Interview Sako Karaian

"Drum Magasine" a pu interviewer Sako Karaian, le drum tech. de John Dolmayan depuis les tout débuts de S.O.A.D, jusqu'aux shows actuels de Scars On Broadway !

L'interview a été retranscrite sur Soadfans.com

On en apprend plus sur sa longue amitié avec john, sa façon d'installer et d'"accorder" la batterie, et on apprend une anecdote plutôt amusante ;)

The Man Behind The Curtain .

As John Dolmayan's drum tech and closest confident for the past ten years, Sako Karaian has seen it all.
His presence by John Dolmayan's side has become so ubiquitous, the two like to tell the story of when they were walking down the street together once and a fan rushed up to the tech, saying, "Hey, you're John Dolmayan from System of a Down," while Dolmayan stood right next to him, ignored.
"He's like my big brother," Karaian says of his boss. "He helps me with everything. Great friend. Very easy to work with, yet, I like how much of a perfectionist he is on things. It makes me step up on my game as well."

Ironically, after ten years as Dolmayan's tech, Karaian still can't play a measure on the drums. He was thrown into the job when System got signed, right after John Dolmayan joined and they were about to leave on their first tour.
"Daron was like, 'You're going to be our drum tech.' And I was like, 'Well, I don't know how to play the drums.' He's like, 'It doesn't matter. You'll learn.' And I still haven't learned. But I can tune the drums, set [the kit] up, take care of it. I can build drums - I make custom drums - but I still can't play."

He has developed some signature tricks, though, which have become a key part of Dolmayan's sound. "My tuning techniques are a lot different than most people," Karaian says. "I try to tune to a trumpet. If you ever go to horse races and you hear that guy on the trumpet..." He mimics the call to start the race. "To me that's how the drums have to sound."

Then it's all about muffling, taping the heads up to the point where they have that recognizable Dolmayan thump. "I don't like any ring. I like it to sound like a 10-guage shotgun - give him a beefy, fat sound without having any ring or having it sound like a tin can in any way."

And how does he know when the boss is happy? "If he ever breaks stuff, throws the drums off the stage, anything like that, then I know he had a great show," says Karaian. "Other drummers, they destroy it because they're pissed. John, if he destroys something, he had a good night. He gets the aggression out on the drums."

by Dave Constantin - DRUM magazine