James LaBrie article-interview (excerpt)

As a result of his ongoing vocal studies, LaBrie approached the new Dream Theater album with a lot more confidence than in the past.

“The vocals on Train Of Thought sound better than they have on previous Dream Theater albums because my voice was being used like a muscle that’s in great shape. I approached the new album the same way I always do, that this is my career and we’re only as good as our last one. It’s very important to me to be involved and immersed in the music, to the point where everything else around me doesn’t exist. Mike and John (Petrucci/guitars) produced the album, and they saw how tense I was in the studio, so there was a mutual respect. There were the odd moments of frustration when I was getting tired and I wanted to keep going mentally, but physically I knew I had to call it a day.”

Train Of Thought marks the first time LaBrie was involved in the creative process from beginning to end, contributing ideas during the writing of the music, whereas before he would come in only after the music had been completed. The results are pretty damn impressive.

“I think my presence affected my performance because I was constantly exposed to the songs, from their inception to their completion,” he offers. “That allowed me to really sink into the movements and meaning of each song. Being present throughout the writing process gave me the opportunity to internalize and be sure of my parts and role when it came time to sing. As for the difference it made on the actual songs, I put in my two cents here and there, but not enough to actually change the direction or the outcome of the music. It still came down to my input when it was time to sit down with Mike and John to construct the vocal melodies. From this point on, I see no other way of approaching each and every future album. Taking notes and being there put me in a whole new interpretation of the music and its overall effect.”

As for the difference between Dream Theater and working on Frameshift, two things James was and is very passionate about...

“The way I look at Dream Theater compared to an outside project is that it’s a much more tense experience,” says LaBrie. “It has to be. This is the real deal, and we had to make an incredible album with Train Of Thought, which we did (laughs). Train Of Thought is a much heavier album compared to anything we’ve done in the past, so it’s really nice to hear you say that you like it. At the same time, we’re not going to satisfy everyone. There are a lot of deep, deep prog-heads that think Train Of Thought is too heavy, that we’ve gone too far in that direction. But, those people have to realize that we’re not going to repeat ourselves. We have to keep experimenting, and I think that’s what makes Dream Theater such an exciting friggin’ journey (laughs).”

LaBrie finds the idea of Frameshift cutting into Dream Theater’s pie beyond any consideration despite the unexpectedly positive feedback to the project coming his way.

“I really don’t see how Frameshift could interrupt or be intrusive in any way to Dream Theater’s world. Dream Theater is a powerful enough entity that I don’t think anything is going to threaten it or steal its thunder. I think it’s exciting for the fans when one of the guys in Dream Theater goes off to do a project because they get to hear another side of that musician.”