Aram Kirakosian is an Armenian-American bass guitarist for the indie band Io Echo. He came out at age 19 after realizing he was gay and dating girls in denial. His background in the small Armenian community pushed him to learn more about himself. Recently, Io Echo's song was featured in a Palm Pre commercial, increasing their success with new shows booked. Kirakosian also plays on a gay dodgeball team called F.A.G.S. that won the championship last season. He enjoys spending time in Los Angeles and plans to balance time with friends and alone as summer ends.

1. BY AARON DRAKE
ARAM
KIRAKOSIAN
LOCATION: Silver Lake
SIGN: Scorpio
SINGLE OR TAKEN: Single
HOW DID YOUR BACKGROUND AFFECT YOUR COMING OUT?
It was more realizing I was gay that took some time and effort. I think I was in
denial for a long time—dated girls here and there until I was about 19. I think
even they knew I was gay before I did! Then toward the end of my college
years, things started to make more sense. The Armenian community is pretty
small and sheltered, so I had to push the limits of my boundaries to really get
to know myself enough to find what was at the center.
GOTTA KNOW ABOUT THE BAND! Well, we got booked for a Sprint com-
mercial a couple months ago, and it’s been played everywhere. You know the
Palm Pre commercial with the living Facebook page? That’s us. Since it’s aired,
things have really been on a roll, even more so than before. So we got a new
website (io-echo.com), beefed up our MySpace site (myspace.com/ioecho) and
have since booked the opening slot for Nine Inch Nails’ Wiltern show on Sept.
5. I’m so excited I’m going to crap my pants! After that, we’ll be having a
showcase at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Sept. 29. I’ve had the
same bass since I was 13 and still use it on stage. I feel like I’m cheating on
it when I use another one.
WHY DO YOU LOVE L.A.?: There is no place like L.A. I will defend it to the
death. I used to hang out with people who constantly complained, and I even
took on that mentality for a while. But rather than run away, I took it on
head-first and realized that every city has its problems. It’s taught me to mine
for the gems and jewels because they truly do exist. I’ve done a great job of
it these past few years. Good people, good places to be. The weather’s
already here—so just fill in the blanks and L.A. will be good to you forever.
YOU PLAYED ON A GAY DODGEBALL TEAM? We’re called the Fun Active
Gentlemen’s Society (F.A.G.S. for short) and we began last spring. We fought
pretty hard, but we lost every game that first season. Then, when fall came
around, we reshuffled the team a bit, gathered our strength and won game
after game, to everyone’s surprise. We took it all the way to the championship
at Staples Center, which coincidentally was on my birthday, and we won! Best
birthday ever.
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER: Palm Springs trip with some
of the boys from the team. We’ve made some pretty lasting connections,
and that weekend was a riot. Let’s just say what happens in P.S. stays in P.S.
New rule.
HOW DO YOU PLAN ON CELEBRATING YOUR END OF SUMMER?: I’m
trying to balance time with my friends (Hi, Hot Pockets) with time alone, exam-
ining myself on a deeper level than I’ve allowed in some time. Reading more,
cooking myself dinner. It’s easy to get caught up in the gay-world, and I’ve
taken on the challenge of trying to figure myself out a little more, so that I
can have more fun letting others in. And it’s worked in my favor as summer
winds down—I feel like there’s a pool party every damn weekend. And that
definitely is not a complaint.
ARAM KIRAKOSIAN IS THE SEXY BASS GUITARIST FOR INDIE
BAND IO ECHO AND RECENTLY MADE HIS ACTING DEBUT
IN THE FILM HERPES BOY (DON’T WORRY, IT’S A COMEDY).
BESIDES ACTING AND BEING A MUSICIAN AT HEART, ARAM
SHARES HIS SECRETS ON LOVING L.A., WINNING GAY
DODGEBALL—AND HOW HE’S GOING TO END SUMMER 2009.

2. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN SKALICKY — skalickyphoto.com
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