rock guitarists of the modern time. Show less «