John Petrucci – The Write Stuff

I guess for starters I’d like to discuss the stories I’ve heard about Derek Oliver leaving EastWest and the troubles this has caused for the band. I’ve heard everything from Dream Theater being dropped from the label to contractual disputes...

JP: What happened was... The label has changed so much through the years, and the most recent change was that Elektra Records bought up or merged with EastWest, and subsequently there were a lot of personnel changes. People that were very directly involved with the band’s career from the very beginning left, and that included Derek Oliver. With these people leaving and new people coming in, we had to get a new A&R director, new publicity people, and these are all people we don’t know. So, it was a matter of acquainting ourselves.

At the same time, with the track record of our success, the CEO wanted to make sure we would produce an album that’ll do some damage.

So there were never any real problems between Dream Theater and the new people at the record company?

JP: No. Actually, we were thinking at one point during the changeover that maybe we should leave. They were all like “no way man, don’t leave, you guys can’t go”, so that was reassuring to us.

Were you ever worried that maybe you’d go through more of the crap you went through with Mechanic preceding ‘Images & Words’?

JP: Not really, because with Mechanic, they put the record out and there was no promotion or backing or anything. Our label has been really supportive in that way, so I never expected any serious problems like the ones we encountered in the past.

About the new material: I’ve seen a playlist of all the completed songs. I talked to James about them just after Christmas, and I’m wondering if the writing process is still going on now even though you’ve got what seems to be more than enough material for an album. Is it at the point now where you’re thinking “gee, maybe we shouldn’t write any more stuff?

JP: Well, in a way I guess. I’m always writing, and even have more stuff at home that I probably won’t get to for a long time. It’s just a process that you do no matter what; it’s just a matter of what we’re going to do collectively as a group, and I think that even though we’re over here touring, that our energies are focused on recording the new album.

Is there any concern with people, the media let’s say, will think Dream Theater is being a little self-indulgent given the scope of the songs? You guys are known for your epics, but you have a lot of songs this time around that break the a-minute mark.

JP: The thing I’m worried about is fitting stuff on the album. I kinda believe that a record shouldn’t be that long, so if you try to pack everything into an hour you can’t have a lot of long songs. There’s so much stuff I’d like to see on the new album. I think there are some sections that are kinda meandering... (laughs)... maybe we could afford to lose them. Still, it’s also part of our identity.

So has it been written in stone that you guys aren’t going to be doing a double album?

JP: Yeah. Basically, we presented the idea of a double CD to the label and they were like, ‘uh, I don’t think so’. I think the idea is – and it makes sense – is that it’s more difficult to sell a double album, because it’s too expensive. I think a smarter thing would be for us to record a lot of new material and maybe put out an EP later in the year.

I heard ‘Metropolis Part II’ has been written and it comes in around twenty-some-odd minutes...

JP: Yeah, it’s written. I’m just finishing up the lyrics. It’s another one of those epics... I don’t know what’s wrong with us... (laughs)

It must be really frustrating having all this new material for so long, just waiting to be recorded.

JP: It’s frustrating, sure. For me, one of the best parts of being in this business professionally, is being able to go into the studio and record; that whole creative process brings me a lot of satisfaction.

I have a bootleg of the Toad’s Place show from the December shows, and I love the new stuff. I was noticing last night (first show, in Nurnberg, Germany) that you could pick out the fans that were there just to hear ‘Pull Me Under’ and ‘Metropolis’ and those that were there to hear the new stuff. It was like a weeding-out process, separating the posers from the true fans.

JP: That’s cool. I think the shows in December and doing these shows is actually a very cool experience. We’re getting to see which songs feel right live, and what the reaction is overall. I think they’re all good songs to play live, and it’s been very positive so far.

When you’re doing your guitar clinics and you compose pieces to play, say an exercise on chromatics or techniques, does that material ever make it into actual DT songs? There’s a part of the first solo in ‘Lines In The Sand’ that sounds like one of those pieces I heard you play as a clinic last year.

JP: Sometimes I do that, but not in this case. A lot of the melodic elements of ‘Lines In The Sand’ are based on vocal melodies and some of the keyboard melodies that Derek came in with. In that song I’m mostly doubling what he’s doing. Sometimes that material will work its way in though. I’m doing more clinics by the way. Our last show here is on the 19th, and on the 21st I start a string of sixteen clinics through Europe.

Great. More Dream Theater oriented events to attend... One thing I’ve noticed while living in Europe are the number of metal bands that emulate Dream Theater or cite you guys as major influences. There are so many of them it’s unbelievable. Is that sort of thing shocking or surprising to you at all?

JP: Yeah. It’s very flattering, but it’s also very bizarre. Obviously, being a fan of music and playing guitar, I think of all the bands and artists that influenced me. They were total icons. It’s strange to hear stuff like that.

Have you ever considered doing a solo album at any point in time?

JP: I have enough material to do that sort of thing. Yeah, I’ve thought about it. I think there are some things I’ve written that are kinda different from what we’re doing as a band, and I’d love to record one day. Some jazzy stuff... I don’t know. I have a lot of different things, and it would be interesting to do that.

With a song like ‘Take Away My Pain’, it has a great deal of commercial appeal. Considering the personal meaning that it has for you, would you ever have problems seeing it turned into a ‘single’ if radio picked up on it or the record company wanted to push it? Would that sort of thing lessen the value of the song for you?

JP: No, because the subject matter is very universal. I think that most people at some point in their lives had to, or will have to deal with the issue of losing a loved one and suffering. I think that people can relate to it, and that it could bring a connection to people who are going through something like that.

Everything is personal. There’s a song called ‘Hollow Years’ that I wrote; it sounds kind of Sting-ish, and the subject matter in that is very personal. I’m not writing stuff for it not to be heard.

Is the writing process this time around different from when you went in to do the ‘Awake’ material? The popular view is that the new songs are far superior to the songs on ‘Awake’.

JP: Songwriting is weird. You can’t force a song to come into being. You can’t say “if I wrote this song two months ago, it would have sounded better”. I think if anything we’re becoming better at what we’re doing; that’s the way I like to look at it. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and for us that means the songwriting, the live performances, everything. Not everything is going to be great; we did write 16 songs and not all of them are going to make the final cut.

When Kevin left the band, a lot of industry people were saying “oh Dream Theater’s in trouble; one of their best writers is gone”. Did you hear a lot of that sort of thing?

JP: Yeah. People were wondering if I’d be taking on more pressure with Kevin being gone, and yes, there was some pressure. I’m a big fan of the way Kevin writes and we had a great relationship, a great writing chemistry, so I was even wondering what was going to happen. I think it’s a matter of having your self-confidence and being able to stand on your own two feet.

Derek’s been totally involved in the writing, so there’s a great chemistry there, and we’ve all grown as songwriters individually. Now you have all five of us contributing to the songs, so we’re constantly getting better.

You’re heralded by some as being a ‘guitar god’ or a ‘musical genius’. Does that sort of hero worship bother you?

JP: Well... to me, I feel like I’m the same guy I’ve always been since before we got signed. I have my limitations and my weaknesses... so, it kinda doesn’t make any sense... (laughs)...

Final Note: Big thanks to John for letting me do this interview while he was supposed to be eating dinner, and to Bill Barclay for taking care of all my bullshit while having to deal with the more important stuff at hand.