Proud to be Prog

Dream Theater’s John Petrucci scorches through Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

by Shawn Hammond

You don’t have to be a progressive-rock freak to name the genre’s grand masters – Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, ELP, King Crimson, and Genesis. But since the glory days of these giants, the only prog band to command the same level of repute has been Dream Theater. Combining ridiculous chops, grandiose arrangements, and epic stories with a heavier edge and modern tones, Dream Theater pays homage to their influences while blazing a trail all their own. In the process they’ve almost single-handedly carried the genre into the new millennium. • Prog prominence didn’t come easy, however. Although founders John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy (drums), and John Myung (bass) hit it off immediately when they met at Berklee College of Music in 1985, they have been plagued by personnel changes. In fact, the band went through so many singers they considered going totally instrumental. Things weren’t much easier with keyboardists. The group’s original keyboard player, Kevin Moore, left after its third album – the dark and heavy Awake – in 1994. Then ex-Kiss/Alice Cooper keyboardist Derek Sherinian was recruited for three albums: 1995’s A Change of Seasons, 1997’s Falling into Infinity, and 1998’s Once in a Livetime.

A turning point came in 1998, when Petrucci and Portnoy tapped bass ace Tony Levin and ex-Dixie Dregs keyboard whiz Jordan Rudess for a side project called Liquid Tension Experiment. By the time the second LTE album was finished in mid ‘99, Portnoy and Petrucci were convinced they’d finally found the perfect Dream Theater keyboardist in Rudess. Four months later, the band emerged from the studio with the double-CD concept album Scenes from a Memory.

This year’s Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence [Elektra] is another double album – this one featuring an eight-part, 42-minute title track. And while some might consider prog passe, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani thought enough of Petrucci’s technique, stature, and relevance that they asked him to join the last G3 tour.

Did Six Degrees start as a double-album concept?

No, it blossomed into that. We started writing in the studio, and the songs were coming out long, of course [laughs]. When we realized how long the project was going to be, we thought another double album would be a cool follow up to Scenes-which did so well for us. We thought, “Nobody is doing double albums now, so it’ll be a nice contrast to what’s out there.”

Have you guys always composed in the studio?

No, Scenes was the first time. We’d just done Liquid Tension that way, and we loved the spontaneity and the energy. The studio environment is really cool – you’re all set up and you have these great sounds – so it’s the perfect environment for creativity.

Dream Theater has written epic works and very un-prog-like concise songs. How do you reconcile both approaches?

It’s a delicate balance. Early on, our writing style was a bit immature. We were young guys who were into Rush and Yes, and we’d write these long instrumentals and just put vocals on top. When I think about that now, I kind of laugh. But one of the things we liked about that approach was that spirit where you don’t know what to expect next. But now we’ve matured and we’re much more aware of the big picture. We understand the importance of the lyrics and the vocals, and how all the instruments interact.

How has having three different keyboardists in Dream Theater changed the band’s approaches to composing and performing?

The keyboard player has always been an integral part of our sound because we have a lot of lines that are interwoven, doubled, and harmonized between the guitar and keyboards. So each guy’s style completely influenced the way songs came out. They all came from different backgrounds, but Jordan is perfect for this band. It’s pretty incredible. When we’re writing, sometimes he doesn’t even have his keyboard – he just writes his part straight to paper.

Let’s talk about your solo in “Blind Faith” on the new record – are you playing a baritone guitar?

Yeah, it’s a 6-string Ernie Ball Silhouette Bass Guitar with a 29 5/8” scale. Sterling Ball gave me one and told me to tune it up a fourth, to A. At the time, we were working on “Blind Faith” – which is in A – so it was perfect, and I used it for the whole song. That solo was hard to play! The strings on that guitar are really thick – like bass strings – and the treble strings feel loose because of the longer scale. It took a long time to get the intonation of my bends right.

The beginning of the solo has a different sound for you.

