We wrote whatever came to mind; we weren't worried about structure. The way we wrote things was accidental. The style we created, with its somewhat unusual arrangement, became our sound.”
Wikimetal (Nando Machado): Hello, Mr. John Petrucci. How are you?
John Petrucci: Well, how are you?
W (NM): Excellent. It's great to have you on our program, thank you very much for your time.
W (Daniel Dystyler): First of all, let me thank you for everything you've done for rock and metal for almost 30 years, it's a real honor to have you on our show. I'll start by asking, back in the day, what were your main influences that led you to start playing guitar and forming a heavy metal band?
JP: You know, when I started, it was the most basic stuff that was being played on the radio, so I was into Zeppelin and Sabbath, and, you know, AC/DC and that kind of thing. I grew up in New York, on Long Island, so the local radio stations played all that kind of stuff. But then I started playing guitar when I was 12, and I started listening to more metal, like Maiden and Metallica… Of course, as I got better at guitar, I started listening to more guitarists, and then I started getting interested, I think, in the more progressive side, through Yes and Rush, and that kind of thing, I delved more into that mix of metal and progressive music, and you know, jazz and classical, and all those things that became my style of composing within the band.
W (NM): So John, changing the subject, I've always admired the way you guys write and create music in Dream Theater. Generally, the structure of your songs is very different from the basic "verse-bridge-chorus" pattern. How do you structure your songs? Is it planned in advance?
JP: Well, you know, you're right. It's definitely different from typical structures, I mean, you can't… It probably comes from when I was a teenager, listening to Rush, you know, albums like “2112” and “Hemispheres”, and Yes, you know, “Close to the Edge”, and “Fragile”, and all that stuff. I mean, those songs don't have typical arrangements, you know, so that's something that got ingrained in us. So we wrote, I mean, I remember, even in the very beginning, with just John Myung and me, when we were in elementary and high school playing together, you know, we wrote whatever came to mind. We weren't too concerned with structure, you know. So it was probably accidental how we wrote things. So that was the style we created, with the slightly unusual arrangement, that became our sound, so it's something we've maintained for a long time.
W (DD): Yeah, John, you know, it's really hard to try and play your songs, since you guys do "only in the third chorus, we're going to repeat this riff three times instead of four," so... To try and reproduce what you guys play... It's difficult, man!
JP: Especially because of all the changes.
W (DD): Yes, yes, definitely. And since you mentioned Rush, do you see any similarities between Dream Theater and Rush, besides the way you structure your songs?
JP: You know, what we try to do is… With a band like Rush, for example, they’ve obviously had a very successful career in many areas, you know, not only having a long career, but playing the kind of music they play, and, you know, doing successful tours and putting on the shows they do. So sometimes, you know, we look at bands like that, that we admire and respect, whether it’s Iron Maiden, or Rush, or Metallica, or whatever, and we say, “What do they do? Who are the people they use?” You know, we still use Hugh Syme in our artwork, like Rush, and we look at the live shows, and the videos that Rush and Muse and these different bands have, and we try to learn from them and get inspired by them. I think it's a good way to build your career, you know, and even when I was little, I was already doing the same thing, I looked at these guitarists like, you know… I was a big fan of Steve Vai and Al DiMeola, and I'd say, "What do these guys do?" and, you know, I found out they went to the Berkeley School of Music, so I thought, "Well, I'm going to go to the Berkeley School of Music," and you try to learn from these things, so… It's important.
Our fans have been simply wonderful all around the world. From the very first show, the fans truly welcomed Mike Mangini with open arms.”
W (NM): Excellent. We have a classic question on our show that we ask everyone we interview, which is, imagine you're listening to a rock radio station, driving your car or something like that, or listening to your iPod or any MP3 player on shuffle, and a song starts playing that makes you lose your mind and start headbanging immediately, no matter where you are, you can't contain yourself. What song would that be, so we can listen to it on our show now?
JP: Oh man, there are so many good ones. There are so many good ones… No, I think it has to be “Master of Puppets”.
W (DD): Speaking about your latest album “A Dramatic Turn of Events”, first of all, congratulations on the album. I love this album, the songs are great. And Mike Mangini is incredible… I imagine that creating the album was a big challenge, since, after so many years, you changed the way albums were being created, right?
