Weiss, David (May 2003), Artist Features: Steal This Article: John Dolmayan, retrieved: 2007-01-08
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For the longest time, I didn't know the name of anyone in Led Zeppelin. I didn't care about what they looked like or ate. I wanted to listen, not read about them. I've always had that philosophy. I never started playing drums to get chicks or money or anything else. Long before I had concepts of those things, I wanted to be a drummer. That's the basic concept of what I do. I'm a drummer. I play drums. We are artists as drummers, and people should realize that. Not everyone can sit down and use all four of your limbs simultaneously to create something out of wood and plastic. We're creating something beautiful, and it may not sound pretty, but if you listen with the right ear, it sounds very pretty. If you try and listen to a song without drums, you haven't got anything.

— John Dolmayan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "For the longest time, I didn't know the name of anyone in Led Zeppelin. I didn't care about what they looked like or ate. I wanted to listen, not read about them. I've always had that philosophy. I never started playing drums to get chicks or money or anything else. Long before I had concepts of those things, I wanted to be a drummer. That's the basic concept of what I do. I'm a drummer. I play drums. We are artists as drummers, and people should realize that. Not everyone can sit down and use all four of your limbs simultaneously to create something out of wood and plastic. We're creating something beautiful, and it may not sound pretty, but if you listen with the right ear, it sounds very pretty. If you try and listen to a song without drums, you haven't got anything." in the context of "Weiss, David (May 2003), Artist Features: Steal This Article: John Dolmayan, retrieved: 2007-01-08" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "John Dolmayan" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
John Dolmayan

About John Dolmayan

John Dolmayan (born July 15, 1972) is a musician, best known as the drummer for the Armenian-American alternative metal band System of a Down.