John Petrucci interview

Luiza Battaglion: Of course I want to talk about Brazil first because you guys are coming back after the 40th Anniversary tour, right? You got a lot of shows in Brazil. I think people are going to say, “finally they are coming [to] all of the places”. So what can the fans expect to be different this time? Any special surprise for the Brazilian fans? What can you tell me from the shows?

John Petrucci: Yeah, absolutely. It’s gonna be completely different than the show that people might have seen when we came through on the 40th Anniversary tour last year. So since that tour, our latest album, Parasomnia, was released and we started presenting that album in its entirety with a brand new production and show. So that is what we’re bringing to Brazil and to our fans down there for the first time. So if anybody saw the 40th Anniversary show, this is completely different.

LB: So is there any specific memory from playing Brazil that really stayed with you from the past that you can share right now?

JP: This is going to sound very, very typical, but we did have a day off in Rio and I went with a couple of the crew guys to a really great steakhouse in Brazil and one of the guys that we were with was a vegetarian and he had tasted meat – the Brazilian churrascaria—

LB: It changed his life forever.

JP: Yeah. He started eating meat ever since. So that’s something I definitely recall from there.

LB: Cuz I feel like the Brazilian fans are known to be very passionate and very loud, so I imagine the shows were probably the loudest that you ever probably had in your life. Am I right?

JP: The fans in Brazil are unbelievable. Like you said, so loud, so passionate, smiling, dancing, singing along, head banging, everything. It’s the audience that you really want when you present a show. And of course in Brazil, metal is huge, so there’s an appetite for it. [As] Dream Theater, I think we’re somewhat unique. We started touring internationally as a band in South America fairly early on in our career, so we definitely had an opportunity to establish a relationship with our Brazilian fans and it just gets better and better every time we come back.

LB: Absolutely. And we say here that the second that you leave Brazil, there’s someone in social media saying ‘hashtag please come to Brazil’.

JP: Brazil was probably the very first ‘come to Brazil’ viral thing after anything that you posted; it eventually turned into ‘come to Indonesia’. But we wind up getting everywhere, so people don’t have to worry. This world tour that we started [in] October of last year has taken us to so many places. We’re about to head out and play Dubai and India and Australia and Singapore and all these places as well. So fans don’t have to worry. We’ll get there.

LB: About the tour, 3 hours long probably – that’s crazy. I want to know what’s the most challenging part of doing such a thing.

JP: I think it’s the preparation is the most challenging. Once you’re into the show and the tour and the production is set and it becomes muscle memory, you can relax into it and actually enjoy the experience on stage, it’s awesome. But the leadup to that, the preparation at home, trying to remember all the parts of the songs, the rehearsing with the band, getting the production cues and everything right with our lighting director and sound people and laser director – all that – that’s where all the work really comes in. So that’s the biggest challenge for me. And then, once you’re on stage and doing it, then it just becomes really enjoyable.

LB: Absolutely. And correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re also playing a lot from ‘A Change Of Seasons’, right?

JP: Right. So on this Parasomnia tour, the other thing that we’re doing is we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of ‘A Change Of Seasons’. So we’re playing that track. And the great thing for our fans down in Brazil as well is that’s the first time they’ll get to see we’re playing this with Mike Portnoy in the band in probably 15 years. He hasn’t played that song with us. Actually we did this Parasomnia run in North America in the fall and the fans really received it great. Every time we went into ‘A Change Of Seasons’ just the place erupted. So it’s definitely a special moment. It’s nostalgic for those people who have been with the band forever, and it’s really a unique opportunity for those younger fans who never saw that song being performed live.

LB: It’s amazing. I mean, the idea of it is just mind-blowing. Also, Parasomnia is Dream Theater’s 16th studio album. That’s crazy. So, after so many records, what still motivates you to keep searching for something new as a musician?

JP: That’s a great question. For me, it’s a few things. One of them is that it’s a natural kind of occurrence for me. I’ve always been a creative person. So things are always hitting me. Every time I pick up the guitar, usually there’s something that comes out. So every time we go in to do a new album, I feel like it’s this great opportunity to express what’s been going on in my life and also in the lives of the other guys. The other great thing about being in the band with these guys, they’re all such tremendous musicians and creative people as well. So when we get together, there’s really no shortage of ideas going on. If anything, there’s too many ideas! So it’s just really inspiring. I mean, I love playing guitar, love writing, love performing. It hasn’t left me after all these years. So that’s inspiring in itself.

