John Petrucci interview (excerpt)

Nick Jenison: The mix was tremendous and that’s not an easy feat with the music you guys are making, which only seems to be getting more outrageous with each album. So do you still have the same writing process? Talk about what goes into making a modern Dream Theater composition as opposed to some of the earlier day stuff – I’m talking about Awake and those albums prior to that –what’s the modern process like?

JP: The writing process with Dream Theater is about to change because we just got our old new drummer back in the band. [laughs] So Mike Portnoy’s back in Dream Theater after 13 years. We’re about to go into the studio and start writing a new record. So we’re really excited about that. I mean, the process honestly hasn’t changed really too much. We get together, some guys have ideas – whether we use them or not – but we’ll come in with different seeds and thoughts and ideas. But a lot of it is just us getting together, being comfortable, drinking coffee, jamming. Some of the albums are conceived ahead of time, like, “OK, this is record going to be a concept album. We’re gonna do a storyline.” But some of them are just, “Let’s see what happens,” and that process has worked for us. I guess early on, we demoed a lot. We’d do a demo and then go in the studio. We kinda got away from that. Not too far into our career, we were like, “Well, why are we wasting this time demoing? Some of the magic is right now, as we’re writing it.” So, we’ll just write it in the studio, and sometimes record as we go, which is nice because we capture those moments of inspiration.

NJ: It’s fascinating to hear you say that, because for me, I couldn’t imagine holding all of that music in my head for long enough to get through.

JP: Here’s the funny thing: I’m famously known in my band for having a crazy memory to be able to do all the stuff, and it’s not in other parts of my life. For some reason with music, Jordan will write everything down. He’s reading as we go and then, we’ll have charts for everyone to read. But if we ever have to do a playthrough, they’re like, “John, do a playthrough of the song,” because for some reason I have this weird memory where I could remember that.

NJ: I think you need a guy like that in every band.

JP: Right? [laughs] Some bands are like, “What’s the next part?” I’m like, “Why don’t you know? What’s wrong with you?” [laughs]

NJ: On the subject of Jordan real quick, Jordan’s been on a guitar playing voyage over the last few years. How much have you been involved in that, and are we gonna see any dual guitar Dream Theater stuff? Cuz right that would be killer. First of all, talk to us about your involvement in Jordan’s guitar journey.

JP: He has had a ferocious appetite for guitar and has absorbed everything; [he’s] made so many guitar friends in the community. We’ll just be backstage, and inevitably, “Hey John, could you show me the fingering for this part?” [laughs] But I’ll just set the record straight now: sorry Jordan, I’m the only guitar player in Dream Theater. I’m sorry, buddy. But nobody can play keyboards like Jordan Rudess, so I don’t think he has to do anything besides that. [laughs]