INFORMAL with Andy Madadian: News of Wedding (Part 1)
Andranik Madadian, better known by his stage name, Andy, is a singer/songwriter icon of Armenian-Iranian heritage with one of the highest number of popular hits in Persian pop music. As part of Kodoom.com's INFORMAL series (in Persian: Bedune Taarof) we talked to Andy about his upcoming wedding and other personal topics:
Kodoom.com: Although we have your biography (link here), please tell us more about your childhood and youth. Many new Persian pop singers start with large investments and come from wealthy families. Was that the case with you also?
Andy: I was born in Tehran's Villa street neighborhood but raised in Majidieh. I also traveled to different cities with my family due to my father's contractor jobs. My father built roads, yet our family had no car. Nine of us lived in a small one-room house and we had no municipal drinking water. To bathe us children one by one, my mother had to boil stored water in a small tub every night. She worked around the house 16 hour days and her careful management of the house kept food on the table and enabled the six children to go through school and receive good education. Our house was filled with love, laughter, and most importantly, music. My father played drum and my mother sang.
In Iran, I studied music under Armik who is now the internationally renowned flamenco guitarist/composer. I continued studying music and music arrangement in America after leaving Iran (following 1979 Islamic Revolution). So to answer your question about role of money on my success, I should say I come from humble beginnings and I owe my success to my passion for music, hard work, great masters and mentors (like Shahram Shabpareh), and dedicated fans.
Kodoom.com: We just heard about your wedding this week. You have sang about beautiful "Dokhtar Irooni" (Iranian girls). How come you got hooked by an American girl?
Andy (with a smile): First I have to inform everyone that my girlfriend for 17 years, Shani Rigsbee, had already become an honorary Iranian! She loves me, the Persian culture, music, food, etc. anyway. Secondly, love cuts across logical, religious, and national boundaries. Humans may seem different than us from a distance, but up close and personal, they are mostly like us, and share same likes, dislikes, etc.
I have known Shani for about 18 years and been her boyfriend for about 17 years. So we have practically lived like a committed married couple and taken care of our two dogs and three horses. We are not that religious or traditional but our decision for matrimony came after a year of sad news such as death of Shani's grandmother, Shani's illness, loss of our two dogs, etc. We thought the marriage and wedding process is a joyful event which can infuse positive energy into our lives and our families', and fans'.
Kodoom.com: Why did then such happy news come so suddenly?
Andy: Our wedding ceremonies start exactly at 11:11:11 on 11/11/11 (November 11, 2011). Those who believe in astrology find this exact time and date very auspicious. So we picked that time. We sent invitations to a large number of family members and friends including many Iranian celebrities. Unfortunately, the venue's 500 capacity was filled within a day of receiving RSVPs so unfortunately some of our dear friends including some Iranian celebrities cannot be with us on the wedding. However, the wedding and events leading to it, such as Shani's choice of wedding gown or wedding cake, etc. will be taped, and parts may be sent to Kodoom.com. The entire footage would be available on GLWiz as a pay-per-view program.
Note: Andy will talk in Part 2 about his new album, future concerts (such as the mega Persian event this Christmas in Vegas), and his positive opinion about Kodoom.com, one of his favorite websites.
Related in INFORMAL series:
- INFORMAL with Mohamad Mohebian "Between Iran and America!"
- "Informal" with Dr. Firouz Naderi
- Maz Jobrani Informal Video: Interview in Persian with world renowned stand up comedian
- Part 5 of An Informal interview with Houshang Touzie and Shohreh Aghdashloo (Bedun e Taarof ) Kodoom.com Exclusive
- Part 3 of "Informal" with Maz Jobrani at Kodoom.com
- Part 2: Informal Chat with Maz Jobrani about Tiger Woods, His View on the World, Cultures, etc. Kodoom.com Exclusive
- Part 1: An Informal interview with Maz Jobrani (Bedun e Taarof ) Kodoom.com Exclusive
- An Informal interview with Houshang Touzie and Shohreh Aghdashloo (Part 1: What is success?)
- Informal with Maz Jobrani: About His Bio, His Views on Tiger Woods and Other Issues
»This is a summary of the original feature in Farsi. To request a more extensive translation of the Farsi text, please contact us.