JP: Well, thank you for saying that, I appreciate it, I'm glad you liked the album. You know, after… From the beginning, you know, with Mike, and having him in the band for 25 years, or something like that, and then seeing him leave… It's certainly something different, obviously, when the person isn't there in the studio, the dynamic changes. Actually, we went into the studio without Mike Mangini, without a drummer for two and a half months, I think. And, you know, we composed in the studio, I programmed the drums on the computer so that we had a blueprint for the songs, and we made demos of the songs with the drum parts and everything else, and then I showed that to Mike Mangini, and he interpreted it and recorded it. So you know, it was definitely different in that sense. But at the same time, I always composed the music, so that didn't change, that stayed the same. It's just the dynamic that was different, obviously, without Mike there, without any drummer. It was a little more intimate, and that was good, it was a fun experience, and I think it went really well, I'm glad you appreciated it, that you enjoyed it.
W (NM): Still talking about Mike, we know he's great on the album. And we've also had the opportunity to see Dream Theater many times in the past, playing live shows in Brazil. And the live performance of each individual in the band has always been incredible. How has the reception been from the fans to the new line-up?
JP: You know, it's been great. I have to admit that our fans have been simply wonderful all around the world. We started our tour in Italy last July, so a year ago, on July 4th, in Rome. And from the first show, the fans really welcomed him with open arms, which was a great relief for us, you know, just the fact that they saw the band with a new face and accepted it so positively… And our tours in Europe, North America and Asia were the same, you know. People welcoming us, the concerts going very well. And now we're in South America, and people are seeing Mike Mangini for the first time with Dream Theater, and so far it's been more or less the same. You know, we played in Colombia, we played in Argentina, we played in Central America a few weeks ago, and the response and acceptance to him has been phenomenal, really fantastic.
W (DD): We can imagine that the process of choosing a new drummer was very delicate, and it was a very important moment for the band, so the idea of making all the audition videos public was great, I think, to bring people together with the band, so that we could all get to know all the candidates and understand why, and where your decision came from. So, for me, it really humanized the whole process. Who had this idea, and do you have any memories you'd like to share about those sessions?
JP: Well, thank you. I'm glad it seemed that way, and it was a really good thing. You know, as soon as we decided we were going to audition drummers, and that it would only be a few drummers, we didn't do an open audition, we just… We called a few people, and it ended up being only, you know, ten people or something like that, and only about seven ended up auditioning, so we knew it was going to take a few days, and we wanted to film it. But, you know, taking it to the next level, hiring a professional film crew, and turning it into something we were going to release. And the idea was to create a kind of series, which would be released little by little, until we revealed who the drummer would be. It ended up being a lot of fun, because, as you said, first of all, it generated a lot of anticipation. A lot of people around the world were very frustrated, you know, "Why aren't you releasing the name? Why is it taking so long?" But the cool thing is that it brought people together, as you said, it brought our fans into this experience, it was an exposure for us, for the whole process, and I think it welcomed Mike Mangini, because people saw what happened up to that point. You know, the memories… I was a little nervous about it, I think, but it was also exciting. It was many hours, a lot of work in those three days, but we had fun in Manhattan, we had many meetings, and it was difficult, you know, to… We had to think a lot about it, of course, it was difficult to keep the secret for so long, but I'm very happy that we did it.
W (NM): Still talking about the tests, as Brazilians, we were rooting for Aquiles Priester to get the job. Do you remember Aquiles? What do you remember from his session?
JP: I remember… Well, first of all, there was some trouble getting him to the auditions from Brazil, there was some problem with his visa, he almost didn't make it in time. He was very, very… a really nice guy… He got in, and he said he had to postpone or cancel some shows with his band, which I thought was a huge… a great sacrifice. And we had fun. Obviously, he didn't pass the audition, but he was very, very nice, very humble, and a great drummer, and we really enjoyed playing with him, so it was cool.
I've never toured with Steve Morse on the G3 tour, and of course, Steve is my all-time favorite musician, so it's going to be a lot of fun playing with him.”
W (DD): John, you guys paid tribute to some of the best rock albums in history, playing entire shows based on those albums, like Metallica's "Master of Puppets" and Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast." Can we expect you to do that again in the future, and maybe in Brazil? That would be amazing!
JP: Maybe, you know, it's not something we're going to do right now. Right now, on this world tour, we're obviously focusing on introducing people to Mike Mangini, and trying to strike a balance between the new album and the older material, and we have limited time in the shows. I mean, right now, our show is about 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so, you know, it's something we might do in the future, but not this time.
