YTSEJAM Digest 480
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Articles from DT "official" WWW pages
by Michael Burstin <mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu>
2) Bach and Improvising
by kbibb@arastar.com (Ken Bibb)
3) Re:
by "Alan J. Mallery" <ajmaller@ouray.Denver.Colorado.EDU>
4) Re: YTSEJAM digest 477
by SMS012@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU
5) Re: YTSEJAM digest 477
by "James Studnicki (HON)" <studnick@soleil.acomp.usf.edu>
6) Re: Zebra
by kbibb@arastar.com (Ken Bibb)
7) Lie1.wav
by "Doug Slauson" <DRSLAUS@msae.cae.wisc.edu>
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Topic No. 1
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 1994 21:40:59 -0500 (EDT)
From: Michael Burstin <mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com (Ytsejam SERVER)
Subject: Articles from DT "official" WWW pages
Message-ID: <199408080141.VAA10067@rasp.cs.brandeis.edu>
Hi alll... I jsut found these articles from the "official" DT WWW
page... (I have the address here somewhere... but I forget it at the
moment... I will post it later on, if it hasn't already been done by
the time that I get tomorrow's digest)... Some cool stuff here...
although there are some idiots who do write for these things...
(Check out "Hold Me Under" as named by the idiot from the last
article)
LIVEWIRE June/July 1993
Progressive Mosh Power
By Jennifer Rose
The name Dream Theater was brought to my attention at a
Pantera party last year, when I was handed an advance cassette of
the band. I first met drummer Mike Portnoy that same night. Not
only are Pantera and Dream Theater labelmates, but Phil Anseimo and
Mike Portnoy share an affinity for boxing. Both are diehard boxing
fans. I'll admit, I wasn't instantly swept off my feet by DM's
music, but their "Pull Me Under" video on MTV grabbed my attention.
I heard the infamous music biz buzz on the band, but that's
typical, it goes along with the territory. I'm not one to jump on
a band wagon, just 'cause everyone else is. I'm my own judge and
jury- but to each his own. Music is a personal interpretation.
But like I said, the video lured me in, and then I found
myself bodies deep in a crowd at NYC's Limelight, dodging the
occasional Doc Marten flying overhead. My initial reaction upon
hearing the music was, I wondered if The Doc had knocked me out, or
what. I was some what stunned, because this band sounded different
than their tape. This is one of those moments where the live show
outweighs the studio product. The reactions from the crowd ranged
from "The sound like Rush," to "They sound like Queensryche!" The
outlying similarities are palpable, but only to a certain degree.
Formed in 1985, drummer Mike Portnoy, guitarist John Petrucci
and bassist John Myung crossed paths at Berkeley College of Music
in Boston. That fateful meeting of the minds turned out to be a
match made in heaven for the threesome, who, on top of that were
all from Long Island. Mike recalls, "It was kind of a strange
coincidence because there's people from all around the world up a
Berkeley. And to find two people that love the same music that I
did, and they were musically on the same level when it came to
their playing, and what they were into, and what kind of music they
wanted to write, it was incredible."
Returning home after two semesters, they recruited another
school buddy, keyboardist Kevin Moore, along with a singer, and
recorded a demo under the name Majesty. More changes followed with
another singer, a record deal and the release of their first album.
Having reached a stalemate, the band re-evaluated their situation,
"cleaned house," and rebuilt the unit. That included replacing
their singer with Canadian born James LaBrie, which took a year and
a half, and 200 tapes. "He got along with us great," Mike says of
James. "We went out drinking to see if he was cool. We hung out
and saw how he reacted to other people, which was important.
Actually, he was quite silly the first night we took him out
drinking. We're like, 'Oh my God, this guy is a Canadian lush.'
He was strolling around all drunk and everything but he was fun and
we had a great time, and it just worded out." Within two days,
James was recruited and the ball started rolling again and another
deal was inked, resulting in their second record, Images and Words.
The common bond that drew them together in the beginning was
Rush. "That was the band that we all totally loved," says Mike.
