Between A Rock And A Prog Place: Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess – “I’m Looking Forward To Being Able To Smoothly Go On Tour…”

What truly is progressive music? Each month BraveWords will aim to dissect that answer with a thorough overview of the current musical climate that is the prog world. Old and new, borrowed and blue. A musical community without borders. So watch for a steady and spaced-out array of features, current news and a buyer’s guide checklist to enhance the forward-thinking musical mind. So, welcome to BraveWords' monthly column appropriately titled, Between A Rock In A Prog Place.

In this month’s column, Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess discusses the band’s new album, staying busy during the pandemic, and future plans.

How challenging was it writing and recording A View from the Top of the World during the pandemic?

“The hardest part was coordinating everyone and getting the plan together so all would feel safe at this crazy time! Once we got our plan together and got to the studio, the hard work could begin with some semblance of normality. We recorded at our own HQ and that really helped the process. No hard deadlines is always great and just to have the comfort of our own facility really helped the process.”

What is the meaning behind the album title?

“Album title (and the title track song) refers to a kind of headspace that people have who take extreme risks for the rush and excitement. Like people who jump out of helicopters with skis on! Going beyond the norm to achieve those levels of thrill and perspective that most don’t experience.”

What else did you do during the pandemic to stay busy and productive?

“I recorded two other albums and started a Patreon! LTE 3 was recorded after a 22 year break! I also recorded my own solo album entitled A Chapter in Time. It’s like a musical diary of this chapter in our history. During the initial lockdown I would express myself by going into the studio and recording almost every day. Basically allowing my feeling to come out through my music. I had no particular goal or album creation in mind. It was more just a healing thing for me to do personally. After a while I realized that much of what I had created could be shared with everyone else as an album. I released it on the Bandcamp platform exclusively for now. As far as Patreon is concerned. I started that up after doing 50 livestreams for free in a row. I felt strongly that I needed to find a platform that allowed people to give back to the artist and so my Patreon was born. It's one of the coolest things I’ve done. As somebody who is passionate about social media, improvisation, education and communication now allows me to have this wonderful inner circle and have a great time while making it possible to get support from the fans!”

What are your thoughts concerning artists – including Dream Theater – either launching tours or about to launch tours at this stage of the pandemic? [Note: This question was answered shortly before Dream Theater postponed their 2021 tour dates until 2022]

“Well, obviously a very difficult time. Every situation is different. Every band, every country and every artist. The decisions that have to be made are tough. We have never had anything like this happen during our lifetime. I’m looking forward to being able to smoothly go on tour and not have to have this level of concern…”

Any other future plans or projects?

“I’m getting ready to drop my own NFT next month on our own platform called Nifty Underground that my team has been developing. First artist on the platform will be me but shortly after the plan is to open it up to artists around the world. In creating this I’m personally able to explore other sides of my creativity which include visual elements as well as audio. I believe there is a strong future in the NFT world and I’m super excited to be part of this new movement. I’m also working on some new music apps which will be released in late 2021 and 2022.”