W (DD): I love your solo album, “Suspended Animation,” which was released in 2005, if I'm not mistaken, especially a fantastic track you have called “Glasgow Kiss.” Do you think we can expect a second solo album in the future?
JP: Yeah, you know, people ask me that all the time, and like you said, it was released a long time ago, in 2005. So I have G3 dates in South America coming up soon, I'll be in Brazil in October with Joe Satriani and Steve Morse. So I'll have some new material for that tour, and right after that I'll go back to the studio and record music for a new solo album. So I know it's been quite a while, but I've been very, very busy with the band, so…
W (NM): Still on the subject of G3, you're coming to Brazil this year on the G3 tour. Can you share any memories about a G3 show you've done before? And what can we expect from these upcoming shows?
JP: Sure, you know, I've done many G3 tours around the world, in Europe and Asia, Australia and America. But I also… We did one in South America, which was me, Joe and Eric Johnson, and we had a lot of fun, and I think it's going to be like that again, I'm really looking forward to it. I've never done a G3 tour with Steve Morse, and of course, Steve is my all-time favorite musician, so it's going to be a lot of fun playing with him. Joe is an amazing guy, a wonderful guitarist, and it's always a lot of fun playing with him, I always feel honored to be part of this tour. And I think the fans are going to get to see new music, and a new combination of artists, it's going to be incredible.
W (DD): Hey John, I'm curious, how do you guys rehearse with such busy schedules?
JP: Well, we're only going to rehearse a few days in September. You know, just to choose the songs, we're going to get together and rehearse some songs, so those will be the rehearsals with the band. And then when we get together in South America, we'll talk about which songs we're going to improvise over, and we'll rehearse. So everyone practices, preparing for the tour.
W (NM): John, in your opinion, how important is it for a musician to have an open mind about other styles of music? And how difficult is it for you to do that, especially in the world of hard rock and heavy metal?
JP: Well, you know, you have to try to maintain your identity in hard rock and metal, and you know… The good thing about playing this style of music that we play, you know, the progressive element, is that we can add different elements from different styles. And that creates a more interesting sound. So, you know, it's important, you can go out and listen to different things, you can pick up influences from other types of music that you wouldn't normally think of, you know, and maybe as a guitarist, that shows up in your improvisations, and as a composer, that might show up in your note and melody choices, and that helps make your music much more original and unique.
Going to the Grammys, being nominated for a Grammy, was a huge moment for me, for all of us as a band.”
W (DD): John, we're almost finished with our interview, but before we say goodbye, I'd like to ask you: with so many incredible moments you've experienced, what's the moment you'll never forget? The thing that immediately comes to mind when you think about all the amazing things you've accomplished?
JP: Well, thank you for saying that. It's hard for me to think of just one thing, I mean, obviously there are many moments… Recently… A recent moment that I will never forget: going to the Grammys, being nominated for a Grammy, that was a great moment for me, for all of us as a band. And, you know, having my family there, having the band there with all our families. It was very special, it was a great moment.
W (NM): John, what advice would you give to a young person who is thinking about forming a rock band, or playing guitar?
JP: You know, obviously, if you're serious about music, you really have to dedicate yourself, you know, I like to dedicate many hours to practicing. But at the same time, you know, you have to compose original music – that's very important, because that's what will set you apart from the rest of the people, that's what will give you a unique voice in relation to the music you create. So that… You know, compose music and practice a lot.
W (DD): Mr. John Petrucci, from Dream Theater, it was a true honor. Thank you so much for your time, your patience, and for being here with us at Wikimetal. Could you please leave one last message for all the Wikimetal and Dream Theater fans who are listening?
JP: Of course. To all the Wikimetal and Dream Theater fans: I'm looking forward to coming to Brazil again, it's always amazing, and I'm excited for all the shows we're going to do in the next two weeks. And thank you to everyone who has been with us from the beginning, and to the new people too. I'm really looking forward to it, I think it's going to be wonderful.
W (NM): Thank you very much, Mr. John Petrucci, one of the great guitar masters of our time. Thank you very much for the interview. We will be there on Sunday in São Paulo with Dream Theater, and in October with G3, for sure. It was a true honor to have you on our show, and we will always support everything you do, whether with Dream Theater or in your solo career.
JP: Thank you very much, I appreciate it. Bye.
W (DD): Thank you, bye!
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