Interview: John Petrucci

On March 30, 2006, Dream Theater pulled into the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts to play one of the final shows of the Octavarium tour. It had been nine months since we first mentioned to John Petrucci the idea of him doing an interview with us for New Voice (we had just presented him with issue 1 at the time). Finally circumstances allowed us to work something out and sat down with John backstage at the Orpheum about 40 minutes before doors opened. Aside from the Octavarium tour and future plans, we also talked about Suspended Animation, something that we had been wanting to ask John about for a long time.

RP: Right now you're coming to the end of the 20th anniversary tour. It seems like Dream Theater have achieved a lot in the past year – the release of Octavarium, the live shows have become a big, well-oiled machine, the band's performance has been branching out into new areas (like James' keyboard bits and pieces and Jordan’s experimentation and stuff). You've also played some of your biggest shows. What are your feelings on the past year or so in the life of DT?

JP: It's been a good year. First of all it's been a successful tour, which is important. Just to be at the point in our career where we've been together for 20 years, the last album we did was our last one with that particular record deal, that kind of closes out a chapter and to have the success we've had has been really, really cool – I was just talking to our agent about that. Even with this being the last tour of this album cycle and so far from when the album was released – still the shows are sold out. So it's been a successful tour so that's been great. It's also I think, expanding the places that we've played, as you know going to South America and some other places...

KP: We were going to ask about playing such huge venues...

RP: Did it feel any different to walk out in front of 20,000 people as the headlining band?

JP: Playing the show didn't feel any different, just knowing that all those people were there because of us. It wasn't like we were on a festival package or there was a band we were opening for and these are countries where we've never been before. So we're just coming there for the first time so it's not like we're developing a new market – it's just like bang – 20,000 kids. So that was a very satisfying experience.

RP: There's been a fan-base there waiting for it to finally happen...

JP: Yeah, exactly.

RP: Obviously, on the South American dates you were using the stripped down 'B' rig for the first time. Could you describe how that differed from your normal set up? Did you yourself have your rig any different?

JP: The biggest thing, as far as our presentation, is that we don't have the production. Normally we have the screens and the movies and the whole thing but we don't have any of that. It's ironic in some ways that we're playing such big concerts and then we don't have (the production) – it's just the band. As far as the gear, yeah, everything's a lot smaller and my gear was completely different. I put together a secondary rig and only had two cabinets on stage. We had to try to keep the weight down, that was the goal.

RP: Did you reduce the rack as well?

JP: Oh yeah! Tiny! But the irony in all of that is that it sounded so good. In fact I thought it sounded better than my regular rig so for this last tour, this US tour, I've been using my 'B' rig! [laughter] So that's how that worked out – who knew?!

RP: So carrying on with the topic of big shows, we're now only a couple of days away from the finale of the tour, the Radio City show which obviously is being filmed for a DVD. This question would also apply for previous shows like Live at Budokan or the G3 Live in Tokyo thing. Do you or the others approach these shows differently in terms of preparation or is there added pressure overall or just in your mental state?

KP: Do you have to think about different things?

JP: Well not really, the added pressure is that we're filming it and its only one night. So you want everything to go right. That's really the added pressure. If we were filming multiple evenings it would be a whole other story. Technically you want everything to be pulled off right, you want the band to be tight and you want to be able to remember everything. You want to play good, look good, sound good and have nothing fail, so there's that element. But other than that, it's really no different. I think sometimes when you think about those things it makes you a little nervous so you just have to try and get on with it. I tend to get a little nervous, even the G3 filming – you don't know why – it's not like you don't know how to play guitar or you're gonna forget. There's no real reason, but you feel a little bit of added pressure.

RP: There's just that camera with that little red light on it!

JP: [laughs] Yeah exactly!

RP: Mike has said in the past that each of the videos and DVDs have had a different aim or a unique nature in a sense, like the old Japanese Images and Words thing was home videos and some live footage and then 5YIALT was a storyline mixture of both of those things covering quite a length of time and then Live Scenes was the concept thing and Budokan was a whole live show. What are the 'goals' for this upcoming DVD?

KP: Is there anything special about it?

JP: Well I think the number one special thing about it is that it's our 20th anniversary...

KP: Is it going to reflect the anniversary nature of the tour?

