Contents:
(It's another beautiful day in Zamunda <63826688@uwwvax.uww.edu>)
Re: DT touring with queensryche ? (rosenzwe@stu.beloit.edu (Stacie Rosenzweig))
Re: ProgVMetal (ASILVERM@umiami.ir.miami.edu)
(Brian Gilner <gilner@cs.tulane.edu>)
Ytsejam 385 and 386 (Michael Burstin <mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu>)
Re: if anyone mailed me - i'm back up... (whit8275@cs.fredonia.edu (Chris White))
DT article again (Tymoteusz Altman <altman@sfu.ca>)
He's Back!!! (Eric Moegling <emoeglin@bigcat.missouri.edu>)
Another day + various stuff (Stefan Andersson <stefan-a@dsv.su.se>)
Re: DT FAQL as it currently stands (smm@uunet.uu.net (Steve Mansfield))
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Date: Mon, 02 May 1994 20:42:24 CST
From: It's another beautiful day in Zamunda <63826688@uwwvax.uww.edu>
Subject:
Unsubscribe Nikolai Dubish (63826688@uwwvax.uww.edu)
(Leaving for the summer months, be back next fall!!)
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Date: Mon, 2 May 1994 20:43:27 +22304916 (CDT)
From: rosenzwe@stu.beloit.edu (Stacie Rosenzweig)
Subject: Re: DT touring with queensryche ?
>
> Someone on the new newsgroup 'alt.music.dream-theater' said that
> Dream Theater will be touring with Queensryche. Can anybody
> confirm this news? Although I'm a big Queensryche fan I hope DT will
> NOT tour together with them. A great band like DT should headline !!!
>
Well, yes, I agree that DT should headline, but think about it. As much as
we'd like to believe it, DT cannot sell out an arena tour. Queensryche, on
the other hand, can (or can come close). This will expose a lot more people
to Dream Theater. I hope the do tour together (assuming they come to the
chicago/milwaukee area at a decent time).
That begs the question -- how many of you want DT to make it big (rather
than keep playing little club shows)? Do you think their music will be
affected by arena tours and commercial success? Do you think they will
retain their integrity?
Just something to think about.
Stacie
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Date: Mon, 02 May 1994 23:32:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: ASILVERM@umiami.ir.miami.edu
Subject: Re: ProgVMetal
Well, I started as a #2, eased my way through #4, and am about a 3.5 these
days, depending on my mood.
Aaron
ASILVERM@UMIAMI
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Date: Mon, 2 May 94 22:59:14 CDT
From: Brian Gilner <gilner@cs.tulane.edu>
Subject:
unsubscribe ytsejam gilner@cs.tulane.edu
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Date: Mon, 2 May 1994 23:59:50 -0500 (EDT)
From: Michael Burstin <mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu>
Subject: Ytsejam 385 and 386
Anyone get Ytsejam 385 and 386? I missed them. Can you forward them
on over iff you already got them! Thanks alot!!! Oh, BTW, it is now
May 2nd (actually just turned into the 3rd) and I just got Ytsejam387,
mailed on May 1.
-- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | This world is spinning around me | | This world is spinning without me | | Every day sends future to past | | Every breath leaves me one less to my last | | Dream Theater Pull Me Under Images and Words | | Michael Burstin Brandeis University | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Let's Go Pens Let's Go Pens Lets Go Pens Let's Go Pens | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ For info about Dream Theater, finger mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu------------------------------
Date: Tue, 3 May 94 01:09:56 EDT From: whit8275@cs.fredonia.edu (Chris White) Subject: Re: if anyone mailed me - i'm back up...
> I thought this was the case because of the video also, but the > suicide theme just fits to prfectly with the song.> > I mean think about it: Look another way, die another day. Better to save > the mystery (of death) then surrender... Live another day, climb a little > higher, find another reason to stay. "Face the candle to the wind"--in > other words snuff it out! Resist the need to pull them in and throw them > away... > The lyrics just fit too bloody well... I couldn't make my illness > argument from the video stand up at all under scrutiny. > Mike/garion@indirect.com/belar@aol.com/king@citadel.gov.riva
Tastes great. Less filling. Stop, you're both right! *grin* If you think about it, doens't it make sense that the guy IS dying of an illness, but he wants to kill himself to get it over with (you know, ppl suffer physically/emotionally when they're dying of cancer or whatever), SO he WANTS to kill himself, but his children (according to the video) are telling him to keep fighting, that there's always hope. I don't know, make sense? :) Chris
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Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 00:04:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Tymoteusz Altman <altman@sfu.ca> Subject: DT article again
OK, here is that article that I promissed.