Yeah, that bluegrass sort of thing. I was hanging out at Sterling’s house and he was playing albums by all these amazing guys like Joe Maphis, Jerry Reed, Tal Farlow, Albert Lee, and Speedy West. He ended up sending me about 20 old albums of guys just wailing. It made me think, “Where have I been?” I also had the chance to play with Albert Lee, and to experience these guitarists doing all this chicken pickin’. I think it rubbed off a little bit. The only part of that song that I didn’t play on the Silhouette Bass was the line I doubled with the keyboard at the end of the song. For that, I used my Ernie Ball signature 6-string so I’d have the range to double Jordan’s part.

Could you detail your signature guitars?

They come in 6- and 7-string versions, and, to me, they’re the ultimate guitars. All the things that are import ant to me were addressed. From the beginning, Sterling said, “We won’t stop until we get it right – even if I have to make 25 prototypes.” He’d love to have a successful instrument that sold a lot, but he wanted it to be my ultimate tool – and everyone at the company stuck to that promise. In fact, they had to retool for a lot of this stuff.

The feel of an instrument is really important to me, and that’s why this guitar has a lot of ergonomic things. For instance, I have a very specific way that I like to hold my arm, and lots of guitars are uncomfortable because the top edge digs into my forearm and puts it at a weird angle. To get the front body contours right, we put lotion on my forearm, and then I played the guitar. Afterward you could see where my arm had been rubbing, so they knew where to sculpt it. For the neck, I wanted something a bit flatter on the back and with a flatter radius. We also experimented with the look. The paint is the same kind they use on automobiles – it changes color depending on your viewpoint. Then there’s the sound. Steve Blucher from DiMarzio basically beefed up my previous pickups by making the high notes sound a little thicker, and the low notes sound a little tighter. I string the guitars with Ernie Ball RPS .010s, and I use Dunlop Jazz III picks.

Doesn’t the guitar also have a custom bridge?

Yes. With my old Ibanez guitars, I got used to resting the side of my palm on the Lo Pro bridge – it’s very flat and doesn’t feel like there’s anything there. So I wanted something that had a lot of surface area, but didn’t have any sharp edges. I got rid of the locking nut and fine tuners, though, because I think the guitar sounds a lot better this way. The tremolo still plays really smooth like a Floyd, and it can go up or down. Tuning isn’t a problem because the guitars have Schaller locking tuners. This bridge also has built-in piezo pickups, so I can switch back and forth between electric and acoustic sounds.

What other gear did you use for the album?

I primarily used a Mesa/Boogie Mk II C+ Head – which has been my favorite for years because it’s so tight and articulate . I also used a Dual Rectifier for a wider, grittier sound – like on “Glass Prison” – and I used a Heartbreaker for a few sections. I brought all my touring stuff into the studio, but I ended up relying on the Mk II C+ and Dual Rectifier heads and one Boogie 4x12 cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30s. For some of the acoustic stuff I used a Tacoma JK50CE4.

How did you mic the amps?

We set up the cabinet in a big room, then we put the mics – a Shure SM57, a Sennheiser MD 421, and a Studio Projects C3 – right on the grill. I don’t like an ambient sound – I like it to sound as if your ear is in the speaker.

What about effects?

I didn’t record with many effects, but when I was recording guide tracks for “The Great Debate,” I went direct through a Line 6 Pod – set to the “Rectified” model – and an Eventide GTR4000 Ultra Harmonizer with the “Angel Echoes” preset selected. I ended up keeping those takes because they sounded really trippy. I also used an EBow on “Disappear” for a science-fiction-ish melody. For a couple of parts, I played through my T.C. Electronic 2290 or this really great AMS delay. All the other effects were added during mixdown.

Did you use any pedals?

