YTSEJAM Digest 766
Today's Topics:
1) Re: Brave
by "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
2) Re: Rock over Germany ??
by freak@cube.net (Alex Reinelt)
3) Fairport Convention
by mpatrick@holli.com (Mike Patrick)
4) QR Tour. NO DT CONTENT
by srvrip@qualcomm.com (John Hough)
5) New FAQ Version
by jskewes@iadfw.net (Jason Skewes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 17:15:46 -0500
From: "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: Brave
Message-ID: <199503292215.RAA01030@o231-12.nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
> I just got _Brave_ by Marillion, and I must say that I am quite
>impressed. It's not the style I thought it would be, it's actually
>better.
Brave reaffirmed my faith in Pink Floyd-style rock... the sound
is etheric on quite a bit of it. Have you cranked up the volume
on it? there are a ton of samples that you might miss otherwise
(plus Hoggarth has this joy of mumbling...).
I'm finally figuring out the story behind the lyrics. I'm using a few
quotes from Brave in a large story/poetry project I'm working on
right now (just snippets, probably), and it seems like it will fit
perfectly.
Dom'ny
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 95 0:24:43 MET
From: freak@cube.net (Alex Reinelt)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: Rock over Germany ??
Message-ID: <m0ru6AO-00013VC@cubnt1.cube.net>
Well Ties (what a strange name...?),
I am not really sure if he said "Rock over Germany". Maybe I got the
name a bit wrong....
But as soon as I have further information on that, ill surely be posting
it. Jim promised to keep me informed and so do I. So dont send me mails
and ask me for further details, I'll mail it to the list as soon as I
know anything more then I posted yesterday....
To be honest: I even dont know if i want to meet the band. What great
things should I say to them? I am just one of a dozen of people they are
made to meet because its important to keep fans encouraged and its for
promotion purpose and the may see me never again in their live I dont
really effect their live in any way like i do with good friends or
something...its strange, but somehow i dont wanna get the band in a
situation like "oh, you are doing this for us, great" (hand shaking and
so on...). I mean there is no time for starting any detailed discussions
about music and a long conversation about the best producer, the album
covers, the market and so on....and they have really trouble enough when
they are on tour. But, ok, well see, and most important thing is we get
cool music and maybe they are really comming back with some "ACOS" as
they did with Live at the Marquee some time ago...
bye, Freak
( Alexander Reinelt from Munich/Germany - freakmarked since 1987
) freak@cube.net / freak@cubnet.de / Alex_Reinelt@2:2480/66
( fax:(++ 49 89) 689 18 71 voice:(++ 49 89) 68 33 40
) "Caught in a web - refused by the world..." (Dream Theater)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 17:40:27 -0500
From: mpatrick@holli.com (Mike Patrick)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Fairport Convention
Message-ID: <m0ru6TJ-0009wDC@walnut.holli.com>
> Fairport Convention
Excuse me? THIS IS A DREAM THEATER LIST. While Richard Thompson is one of
the truely gifted quitartist/songwriters on the planet, Fairport and he
might just as well be Sonny and Cher for all most DT fans care.
Mike
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 17:00:02 -0800
From: srvrip@qualcomm.com (John Hough)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: QR Tour. NO DT CONTENT
Message-ID: <199503300100.RAA02182@qualcomm.com>
Jammers,
Just got the new SID mailing and it said *gulp* TYPE O NEGATIVE is
opening for QR on the North American tour? That really sucks. IMHO!!!
Also listed tour dates for most of the way through May, anyone wants it
Email me.
Later
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
John Hough
srvrip@qualcomm.com
"But with a knife I call the truth, I sever ties and cut me loose,
I won't follow." - Jani Lane, Warrant
From "Followed" on the new cd - "Ultraphobic".
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:11:57 -0600 (CST)
From: jskewes@iadfw.net (Jason Skewes)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: New FAQ Version
Message-ID: <199503300206.UAA08080@server.iadfw.net>
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FAQL: Dream Theater (Current to 03/29/95)
Compiled by: Jason Hough - Ytsejam Originator
(jhough@qualcomm.com)
Mike Bahr - FAQ Maintainer Emeritus
(garion@indirect.com)
Jason Skewes - Current FAQ Maintainer
(jskewes@iadfw.net)
Revised and Handled by Jason Skewes (Address as above)
Proofreading above-and-beyond the call of duty: Jennifer Albert
Extensively "beta-tested" by Michael Burstin, Joel Harreld, Ryan
Skadberg
Thanks to Ken Higginson for the DT Ascii you see above.
Thanks to C-Man for the updated DT information "from the office"!
Welcome to the official, spiced-with-Vindaloo Dream Theater FAQ,
presented by us, the Ytsejam Mailing List, and, thanks to a bit of
great fortune and kindness on their part, by Dream Theater themselves!
We're not perfect, but we're trying to be as accurate as we can. If
you can help us to that end with this FAQL, we appreciate it.
