John Dolmayan
John DolmayanJohn Dolmayan (born July 15, 1973) is the drummer for System of a Down.John Dolmayan was born in Lebanon, but is of Armenian ethnicity. One night when he was five, he got scared and went to his parent's room and asked if he could sleep there. His parents agreed, and soon after a bullet came through the window of his room and hit his bed, where he would have been sleeping. His father decided they had to move. He moved to Toronto then to Los Angeles. He has a condominium in Las Vegas where he also bought his parents a house.He has thus far 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 unique and original style of drumming has influenced an emerging generation of drummers. More than a few critics have called his style "schizophrenic", and this has attracted a significant portion of SOAD's audience, and it's 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, which together with his usual smart dress sense, make him look like a Russian Mafia member. 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 Question! on Mezmerize.
Equipment
John Dolmayan's drumkit is a modified Tama Starclassic (generally with a White Silk or Brown Fade finish), which has been modified. The eleven cymbals are Paiste Signatures. His old setup contains 2 tom toms in front of the snare, a mounted tom and floor tom on the right, and another floor tom on the left of the snare, where a second snare would usually be. He uses a double-bass pedal with the left pedal unusually on the left of the hi-hat pedal. He has 2 splash cymbals (10" and 8") as well as a 6" bell chime mounted over the hi-hat, and an 8" bell chime to the right of his 2nd tom. He has two 18" china cymbals (thin and heavy), one on the left, one on the right. He also uses 2 timbales around the left floor tom.