Originally published in Used Bin Radio podcast · September 2010
James LaBrie interview including responses (excerpts)
InterviewJames LaBrie16 min read
Used Bin Radio: Dream Theater obviously is no stranger to conceptual pieces. I was wondering have you guys ever considered the possibility of any kind of additional product like a graphic novel or like a movie to accompany something like a Scenes From a Memory or Six Degrees or something like that?
James LaBrie: I mean it’s been loose conversation but it hasn’t gotten to any stage where we go, “Let’s really sit down and think about this and let’s make it become a reality.” Those conversations have flown around but with no real serious intent – not yet. But I think that that’s always something in the back of our minds that we do feel that we do have a lot of potential to go in that direction and do something and do it well. I think it’s just that we gotta be in that mindset and really excite ourselves and then get wrapped into that.
UBR: Let me just ask you one really quick sort of fan geek question. I had a chance to talk to John Petrucci around the time of Scenes From a Memory and I threw this question at him and it kind of stumped him, and I’m curious to see if you have an answer. In a perfect world if you actually did a Scenes From a Memory movie, who would play Victoria?
JL: Wait a minute – is it just us in the cast? [laughs]
UBR: No no no, you can pick anyone you want.
JL: John Myung. No, I’m kidding. [laughs] I don’t know – what’s her name? Scarlett Johansson.
UBR: That’s good! I’d go see that movie. Open your eyes Victoria.
JL: I’d want to be in that scene! [laughs] I think she’d be perfect for that role.
UBR: I think we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the big empty drum kit in the middle of the room. How’s everyone doing? Is there a Mike Portnoy has left the building hangover or is everybody back on track, or where are you guys at?
JL: I think it’s very positive; it’s a matter of respecting where someone is at. At this point, for him to have continued when he felt that he just didn’t feel connected and he felt a little burnt out on who and what Dream Theater was as far as the demands and the cycle that we’ve created for ourselves, I think that it would be very unhealthy. Resentment would play into it and it’s just not a good place, and he was respectful enough just to say, “Guys, I need to take a break. I want to take a break, and I have to do that to feel good about who and what this is.” So we’ve respected his wishes and we wish him the best, and we have gone our separate ways in a very amicable way, but the fact is that the rest of us – the other four guys – were not about to take a hiatus or take a break. We felt that right now... we came off of almost 14 months of touring behind Black Clouds and Silver Linings. It was a great tour, we finished up with Iron Maiden going through North America. Actually the last two shows we did were at the Supersonic Festival in Japan – one in Osaka and one Tokyo – and everything was great, everything felt great. I mean we didn’t see any telltale signs that he was feeling like he did, burnt out and that he needed a break. We just felt that we weren’t in a position or we weren’t in the same headspace that we wanted to take a break. It’s a very positive camp, we’re actually very excited to move on and we’re looking forward to the next chapter. I think everything will be fine and we’re real excited. There’s a reason for everything and if it has to go, I’m glad that it went this way and it wasn’t an ugly separation, it wasn’t s*** fling circus out there or anything like that, because that’s just not gonna get us anywhere.
UBR: You’re right, because it certainly could have been nasty. It’s a good thing that it wasn’t, especially for the fans, because the legions and legions of Dream Theater fans are extremely devoted and you know that better than anybody. We’re just a devoted group of people that want our Dream Theater fix all the time. So if it got ugly, I think it would have taken away from what Dream Theater’s created.
JL: Definitely. I think that it would tarnish who and what we’ve been and who and what we’re about to be. It’s just not good for anyone.
UBR: You had said that you feel like Mike just sort of needed a break, and you guys are willing to do that and move on. Do you feel like this is a break or do you feel like this is sort of an end?