METAL ON THE RISE
Story by: DREW MASTERS
from the August '92 issue of M.E.A.T
One of the quitest buzzes around the TO(RONTO) metal scene was the scoring by James (Kevin) LaBrie, former lead singer for Winter Rose, of the lead singing spot in relatively unknown New York based art metallers Dream Theater. But, on July 7th, the mystery surrounding this gig unfolded with the release of Dream Theater's second album, and first on Atco/Warner, the to-be-a-masterpiece entitled Images And Words.
In all positive senses of the term, James 'scored'. He landed into what may surely be the most critically acclaimed and influential art metal band ever heard since Queensryche. Simply, this record floored me from first listen -- and I truly ain't saying this 'cause I know James. This is amazing; it may take some time, but this is one brilliand album that is sure to make Dream Theater huge!
James grew up in the Midland, Ontario region, and, in 1982, he moved to Toronto and joined a band called Trance, which he remained in until 1984. In the summer of '85, he joined Coney Hatch, replacing the departed Carl Dixon. This stint lasted ten months into 1986, deciding to leave when he became restless at Coney's lack of progress towards recording another record. In '87 he joined the street rockish outfit Shock Candy, and later went on to The Hunger -- the latter was where he met up with quitarist Rich Chycki. Together in April of '88 they began Winter Rose, and remained together until early '90, when, frustrated at scratching at the seams of a record deal, but unable to attain one, the band disintegrated.
It was during the Winter Rose days that James began to see response to his vocal ability. Upon an action by Lee Aaron, who Winter Rose were touring with, she told Pierre Paradis of Aquarius Records (and manager of Voivod) about James. He, in turn, asked for James' material. Upon receiving it he offered James a solo deal, but James was still mindset upon Winter Rose. A few months later, Pierre, who was in contact with Mechanic records -- who worked Dream Theater at the time -- was informed by Mechanic that Dream Theater needed a new vocalist. Pierre told James to send a tape, which he did as Winter Rose was disbanded by then, but a member of Dream Theater told him he was to late -- that they'd got a singer. But a call a week later from Mechanic turned up the fact that Dream Theater may not have foudn a singer after all, and, after another call by the band, they asked James to come down and audition. Flying him down to New York in January of '91, it was during his second day there that they offered him the job. Two weeks later James was in the studio cutting a demo with the band, which was the key ingredient to landing the band a deal with new label Atco.
Dream Theater, by the way, had auditioned over 300 singers in over two years to pick James as their vocalist. It was rumoured to be one of metal's most coveted open vocalist slots. James tells of his entrance into the band, "When I came in, they pretty much had this record written. I just helped a bit with the melodies and such. I just walked in and did my thing."
But he wasn't totally convinced to be a part of Dream Theater from the beginning. "The first album, when I heard it, sold me on their musicianship, but not no their songwriting," admits James. "The first album was more into self-indulgence, or a 'musician's musician' album. They've all known each other since childhood, and were all students of Berkley, so they were out ot impress. But, when I heard the advance material of this album, that's when I was sold. This one was more into songs -- the material is more mature, more emotional, and for everyone,yet it still retains the high quality of musicianship."
But one thing is undeniable -- Dream Theater is unique. Describing their sound is something that James, now doing worldwide interviews on the subject, is still struggling to achieve.
"The way I describe the band is that we're like, Yes, Journey, Genesis, and Rush meets Metallica and Queensryche," says James in no simple terms. "It has all those elements in it. It has the progression in it, but it also has the raw edge to it. All the band members are influenced by these bands, and a couple are really into thrash. There's a lot of elements going into the making of Dream Theater."
It's doubly difficult to describe the music when, in all relative terms, you're just a hired gun for the moment. Relays James, "I haven't really been around when they go through their writing mode, but they tell me thay just jam and what ever sounds good they work on, and slowly but surely pieces just come together. Their philosophy is just to do things that come from the heart."
The only obstacle in the path of Dream Theater (who were once originally named Majesty -- which goes a long way in describing their music) was their deal with Mechanic/MCA, which they disparately wanted out of, and achieved after months of aggravation and legal hassles. Though privately James has a lot to say on the matter, and not very positive ones towards Mechanic, he sums it all up tactfully as "(Mechanic/MCA) didn't understand what Dream Theater was all about."
But the worldwide metal media does, as Dream Theater is being besieged by incredibly positive response to their advance tapes, and CD advance of their lead track. "People are just eating our advance tape up," states James. "Everyone we're talking to is floored. Our song, 'Pull Me Under', is number three on metal radio in US just from our advance CD sampler alone -- and it's not even the radio edit! In many places it's the most requested tune. It's incredible!"
