Viza

Viza (formerly known as Visa) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, using oud and percussion blended with more conventional rock elements such as guitar, bass and drums. Formerly known as Visa, the band has released two EPs and two full-length albums. The band's music mixes Armenian and Greek-inflected styles with elements of modern aggressive rock and traditional music. The band sometimes blends these various flavors with dance and satirical social commentary.

Viza has performed at Hungary's Sziget Festival, Sweden's Malmofestivalen, Norway’s Kartfestivalen, and Slovenia's Schengenfest and Trnfest festivals, among dozens of headline shows, as a part of 6 European tours over the past 2 years.

Viza is currently associated with Serjical Strike Management headed by Serj Tankian from System of a Down. 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.

Maktub

Maktub is a Seattle, Washington-based music group formed in the late 1990s that combines elements of hip-hop, rhythm and blues, soul, and funk, with a sprinkling of jazz and rock.

History

Maktub was formed in 1996 when Davis Martin called Reggie Watts, a student at the Cornish College of the Arts at the time, to come jam with Kevin Goldman, Alex Veley, and himself. After only 5 minutes of jamming, the band hit it off, and by day's end wrote their first song. After realizing their potential, the four planned to commit to each other, calling themselves "Maktub". According to their website, Maktub is an Arabic word that Reggie got from Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist, which translates to, "it is written", or, "destiny".

In August 1999, they released their first album, Subtle Ways. There was an immediate response as the album hit number one on KCMU and later on the soul and urban charts at MP3.com and earned them "Best R&B Album" at the Northwest Music Awards". After they released the album, Alex Veley decided to leave the group to pursue other projects.