NOTICE! There are a few separate files now. The old one was just too
hard to manage all as one! Plus, a few issues of the band's connection
to bootleg material came up, etc. The new files, which are available
via FTP, are:
dt????.faq = This FAQL, where ???? is the date i.e. 0329
discog.dt = Dream Theater discography
[official releases only]
bootlegs.dt = Dream Theater bootleg guide
lyrics.dt = All known lyrics from both the studio
and live/demo-only releases.
For all this, anon-FTP to ftp.netcom.com and look under
/pub/dr/drkhoe/dt/*.
Dream Theater Archives: site manager: drkhoe@netcom.com
ftp.netcom.com /pub/dr/drkhoe/dt
WWW: "ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dr/drkhoe/www/dthome.html"
You can also get these files from the following sites:
WWW: "http://cs.brandeis.edu/~mikeb/dt.html" - menu of DT files
WWW: "http://cs.brandeis.edu/~mikeb/dt/faq.txt" - this FAQ in HTML
format
Michael Burstin (mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu) handles the bootleg and the
lyric listings. Mike Bahr (garion@indirect.com) handles the
discography.
Dream Theater has a mailing list! It's called Ytsejam.
Send submissions to: ytsejam@arastar.com
The Ytsejam mailing list can be joined by doing the following:
Send e-mail to ytsejam-request@arastar.com
Blank (or no) subject!
Text should read, exactly:
subscribe ytsejam firstname lastname
(replace the names with your own.)
You will be added automatically! To unsubscribe, please do the
following:
Send e-mail to ytsejam-request@arastar.com
Blank (or no) Subject!
Text should read, exactly:
unsubscribe ytsejam
It will take you off the list that very day. If your subject line
isn't blank, the server might reject your request, so make sure that
you either send it empty or with only spaces.
If you have any problems please e-mail ytsejam-owner@arastar.com and a
human will help you.
For other information on the Ytsejam mailing list (like how to get a
digest instead of individual pieces of mail), please do the following:
Send e-mail to ytsejam-request@arastar.com
Blank (or no) Subject!
Text should read, exactly:
info
You should receive the information file within 24 hours.
Mike Bahr has set up a Dream Theater support BBS!
"La Villa Strangiato" - 28.8k dial-in speed - 602-732-1239
The system runs a dual standard 28.8k v.34 and v.fast, call either
way.
Or to call for free, but alas, at 2400, do this:
telnet acssdial.inre.asu.edu
then after you connect:
ATX4DT8W7321239
and feel free to log on! He will validate you as soon as possible.
Leave him a "F"eedback note so I will know you logged on new. Handles
are in use on the system, Mike's handle is "Marabout".
This is my first revision of the FAQ after taking over from Mike Bahr.
I've left the credits section intact except for adding a few of my
own. Personally, I want to thank Mike for all he has done to make
this a great source of knowledge for all Dream Theater fans.
Send gripes, complaints, comment, kudos and suggestions for this FAQ
to: jskewes@iadfw.net
Many thanks to the following for their additions and corrections:
* Jens Johanssen (jens@panix.com)
* C-Man (buffalo@panix.com) - DT and King's X management
* Michael Burstin (mikeb@cs.brandeis.edu)
* Brian Cox (lerxst@tamu.edu)
* Ken Bibb (jester@arastar.com)
* Jennifer Albert (airdance@aol.com)
* Randall Haskin (strega@stein.u.washington.edu)
* Pete "Ender" Walsh (ender@uunet.uu.net)
* Dave (dld30@quts.ccc.amdahl.com)
* Todd Henson (thenson@mason1.gmu.edu)
* Bill Buckley (buckley@powdml.enet.dec.com)
* Lars "ORION" Karlsson ()
* Tim Lodge (lodge_tim@csusys.ctstateu.edu)
* Aaron (asilver@umiami.edu)
* Jeremy A. Smith (js013b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
* Bret Linford (StmpyJCat@aol.com)
* Ryan Skadberg (skadberg@acs.bu.edu)
* Zack Gemmill (zack@lsil.com)
* Hairball (hairball@astro.ocis.temple.edu)
Plus Jason Hartman, Tony Zimmerman, and Shiner Bock!
Abbreviations you should know:
------------------------------
DT - Dream Theater... NOT DREAM THEATRE! Petrucci is very specific
about it.
WDADU - When Dream And Day Unite
IAW - Images And Words
LATM - Live At The Marquee
LIT - Live in Tokyo (video)
ACOS - A Change of Seasons
YML - Ytsejam mailing list
PMU - Pull Me Under
TTT - Take The Time
LTL - Learning To Live
LSOAD - Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
CIAW - Caught In A Web
AMBI - A Mind Beside Itself
LiTS - Lost In the Sky (bootleg)
DoE - Dance of Eternity (bootleg)
CU - Consciously Unreal (bootleg)
DoL - Dream Out Loud (bootleg)
LiLI - Live In Long Island (bootleg)
Current Dream Theater Personnel
-------------------------------
Mike Portnoy - Drums/Percussion Born April 20, 1967
John Myung - Bass Guitar Born January 24, 1967
John Petrucci - Guitar Born July 12, 1967
James LaBrie - Vocals Born May 5, 1963
Derek Sherinian - Keyboards (???)