I grew up in high school learning all of Neil Peart's drum parts,
and the same with the other guys. Back then, the common interest
was Rush, and Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath, and Yes. It was a
combination of old progressive bands and the pioneers of heavy
metal at that point." All of those combinations are elements
within their music, but not entirely. Mike attributes part of this
as "being the basis of our music. Throughout the years it's
developed into different areas."
Comparatively linked to the aforementioned bands, Dream
Theater have been dubbed a progressive rock band. Aware of the
band's labeling, Mike negated, "People say that because we have
long instrumental sections, and there's a lot of time changes. I
think the focus for us is on the musicianship. We're not living in
the past. We have a lot of sounds or elements like Yes or Rush but
I don't think any of those bands were really as heavy as what we're
doing. We're coming from the '90s point of view, they were coming
from the '70s point of view."
It was Mike's father who coined the name Dream Theater, after
the band learned that their previous name Majesty was already
trademarked. "We couldn't come up with a name," explained Mike.
"but my dad happens to love the band. He's a huge fan of the
music. He suggested Dream Theater from a movie theater out in
California, where he lives. I've been to this theater many times,
and it's artsy, and an old fashioned theater, but they play cult
movies like Rocky Horror and (Pink Floyd's) The Wall. He suggested
it, and it perfectly fit the music. Dream Theater was wide open to
a lot of different styles, and you can sit there and come up with
a lot of different images."
Not only was Mike's father responsible in naming the band, but
he was also influential to his son in another aspect. "My father,
he's the reason I love music," Mike says proudly. "The minute I
came flying out of my mom's womb, he snapped a set of headphones on
me and put Sgt. Pepper on. So I grew up listening to The Who, The
Beatles, Led Zeppelin, literally from when I was one or two years
old, He used to be a DJ on the radio, and I used to work with him
when I was four or five, actually taking the mike and spinning
records. He introduced me to music."
RockRag
December 24, 1992
Dream Theater at Axis - The ultimate Spine Chill
By Timmy McQuade
BOSTON - I had listened to Dream Theater's "Images and Words"
26 times before their performance at Axis Dec. 16th.
A question lurked in my mind, "Can they pull it off live?"
you'll have to wait for the answer, so in the meanwhile, here's a
brief album analysis. "Images and Words" equals a one hour mind
explosion that will remind you of early Kansas, Rush, Styx,
Genesis, The Dregs, and ELP, but with a Metallica type edge and an
original style. Ok, end of analysis, now on with the show.
The club swarmed with anxious listeners wanting the answer
just as badly as I did. We were not let down. Dream Theater
opened with the epic "Metrolpolis" and jaws hit the floor. The air
soon filled with complex time changes, fired up guitar/keyboard
solos, and intensely high vocals supplied by the Canadian James
LaBrie. It was amazing to see a band make something sound this
good and look so effortless. Bassist John Myung hunched over his
six string and played with the grace of a classical pianist gone
mad. John Petrucci mixed Steve Via with Neil Schon and produced
metal wire masterpieces. His interplay with keyboardist Kevin
Moore was reminiscent of Yngwie and Jens dueling in Rising Force,
but with a more interesting melodic content. Drummer Mike Portnoy
woke the dead and played with the same intensity that Neil Peart
had during the Hemispheres/Permanent Waves era.
"Pull Me Under", the first hit of the album, created a moshed
zjugg(a term coined by Joe Hacking), and had the crown singing
along to the refrain. An instrumental segue was introduced halfway
into the show for "the people ate Berklee" and was unnecessary.
Solos are cool, but every tune had massive solo interludes and this
segment could have been left out. Otherwise, the bands overall
performance was phenomenal.
Dream Theater was formed by Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung while
they ware studying tat the Berklee College of Music. Moore, an old
school friend, was drafted into the project. After auditioning
over 200 lead vocalists, a last minute tape was sent by James
LaBrie, formerly of Coney Hatch. The dream then became a reality.
As far as writing songs together, Petrucci states, "there are no
boundaries when it comes to writing songs. What ever we want to
bring into the music we'll bring in. It's not like were a 'hard
rock' band that has to stick to a certain formula. What ever
happens, happens." On plans for the future he adds," We're just
gonna tour 'till we drop dead."
