Sebu Simonian (born October 15, 1978; hy, Սեպուհ Սիմոնեան) is an

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...

musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, one-half of the Los Angeles-based indie pop duo

Capital Cities A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the ...

Early life

Simonian was born in 1978 in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian-Lebanese parents, whose ancestors were survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

. His paternal grandfather was from the region of

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...

(in present-day Turkey's

Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osma ...

region). Simonian's parents were from

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, but "because of a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

ismum had to flee and ehappened to be born in Syria." Soon after his birth his family returned to Lebanon where they stayed until 1985 and moved to the United States due to the civil war there. Simonian grew up in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

. His family is involved in the Armenian community, while Simonian himself was an editorial assistant at the English Section of the Armenian daily ''

Asbarez ''Asbarez'' ( hy, Ասպարէզ "Arena") is an Armenian-American bilingual daily newspaper published in Armenian language, Armenian and English language, English in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, formerly by the Western USA C ...

'' in the late 1990s. He graduated from Glendale High School. He is an alumnus of the

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, where he studied music.

Music career

Simonian started his first band when he was 15. In 2004, Simonian (as lead singer and keyboardist) and Ryan Welker, guitarist and backing vocals, formed the rock band Aviatic. Simonian met Ryan Merchant in 2008 through

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark began the ...

while searching for a job as a music producer. Initially, they worked as jingle writers and wrote songs for other bands. They formed the indie pop duo

in 2010. In 2017, Simonian was featured on Armenian singer

Sirusho Siranush Harutyunyan ( hy, Սիրանուշ Հարությունյան; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho ( hy, Սիրուշո), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old fo ...

's single "Vuy Aman".

Personal life

Simonian is married and has two sons. Simonian wears a long beard, which has gained significant media attention. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' magazine named his beard the best at the 2014

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

and described it as "luxuriant nd

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

-like" and rabbi-like. When asked why he doesn't shave, he responded "I'm just lazy" and added that he sees himself as "a little bit of" a hipster.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonian, Sebu 1978 births American keyboardists American people of Armenian descent People from Aleppo American people of Lebanese descent American people of Syrian descent Lebanese people of Armenian descent Singers from Los Angeles Syrian people of Armenian descent Syrian people of Lebanese descent Syrian emigrants to the United States Living people 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from California