JL: Well I think that’s really a fine line to walk, because to us we have to look that it’s a new chapter, it’s another beginning of something new. I can only put it that way. We have to be serious with the person that is going to come in and fill those shoes. We have phenomenal guys lined up to come in that are absolute monsters on the kit, but what we’re looking for is somebody that will embody everything that Dream Theater stands for. The chemistry has to be right, the personality has to be right, and we have to be looking at this as going to become a serious staple within the band. So we can’t be looking at it – which I’m pretty sure you’re suggesting – is this an interim? Is this something that is gonna fill the gap for the time being? If we were to look at it like that, then they wouldn’t be taken serious and we wouldn’t be able to look at it seriously and we’d be approaching the next album as if it was just something to do for the meantime. You can’t do anything and put yourself fully into it and really make everyone else around you believe that you’re still passionate and you’re doing it for the right reasons; there’s only one way to do it.
UBR: Have you started actually auditioning other drummers at this point?
JL: No, we will in a couple weeks. We’ve got it all pretty much set up and it’s gonna be pretty serious. It’ll be a week and we’re gonna go through some pretty incredible drummers. They’re absolutely phenomenal.
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UBR: Waiting for you guys to come out and kick off the set, there was this young couple standing next to us. The girl was looking a little antsy and the guy was very excited, and she said, “How long is this going to take?” and I turned to her at that point and I told her, “The opening song is about 90 minutes long,” because you guys were opening with all of Scenes on that tour. She turned to her boyfriend and she said, “This is going to be just like that Yes concert you took me to!” So my question is: why don’t chicks dig prog?
JL: I guess that it’s the only time that we last too long! [lots of laughs] What’s surprising is as Dream Theater goes on, we’ve noticed that we’re getting more and more women coming out to our shows, and we’re trying to figure that one out. I don’t know, because for the longest time, it was 90% men, 10% women, and the women that were there were either the wives or the girlfriends, but over the last few years we’ve noticed that there’s been a substantial increase in the females out there. I don’t know if we’re getting better looking or if they’re finding our music [more] appealing.
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UBR: When you guys finally got in the studio together and it was time to actually cut tracks, how different does it feel than when you walk into the studio with the Dream Theater guys?
JL: It feels really different because there’s a couple things going on. One is that Matt and I, it’s completely equal what we do there. We both write all the music, we both write lyrics and we both write all the melodies together. When it came time to actually record the songs with the band members, Matt and the other guys went over to Varberg, Sweden; I was not there and that’s the only way that we could have done it. And then I actually recorded my vocals in Toronto by myself. With the engineer, I would just record my vocal parts and send out the audio file to Matt just in case he didn’t agree with something or where I was taking it.
Whereas [with] Dream Theater we’re in the room together, although when it comes time for tracking we’re not all there. When I’m doing my vocals with Dream Theater, usually Mike would have been around or John Petrucci would have been around just so we can feed off each other. But to be quite honest with you, when I’m recording my vocals, I don’t really need anyone around. I’d like to work with the engineer because I’m really critical as to where I take things and where I want to take things. Every engineer that I’ve ever worked with has even said, “I can’t believe that you heard that nuance and that you could hear the difference between that take and the other take.” I work well under that light, but that just has been the way that we’ve worked within the Dream Theater camp.
UBR: Were any of the tracks that ended up on Static Impulse considered for possible inclusion on a Dream Theater record? Like for example ‘I Tried’ might have worked as a Dream Theater song.
JL: No, absolutely not, because aside from me suggesting melodies and writing the odd lyric here and there in Dream Theater, I’m not bringing in my musical ideas, I’m not bringing in my riffs and stuff like that. When I’m writing stuff for my solo stuff, I can literally sit down sometimes and sing a whole melody for a chorus, a verse and a bridge, and then I can pretty much hear the music that’s gonna support that. I’ll throw that at Matt and Matt will take it and he’ll go, “Well here’s what I’m hearing,” and it’s really cool where we take things, and vice versa.
But in the Dream Theater context, no. Even if you want to go back as far as Images and Words, my involvement on that album particularly was just being a singer coming in and taking those and shaping it around whom what I was as a vocalist and how I wanted to express those words or those melodies. Later on, it was a matter of just me writing the odd vocal melody here and the odd lyric here and there.
That’s even more reason why I do the solo material, because it really allows people to see me not just as a vocalist; I’m wearing several different hats. I’m wearing a producer hat, I’m wearing a singer hat and I’m wearing the composition hat.