Rock Island Argus
May 29, 1993
Dream Theater too much for radio
By Jenni VanDeVoorde
What can I say about a band like Dream Theater? Their second
album "Images and Words," displays their true talent with it's
complex musical arrangements and powerful vocals.
Although "Images And Words" has only eight songs, there is
almost a full hour of music on it. Half of the songs, including
the first single, "Pull Me Under," are over eight minutes long. So
it's not likely that you will be hearing Dream Theater on our local
radio stations anytime soon.
The video for "Pull Me Under" is in very light rotation on MTV
and can usually be seen around 2 or 3 in the morning. While Dream
Theater's music isn't at all like what is "popular" today, I think
that a broad range of people could be able to find something they
could like about Dream Theater.
The band consists of vocalist James LaBrie, keyboardist Kevin
Moore, bassist John Myung, guitarist John Petrucci, and drummer
Mike Portnoy.
Recently I say Dream Theater perform live and they put on an
excellent show. They will be touring through most of the year, so
if you have the chance try and check them out.
If you are looking for music that's slightly more intelligent
than some of the fluff that is out there right now, pick up a copy
of "Images and Words." I think you'll enjoy it.
Billboard
July 24, 1993
Dream Theater "Images & Words"(EastWest/AG). Entered
Heatseekers at No. 38 on 11/14/92. Impact was 1/30/93, when it
jumped from 118 to 82 on The Billboard 200.
First Rumblings : "I had been in touch with a lot of
tastemakers and music journalist friends, and they were all raving
about the record in the fanzines magazines," says Derek Oliver,
senior director of A&R. "Specialist college metal shows were
banging the hell out of it."
Breakthrough : Album rock radio "sort of discovered how great
a reaction track 'Pull Me Under' was, despite it's outrageous
length. Secondly, we decided very early on that Dream Theater
would tour like crazy. No huge advances, fancy tour buses or
money-mad stage shows. The band really put their heart into it,
and they won a huge fan base immediately."
Leader Post
June 14, 1994
What's on albums
How talent soars beyond mere genre
By Gerry Krochak
Yeah, yeah, we know, we know. We're a little late with this
one.
But so was everyone else, including radio programmers and
music buyers.
Images And Words sold a relatively paltry 15,000 copies early
on, but in recent weeks that figure has soared to 350,000; the
album will be gold by summer, according to Billboard magazine.
What's the reason? Well, aside from people waking up, the
song "Hold Me under" was released to radio in the U.S., and people
immediately stared to notice this unique group.
But never mind why it took so long for the group to get the
credit it was due. The important thing is that Dream Theater has
put out the most impressive progressive hard rock album since
Queensryche's Operation : Mindcrime.
The aforementioned single "Hold me Under" will make you an
instant believer in Dream Theater's unique style. The song
features the brilliant vocals of Toronto native James LaBrie and a
gorgeous, complex arrangement that shows off the immense talent of
all five members of the band.
Next up is "Another Day," which will be likely be the song
that puts Dream Theater at the top of progressive heap.
LaBrie soars on this track, and somehow the band's complexity
gives way to a more accessible sound that has made this some the
album's new single.
After that is "Take The Time." which combines the band's
songwriting skills with characteristically complex, wonderfully
textured instrumentation.
The song opens with spoken rap into before sliding into some
propulsive rhythms from bassist John Myung and drummer Mike
Portnoy, as well as some sizzling guitar work from John Petrucci.
You'll have to listen hard - but it's worth it.
Side two opens with the progressive epic "Metropolis - part
1('The Miracle And The Sleeper')," a musically exciting track whose
thought provoking lyrics that make the song more of a musical story
that once again demand the listener's attention- and once again
rewards it.
LaBrie sings, "As a child I thought I could live without pain,
without sorrow/ As a man I've found that It's all caught up with
me'm asleep yet I'm so afraid."
This track as well as the classically influenced ballad "Wait
for Sleep" and "Under a Glass Moon" make it clear that Images And
Words is a collection of music for the thinking person - a must for
fans of Pink Floyd, Rush and Queensryche and a damn good idea for
anyone with and open mind, a curiosity about great music regardless
of genre, and a willingness to invest a little time and attention.