JP: Yeah definitely. It's something that to other people might not be that big of a deal, but to us it's kind of weird that we've been a band for 20 years. We wanted to commemorate it in some way. Because you're just on the road, you play the show from one city to the next 'goodbye see you later!' and so we wanted to have a snapshot of that. I think for us, because of the nature of our music and the way that we play and our live shows, I think the live DVDs are very important. I think because of all the different records and the stylistic differences from one to the next some people like this, some people like that, some people don't like this... When you see us play them all together – to me at all makes sense and I think people pick up on that. So it's an important element for us.

RP: So still on the 20th anniversary thing, how do you feel about playing the really early stuff – the When Dream and Day Unite songs [JP smirks] and for example Another Won?

JP: Well Another Won’s even weirder – musically it's not so far-fetched, like if we play Another Won and right before that we play The Root of All Evil, it's the same 5 guys playing it and it sounds pretty much the same. The biggest thing that gets me is the lyrics... like those lyrics – I don't know what the hell I was thinking! Thinking about mythology and this and that... some of the vocal lines and the lyrics kinda kill me!

RP: Still on the DVDs thread, last year you covered Dark Side of the Moon – this contrasted the previous cover albums like Number of the Beast and Master of Puppets in terms of the technical and stylistic demands are somewhat different...

JP: Oh yeah...

RP: Did you have to work hard on learning the tracks or did you know the parts before?

JP: Oh Dark Side I pretty much knew. The funny thing about that record is there's not a ton of guitar, it's very loose...

RP: Very vibe orientated...

JP: Yes, very vibe, and there's a lot of repetition that goes on and then there's certainly like a few classic guitar solos that" are key. There's a lot of grooves and vibe...

KP: Did you work to accurately reproduce everything or did you put your own vibe into it?

JP: A little bit of both. I mean I wanted to get the notes right! I don't have the same type of sound as David Gilmour – playing Metallica and Maiden was a little closer to the sound I have as a guitar player, but I tried with the stuff that I had.

RP: How do you go about preparing for any of the cover albums? Do you tend to listen and transcribe your parts or...?

JP: I don't transcribe it, no. I just, listen to it a lot.

RP: I suppose with these albums you probably find they're the kinds of things you've played...

JP: I kind of know it already yeah. I mean, I might not know every track on the record, but I know them, I know how they go. And after listening to it a bunch of times I pick up a guitar with the CD or iPod and learn it and then I think the repetition of rehearsing it with the guys is another way of finishing off.

KP: So did you see the (DSOTM) DVD yet?

JP: Mh-hm, yeah.

KP: Are you pleased with it?

JP: Yeah, it came out great. It's one of those things – we played it two times – in Holland and then in England and the second show was way better than the first show. And that was the one that we filmed so thankfully it worked out. But yeah, it came out great and everybody played well and it looks really cool.

KP: I think it was Richard's 25th DT show and he said it was his favourite of those he's seen – a lot of other people said that too.

JP: Oh wow, that's so cool. You know sometimes you kind of capture the magic and it works. There were a lot of elements to that night. There was the whole video presentation and we wanted to try to capture the Floyd thing and there are really successful Floyd cover bands out there like the 'Australian Pink Floyd' and 'The Machine' who really do it so well – we were challenged to rise to the occasion. It was a good night.

RP: Onto Suspended Animation now. The recording and the release of Suspended Animation was quite a lengthy process in and around DT commitments and personal or family time. Do you know what sort of time period it was recorded over and where did you do a lot of the recording for it?

JP: I did all the recording at Doug Oberkircher's house. Doug has been a long-time engineer for Dream Theater and he lives right next door to BearTracks (where SFAM among others was recorded) he's their neighbour and he built a recording studio in his house. I think he called it Little Bear actually! We've done some work there, different overdubs and stuff with Dream Theater, so it was perfect for me as a little studio – I did everything there. As for how long, I forget the course of time it took. Basically what I did was got all the musicians together and did the basic tracks within a few days. Once that was done I started doing overdubs. Then we had tours coming up, I had a shoulder dislocation, I had all these different things going on, more touring, album and you know I just kind of did it piecemeal. I would call Doug and say 'hey, you got a Wednesday through Friday? I'll come up.’ Because it's kind of far from where I live.

RP: I remember asking you about it (how long he thought it was going to take) once at an aftershow. When you were somewhere in the middle of it and you were like 'No idea!'

[laughter]

JP: I didn't! I guess I purposely didn't put pressure on myself in that sense, but eventually it got done!

RP: Was an instrumental solo album something you've always wanted to do?