LB: Well, talk about the reunion because I feel it was one of the most talked about moments in metal history. So since the first day from this reunion, how do you feel the decision has shaped the band present compared to how it worked in the past?

JP: It was definitely one of those things that I think a lot of fans never thought would really happen, but some fans really wanted to happen. I think that Mike Portnoy rejoining Dream Theater... really the best way to think about it and picture it is we started playing together when we were 18 years old – John Myung and I even younger, like when we were 12. So being in a band together and having the experiences we had at such a young age, it creates a special bond that’s more like brothers. So the best way to describe it is it’s like having your brother come back and the family is reunited. And we really cherish the time with Mike Mangini in that period. I think we all made some great music together. We toured all around the world. We had some fantastic things and milestones happen for the band including Grammy nominations and a win, so it was definitely a very special period. But having Mike Portnoy rejoin has reignited that initial kind of excitement that we had when we were literally teenagers. And it’s just a great feeling. There’s a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, a lot of celebration. And you can also see it – It’s shared with the fans. Whenever James introduces Mike as returning, the whole place erupts. It’s such a great warm feeling.

LB: That’s great to hear. I feel it’s like a Christmas table probably for you guys, everybody reunited.

JP: No, it literally is. I know it sounds corny and it sounds cliché, but it’s literally the way it is. Even going in and writing Parasomnia, it was just so much fun. It was just really natural. You’re just hanging out with your brothers and writing music and then you get to go on tour together and do it. So it’s been really cool.

LB: Sounds very fun to me. It doesn’t sound like work. It sounds like, “Oh, let’s have a fun time here.”

JP: If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. So it’s definitely something that’s a joy for all of us. We also don’t take it lightly. So many musicians on the planet are trying to have a career in the arts. It’s not easy and we’ve worked really hard for it and we value it and we value the relationship with our fans because we wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for all the wonderful people out there listening to our music, coming to the shows, saying, "Come to Brazil." [laughs] We wouldn’t have the same lives.

LB: Absolutely. And this also got me feeling do you feel going back to your roots brings more responsibility to maybe achieve some expectations or do you think it’s more of a creative freedom to the band?

JP: I think there definitely is a little bit of that. I think we got past it. When we went into the studio to start writing Parasomnia, you can’t help but think, “OK, people are going to be looking to this and having high expectations and being like, ‘OK, what’s this going to be like with Mike returning?’” But fortunately, we got through that, I think, very successfully. I think the new album was received really incredibly well and it established ‘OK, this is all working just as just as we had had all hoped’. And you’ll see too with the Parasomnia show, it’s a set of all new music and the whole audience is just with us – they’re invested in it, so it’s pretty cool

LB: Incredible. I love that you mentioned that you’ve been doing this since you were really, really young, and I would like to know is there still something that you dream of reaching with Dream Theater that hasn’t happened yet?

JP: We’re slowly checking off the list. Because of the kind of style of music that we play – which is not really commercial music – you gotta work really hard to have some success in it, which is what we’ve been doing with all the touring and everything. But little by little, you get these moments in your career. The last tour playing arenas, doing that for the first time for us was fantastic. Like I mentioned before, the Grammy nominations and the wins, playing certain iconic locations, like over the summer we played in Pompei where the only recollection I have of anybody playing Pompei was Pink Floyd. So little by little these things are happening for us because again, the power of our fans, but also the persistence of the band. We always work hard and we’re definitely checking off the list as far as accomplishments. One of them was playing Rock In Rio. We even did that.

LB: I mean it’s coming up. You have time [to get on the next Rock In Rio schedule]. Don’t worry. We always receive you guys. So, to wrap this up, can you share a message to the Brazilian fans that are counting down the days to see Dream Theater live again or maybe they haven’t seen yet, so it’s the first time?

JP: Absolutely. Well, like I said before we’re super excited to come back. For any of those fans who saw the show last year, the 40th Anniversary show, this is a completely different show. It’s the only time we’re going to be presenting Parasomnia in its entirety and it’s certainly our best production to date, I think, of presenting a show. And of course, we have ‘A Change Of Seasons’ featured. For anybody who hasn’t seen Mike play that with the band or remembers that coming out, it’s really a special moment. So, get ready. Don’t miss it. Buy your tickets. We’re actually going to wrap up our touring cycle with that South American leg. So that’ll be the last opportunity for fans to get to see the band until we release a new record and tour for that.