Charlie Dominici interview (excerpts)

Speaking from his home in San Diego, I begin by asking the singer what he’d been doing for all those years?

‘The real question would be, why did I get out of the music business in the first place?’ he offers. ‘I got away from Dream Theater ... the band was going nowhere. When I left, it wasn’t a happy time for any of us. It was hard because of the conflicts we had been having internally for sometime. That split, for me, was like a last straw. It wasn’t my first band. I had been in bands all my life. I had been up and down, in and out, back and forth, been there done that. I was just burnt out with everything - the music business, the creative stuff and just being an artist. I was getting so discouraged with doing good stuff and then getting nothing in return.’

‘So I finally said: ‘You know what? I’m not doing this any more. I’m just gonna be a Working Man Joe. I’m just gonna get an ordinary job. And I did. I went from job to job - sales, finance, mortgages, this and that for many years. And I got caught up in all that, because it’s not easy to stop working and stop having an income.’

He continues: ‘Many years passed, but the important thing that happened, was that enough time had gone by for me to forget the bad stuff and to get back to why I loved the music. When I got that passion back, I got that urge back to create some music, to play the guitar again, to write and sing and it all started to come together.’

Three years ago Charlie answered all those fans who had asked if he would again step on the same stage as his former band mates, when he joined them in Los Angeles to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the debut disc.

This performance was later released as an official bootleg entitled "When Dream And Day Reunite". Charlie is keen though, to put the record straight on the part this show played in reuniting him with the music business.

‘Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t that show that made me want to get back to music,’ he says. ‘It was that show that gave me the final confirmation that, yes, this is what I’ve been missing. This is what I am.’

Charlie says he always remained in contact with his former band as their career blossomed. He even sang at Mike Portnoy’s wedding.

‘I go to see them whenever they’re playing and they sort out backstage passes and stuff for me. We’ve always remained good friends. Even James LaBrie. He and I have become very good friends. He’s great guy and if they’d have asked who should replace me, then he’d have been my choice. He’s very talented and extremely well trained. If I had half as much training as he’s had, then I’d be quite a good singer!’

And Charlie is brutally honest when asked how, 18 years down the line, he views his contribution to the development of the Dream Theater brand.

‘I can’t listen to that album,’ he groans. ‘The production is terrible. What the producer did to my voice made me sound like a mouse.’

‘You’ve listened to the new album, right? A lot of people say to me that my voice has changed. No it hasn’t changed. Now you’re hearing my voice the way it’s supposed to be heard. At the time, the band wanted me to sing very high and I was singing out of my range. In fact it’s so out of my range, that when James LaBrie performed that album, he had a hard time.’

‘All the vocals are so high, nobody can take a breath. I almost did that purposely because I knew I was leaving the band. I figured whoever was gonna replace me, I wasn’t gonna make it easy for them! I remember thinking: ‘I’m gonna punch these notes so high, whoever is gonna come in and audition for the band is really gonna struggle’. It almost worked, cos for two years they couldn’t get anyone!’