Ara Babajian, American drummer and songwriter
Ara Babajian (born July 9, 1972) is an American drummer who has been a member of such bands as Leftöver Crack and The Slackers. Ara is of Armenian descent, and is named after Ara, an Armenian king.Together with Dunia Best, Jay Nugent and Alec Baillie he started the third wave ska band Agent 99 in the early nineties. In 1998 they released the compilation album Little Pieces 1993-1995.
In April 2000, Babajian joined Baillie to play drums in Leftöver Crack under the pseudonym "Ara Crack" until 2002. In early 2003 Ara joined The Slackers. In 2005, he rejoined Leftover Crack, though he is no longer an active member. He is also a former member of The World/Inferno Friendship Society.
Ara Babajian has played in a number of other bands, including King Django, Ruder Than You, The Trick Babys, Skandalous All Stars (a ska supergroup featuring several members of the Slackers), and Sic & Mad.
He is an endorser of Pro-Mark DrumsticksHe was also the original drummer of the Star Fucking Hipsters.
During the 80's, Ara also played drums in the funky-style band Das Booty with Brian Pitts on bass, Matthew Moreno on Horns (for a short time), Michael Cardenas on guitar and James Boyce on vocals. Demos of this band were to later circulate on YouTube mistakenly as lost Red Hot Chili Peppers recordings. It was eventually cleared up and credit has been given to Das Booty.
1972Jul, 9
Ara Babajian
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Events on 1972
- 21Feb
Sino-American relations
United States President Richard Nixon visits the People's Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations. - 8May
Richard Nixon
Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation. - 22May
Sri Lanka
Ceylon adopts a new constitution, becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations. - 23Jun
Central Intelligence Agency
Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins. - 1Sep
Bobby Fischer
In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky to become the world chess champion.