To put it another way, if you write this album off as "some
heavy metal thing," you'll be cheating yourself. Dream Theater is
a hard rock band, but one that proves how talent can always lift a
band and an album beyond any genre.
And overwhelming listen.
-- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Caught In A Web | | Numb from the world | | Hanging on by a thread | | Scared of the life that fights in my head | | Dream Theater Caught In A Web Awake | | release date for Dream Theater's Awake: October 4, 1994 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Michael Burstin Brandeis University | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ For info about Dream Theater, finger mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu------------------------------
Topic No. 2
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 1994 20:16:31 +0800 From: kbibb@arastar.com (Ken Bibb) To: ytsejam Subject: Bach and Improvising Message-ID: <9408080316.AA01863@anthor.arastar.com>
Forward from NVSHAH@UCDAVIS.EDU follows.
------ Hey... there were a great many composers such as Bach who couldn't improvise... -The Doc ------
This is most definitely incorrect. Bach improvised 'Musical Offering' for King Frederick; a six part fugue. I have read that to create a six part fugue is very difficult, and could be likened to playing sixty simultaneous blindfold games of chess and winning them all. Now THAT's improvising.
Just thought I'd point that out...
jason ez046854@dale.ucdavis.edu
----- End Included Message -----
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Topic No. 3
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 07:40:58 -0600 (MDT) From: "Alan J. Mallery" <ajmaller@ouray.Denver.Colorado.EDU> To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com Subject: Re: Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9408080714.A1611-0100000@ouray>
"Haven't heard them -- is this the same Randy Jackson of the one-man MIDI band fame who endorses that guitar/keyboard instrument they call The Key? I'd like to check that out."
Probably. I know he did some one man shows. Also for the DT connection, Zebra is one of the bands they thank on I&W. I believe they are from Long Island as well, so they probably know each other..
Alan
______________________________________________________________________________ Alan Mallery | (ajmaller@ouray.denver.colorado.edu) | (insert quote here) (Emerson@aol.com) |
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Topic No. 4
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 1994 09:23:55 -0500 (CDT) From: SMS012@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 477 Message-ID: <01HFNTQ0VM1E000BH9@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU>
>Lets not forget that when DT writes songs, they start by jamming or >improvising... Perhaps John Petrucci is used to playing with musiaicns >who posess greater skill than those found at a guitar clinic...
YES YES YES!!!!! Exactly!!! How am I supposed to believe that some guitarist I've never heared of can play on par with the abilities of Kevin Moore and John Myung! Pettrucci just couldn't find his niche with these sub-par players.
Also, I hear JP is moving to a seven string guitar. Is this true? That might explain some of the heaviness on the upcoming album. Scott
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Topic No. 5
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 15:24:41 -0400 (EDT) From: "James Studnicki (HON)" <studnick@soleil.acomp.usf.edu> To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 477 Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9408081541.B12493-0100000@soleil>
On Mon, 8 Aug 1994 SMS012@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU wrote:
> YES YES YES!!!!! Exactly!!! How am I supposed to believe that some > guitarist I've never heared of can play on par with the abilities of > Kevin Moore and John Myung! Pettrucci just couldn't find his niche with > these sub-par players.
I'm sorry, I thought I was the only one on the list that attended the clinic in question. Ah, I get it -- you must have been sitting in the 1st row. I was only in the 2nd row.
I assure you, there was nothing "sub-par" about any of the players in question. If you think anyone who teaches at NGSW is a "sub-par" player, I encourage you to go up and teach them how to play. Come on, guys, raging on the other musicians at the clinic is really a stupid thing to do. It's great that you're really dedicated to John P. (I still think some of his solos are really good), but some of the comments posted as of late (Bach couldn't improvise?) are truly desperate bordering on shamelessly ignorant. Don't open your mouth if your foot is automatically going to fly into it.
Jim Studnicki studnick@soleil.acomp.usf.edu University of South Florida Tampa, Florida, USA
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Topic No. 6
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 16:27:11 +0800 From: kbibb@arastar.com (Ken Bibb) To: ytsejam Subject: Re: Zebra Message-ID: <9408082327.AA05095@anthor.arastar.com>
Forward from UHAL@IBMCAN.CANAIX.IBM.COM follows.
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