Past Dream Theater Personnel
----------------------------
Kevin Moore - Keyboards Born May 26, 1967
Charlie Dominici - Vocals (???)
CONTENTS
--------
0. New Questions/Frequently Changing Recent Information
1. A Brief History of Dream Theater
2. Questions about the members of Dream Theater
3. Questions about DT performances/appearances/miscellany
4. Questions about the songs themselves
** - indicates that info has been revised/added in this edition
New Stuff
---------
** 0.1 What is Dream Theater up to currently?
* They recently concluded the first leg of their world tour. They
toured the US in the Fall/Winter of 1994 and toured Europe and Japan
in the first part of 1995. Rumor has it that they will be entering the
studio in May 1995 to record 'A Change of Seasons' to be released on a
future EP which will also include the b-sides 'Eve' and 'To Live
Forever,' plus a few other unreleased tracks. After that, the belief
is that they will embark on a Summer tour (possibly late June/early
July) of the US.
** 0.2 Is Derek Sherinian now a member of Dream Theater?
Yes. Derek Sherinian (Kiss, Alice Cooper) took over keyboard
duties after Kevin Moore left the band upon the completion of the
recording of the 'Awake' album. Originally, Derek joined the band
simply as a fill-in for the tour, but during the last leg of the
recent European tour, the band announced that he is now an 'official'
member of the band.
** 0.3 What is Kevin Moore up to?
Kevin is currently living in New Mexico, writing new songs on his own.
He is in the process of putting a band together before going into the
studio to record the new songs professionally. Kevin is still with
Dream Theater's management (Round Table). Once Kevin completes his
latest recording sessions, his management plans to shop the demos to
record companies.
** 1. A Brief History of Dream Theater
--------------------------------------
Dream Theater first came to be in September 1985 when Berklee
friends John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy got together and
decided there was some music to be played. They enlisted an old school
friend, Kevin Moore, for the keys, and "Majesty" came to exist.
Their first efforts at getting material down on tape were
called the Majesty Demos. Ineffective singer Chris Collins did the
vocals on eight very progressive-sounding tracks. In March 1986 the
Majesty demos were finished. 1000 copies sold within six months.
Bootleg CDs of the Majesty demos continue to sell even today.
That November, Chris left the band, as he was a mismatch all
along. A year went by without a singer and without a record deal, and
more demos were cut. Instrumental versions of the songs we now know as
Afterlife, Ytse Jam, and The Killing Hand were among them.
In November of 1987 vocalist Charlie Dominici joined the band
and a record was finally cut on the Mechanic label. This is when the
issue of the name nearly stopped Dream Theater before they started. A
Las Vegas band called Majesty forced a name change, and DT considered
several different possibilities. Glasser, Mi and Magus, and the like
were tossed about and rejected. Mike Portnoy's father Howard suggested
they use the name of a California cinema complex, and the name Dream
Theater was chosen.
DT quickly found out that Mechanic could not effectively
promote their record or finance the tour they needed in order to
promote it on their own, so they left the label. Charlie was fired
because he didn't have DT's progressive plans on his agenda, and he
had always been weak in a live setting. Time went by... a LOT of time.
Finally, in late 1991, Kevin James LaBrie of Winter Rose beat
out fellow throats John Arch, Steve Stone, Chris Cintron, and John
Hendricks for the vocalist spot. His audition was fantastic and an apt
indicator of the future potential of DT, as he sang his way through an
acoustic To Live Forever, and demo tapes of Learning to Live and Take
The Time.
EastWest records, then ATCO Atlantic, signed DT and they cut
the record Images And Words. Radio picked up on the opening track,
Pull Me Under, and IAW slowly started accumulating sales. DT began to
field an obsessive and musically-inclined fan base who had been
disappointed by late-80's and early-90's glam and grunge, and had held
onto their Rush, Yes, and Floyd records, hoping for the day when
another such band would come about. They cut a video for Pull Me Under
and it actually got rotation on MTV... a small miracle in itself. Two
more videos were cut, Another Day and Take The Time, and the former
got marginal airplay.
By halfway through the Music In Progress Tour '93, IAW was
selling lots of copies and several cuts from it were gaining heavy
airplay, as well as kindling a deep-seeded fan interest in unreleased
recordings and bootlegs. Import shipments of When Dream And Day Unite
sold quickly. Dream Theater cut a live EP in April 1993 called Live at
the Marquee. Later that year, a live video called Live in Tokyo
(sometimes titled 'Music in Progress') was released. Still, the fans
of DT needed more. Throughout the spring and summer of 1994, there was
a veritable explosion of available bootlegs and rarities. IAW went
gold in January of 1995.