While that track is, at 8:11 long, a definitive album track, Dream Theater possess two incredibly impressive ballads in "Another Day" and "Wait For Sleep" -- one of which will probably be a single down the line. But, as James puts it,"We have to play it safe from the beginning. We have to let people know hat we're a progressive band, and not a singles act."
Continues James, "This album is the kind that has to be nurtured. It's going to be a slow climb. I mean, look at Queensryche -- they're an inspiration to this format. What's cool is that our management realizes this about us. They're excited at the prospect of us three albums down the line -- they think that with our name, and material, that we could become a huge concert theatrical band. This band's material also know no age limits -- we could be more than 40 and still be doing this material successfully, like Rush."
Speaking of management, Dream Theater scored big here with their choice. "Two weeks before we went in to record the record, we met with Marck (Mercuriadis) from Sanctuary Music (Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P.), and he told us that they were really into us, and asked us to think about it. It wasn't until we were done recording the album that we took a look at all the management offers we'd received, and, from it, after looking over all the pros and cons, we decided that Sanctuary would be the best for us. I must admit it was pretty wild for us to be getting a deal, and recording an album, without having management."
After all is said and done, the question remains this: Why a band like Dream Theater, and why now? "I think that people have reached the saturation point with the thousands of bands that are indistinguishable," states James. "All these bands are trying to make that big pop single in a commercial sense, and sell units, whereas bands like Skid Row, Queensryche, and Metallica that are making it on their own laurels. I think people are looking for something different -- something refreshingly new musically, and intellectual lyrically. I know we fit into this -- you can instantly tell that we're original, and that we're not trying to follow what's trendy or happening."
Referring to Skid Row, James now joins the ranks of Sebastian Bach andBonham's Daniel MacMaster in leaving Canada to pursue a career. And, just like Baz and Daniel, James didn't go looking for the US gig -- it came looking for him. "The Music scene in Canada to the US is like night and day," tells James. "The attitude is so much different, and the opportunities are so much greater -- bands from Canada have to come and gig here to experience it. But I didn't go looking for a gig in the US -- it just happened. I wasn't one to leave Toronto to move to the US to find 'fame'. I just happened to be ready when the opportunity knocked. And, now that I'm in a band from New York, I'm still going to reside here for the time being. I'm totally connected to Canada, and always will be."
Looking back, what are his thoughts now on Winter Rose -- a great band that,in all essential purposes, should have been signed. "Winter Rose was great -- we had great tunes," recalls James. "Rich (Chycki) and I are great friends, and, somewheredown the road, we plan on working together once again. I'd like to eventually do a solo album, whether it be three years or ten years, and do some of the songs from Winter Rose, as I feel those sons are timeless. I still haven't said goodbye to those days."
Though I've used "James" throughout the story, his real first name is Kevin, but, according to "James", "I changed it to 'James' -- my middle name -- as there were already two Johns, and a Kevin. It's funny -- I can tell when I get a call from the US, as they say James instead of Kevin. I've gotten used to it now, but it was weird at first. I'm going to change my I.D. around to James so that I don't have any problems in the future." The members mentioned are guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung.
The future for James looks amazing at the outset for his new career with Dream Theater. Once the record is out, the road is the next step. "We going to start locally in the east US for four to six weeks," says James, "then we'll be going out on bills with headliners -- we're not sure with who first, but ELP has been mentioned. We may play some dates in Europe before Christmas, but we're being highly considered as the opener for Iron Maiden on their European/Japanese tour, which isn't until the New Year. We did a gig on June 8th at The Ritz with Iron Maiden -- they're totally into our band big time." A Toronto club show is being discussed, but nothing has been set up.
Bottom Line is, according to James, "Everything is going great -- I'm totally psyched! I'm now feeling like a 100 percent member of the band. Everyone is the band, and around the band, is really great. I couldn't be more happy. I guess I'm finally getting my rewards. I'm 29 , and I've been doing rock music since I was 13 years old. If anything, my perseverance has prevailed big time. If anyone from here was to ask me for advice, I'd just tell them to keep on going and trying, and not to listen to what anybody else says. If you believe in yourself, and have the talent to back it up, it'll eventually work out. That may sound cliche, but it's the truth."
O.K., that's it...I thought that this was a pretty insightful article, and thought that you would be interested in reading it. I hope you found it interesting.
I'm sorry it took so long for me to type it in, but i was very busy.
