i did a quick 6 question interview with john on 6-16-99

ryan: what has been your favriote tour since your first tour with slayer?

john: ozzfest

r: what is your favriote sond demo or album?

j: soil

r: whould you be happy if you where still in la just playing local shows and not on tour

j: yes

r: i read an interview with shavo saying after ozzfest you will be writing and taking a break dose that mean there will be an album in the near future? or you guys will be in the studio?

s: yea we will be.

j: who is the funnist band to watch on ozzfest?

j: system of a down

r: who do you think will be on the next system tour. are you planing to headline a tour any time soon?

j: >yes/ you can expect to see amen. br>
r: thanx john

j: your welcome

Shavo - System of a Down - 5/27 West Palm Beach Coral Sky

How did you guys end up on the tour this year again?

We got a good response last year and we got along with everyone really well so they invited us back and we're really happy about that because it's the funnest tour we've ever done.

You were on the second stage what's the good and bad side of each?

Second stage is good because all the kids are there and in front and they're rooting for you and you feel the vibe more. Bad thing is when you're in a spot when there's a huge band playing on the main stage and everyone leaves to go see that band. The good thing about main stage is exposure and getting people to know you and bad thing is the vibe isn't there as much because the kids aren't as close to you-just empty seats. I enjoy smaller venues more actually.

Are you guys touring more after this Ozzfest?

We're going to take a couple weeks off then we're flying to do the Ozzfest in Europe and the Kerrang awards. Then we're going home to write more and maybe do a headline tour in the fall. We need a break for a while after this because we've been o the road for a year and we need to balance ourselves. Balance is very important in the life of a band.

What do you do to keep busy on the bus?

I read, watch movies, hang out with people. The good thing about the Ozzfest is you can socialize and meet people-it's like a big party. Its not like a regular tour where you're there by yourselves then you pack up and leave. On Ozzfest you wake up and you're at the venue and bands are already playing and it's a lot of fun.

What are you looking forward to the least on Ozzfest?

For it to end. I love Ozzfest. I wish it could go year round like you could go out for a month, then have two weeks off then play a month again. I'm happy that this year is longer-two months instead of one.

Who writes the songs for system of a down?.

We have a lot of different ways of writing. A lot of them Daron composes in his head. He's a genius songwriter. He brings a lot of stuff in and we all put our 2 cents into it and it becomes System of a Down. another way is I bring in a couple arranged riffs and serj writes lyrics and we build on it. Serj has a lot of good ideas too so he brings in a lot of stuff.

How long will it be until the new album?

We have about 10 songs ready (4 new ones and six we'd already written. In order for our record to be great we need to take time. You cant just shit our a song and have it be great. It takes time for it to evolve. You have all those tracks to use and we want to take time to deliver a great record.

interview is taken from ozzfest.com