DT took their own time, so to speak, in writing and recording
Awake, their third studio album. It was recorded between May and July
1995 and was released on October 4, 1995. It was during this time
that the sky itself fell on Dream Theater.
On August 1st, Kevin Moore decided to leave the band to pursue
his own musical interests. On August 8th, the split was made final by
a press release issued from Dream Theater's management. Several
possible replacements were tossed about. Jens Johanssen auditioned
for the spot. Jordan Rudess played a gig with them but then left to
play for the Dixie Dregs. Derek Sherinian, formerly of Kiss and Alice
Cooper, stepped in and played with the band on the Awake tour. Derek
was announced as an 'official' member during the last few shows of
Dream Theater's European tour.
Dream Theater is currently set to enter the studio in April to
record an EP that will include several unreleased tracks and, most
importantly, the 20-minute epic, 'A Change of Seasons.'
2. Questions about the members of DT
------------------------------------
** 2.1 Who are the current members of Dream Theater?
They are Kevin James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci (guitar),
Michael Portnoy (drums), John Myung (bass) and Derek Sherinian
(keyboards).
** 2.2 Why did Charlie Dominici leave DT?
According to Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, he was released because
of several things, but most importantly because he didn't fit in with
the band in a few important ways. He was far older than the rest of
them, had a different idea of what DT should be, and lacked ability as
a frontman when performing live. There were apparently a few
personality conflicts at work. Dt is still in contact with Charlie.
He sang at Mike Portnoy's wedding in 1994 and he has been spotted at a
few of the Awake tour shows.
** 2.3 Why did Kevin Moore leave DT?
Kevin's musical tastes have changed over the years, and he grew
increasingly unhappy with the musical direction that the band had
taken. He felt that the differences had become so great that he could
not continue in the band. Here is the press release issued by the
band's management concerning Kevin's departure:
Here's what John Petrucci said about Kevin's departure:
"...in some ways it's a shock to us and in some ways, it isn't, you
know. I mean, the way that they [the fans] consider us a 'family
unit,' in a lot of ways, it's true because, I grew up with Kevin,
like, since we were little kids and this has been our band since...
whenever. We were 17, out of high school, you know, the first year in
college, so it is kind of weird, not having him in the band, it's
definitely strange. The only thing I can say to the fans is, you
know, so far as worrying and whatnot, this is something that was going
on with Kevin like, for, the way he explained it to us, for a couple
of years, so he was slowly sort of stepping out of his position, and
even with the writing on "Awake", it's not as much of his trademark
and his sound and his writing. So if they're into this album, maybe
that's a good sign because it was something that was written a lot
without his enthusiasm or without his input for the most part, so,
it's sort of a... step to the new whatever's going to happen next. So
if they like it, that's a good sign..."
"...he didn't tell us slowly, it was unexpected for us too. But it's
just that he was thinking about it for awhile, we didn't even know
that, you know? We sensed that he was a little bit distant, that
maybe he was unhappy, but we never thought he would leave the band,
'cause like I said, this has been something we've been into since we
were little kids or whatever. He told us right towards the end of the
recording session for _Awake_, which was about mid-July, and that was
really strange because, you know, we weren't finished recording and he
told us this, so... I mean, obviously we finished up the recording of
the record, but it was... I guess no time is a good time, but it
seemed like a strange sort of time and we were all really shocked, you
know, we were like, 'I don't understand,' you know? It's hard for me
to understand because we've been pretty successful and we think this
record is going to do really well for us, we hope it is, and there's a
lot of things on the horizon and we've worked our entire lives to get
to this point, so it's hard for me to relate to leaving that..."
"...I don't think you can pinpoint to one specific reason why he left
the band, but I think basically it comes down to this... over the last
couple of years, he's sort of changed the type of music that he's
into, that he likes to write and he's demoing a lot of stuff where
he's playing everything himself and singing himself and it's in a
different style, like techno/industrial sort of style, nothing like
our band... it just seems like playing with us, he wasn't able to do
the type of stuff that he wanted to do and he figured he never would
if he stayed in the situation, so he wanted to be true to his musical
vision. I guess that was kind of frustrating with him. Maybe when we
started the band and for the first couple of albums, it was the kind
of stuff he really liked doing and then for whatever reason, whatever
happened in his life... whatever was happening, whether it was touring
or whatever, he just changed the type of stuff he was into and he no
longer felt passionate, or feels passionate, about the style of music
that Dream Theater plays... you know, the heavy, progressive sort of
music..."
