John Petrucci – Dream Theater

Dream Theater are the definitive word for indefinable progressive rock with a razor edge. They own the market in America for what they do and their albums are staples of any true fan for something different. John Petrucci, their eclectic songwriter/guitarist took the time to sit down and give you an inside view on the Systematic Chaos that makes them tick.

Interview by Jeffrey Easton.

Metal Exiles: Opeth and Dream Theater seem like a unique pairing. What brought you two together to tour?

John Petrucci: They are a band that are carrying the aggressive flag in a different way but the are all great players and they are definitely progressive. It seemed like a smart choice and Mike (Portnoy) has become good friends with Mikael (Åkerfeldt) so they have talked about touring for a while.

Metal Exiles: When you listen to them what do you find in their music that you like?

John: I like the songwriting, the musicianship, it sounds original to me. There are a lot of players out there that play well but it is how the music comes across. Is it something that is original or moving? Is it something that has not been done before? I think that they are doing it.

Metal Exiles: The first run for Systematic Chaos was with Redemption, how did that go for DT?

John: We go to know those guys pretty well and Ray from Fates Warning is an old friend of ours. The opening band Into Eternity were really cool guys to play with.

Metal Exiles: This is your second time in the Gibson Amphitheater for this tour. Not to many bands can pull that off these days. What keeps the fans coming back to see you guys again for the same album?

John: I think that we keep doing something different and the fans want to see something different. This time we have four bands so we are giving them a variety, we know that they do not want to get bored and not just have our show. The fans want to come out for an evening of music and get turned onto bands they might not otherwise know about.

Metal Exiles: What brought this package (Progressive Nation) together?

John: Mike has wanted to do this for a long time. After watching all of these festivals happening around us made us want to do this kind of thing for our fans. They really do not have a festival dedicated to progressive we thought that we would create our own and headline it.

Metal Exiles: You did Gigantour a few years ago, how did you fit in with that?

John: That was cool. There were a lot of bands that were very talented as far as the players. I think the focus of that was more metal though with Nevermore, Fear Factor and Megadeth.

Metal Exiles: Nevermore do have some progressive tendencies to their music.

John: They do and certainly the players are great as well.

Metal Exiles: Let’s get into the last disc, Systematic Chaos. Where did the title come from?

John: When we sat down to come up with a title for the record we went through all of the lyrics on the album and sometimes a phrase will jump out at us. Since it is from the songs it will tie the title into the album. We tried that with this and nothing popped out but the word Chaos did. We thought that it would be cool to have something on there that meant the opposite of that, like organized chaos. We brainstormed on that and came up with the title which describes our song writing persona.

Metal Exiles: That is one of the things that I like about your music is that each one of you are seemingly doing your own thing but yet playing together. Like in the opening song, In The Presence Of Enemies. Where does the record stack up with the rest of them?

John: I am really happy with this album. You mentioned the first song. That is the first thing that we wrote when we went into the studio. It was a 25 minute track that we broke up into two parts. That set the tone for the standard of the album. It had the drama and pompousness of the music that we are known for but it had this metal edge to it as well as melodic at the same time.

Metal Exiles: What does the cover art signify?

John: It is up to your own interpretation. To me when I look at it, it illustrates Systematic Chaos. When you see ants in a colony they are running all over the place but they have specific jobs and a system to what they are doing.

Metal Exiles: You produced this with Mike again but in the 90’s you used a lot of outside producers. What made you decide to do your album again like this?

John: We started with our concept album, Scenes From A Memory. We wanted to go in the studio and start from scratch. It would be intense as far as the story and the creative process so we were wondering what producer would want to sit in there and do that. We wanted to try and do it ourselves so that was the first time we did it so we have stuck with that formula.

Metal Exiles: What is the underlying story of the album?

John: There is not really a story that covers all of the songs, they are all individual.

Metal Exiles: One of the songs that drew my attention is Repentance. What was going through Mike’s mind when he wrote that?

John: It is very specific. Awhile back Mike started writing about his experience with AA and being an alcoholic. This is a continuation of songs about his battle with his addictions.