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UBR: [In] the Rush documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage, Geddy and Neil talk about the writing process and how Neil has to write stuff that he feels Geddy’s comfortable to sing. In the Dream Theater world, how does that work with you, because I know John writes stuff and Mike writes stuff. So how does that work with the lyrical thing back and forth? I would imagine you would have to feel comfortable as well, right?
JL: There hasn’t really been anything to talk about. There’s been maybe once or twice where I’ve just said, “You know what? I’m not comfortable singing this” or “That’s just not something I can feel.” But I think it might have happened once where I kinda was just very obstinately against it. For the most part, when I do approach the lyrics that they’ve written, first and foremost I have to interpret it for myself so that it comes out of me. It sounds corny but it has to be something that I can express with how I relate to it emotionally. Then at that point, once I’ve ingested or internalized what the words are saying to me, then I actually sit down with them and ask them, “What were you literally trying to say here?” or “What were you going through?” or “What was your inspiration for this particular lyric?” Because I’m the storyteller at that point. I think it’s really important for any vocalist to be able to put themselves in that headspace. It’s crucial in trying to get the message across and not just sound like a machine.
UBR: So as a vocalist, you are OK channeling your female counterpart of Victoria from a past life... [laughs]
JL: You read me like a book! [lots of laughs]
UBR: But how were you at verbalizing Mike’s ‘12 Step Suite’? How does that work for you?
JL: First of all, Mike’s like a brother; I’ve known him for 20 years. I was there; I saw him going through all that s*** and it wasn’t pretty. So there was that part that I was feeding off of. I’ve also had people in my life – friends and relatives – that have gone through some really bad stuff, even losing a good friend of mine in my early twenties because he couldn’t get out of it and unfortunately took his own life. So I was able to relate to just how evil addiction can be and just how it can really absolutely ruin somebody if not kill them. It was quite easy for me to understand where he’s coming from and where most people are coming from, and that’s why I think so many people were appreciative of how he wanted to tell it like it was, and a lot of people could completely relate to it.
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UBR: One other question about the current [solo] band, and I know it’s probably way too early to even comment on this but I’ll throw it out there: because of your relationship working with Peter, any possibility that he would be one of the guys auditioning?
JL: I can’t really discuss that. I can completely see why you would think that, because he is a monster on the drums; the guy is absolutely incredible. You can go onto YouTube and see him doing it for real and the guy’s just crazy. So I can totally see that and it would make perfect sense, but I can’t really comment on it.
UBR: We’re talking about replacing one of the technically one of the greatest drummers that’s playing music today and certainly in progressive rock, so what is it that you guys look for? Do you look for a technically proficient guy?
JL: Oh, absolutely. That comes first and foremost. I can assure you that all these guys are monsters on the kit – they are absolutely phenomenal. They are more than capable of playing everything that Dream Theater’s done – from day one to this currently. So they’re more than capable, technically speaking. They’re scary. So what are we looking for? We’re looking for a few things. We wanna make sure that that person can completely absorb and represent everything that Dream Theater is about as far as the drums and the attitude and the personality and the chemistry; those points have to be there. These guys are all more than capable of playing the songs and blowing us away with their technical prowess, but we’re looking for the guy that has the right chemistry, the right personality, even the right kind of flow behind the kit. He’s got the look and we just feel comfortable around him. That’s really the ingredients that these guys have to have.
UBR: So are you sad James? I mean this is a huge shift in the world of Dream Theater and progressive rock; it’s a f***in’ earthquake!
JL: You know what? I’m not sad at all. I’ve gotta be honest with you. I think that everyone out there needs to know that there’s four guys in the band that are... We’re excited, we’re really looking forward to the next chapter. And I think one of the other things that everyone really has to remember is that there’s four more than capable guys there. I know everyone is out there going, “Holy s***! Is this guy full of himself or what?” but I wanna say it like it is. There’s four very capable people in the band, and we’re all talented and we all know what we’re doing, and we’re all capable of doing everything and keeping Dream Theater exactly what it’s been and bringing it to another level and bringing it to uncharted waters, but I think very exciting and fulfilling waters. So no, we’re not down. I can guarantee you none of us are down. We’re actually pretty excited and very positive.