2.4 What was James LaBrie doing before he joined the band?
Kevin James LaBrie (they dropped the Kevin because they would
have otherwise confused him with Kevin Moore, and two Johns are
already hard enough to deal with, says Petrucci) sang for a Canadian
glam band called Winter Rose. He was selected from among 20 auditions
and over 200 tapes by DT during the making of IAW. This sentence is
censored. ;)
2.5 Who inspired the band members the most?
In an interview, Mike Portnoy cited Neil Peart of Rush as his
greatest influence and favorite drummer. His other influences include
Terry Bozzio and Vinnie Colaiuta, but Portnoy says Peart is his drum
"God".
Petrucci has two groups of influences, he said in an
interview, "the Steves and the Als." The Steves are Steve Morse,
Steve Howe, Steve Vai, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Als are Alex
Lifeson, Al Di Meola, and Allan Holdsworth.
John Myung's bass idols are Steve Harris and Geddy Lee.
As a band, they are influenced most (according to Portnoy) by
Rush, Queensryche, Yes, Marillion, Genesis, and Kansas. Those groups
make a few appearances here in this FAQ forasmuch as they relate to
DT.
Petrucci individually likes Pantera. The whole band got on
very well with the Galactic Cowboys. Much like their listeners, they
have very broad and varied tastes. Portnoy is a regular concertgoer,
and has been met at Rush and King's X concerts by people on the
Ytsejam list.
2.6 Andrea Held Leone and Ralph R. Dominici Sr. are mentioned in the
liner notes to WDADU as the dedicants. What relation to the band
are they?
Andrea is believed to be Portnoy's sister. Ralph is Charlie's
father.
2.7 Marillion is thanked in the liners in IAW, What's the relation?
Dream Theater opened for Marillion in New York (anyone have
the exact date?). Mike Portnoy also said, "We're all really big fans.
I really dig 'Misplaced Childhood'." Whether Dream Theater and Phish
are familiar with each other is not certain.
2.8 What musical instrument sponsorships does DT have?
Mike Portnoy--Mapex Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Drum Workshop
Pedals & Hi-hats, Latin Percussion, Remo Heads and Hot Sticks. Mike
used to play Tama but changed his kit between IAW and Awake.
John Petrucci--Ibanez guitars, Mesa Boogie Amps, Dimarzio
Pick-ups, Dunlop Picks, Wah Pedals.
John Myung--Tung Bases, Mesa Boogie Amps, D'Addario Strings
2.9 Is there a Dream Theater fan club?
Yes. Send S.A.S.E or I.R.C to:
Dream Theater International Fan Club
Midtown Station
PO Box 1188
New York, NY 10018
2.10 Who thought up the name for the band?
Mike Portnoy's father, Howard, thought they should name it after the
moviehouse near where Mike's father lived. It was called The Dream
Theater. Initially, they recorded a demo by that name, then named the
band after it.
** 2.11 Where did DT go to school?
The Johns, Portnoy and Sherinian went to the Berklee (sic)
school of music in Boston, MA, not Berkeley as has been erroneously
mentioned on rec.music.progressive. Berklee is a music-dedicated
school that has produced the likes of Steve Vai, Al Di Meola and Chris
DeGarmo. Kevin Moore went to SUNY-Fredonia, as has been confirmed.
Anyone know if Labrie did college?
2.12 Now that Kevin Moore left, and the whole reason LaBrie used
"James" was to
sidestep the confusion, will he go back to "Kevin LaBrie"?
Good question, but not likely. :)
3. Questions about DT performances/appearances/miscellany
---------------------------------------------------------
** 3.1 What are the Majesty demos?
Before they were Dream Theater, they were Majesty. However,
there was already a band called Majesty, so they could not release the
demos. They wound up on bootlegs and evaluation tapes. Between
singers, Dream Theater did still more demos. These are referred to as
the Dream Theater Demos due to the timeframe. Some of the songs DT has
demoed include:
Another Won Your Majesty A Vision
Two Far Vital Star March of the Tyrant
A Late Summer Rain Schizophrenia Afterlife
The Death of Spock Resurrection of Ernie Cry for Freedom
Gates of Babylon @ Ytsejam The Killing Hand
Mission: Impossible Golden Slumbers * O Holy Night
Don't Look Past Me To Live Forever Metropolis
A Change of Seasons Grab That Feel $ Creep With Tonality %
Wanted: Dead or Alive (sort of a joke)
* Also called The Golden Weight
$ Later renamed Take The Time
% Later renamed Learning to Live
@ An old Rainbow song
3.2 What does the "symbol" DT uses mean?
The "symbol" can be seen on the IAW disc, on the IAW cover on
top of the bed, on the WDADU cover, etc. It is the letter "M" of
"MAJESTY" in a stylized font, says Portnoy. It was once used by Mary
Queen of Scots.
3.3 What does the burning heart symbolize?
According to Portnoy, it was original keyboardist Kevin
Moore's idea and essentially a copy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The
barbed wire represented obstacles and difficulties, the heart
endurance and strength, and the fire their energy and passion.