Metal Exiles: You write a lot of the lyrics as well as the music. Where do you find so much creativity after so long?

John: I just love doing it. The concept of starting with nothing and dreaming something up and then you have something you can listen to or hold in any medium of art really gets me going. When the music is all done and it is time to write the lyrics I enjoy it just as much.

Metal Exiles: Most bands, no matter who they are, run out of gas by the time they get this far in their career. Where do you pull your ideas from?

John: It depends on what it is about. You will see something, you will be involved in an experience or you will be involved in a situation that you realize that this is something that you can write about. Other times you have to be creative and just sit down say you are going to write lyrics.

Metal Exiles: Atlantic just put out your ‘Greatest Hit’. Is this an acknowledgement that the general public only knows Dream Theater for one song?

John: It is obviously tongue-in-cheek. We have a lot of songs in our own minds that could have been another radio hit like ‘Pull Me Under’. In our case ‘Pull Me Under’ was the only rock radio hit that we could manage.

Metal Exiles: What is it about that song that drove people to make it a hit.

John: I think that at the time we were a new band. Nobody had really heard that style of music before especially in the climate we were in at the time. It probably just stood out but since then we have established ourselves and people here that kind of music all the time.

Metal Exiles: Why the exchange of Atlantic for Roadrunner?

John: We had been under the same record contract since Images And Words up to Octavarium and after that contract was up we thought it was time for a change. We pursued a few different offers and we thought that Roadrunner would be a good place for us considering our history and what we were capable of and where we wanted to go. They have the recourses to go where we want to go so it was good.

Metal Exiles: One that that strikes me is the “Official Bootlegs” that you guys have. What got that train rolling?

John: It is something that Mike and I talked about. We are a highly bootlegged band and we still do not have a control on it. We thought it was our way of taking a little bit of control back because we have everything archived. The whole climate of the music industry changed with people getting immediate information from the internet and people want more than just the albums. We had so much stuff laying around as in demos, outtakes, the making of, etc. so we felt why not put it out. We are always doing cover albums, songs, etc. so we figured we would create our own label so we could release these bootlegs ourselves and it would be our quality, not some little handheld.

Metal Exiles: And your record company does not have a problem with this since you have some official live albums and DVDs?

John: We had to go to a lawyer and work out an agreement as to how we are going to do that. Given the change in the climate of the music industry I think that they were open to it.

Metal Exiles: You went and remade When Dream And Day Unite. What was it like to go back and redo that?

John: It was great. Sometimes it is tough to play that music because we wrote it was so long ago and we were younger guys but it was cool playing it with James. We did it in L.A. so it had a cool vibe so that made for a special event.

Metal Exiles: Before Iron Maiden there were few bands like Iron Maiden and the same goes for Dream Theater. Now prog and power metal bands are everywhere. When you see these baby Dream Theaters what do you think?

John: First of all in some aspects the more the merrier. The more the genre is getting attention then that is great for us and enables us to keep going. On the other hand though sometimes it is very easy for a progressive band to lose the musical part of it, to miss the point. Unfortunately you hear a lot of things that do not sound interesting, there is something that is not special about it. No matter what you listen to there has to be substance, there has to be musicality to it.

Metal Exiles: When you guys are done, what would you like to be remembered for? An album, a song or the live show?

John: That is a good question. I think the albums are the ultimate in creative legacy. Live shows come and go but sometimes there are shows that people talk about for awhile.

Metal Exiles: When you started out you had many comparisons to Rush. Do you think that you compare to them anymore besides the longevity?

John: There were roots when we were younger and they were big influences on us, what they did had a huge impact on us. Some of our early music may have sounded a bit like Early Rush but not anymore. They are just an example of a band but not only do they keep going but their presentation and their attitude about music is still fresh. I have never heard a person come back from a Rush show disappointed

Metal Exiles: Any last words for the fans?

John: You said something earlier about how were we able to come back to this venue and it is our fans who drive us to keep doing that. We see a lot of younger fans and it is very encouraging to us and it keeps us excited.