On “Disappear,” there’s a track on the left side where I plugged into a CryBaby wah and a Boss delay pedal, and then straight in to my amp. I manipulated the delay pedal’s rate knob to detune notes and make them cascade and distort into each other. I also used the wah and the Eventide – set for a really loud repeat and a backward harmony – for a noise solo at the end of “Misunderstood.”

That solo has a very strange feel.

I knew I wanted the backward effect, but then Mike suggested that I play the solo, flip the tape, and learn the backward version of the solo – which was very strange. Then I recorded myself playing the backward version, and flipped the tape over again. It ended up being the frontward solo played backward, if you get my drift. The effect is just bizarre!

What were some of the more interesting things about recording the guitars for this album?

There were several. For the noise solo at the end of “Misunderstood,” I turned it up beyond ear-bleed level and just improvised. I just tried to do the most raucous, radical thing I could think of – it was pretty hysterical. Another fun thing was writing “Overture,” the intro piece to “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.” It was kind of Frank Zappa-ish – we wrote out the arrangement just using descriptives, like “beautiful melody section,” “Danny Elfman part,” “Bartok counterpoint feel,” “majestic pompous feel,” or “dark and scary.” Jordan had this orchestra sound on his keyboard, and I’d shout out descriptives to which he’d improvise parts – and a lot of those became parts of the song. For “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence,” which has several movements and takes up an entire CD, I wanted to present certain themes in different settings – like a classical piece. The first movement, “Overture,” presents several themes for the first time, and then a few of those are restated on the guitar before they’re done as vocal sections. The cool thing about that was that I was able to play melodically for really long periods, and I love that – it’s very satisfying. It’s kind of like Pink Floyd – I love what David Gilmour does on “Shine on You Crazy Diamond.”

What was the recording medium for the album?

We recorded basics on 2” analog tape, and some of the vocals on Ensoniq’s Paris hard-disk system. We transferred everything to Pro Tools for mixing. I’m really old school, and I prefer analog sounds. But I’m doing a solo project now, and I’ve found that Paris sounds amazing – better than Pro Tools. lt’s very warm and fat sounding.

How did the G3 tour come about?

My manager asked me if I was interested, but I thought, “I’m not a solo artist – how could I do that tour?’’ Then I talked to my wife, and she said, “Are you crazy? Of course you’re going to do it!” It was a great honor – I couldn’t believe it.

How did you prepare for the tour?

I wrote all new material, except for one Liquid Tension song that had a section of a Dream Theater tune thrown in. As I was writing for the tour, I sat down and figured out what I could do to stand apart from Joe [Satriani] and Steve [Vai]. It was just like doing a school report – if you make an outline, you’ll stay focused.

How did you differentiate yourself from Satriani and Vai?

I decided to play heavier and darker, with a lot of progressive, odd-time stuff thrown in.

How much do you practice these days?

I practice a lot, but if I’m not recording or getting ready for a tour, it’s hard to maintain a normal practice schedule because I get caught up in life and family stuff. When we’re writing and recording, however, I play so much that it’s almost too much. You’ve got to put the guitar down after a while.

Because you get sick of it?

No, because your fingers start to fall off!

What’s one of the biggest things you think guitarists are missing out on these days?

Judging by a lot of the commercial rock that’s out there, what’s really missing is improvisation-and that’s one of the things I love most about music. It used to happen a lot more, but now people make fun of it. There aren’t even any solos anymore, and that’s what I used to look forward to on the old Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, and Rush records. These days, kids practice – and they’re certainly into music – but I wonder what effect today’s concise songwriting style will have on their development as creative players.

Photo caption: “We create moments in the live set where we can improvise,” says John Petrucci, “and those are the fun parts of the show. It’s also where our songs come from.”

Photo caption: “When I was invited on G3, Dream Theater was already recording at noon every day,” related Petrucci, shown with Joe Satriani [left] and Steve Vai [right]. “So in order to write for the G3 tour, I had to get up at eight every morning to demo stuff. After all that work, I thought, ‘Maybe I should do a solo album.’”