3.4 Who has toured with Dream Theater?
Psychotic Waltz, the Galactic Cowboys, Saigon Kick, Damn The
Machine, Meanstreak (with guitarist Rena Sands, Petrucci's wife), I
Mother Earth, Fates Warning, Push Monkey, and others among a slew of
local acts the band likes to use for openers.
** 3.5 What producers has Dream Theater worked with?
Terry Date produced WDADU. Terry Brown (Broon), the producer
who took Rush through their first eleven albums, mixed the promotional
discs from WDADU. David Prater produced IAW. Prater is the
ex-drummer/producer of Santana. Doug Oberkircher mixed Live At The
Marquee. Duane Barron and John Purdell produced Awake. It is rumored
that Prater will again be enlisted as producer for the upcoming EP.
** 3.6 What songs has Dream Theater made videos for?
Pull Me Under
Take The Time
Another Day
Lie
Caught In a Web
The Silent Man
Another Day did not make MTV's playlist, even though DT felt
it had the most MTV potential. Pull Me Under was shot live and has
received the most airplay. Take The Time was shot as a full-scale
video production, but the song had to be shortened a lot and many
unexpected edits in the song throw off the video's pace and
consistency. Lie got regular rotation. Caught In a Web has never been
seen. (If someone by chance HAS seen this, please contact me!!) The
Silent Man has been shown in Europe - it has not been sighted in the
US on MTV. Mike Portnoy directed the video to The Silent Man.
3.7 What songs has Dream Theater played live?
A better question might be, "what songs have Dream Theater NOT
played live?" Since they play just about all of them, here is a list
of songs that either haven't been played live, or have never been
recorded live at any known show.
A Vision
Too Far
Scarred
Space Dye Vest
Here are a few songs that have ONLY been performed live, and
never recorded in any studio or demo (yet):
Bombay Vindaloo
Moon Bubbles
Barfbag
3.8 Who plays the saxophone on "Another Day"?
Jay Beckenstein of Spiro Gyra, who owned the studio where IAW
was put to tape, Bear Tracks.
3.9 Will DT ever release production versions of the old Majesty demos?
In some cases, they did just that (see the discog). Mike
Portnoy was asked about this, and said that while they might be fun to
play live, it really wouldn't get the band anywhere to release new
recordings of them. Since DT is concerned with moving forward, he
said, it will likely not happen more than it already has. Half the
first album was production from the demos, but the remaining demos are
"just too old." They did play an instrumental "March of the Tyrant" at
Palasesto in Milano, Italy in November 1993.
4. Questions about the songs themselves
---------------------------------------
** 4.1 Who sings on the satiric "Wanted Dead or Alive" demo?
John Petrucci originally recorded this demo as a practice tape for one
of his guitar students before IAW was released. The demo tracks laid
down by John were recorded with guitar and a drum machine only and no
added vocals. Eventually, Rich Kern, a friend of Kevin Moore's who
also played guitar on a few of Kevin's new solo demos, got ahold of
the tape and decided to add some vocals of his own to the background
music. The final result is the "heliumfest" you hear on the demo.
4.2 What is "A Fortune In Lies" about?
According to Mike, it was about a friend of theirs who was busted for
stealing and the experience he gleaned from it.
4.3 Where is the sampled voice in "A Fortune In Lies" from?
Mike Portnoy recorded it off a television documentary about the prison
system.
4.4 What does "The Ytse Jam" mean?
YTSEJAM is MAJESTY written backwards, and it probably refers
to their original band name in that ambiguous way instrumentals refer
to things.
4.5 What is "The Killing Hand" about?
John does not comment on it often, but Mike Portnoy opened up
in an interview about why it was written and what he "thinks" it's
about. In the interview, Portnoy was very careful to remind the reader
that he could be all wrong, but that it was not likely. Petrucci wrote
it as a sort of "Twilight Zone" story about war in which the main
character witnesses all these atrocities and sees the names of the
dead on a wall, and then realizes it's been him this whole time
causing all the atrocities... then he sees his own name on the wall.
Very Rod Serling-type of stuff.
** 4.6 Is "Afterlife" a Christian song? Is "Eve?"
While the band admits Afterlife has Christian overtones, it is
not a religious tune in the same spirit as the music of King's X or
Parallax. In fact when the band used to play Afterlife live with Chris
Collins, the lyrics were completely different. Eve, the piano/guitar
intro sequence used live for both Pull Me Under and Learning To Live
at different times, includes a lot of voice samples from James Joyce's
'A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man'. One of these samples is
"Guide us on to our Lord Jesus, guide us home." According to sources
close to Moore, "Although Eve IS named for the "Christian" concept of
Eve, it's also about the new age "goddess" concept also and simply
about the spirituality of womankind in general, so it's not really a
Christian song."
4.7 What is "Pull Me Under" about?
The current explanation goes that it was inspired by
Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Prince Hamlet swore vengeance on King Claudius
for murdering his father, the former King, and then marrying his
mother, still Queen. Hamlet's famous Soliloquy was the passage in
which the conflict in Hamlet's mind is detailed, and the second verse
of "Pull Me Under" coincides pretty thoroughly with it. The very end
of the song James can be heard singing this line from Hamlet:
"Oh that this too, too solid flesh would melt."
