[kj] SOAD Drummer

Steve Hackett thepunisher at blueyonder.co.uk
Wed Mar 1 14:21:01 EST 2006


I bet the stuff he came up with would  have been good alongside KJ 03
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alex Smith" <vassifer at earthlink.net>
To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" 
<gathering at misera.net>; <gathering at misera.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: [kj] SOAD Drummer



Ya kinda gotta feel for the guy -- he raises some good points. And 
disregarding drummer merit, one can't help suspect that certain parties felt 
that Dave Grohl is simply a bigger name to have on one's album than John 
Dolmayan.


Alex in NYC


-----Original Message-----
>From: Christof hamille <wessidetempest at hotmail.com>
>Sent: Mar 1, 2006 9:23 AM
>To: gathering at misera.net
>Subject: [kj] SOAD Drummer
>
>SYSTEM OF A DOWN Drummer: 'I Play Best When I'm Angry' - Feb. 28, 2006
>Drum! magazine (web site) recently conducted an in-depth interview with
>SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan for a cover story that was published
>in its March 2006 issue. A few excerpts from the chat follow:
>
>On being preoccupied with "The End of the World":
>
>"You're always concerned that the end of the world is coming. Every
>generation is concerned with it, as they see the values they have 
>disappear.
>But some of the sickest societies existed in the past - what happened is
>that people got tired of living that way, and they developed societies with
>different levels of depravity, depending on which one you live in.
>
>"I'm not so much concerned that the world will end, it's just that the
>weaponry we have can do so much more than a thousand years ago. It only
>takes one lunatic in a position of power to start the apocalypse. That's a
>little scary. Now that I'm in my thirties, I reflect, 'Why do people act
>this way?' But the reality is that every generation feels that way about 
>the
>generation coming next. When you get older, you have a certain amount of
>wisdom that you didn't have in your youth."
>
>On his musical growth:
>
>"We were a lot more comfortable this time ['Mezmerize' and 'Hypnotize'] 
>than
>we were with the last records, and I imagine for the next album, we'll be
>that much more comfortable. I listened to the first album, 'System of a
>Down', and it's very stiff. I was very inhibited. It was the first time I
>was under a microscope and I thought I was a much better drummer than I 
>was,
>until I heard myself in a studio, and I was like, 'Man, I suck.' It was a
>wake-up call. Even though I got my tracking done in eight days, it should
>have been two. I'm very critical of myself, and I have to be to be a better
>drummer for myself and this band. I have to be a better drummer. That's my
>job.
>
>"Most of the time if I think about what I'm doing, I start screwing up. I
>rarely think about what I'm doing when I play - I usually let my body take
>over. I play the best when I'm angry, because I really go off when I'm
>pissed. I hit hard anyway, but when I'm mad I really hit hard, and when I
>get off the stage I feel better. If I get a couple of drinks in me, I play
>very loose, and sometimes that's better, but I've made it my goal to not
>have a drink or be inebriated in any way - just be high off being onstage.
>Plus, I try to play as tight as possible, and the more drunk I am, the more
>mistakes I make and it doesn't land. I want the audience to walk away
>thinking they got my best, and that's why I don't party that much when I'm
>on the road. Those kids are waiting two or three months for us to come, and
>they don't care if I've played 20 great shows in a row. My goal is to beat
>what I did yesterday, and when I'm onstage the only thing I'm thinking 
>about
>is that night. Then I move on and go to the next one."
>
>On the possibility of being a future drumming hired gun:
>
>"If you need it danceable or radio-ready, that's not me, so maybe I'm not
>the ideal session drummer. But if you want something that five years later
>will still be relevant, then I'm the right person for you. I only got one
>offer to play for somebody else in my downtime. It was for KILLING JOKE - I
>went in and recorded two tracks, and I've got to tell you, it was not the
>most positive experience for me.
>
>"I walked in and I was ready to play something great for these songs, and I
>said that to the producer. He looked at me and said, 'Can you play to a
>click track?' I said, 'I'd prefer not to,' and he said, 'You've got to.' 
>The
>music was done, so I said, okay, I'm a professional, and I had no problem
>doing it. Now, I was really happy with the stuff I came up with. I spent
>three weeks coming up with stuff for two songs - I came up with some badass
>s@*&! I played it, and he said, 'That's not KILLING JOKE.'
>>From Blabbermouth
>
>
>"I put down my sticks, and said, 'Did you use me because of SOAD or because
>of my drumming? What I was saying was, 'are you trying to capitalize on the
>popularity of my band, or because you give a damn about my drumming? If 
>it's
>the former, then here's your check back. I'm going. If it's the other, then
>let me do my thing.'
>
>"He kind of got a little bit nervous and said, 'No, we love your drumming,
>but, see, this (drumming style) is not KILLING JOKE. I said, 'But I'm not 
>in
>KILLING JOKE. If you want someone that plays what KILLING JOKE plays, then
>I'm probably not the guy.' Then I felt bad, like I was putting a bad mood 
>on
>the thing, and pulled back and did some cool stuff, more to what he wanted,
>but he still was not happy about it. That was a very good lesson for me. It
>was an easy way for me to see that sometimes people are more interested in
>your name than they are in you. People are interested in SOAD as an entity,
>not John Dolmayan as a person. You have to sift through these people and
>figure out who's who. But with my drumming, don't bring me in with the
>illusion that I'll play what you want me to play. I'll do what's best for
>the song. If you don't like it, if you want something safer, that's a
>different story, but I'll do my best."
>
>
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