John Dolmayan

John Dolmayan

John Dolmayan (born July 15, 1973 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a musician, best known as the drummer for the Armenian-American alternative metal band System of a Down, and current drummer for the band Scars on Broadway. His bandmates for System of a Down are vocalist/keyboardist Serj Tankian, guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian, and bassist Shavo Odadjian. John currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was first interested in drums at the age of 2. His father was a saxophone player. When his mother would take him to watch his father play, he would mimic his father's drummer.

System of a Down

So far, he has recorded five albums with System of a Down: System of a Down (1998), Toxicity (2001), Steal This Album! (2002), and, most recently, Mezmerize (2005), and Hypnotize (2005). His style of drumming has influenced an emerging generation of drummers, and this has attracted a significant portion of SOAD's audience.

John's facial expressions are famous for being constantly foreboding and angry-looking. Lead singer Serj Tankian was quoted in Kerrang magazine as always trying to make John crack a smile on stage, to which John replied that he had to make an extreme effort to keep a straight face and not get put off beat. He is known for his hi-hat to snare combo, which can be heard in such songs as "Deer Dance", "Prison Song, "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" , "Question!", and "Soldier Side".

During System of a Down's hiatus after Ozzfest, Dolmayan has said that he will start a comic book business. This is because he is an avid fan of collecting Marvel comic books. He says that music and comic books were his two favorite things as a kid. He even worked with a couple of artists to make himself a drumset of different comic book characters.

Dolmayan won "DRUM!" Magazine's 2006 Drummer of the year.

Discography

System of a Down

Main article: System of a Down discography

• 1998: System of a Down
• 2001: Toxicity
• 2002: Steal This Album!
• 2005: Mezmerize
• 2005: Hypnotize

Killing Joke

• 2003: Killing Joke (Guest Drums)

Axis of Justice

• 2004: Concert Series Volume 1

Scum of the Earth

• 2004: Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium (Guest Drums)

Serj Tankian

• 2007: Elect the Dead

Scars on Broadway

Main article: Scars on Broadway discography

• 2008: Scars on Broadway

Awards

• In 2006, System of a Down won their first Grammy for Best hard rock performance for B.Y.O.B.
• In 2006, they won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"
• In 2006, John won Drum! Magazine's drummer of the year award. He also won the alternative rock drummer of the year award.
• In 2006, they were #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs with "Toxicity"
• In 2007, they were nominated for a Grammy Award in Best Hard Rock Performance for their song Lonely Day

John Dolmayan has a sandwich named after him at "Hey That's Amore" coffee shop located at 27 E. Holly St., Pasadena, CA, 91101. The sandwich is called "The John Dolmayan"

Equipment

John Dolmayan is endorsed by Tama drums.

Tama Starclassic Maple Custom Finish crafted by Eyptian artists

• 18" x 22" (2) Kick drum
• 12" x 10" Tom
• 14" x 12" Tom
• 16" x 18" Floor Tom
• Paiste Signature Cymbals
• Paiste RUDE Cymbals (24 inch ride)
• Vic Firth Signature Sticks

Personal projects

In Summer 2006, right before Ozzfest tour, John told the press in several interviews his intention to make an online comic company, "I've got over 5 and a half million comics right now, and I'll probably have about 20 million comics in a year's time. But it's not really a collection. The reason I'm accumulating all these books is I'm starting an Internet-based comic-book company called 'Torpedocomics'. That'll be up in November 2007, probably." Dolmayan said. [1] Recently John has been playing live shows with a newly designed drum kit, featuring drawings from many famous comic book artists. [2] Dolmayan also said he may at some point write a movie script and might be involved in drum work regardless of SOAD's status. [3] John has played alongside Flea[4] of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Wayne Kramer for the song Bombs Over Paris.[5], on the Serj Tankian solo debut, Elect the Dead[6], and joined Tool on stage for a few shows.[7]

John recently sent Howard Stern and Robin Quivers rare spider man comics. It was revealed that he would be advertising his new comic book shop on the Howard Stern radio show.

External links

• John Dolmayan page at SOADFans
• Torpedo Comics Website
• John Dolmayan page at drummerworld.com
• Tama's info on John's "Toxicity" Kit