Viza (stylized as VI·ZA; formerly known as Visa) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2000. The band is inspired by traditional Armenian and Greek music, which includes instruments like the oud and duduk. The band has released various EPs and albums. The band has recorded and performed with Serj Tankian of System of a Down, who managed the band.
Performances and releases Viza was associated with Serjical Strike Management, headed by Serj Tankian from System of a Down from 2009 to 2012, also featuring Tankian as a guest vocalist on their song "Viktor". In August 2010, Viza embarked on a series of introductory performances in Europe, opening for Serj Tankian's "Imperfect Harmonies" Tour in the cities of Yerevan, Athens, Hamburg, Cologne, Paris, Zurich, and Bologna. Viza accompanied Serj Tankian again during his "Harakiri" World Tour in the fall of 2012, as the main support act for 19 shows throughout North America and Europe.
Discography Studio albums 2006 – Maktub (as Visa) 2008 – Eros (as Visa) 2010 – Made in Chernobyl 2011 – Carnivalia 2014 – Aria
EPs 2001 – Visa (as Visa) 2007 – De Facto (as Visa) 2018 – The Unorthodox Revival I 2018 – The Unorthodox Revival II
Singles 2011 – "Bake Me in Clouds" 2012 – "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" (Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) 2013 – "In Coins2 2014 – "Midnight Hour" 2014 – "Fuego" 2014 – "When Doves Cry" (Prince) 2014 – "Naive Melody" (Talking Heads) 2019 – "Eros" 2020 – "Loyal Tea" 2022 – "Yesterday" 2023 – "Ms. Information" 2023 – "Thunderbolt" 2023 – "Maggie Mae's Tavern" 2023 – "Avec Toi" (From Paris with Love) 2023 – "Llama" 2023 – "Dingle"
Band members K'noup Tomopoulos – vocals, guitar Shant Bismejian – electric guitar theoudplayer (Andrew Kzirian) – oud, electric oud, saz, vocals Alex (Alexan) Khatcherian – bass, vocals Chris Daniel – drums, percussion, vocals Jivan Gasparyan Jr. – duduk
Former Johnny Nice – guitar, keyboards Carlos Alvarado – guitar Danny Shamoun – percussion Suguru Onaka – keyboards, accordion Hiram Rosario – drums Orbel Babayan – electric guitar, tar, saz, vocals
References
External links Review: VIZA – Made in Chernobyl - SLUG Magazine Graviton Music Services Viza - Aria VIZA: Made In Chernobyl (ROCK INDÉ) : avis / chronique à lire sur Music Waves The Moshville Times - Band of the Day: VIZA Viza: Interview