UBR: Once I sort of got over the “Did I just read that right? Is it really a press release that Mike Portnoy’s leaving Dream Theater?” kind of thing, two weeks after that, Joe and I went and saw Avenged Sevenfold. Have you seen them with Mike at all?
JL: No, not with Mike.
UBR: They were great, he was great, the band was great. In fact the band was out of this world, like they were really good!
JL: Great! That’s a great album, too. Nightmare’s a great album. I see them really being on fire playing that.
UBR: Yeah. It was like OK so there’s gonna be a new chapter in Dream Theater, this is probably good. I guess the one thing I was always like a little worried about was [that] the relationship with the fans of Dream Theater has mainly emanated from Mike, so how does that get distributed now? Does it get distributed or does one guy sort of take it on?
JL: Absolutely, it gets distributed. We all know that we have to now all be a part of that, and that’s how it’s gonna be distributed. It’s gonna be all of us being the contact for our fans; it’s gonna be all of us really making sure that there’s that face-to-face going on constantly, consistently. And we’re all ready for it. We’ve already started it – we’re all on our various web sites, I’m on Twitter and I’m talking to people a lot and just saying what’s going on and what’s happening with my solo stuff, what’s happening in the Dream Theater camp.
UBR: So that means in the future of Dream Theater we’re gonna see a lot more press interviews with John Myung? [laughs]
JL: You know what?! I believe you will.
UBR: All right. I didn’t even know he knew how to talk. I’ve gotta be honest...
JL: Well neither did we! [laughs] But lately he’s really been extremely involved and very much a beacon for us, because he’s right in there going, “I was thinking about this,” and “I was thinking about that,” and really it’s cool; it’s refreshing.
(MP’s response to the clickbait headline on Blabbermouth about this Used Bin Radio interview)
I was willing to ignore that the guys insisted all Mike Portnoy-related stuff be removed from DreamTheater.net... but then on Monday reading the Blabbermouth headlines with James insensitively proclaiming they are ‘not sad at all’ about my departure from Dream Theater, I cannot in ‘happy’ standing promote his solo tour. I am so sad it comes to this, but I am even more shocked and hurt by James’ completely disrespectful quote.
(JL’s response to MP’s post regarding the clickbait headline on Blabbermouth about this Used Bin Radio interview)
It seems there is a misunderstanding.
When I said I was not sad with Mike’s departure, it, unfortunately, leaves plenty of room to misconstrue such words.
No one can tell you or me how to think and feel.
Initially with Mike’s departure I was extremely upset, down and shocked. But one needs to deal and work through these emotions in order to arrive at a more positive and optimistic place. That is where I am now and was when the interview took place.
Let me put it more plain and simple. Life does not afford us the luxury to wallow in our sorrow. You have to deal with the situation at hand and make it a productive and positive endeavor. In other words, onward and upward.
Mike made it perfectly clear why he chose the current path. I would much rather his words be the definitive answer.
In the end, does it really matter what our views are? Other than human curiosity, it doesn’t change a thing.
I have said my piece and believe there is no room for misinterpretation.
I will give no further weight to this subject; all has been said.
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php/topic,16386.msg620846.html#msg620846
(MP’s response to an open letter posted by MP.com forum member Smirnoff regarding MP’s response to the clickbait headline on Blabbermouth about this Used Bin Radio interview)
I was hurt that I was removed from the DT site and I was hurt by the “not sad at all” headline I read on Blabbermouth...(granted, I didnt hear the whole interview and was just shocked by the out of context headline...)
So for being duped by the media and speaking out on it, for that I am sorry as well...
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it’s probably nobody’s business, but after reading that Blabbermouth headline, I emailed all 4 guys and none of them ever responded.... (and they still havent...)
I would’ve loved to have kept it private and hoped they would’ve responded when I reached out to them all, but they never did.....but then again, that’s between us, so that’s the last I will comment on that...
So being James never responded to me personally and chose to do it “publically”, I’d like to publically apologize to him for apparently misunderstanding his quote out of context and deleting those threads...