James LaBrie interview

James LaBrie: I think all of this really creates that sound that people have come to identify for Dream Theater, but it’s a collection of many different styles of music.

Paul Potapov: Dream Theater seems to be very serious considering the visual aspect, whether the videos at your shows, different kinds of home videos, or the photobook that is about to come out. So what is the most important issue from the above mentioned?

JL: What’s most important is music, music first and foremost. I mean the music has to be there, or there’s no reason at all to try and put together visuals if you don’t have music that really resonates with the listeners, resonates with everyone. But the exciting thing is that with our music, we know that it really lends itself to amazing imagery and content that can just really enhance the overall message that we’re trying to say musically and lyrically. So you’ll see tonight in the show the visuals are really, really amazing. And there’s a human element there, too. It’s not just something that needs to be serious or profound; there’s also a humorous side to things, which is good because it pulls everyone in and shows that we too are humans, that we like the fun and the light side; that we’re not just all these serious guys. So I think first and foremost, our priority has always been the music, and then the visuals just enhance the overall experience, and then the lighting design too, the lighting part of it is phenomenal as well. So it makes for a really exciting, spectacular display of both the music and the visuals.

PP: With some bands, the name of the debut album is the same as the band, which is logical. With some of them – the Beatles, Metallica and now Dream Theater – it may be the fifth, ninth or even 12th album. So what was the reason for not giving the album a name?

JL: We just thought that at this point in our career and what we recently went through – member change, that whole transition – coming out with an album like A Dramatic Turn of Events was to prove to the world that we were the same band, that we were we didn’t lose anything, we didn’t miss anything, so this album was like a new beginning. To us it was like, “OK, we’ve proven that we didn’t lose anything, we didn’t lose a step, we’re still same band musically that you came to love over the years. This album is about us walking through that new door, going into another chapter in our career and creating something that everyone can still identify with, but have that feeling that we’ve taken it to another level.”

PP: Dream Theater used an orchestra for this album; how did you feel in their company?

JL: We’ve played live with a whole orchestra before. I think what’s great is that they understand that our music is much more deep than just playing rock and roll with guitar; it’s more involved and there’s a mutual respect. When they came over they [understood] what we are and we’re much more deeply involved in the aspects of music like the theory based of music and the fundamentals of music. Because if you think about it, a lot of music started with classical music, and things branched out from there, and people were able to experience it in different ways.

PP: Most of your albums have some kind of puzzle where the songs, lyrics and artwork are somehow tied together. Is there something familiar with the new one?

JL: I think each song speaks for itself and I think that you can see that [in] the artwork. We worked with Hugh Syme, who has worked with several amazing artists, most notably Rush, but he takes the visuals and he really captures what is trying to be said within each song. But each song on this album has its own story, has its own message; there’s no common thread, so this is quite different in that sense.

PP: Before you started using the ‘False Awakening Suite’ as an intro to your concerts, you were using soundtrack music from different movies, like Psycho and Inception. So do you think that the ‘False Awakening Suite’ could have been used in the soundtrack to a movie of some kind?

JL: A high suspense thriller, I think it could really lend itself to. Definitely. And even ‘Enigma Machine’, to me that’s like a spy movie; that’s why you’ll see the visuals tonight that lend themselves to that, like the whole spy on spy, which is what the Enigma machine is all about. But we’ve always felt that if given the opportunity, we could always do a soundtrack for a movie, and we’ve been talking about doing a song like the ‘False Awakening’ for quite some time, so we finally got around to doing our own soundtrack kind of piece.

PP: How does it feel to be the singer in a band with so many instrumental parts in the music? Sometimes you literally spend half of the song backstage.

JL: It just comes with a territory. I knew that getting into the band, that there were those aspects to the band: the band also has its instrumental interludes, so to speak, and that’s fine. The other side of that is because the music is so eclectic, it puts me in the most favorable position as a vocalist because I have so many ways that I can express myself as a singer, because the music lends itself to that aspect. So I think I’m in a very incredible situation as a vocalist.

PP: Next year is the band’s 30th anniversary. Are there any plans to commemorate this date?

JL: I don’t know. That’s when the band formed at Berklee, but the first album came out in 1989, so as far as I’m concerned, 2019 will be our 30th. I always go by when the band released their first album. I know that it was established in 1985 because that’s [when] Mike, John Petrucci and John Myung met, so the nucleus of the band was formed there and then it spread out from there. So to me, 2015 doesn’t really commemorate 30 years, it commemorates 25. So how about we do our 25th? We do something to commemorate our 25th? I don’t know. We’ll see, which would be now, if we want to do that. But I think in 2019 we’ll still be going, so I think at that point it would be really cool.