Tim a.
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Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 03:36:23 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Moegling <emoeglin@bigcat.missouri.edu> Subject: He's Back!!!
Finally!!! After many feeble attempts, I'm back, and feeling better than ever. I got a new E-mail adress, and had a heck of a time getting back on (out of mere stupidity!). I totally have missed you all!!! Thanks to Timo for helping me out!! Please take note, that gmoeglin is no longer my valid adress!!! Sorry for the non-DT related stuff! For anyone interested, I can get two DT shirts that have a picture of the band on front, and then " Find All You Need In Your Mind..." (if I recall correctly). There is also autographs on the back. They are XL, and 13 dollars plus whatever it will cost to ship them in your direction. Right now there are only two of them (not like they're rare or anything, that's all the store has ordered, but if I sell them, they'll get more!!!), but like I just said, more are available. I'll be honest with you, I have to get rid of these two XL's so they'll order me an XXL. That's all for now, and it's great to be back!!!
Eric Moegling
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to the circle of fifths, and the pattern of sharps and flats: If the alphabet continued as notes progressed (Using Major Key Sig's) (i.e A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, etc.) eventually the key of Z Major would have 4 sharps.
emoeglin@bigcat.missouri.edu ERIC MOEGLING: emoeglin@freenet.scri.fsu.edu -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 03 May 94 12:49:28 +0200 From: Stefan Andersson <stefan-a@dsv.su.se> Subject: Another day + various stuff
>> now back to DT stuff... >> >> i know that this has been discussed before, and there is something >> about >> this in the FAQ, but i have a different view. >> i'm talking about the song 'Another Day'. >> the FAQ says that it's about suicide, and trying to keep someone >> from taking their own life... >> but after watching the video, it seems to be about someone >> dying from a disease, and the family telling this person not to >> give up, and 'live another day', etc... >> perhaps the song IS about suicide, etc, and the song was >> interpreted differently for the video. >> anyways... >> that's all for now.... > > I thought this was the case because of the video also, but the >suicide theme just fits to prfectly with the song. > >I mean think about it: Look another way, die another day. Better to save >the mystery (of death) then surrender... Live another day, climb a little >higher, find another reason to stay. "Face the candle to the wind"--in >other words snuff it out! Resist the need to pull them in and throw them >away... > > The lyrics just fit too bloody well... I couldn't make my illness >argument from the video stand up at all under scrutiny. > >Mike/garion@indirect.com/belar@aol.com/king@citadel.gov.riva
Well, I have to comment on this as I have some additional info regarding the lyrics for "Another day" and I think that this should be in the FAQ. The info is taken from an interview with LaBrie in the British magazine RAW. Here's what he has to say about the subject:
LaBrie: "That song was a very personal one written by John Petrucci - and I hope he won't mind me telling you this - but it deals with a situation he was going through with his father. John was only about 12 and his father was really sick - he's better now - but it's a highly optimistic song."
So, there you go ... Of course one could also read the suicide meaning into it as DT, as we all know, like to put different meanings into their lyrics.
>1.12 Is there a Dream Theater fan club? > > Yes. Write to the address below: > Dream Theater Fan Club > Dept.A > 11 Penn Plaza Suite 910 > New York, NY 10001-2006
This is according to the FAQ. But in the interview mentioned above there is another address to the fan club. Here it is:
Dream Theater Fan Club Midtown Station Box 1188 New York, NY 10018
Does anybody know which is the appropriate address? Naturally the members of the fan club should know ... :-)
> Third of all, it's the only song that had LaBrie singing in it >that has ONLY been recorded live, as in, not for any album. The other four >songs that hold the live distinction are instrumentals.
This is also from the FAQ, regarding the song "A change of season". My question is: what about "(To live) Forever"? Is ACOS really the only one?
BTW, Does anybody have the lyrics for "(To live) Forever"?
Well, this became a pretty long post, I hope you don't mind too much.
Bye, Stefan
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Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 08:17:36 -0400 (EDT) From: smm@uunet.uu.net (Steve Mansfield) Subject: Re: DT FAQL as it currently stands
> > The stupid Beavis/Butthead voices... "This song Sucks!" seem to be > > augmented by the same helium helping, but as they are not sung, they could > > just as well be Portnoy and Moore: in other words we have no idea. > > I though it was moore, with the tape slowed down so he could reach the notes
Think "Harmonizer."
Steve Mansfield |Once you're touched you stand alone to face the bitter fight smm@uunet.uu.net |Once I reached for love but now I reach for life. Dream Theater - Learning to Live
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