JP: Yeah.

RP: Or was it inspired by the G3 offer?

JP: Well that definitely spurred it. I mean I always wanted to do one, because my big influences besides being guitarists that are in bands like Rush and stuff are solo guitar players and I always wanted to do a solo album. A guitar instrumental album. But G3 definitely gave me a reason to write more music and then once that music was out there people wanted to hear it so it kinda sparked the whole thing.

RP: How different was it writing in a singular basis compared to the collaborative nature with Dream Theater?

KP: And nobody standing over your shoulder saying 'do this, do that'?

JP: In some ways, it's like, you second guess yourself a lot, because you have nobody to bounce ideas off of, so you're like 'Is this cool enough? Is this going on for too long?' You kind of make all the decisions that way. But you know in Dream Theater I'm used to being a writing... erm... I don't know what you call it... erm... power! [laughter] So it's no different for me. It's not like all of a sudden I'm on my own and I don't know what I'm doing, so in that sense it's fine. I didn't have a problem with any of that. I think it is not having anybody to bounce ideas off of that's a little bit consuming – you kinda wonder about that. 'Who could I call?!'

RP: Was there anything you were listening to for inspiration when you were starting to put the album together?

KP: Richard has picked up on a few things...

RP: Weil like the Steve Morse influence in Glasgow Kiss and Damage Control and the Satriani thing going on in Curve and Tunnel Vision...

JP: Right. I didn't listen to any albums like 'Right I'm going to do a solo album, and then listen to albums' – it's just all my influences from the years and I think that there are elements of all those guys that I like that are cool about them that I wanted to do. Like 'Oh it would be great to do a jazz blues like Gary Moore – Lost Without You, it'd be great to do just a groove thing like Satriani or a Celtic thing or whatever’. So those are just ideas that I wanted to follow through with.

RP: How was it working with Dave LaRue? Considering you're a big Steve Morse/Dregs fan?

JP: Oh it was wonderful. He really is (wonderful) on so many levels. First of all he's a really great bass player, can play anything and he's so professional, y'know. It's like he just learns everything, comes in prepared, he's there. Even live his sound is good, he's just the guy you want.

RP: When you were touring with G3 what was it like working with Mike?

KP: We read that you didn't want to work with him originally but then it ended up that way and maybe it was for the best... What were the pros and cons of having him with you?

JP: On the record it was important for me that it was just my solo album. I didn't want any other band members, I didn't want any 'guests', I didn't want it to be like 'featuring...' or anything. I just wanted my own thing, so that worked out fine. When it came to doing the tour, which was obviously before the record, I was in the situation where Dream Theater was in the studio first of all and I didn't have any music really. I had Curve, I had written that a while back, I had Lost Without You, but when they asked me I didn't really have any music written. So I was kinda in this nervous spot. 'How am I gonna do this? Can I do this?' I almost turned it down. I think touring with Mike helped me find a comfort zone.

RP: How much warning did you actually have?

KP: Did 'their people call your people?' How did it come about?

JP: Their manager called my manager. Frank (Solomon) our manager asked me if I'd be interested in doing it – I said 'no'. [laughs] Eventually I talked to Joe, but it was through management initially.

RP: Did you learn anything from the experience of touring with Satriani and Vai?

JP: Did I learn?! I guess so! Every night we played together, we jammed together, so I was standing so close to these guys who I respect so much, I'd pick their brains all the time just soloing back and forth.

RP: You see some of that on Live in Tokyo, some of the peering over each other’s fretboards...

JP: Oh sure! The cool thing about both those guys, they play so well, everybody knows they play their asses off, they're unbelievable, they're pioneers, they're gods. But they're really cool people, they're so nice, they're so, like, together. They're totally professional, they're not f**king weird, or drunk or irresponsible. They're totally, totally cool and so the whole vibe of the tour is that way, all the musicians, everybody just has this (positivity), it's just like a smooth tour. And then there's also this very gracious feeling and there's a lot of respect between the different players. I think that's so important. It's really cool.

RP: Would you want to do another solo album?

JP: Yeah, sure.

RP: Would you – and this a quite a popular question from our forum – if the opportunity presented itself do a European G3 tour?

JP: You know, I would absolutely do one. But G3 is a Joe Satriani production, so it's up to Joe and his management where they want to take G3. Certainly if they asked me I would say yes. But I don't know if they plan on coming to Europe any time soon or not. Sure I'd do it.

