John Dolmayan

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John Dolmayan <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:JohnDolmayan.jpg John Dolmayan playing drums for his band System of a Down. </td></tr>
Background information <tr><td>Born</td><td colspan="2">July 15, 1973</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Alternative metal</td></tr><tr><td>Occupation(s)</td><td colspan="2">Musician</td></tr><tr><td>Instrument(s)</td><td colspan="2">Drums</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1997 – present</td></tr><tr><td textalign="top" style="padding-right: 1em;">Associated acts</td><td colspan="2">System of a Down</td></tr>

John Dolmayan (born July 15, 1973 in Lebanon) is a musician, best known as the drummer for the Armenian-American alternative metal band System of a Down. His bandmates are vocalist/guitar/keyboards Serj Tankian, guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian, and bassist Shavo Odadjian. John currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[edit] 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. It is generally agreed that his talent is a large part of SOAD's appeal.

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, which is sometimes not believed due to the fact that John is very rhythmically sound when it comes to his drum beats. He is known throughout the metal scene for his hi-hat to snare combo, which can be heard in such songs as "Deer Dance" on Toxicity, "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" on Steal This Album! and "B.Y.O.B." and "Question!" on Mezmerize.

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.

Dolmayan won "DRUM!" Magazines 2006 Drummer of the year.

[edit] Equipment

John Dolmayan's drumkit is a modified Tama Starclassic with a White Silk finish. Even though John is left-handed, he sets his kit up right-handed. The eleven cymbals are Paiste Signatures. His setup uses 2 bass drums. Now he has 3 rack toms, which can be heard vibrantly throughout "Hypnotize", and one floor tom. Most of his cymbals have moved, and so have his timbales which are mounted to align with the toms.

When he first started his career with System of a Down he used a few Paiste Dimension cymbals as well as signatures. He currently uses 24" as his largest cymbal.

[edit] External links

System of a Down discography
System of a Down
Serj Tankian \| Daron Malakian \| Shavo Odadjian \| John Dolmayan
Andy Khachaturian
Albums: System of a Down \| Toxicity \| Steal This Album! \| Mezmerize \| Hypnotize
Demos: Untitled 1995 Demo Tape \| Demo Tape 1 \| Demo Tape 2 \| Demo Tape 3
Singles: "Sugar" \| "Spiders" \| "War?" \| "Prison Song" \| "Chop Suey!" \| "Toxicity" \| "Aerials" \| "Innervision" \| "Boom!" \| "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" \| "B.Y.O.B." \| "Question!" \| "Radio/Video" \| "Hypnotize" \| "Lonely Day" \| "Kill Rock & Roll"
Related articles
Serart \| Serjical Strike \| Scars on Broadway \| Toxicity II \| \|EatUrMusic \| Axis of Justice
Categories
System of a Down \| System of a Down songs \| System of a Down albums
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