Originally published in Rock Candy magazine 22 · October 2020
Derek Sherinian interview (excerpt)
InterviewDerek Sherinian1 min read
RC: You decided to join Dream Theater in 1994. Why did you make that choice?
DS: To be honest nothing else was happening for me at that time. I toured with Alice and then went out with Kiss, but the whole early-’90s Seattle explosion meant my work dried up. I heard that Dream Theater were holding auditions for a keyboardist, and while their music wasn’t the sort of thing I normally listened to I thought it would be a challenge to see if I could play it. When I actually got the job it was wonderful. I realised it was OK to be a virtuoso in a rock environment. Dream Theater also gave me a lot of exposure, because suddenly I was out front as a full member of a band.
RC: So if being in that group was so great, why did you leave in 1999?
DS: That was their decision, not mine! Turned out they wanted someone else [Jordan Rudess got the gig], so that was the end of the line for me. It sucked, of course, but you have to be prepared for whatever life throws at you. How you deal with setbacks defines you as a person.