CONCERT TO SHOWCASE UNKNOWN BANDS, ARMENIAN MUSICIANS.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

GLENDALE- Jirair Habeshian has been in five bands in the past 24 years so knows how hard it is for a band that's just starting out to get gigs.

That's how the 38-year-old got the idea to produce a concert that features only unknown local bands - especially those with musicians of Armenian descent. The result is the HyeRock Festival in Hollywood.

``Growing up in the Glendale-Burbank area and being a musician in the rock genre, I basically saw there was little support from the community, and I think it's specifically true for the Armenian community,'' Habeshian said.

Proceeds from the event will go to Artists for Kids, a Glendale-based nonprofit foundation formed two years ago to promote art and culture among local youths.

The festival will showcase The Gor Band, Aviatic, In Progress, Red Snow and Non-Eye, whose music ranges from folk-influenced rock to alternative and hard rock.

Rock bands made up of members of Armenian descent have been proliferating in the Los Angeles area in the last decade, a trend many in the community attribute to the mainstream success of the all-Armenian member band System of a Down.

System was successful at rallying Armenian youth and repeatedly had sold-out shows, which drew the attention of music executives, Habeshian said.

And that's the kind of buzz he hopes the event will generate for other bands.

Narek Stepanian, 15, the bassist for Non-Eye, said his band has played at the smaller El Rey and Roxy theaters, but the Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre is on a different level.

``It's a great opportunity for people to hear us and not judge us based on our age. It's very hard to get our name out there because we're a relatively new band and we're not signed and there are plenty of other bands so it would have been hard for us to get a gig this big,'' said the Glendale resident.

Vahe Marzbetuny formed the hard-rock band Red Snow in 1986 with his brother and Habeshian at a time when being Armenian and a rock musician were conflicting realities.

He's noticed that the success of System of a Down has helped slowly change perceptions about rock musicians in the Armenian community.

``Armenians have been limited to certain kinds of music, be it traditional Armenian music or really sad Armenian music, and we've never really had rock,'' said the 40-year-old guitar player from Granada Hills. ``Back then, there wasn't support to be in a rock band, but now it's blowing up. It's come full circle and it's great to see young people and older people start to accept it.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

The HyeRock Festival will take place at 7 p.m. today at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Admission is $20. Call [phone] or [phone].

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IF YOU GO (see text)