Furthermore, after seeing the video, in an interview, Portnoy
said "Who the hell was that wolfman guy in the video anyway? We had
written it based on something else entirely." Portnoy noted that while
Moore did not write PMU about Hamlet specifically, he DID write PMU
about what Hamlet was ABOUT. Same themes, ideas, etc.
Here's the no-brainer explanation:
_____ _ _ __ __ _ _ _
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| ___/ | | | | | | |\/| |/ _ \ | | | | '_ \ / _` |/ _ \ '__|
| | | |_| | | | | | | | __/ | |__| | | | | (_| | __/ |
|_| \__,_|_|_| |_| |_|\___| \____/|_| |_|\__,_|\___|_|
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a comparison by Pete "Ender" Walsh
PULL ME UNDER
Images: Dream Theater
Words: Moore
Lost in the sky
Clouds roll by and I roll with them
KING CLAUDIUS [to Hamlet] How is it that the clouds still hang on
you?
Arrows fly
Seas increase and then fall again
HAMLET To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
[and so on...]
This world is spinning around me
This world is spinning without me
Every day sends future to past
Every breath leaves one less to my last
Watch the sparrow falling
Gives new meaning to it all
If not today nor yet tomorrow then some other day
HAMLET Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes?
I'll take seven lives for one
[Hamlet is responsible, in some way, for seven deaths in the play.]
And then my only father's son
As sure as I did ever love him
I am not afraid
Ghost I am thy father's spirit,
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love--
HAMLET O God!
Ghost Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
HAMLET Murder!
Ghost Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.
HAMLET Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.
- AND -
HAMLET Ay, so, God be wi' ye;
[Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN]
Now I am alone.
[...etc, etc...]
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
[...etc, etc...]
This world is spinning around me
The whole world keeps spinning around me
All life is future to past
Every breath leaves me one less to my last
Pull me under Pull me under
Pull me under I'm not afraid
All that I feel in honor and spite
All I can do is set it right
HAMLET Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!
[They swear]
So, gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
- AND -
HAMLET [...]
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!
Dust fills my eyes
Clouds roll by and I roll with them
Centuries cry
Orders fly and I fall again
This world is spinning inside me
The whole world is spinning inside of me
Every day sends future to past
Every step brings me closer to my last
Pull me under Pull me under
Pull me under I'm not afraid
Living my life too much in in the sun
Only until your will is done
HAMLET Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
[in response to Claudius's comment on clouds, above.]
Oh that this too
Too solid flesh
Would melt
[Direct quote]
HAMLET O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
** 4.8 What is "Another Day" about?
On a Long Island radio show called 'Finger's Metal Shop', Gail
Fluge (sp), who at that time was president of the Dream Theater fan
club, stated that the song was about by John Petrucci's struggle in
dealing with his father having cancer. A Ytsejam reader who knows
John Petrucci's parents has confirmed that at one time Mr. Petrucci
did in fact have cancer.
Two other schools of thought had previously emerged on the
subject:
Suicide is the most obvious meaning. Pretty much every verse
supports the theme of a person trying to talk someone out of killing
themselves. "so die another day... better to save the mystery"
Another equally valid point of view is that of mental illness,
and trying to cope with it as the sufferer and/or family. "they took
pictures of our dreams... etc"
** 4.9 What is "Take The Time" about?
"We decided to write a song about everything we'd been going
through for the past three years - looking for a new singer, a new
label & new management - just all the changes we made & all the
frustrations we went through...but, have it coming from each of our
four different perspectives. So, we broke it up, and said 'Okay, you
take the 1st verse, you take the 2nd verse,' went away, wrote lyrics
about our feelings about all the stuff we were going through, and then
put it together. Then [we] wrote the chorus together. That was the
1st time we had ever done that, and it's the only song on the album
where the lyrics were actually written by everybody."
- Mike Portnoy on "TTT"
4.10 What is being said in Italian in "Take the Time" and where is it
from?
It's Italian for, "now that I'm blind, I can see much clearer." It was
taken from the film "Cinema Paradiso" as the following:
"Adesso che ho
perso la vista,
ci vedo meglio
e di piu"
It's Not a coincidence that LaBrie sings, "I can see much clearer now
I'm blind," right before the sample.
4.11 What was the original title of "Surrounded?"
Promotional cassettes for Images And Words had Surrounded labeled as
"The Longest Night" on the sleeve.
4.12 What is "Surrounded" about?
During the IAW tour they dedicated the song to Arthur Ashe,
the tennis player who died of AIDS. However, the song seems more about
enlightenment (in several forms) than death. The fact that Ashe was
the first African-American tennis player to succeed in the sport
supports this hypothesis.
