Jebel: An Interview with ROB

by Alene Tchekmedjyian

Inspired by his older brother at the age of nine, Robert Petrossian began his musical career as a guitarist. It has been eleven years since Robert first set hand on a guitar, and has been a member of three bands and performed in front of numerous crowds since.

Having only taken two years of professional instruction, Petrossian learned the majority of his skills through experience. His first practice with musicians was as a high school junior, where he teamed up with a member on his high school volleyball team, a guitarist, and a drummer in La Canada.

“It was a really fun experience because the drummer really brings out the animal in the bassist,” Petrossian said. The group, two guitarists, drummer, and bassist, had a more informal and experimental feel. “It was a short thing for three months just for fun. We didn’t have a name, we just jammed,” he said.

During his senior year, Petrossian teamed up with his peer, Josh Khankhanian, who was in the school choir and had just begun learning how to play the guitar. A lot of their songs were covers of Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band, but they produced their own lyrics and music as well.

During this time, his skills improved significantly because of the talent surrounding him. “Working with these musicians made me better because when you play with better musicians you also improve,” Petrossian said.

With this group, Petrossian performed for La Canada’s annual Battle of the Bands, which was his first major performance. That year, he also gained experience through performances at coffee houses and churches. This helped Petrossian refine his stage presence and taught him how to handle different crowds.

Petrossian uses his Armenian heritage to channel his musical energy. He grew up attending Armenian Church camp every summer, which has inspired him to introduce an Armenian vibe to his music.

Through folk dancing and other celebrations of culture, Petrossian is fully in touch with his cultural identity. He also uses the Armenian camp attendees as an audience for his music during camp fires and talent shows. “It made me feel great that I could share my musical talents with my Armenian friends,” Petrossian stated.

After this experience, bassist Petrossian, vocalist Khankhanian, guitarist Kevin Corti, and guitarist Shane Bilowitz melded their musical talents and formed the band, Jebél. At first, the members’ different influences and styles made it difficult to create music.

“Shane was into Dream Theater and metal and Kevin was into Pink Floyd, and Josh and I like contemporary music,” Petrossian recalls. Nevertheless, the group put together their first EP album titled, ‘I mean you no harm.’

Since their first recording experiment, the band (together for almost two years) added Curtis Marrero to their lineup. He brings a “smooth jazzy groove” says Petrossian.

Their album, with working title, “Fearless Son, Rise” is expected to have about twelve tracks. “It is well recorded. We are taking our time, things come up when you record that always postpone your deadline. We are doing the vocals now, which come last. After that we are going to add more percussion, then fine tune it, get it mixed, mastered, printed, then start selling and distributing.”

The upcoming album is a juxtaposition of many elements. “It has a Middle Eastern feel to it, especially the way Josh sings. It also has a lot of other elements,” says Petrossian. In a more complex analogy, the band describes it as, “the Mars Volta and Pink Floyd had a child and then it was adopted by Tool and the Dave Matthews Band... Then it grew up and married Dream Theater.”

All band members except Shane Bilowitz, who attends OCC, and Kevin Corti, who attends USC, are fourthyear students at UC Irvine. Petrossian is studying mathematics with a concentration in economics.

Also involved in the recording process, is Manager Marc Missirlian, Petrossian’s long time friend and roommate. Petrossian expresses gratitude about being managed musically by a friend..

Petrossian’s family enjoys watching him progress as a musician. “They are supportive but say school is first, like any Armenian parent would say,” Petrossian says laughingly