 System of a Down are anything but your typical metal act. The SoCal-based
band has sold millions off the strength of their startlingly original, Middle
Eastern-tinged melodic rock music. SOAD’s last record(s), Mezmerize/Hypnotize,
debuted atop the Billboard charts when they were released last year.
The
beloved, politically minded band, currently on hiatus, will likely be one of the
biggest bands on the planet when they reform sometime in 2007 or early 2008.
John Dolmayan (drummer for System of a Down) has been working with well known
comic artists on a custom drum kit recently. The comic book fan talked to Crave
shortly after coming home from System of a Down’s tour with OZZFEST this summer,
and right before running out of the house to buy a new suit for a wedding ...
Crave Online: How was Ozzfest?
John Dolmayan: It was a lot of fun actually. We had some really good
performances.
CO: How long have you been on the road?
JD: It’s been about twelve years. I know some fans only know the band for a
couple of years but we have been around for almost twelve years. It’s been a lot
of work getting to this point. We just need a break.
CO: How long of a break are you guys going to take?
JD: We’re envisioning a year and a half to two year break.
CO: Having a Jazz musician as a father, did you initially gravitate towards
Jazz, or were you always in to Rock?
JD: I started listening to a lot of Jazz stuff too as well as Rock. So it was
kind of a mix of everything. The first things I heard were definitely Jazz
related.
CO: Did that inform the way you played?
JD: Absolutely. It was a considerable influence. Whenever you have somebody that
is playing music as well as listening to it on a consistent basis it’s going to
drastically influence you. But then again I was just as influenced by my friends
and their musical tastes.
CO: How long have you been in to comics?
JD: For a little over twenty years.
CO: How did the drum art project start?
JD: I’ve been selling comics at conventions for a little over twelve years. I
started selling older comics for newer comics. Just so I could keep up with the
storylines. I noticed that I had a certain knack for it and I really enjoyed the
conventions so I would keep doing it. Whenever the band was on hiatus I would go
back to it. I started becoming friends with a lot of the artists like Jim Lee,
Art Adams [and] Bernie Wrightson just to name a few. We just hanging out talking
one day and I said wouldn’t it be cool if you guys did some art on my drums and
everyone was in to it. That’s kind of how it began and then I started talking to
other artists that I really wanted, most of them were really enthusiastic about
it and ended up doing it. We got some of the most prolific artists in the
industry.
CO: How long did the whole project take?
JD: It took about three years. Keep in mind I didn’t pay anybody, it was just
done out of the love for the craft. From beginning to end the whole project took
about three years. On average the artist had the drum from a month to six
months, depending on what their work schedule was.
CO: Did you get to go to Comic-Con this year or were you still touring?
JD: No, I was on tour. But I have a company called TorpedoComics.com and we had
six booths there with the company. It’s an online company that will be out in
November of 2007. Basically once it’s up and running it will have about 20,000
books [for sale].
CO: How long have you been planning this project?
JD: I’ve been planning this project for six years. It’s a monumental task, just
getting the books together. It’s going to be amazing when it’s done.
CO: What are you going to do while on hiatus?
JD: I am going to work on that company and different projects with the different
guys in my band, I sure I’ll have lots to do.
By Ahmad T. Childress, Editor -
Craveonline.com
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