4.13 What story is "Metropolis part I: The Miracle and the Sleeper"
based on?
It is based on the story of two twins from the Iliad (? or is
it the Odyssey?) who are telepathically linked. It has no relation to
the movie "Metropolis". Petrucci wrote it as a sort of fantasy epic,
inspired by the likes of, you guessed it, Yes and Rush. The story
itself is original (the twins are named Miracle and Sleeper and do not
appear in literature) but the story type was Homeric.
4.14 What is "Wait For Sleep" about? Who is the girl/woman in "Wait
For Sleep?"
Kevin Moore has said she was a friend of his who had a
spiritual void and a hard time filling it, reaching for something to
believe in. It dealt with her fears about belief and her grief over a
loved one's death. His explanation is longer, but that about says it.
4.15 What is "Learning to Live" about?
This has been the bigger topic of discussion on the YML
because Myung has commented briefly on it and Portnoy has, while not
wanting to confirm it, indicated that the premise is correct in an
interview. Learning to Live was inspired by the AIDS epidemic.
Particularly, the "From a common fear ... reach for life" passage, but
the rest fits very snugly with the AIDS theme.
4.16 What is a "Vindaloo?"
A Bombay Vindaloo is a hot spicy herb/pepper served on Indian food,
usually chicken. It is also taken after drinks. My guess is DT got
blasted in Asia or Europe and got to try this most interesting spice.
:)
4.17 What is unique about the song "A Change of Seasons?"
Several things.
First of all, it's the first lyric work Mike Portnoy did. (of
course, it is not the only vocal work Mike ever did... Mike had the
dubious privilege of singing the end of "Surrounded" after James
walked off the stage at one of their 1993 England shows)
Second of all, it's the longest DT song at 20:42. It barely misses
matching the longest Rush song on CD (2112, which is 20:47) and the
longest Rush song on LP (2112, which was 21:12). This is a noteworthy
distinction because it's very rare to find bands comfortable with
lengthy formats.
Third of all, it's the only song that had LaBrie singing that has ONLY
been recorded live, not for any album. (Not Yet!?!) The other four
songs that hold the live distinction are instrumentals. The band wants
to record it very much. As Portnoy said, "We'd like to get that one
off our chests. It's pretty meaningful to us."
4.18 Has anybody noticed the re-usable riff phenomenon?
Yes. Pull Me Under and Take The Time share a melody, which is not
quite a riff, but they are identical if juxtaposed on a corresponding
major/minor scale. Wait For Sleep and Learning to Live also share a
main riff. Thematically, none of the songs interconnect. Mike Portnoy
has said that the music is written out before the lyrics are written
and set to melody. It is possible (any interviews mention this?) that
they were intended to be counterparts and that the relation was either
scrapped or made more subtle. The PMU-TTT connection is not as direct
as the WFS-LTL connection. The melody from PMU's "This World is
spinning around me, this world is spinning without me" in a minor
scale sung by LaBrie is reproduced at 4:18 of the TTT instrumental
section in a major scale played by Petrucci. So, the question remains,
"are the 16-note melodies reproduced completely by coincidence on the
same album by the same band?" Also, all throughout Awake, there is a
lot of intentional riff sharing. Without referring to the obvious
Erotomania, which is MADE UP OF riffs from other songs, the Space Dye
Vest piano melody was added to The Mirror, LSOAD, and Scarred.
4.19 Has anybody noticed the Another Song phenomenon?
Yes. DT has a knack, it would seem, for Another Song titles. Another
Won (from the Majesty demos), Another Day (from Images And Words) and
Another Hand (prologue to The Killing Hand live and on LATM) are the
factors of this phenomenon. The album "Awake" seems to have escaped
this trap of nomenclature.
4.20 Who wrote "To Live Forever?"
John Petrucci.
4.21 Did the demos "Death of Spock" and "Cry For Freedom" ever go
anywhere?
Yes. They became "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun" and part
of several instrumental improvisations. (listen to Bombay Vindaloo,
Moon Bubbles, and Barfbag... it's in there.)
** 4.22 What is "6:00" about?
Kevin Moore on "6:00":
"...that actually was inspired by a story that James told me
about one of his friends. He told me about one of his friends who he
used to work with at a factory... James, I guess he worked with him
like years & years ago. Anyway, this guy is still working at that
factory & he [James] just met him like, I guess, recently, and he was
talking to him about how he's got all these great benefits now and
everything, but... and so that struck me as... that struck him, you
know, it's kind of affected him and I thought about it too, and I was
just thinking about how people kind of let life live them instead of
living life sometimes, you know. And just get caught up in just being
secure and having money, you know, to survive, which is a noble thing
for some people. But some people don't even give themselves a chance,
you know, this guy happened to be a musician who still had a dream
about becoming a serious musician and making a career out of it, but
it was obvious that he was never going to do anything about it. And
this is kind of like a 'do something about it' song."
------------------------------
End of YTSEJAM Digest 766
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