RP: Now the last few questions are looking to the future. Obviously Dream Theater are taking a well-earned summer break, but have the band actually put any thought yet into the next album [JP nods] or have any ideas come through in the last few months [more nodding].

JP: I would have to say no! No ideas, just a total blank slate. There's no riffs flying around, no concepts or anything. We just haven't thought about it yet.

RP: So when would you be looking to start working on the next album?

JP: When the summer's over. September, something like that.

RP: You've mentioned the whole album cycle deal situation. Have the band started negotiations or worked on any plans in relation to a deal?

JP: Yeah. There's no specific one that we're in negotiations with, but there are a bunch of offers that are on the table. So that's kind of part of our job for the next couple of months – to figure that out as well. It's obviously an important step for us.

KP: So people can stop saying 'that's the end of DT' now?

JP: [laughs] No, there's no reason to say that! They can stop that! It was just a record deal!

KP: I know! But...

JP: And it wasn't a very good one to begin with so we should've been over it a long time ago!

RP: Do you have any musical plans outside of Dream Theater over the next few months? Obviously Mike tends to keep himself busy with side projects and the like...

JP: Yeah he likes to be busy!

RP: Does that kind of thing appeal to you? Have you got anything you'd like to do?

JP: The only thing that I've thought about a bunch is that there are inklings of G3 rumours, but I'm not sure where... or when! So if it did come up, maybe that. Also, now that I did my solo album, a popular question that people ask me is 'what about an instructional DVD?' The last one I did was so long ago, more than ten years! So I'm gonna do one of those. And part of my inspiration for that is that I'm building a recording studio in my house. It's like 70% done and when I have the time to do that and I've finished then I'm going to do that (DVD) project.

KP: Would you be likely to ever do a project like the side-projects Mike has done? Are there any people you'd like to try to work with?

JP: Hmm, I'm not sure. In as far as guitar players are concerned I would love to do a record with Steve Morse. But he's so busy that's a hard one. There's not really something that's my dream like 'if I could play with these guys'. Not really. I'm definitely interested in doing another solo album – that was fun to do, so I'll probably do another one of them.

RP: Considering all the time you spend with Dream Theater and then trying to have a family life too, how much time do you spend learning and practising these days? Obviously it's well known, as discussed in Rock Discipline, that you used to have a very regimented practise regime. Do you still have elements of that? Or is it a lot more trimmed down now?

JP: It depends; I like to answer this way: It really depends on what I'm doing. We're on the road right now. We're playing every night, there's a lot of playing going on. I do practise, I practice every day, but I might not practise six hours a day. When you're doing the shows, you've got to keep yourself healthy and not get any hand injuries and stuff like that. A lot of times after a tour I'll wanna take a breather from it. So I'll do that and then I kinda get the itch and go back to it. Then when we're in the studio for writing, there's a lot of playing for those periods as well. Recording time is like playing non-stop because you try and work on things, try and get performances and stuff like that and I think that my practising is more goal oriented, it's very specifically targeted. Where when I was a kid I was just practising in my room because I wanted to get better at guitar – now the practising is leading towards something. I mean there's still the element within me that wants to get better on the guitar and learn new things. I look at other people's instructional things and magazines and on the net, I still have that buzz. I still do that, I think that I'm addicted to it, highly addicted to guitar playing!

RP: Are there any further developments planned for the Musicman signature model?

JP: Yeah, we're making a couple of slight changes to the model that should be out soon. Nothing really drastic – originally we did talk about some drastic changes, like getting a more traditional model, with a fixed bridge and a neck-through design and stuff like that, but we kind of abandoned that idea. They made me a couple of really, really sweet guitars – I'll play one tonight – that are a lot different. They're more vintage looking, alder body, (flamed) maple top, they have different pickups, with like pickup covers and rings and like a nice binding – very, very pretty guitars.

KP: Kind of like a Les Paul vibe?

JP: Yeah. When people see them they're gonna want them to make them because they're beautiful.

RP: Finally, another question from our forum: What do you actually think of the OLP (the budget version of the Ernie Ball/Musicman JP signature guitar)??

JP: I think it came out really good. Obviously there are limitations – the point of that guitar is to make an affordable version of my guitar. But in working with those guys I think they did a great job. I mean I have them, I've played them, I think they're cool, they're really cool.

Our thanks go to John Petrucci for his time and insights and to Rikk Feulner for going the extra mile in arranging this interview!