System Of A Down's comics-loving sticksman gets artistic with a hand-drawn drum set.
[Stuff Magazine January 2007]

STUFF: Why cover your drums in superheroes?
John: Oh, man, I've been into comic books for over 20 years now. I have almost six million books that are stored in a huge warehouse. My personal collection has about 200 extremely rare first editions.

STUFF: So when did the drum set come into play?
John: When I'm not on tour, I've always sold comics at conventions - that's kind of how I made my living before System Of A Down. So I got to know a lot of people in the industry, and a good friend of mine is Jim Lee, one of the major comic-book artists of the last 20 years. We were just talking one day and I was like, "Wow, wouldn't it be cool if you used the drums as a canvas?" And he said, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Get me a drum!"

STUFF: Is Jim Lee related to Stan Lee?
John: No, Jim Lee is Korean, and Stan Lee is, as far as I know, Jewish.

STUFF: Oh, right. So what happened next?
John: I started giving the drums to other artists whose work I respect. A couple of the guys went with more of a System Of A Down vibe and did something that kind of catered to the band, while other guys did what they were traditionally known for. Jim was really big on X-Men, where he got his big break, but he did a lot of Batman and Joker as well. Another guy, Bill Sienkiewicz, did something that was more inspired by the two albums Mezmerize and Hypnotize. So everybody kind of went with their own feeling.

STUFF: What do people say about it on tour?
John: People flip out! You discover new things every time you look at it.

STUFF: Do you ever let anybody else band on it?
John: Not really, although they really couldn't do anything bad to it with a drumstick. I definitely wouldn't want anybody to borrow it, though.

STUFF: That's a bit selfish, no?
John: I don't think they'd want that kind of responsibility; it's probably worth about 150 grand!

Share on Facebook