Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is Crashing a j all with James will Brie and
of course lots to be excited about when it comes
to Dream Theater.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, welcome, Welcome to Crash and aj Thank you for
taking the time to talk to us today. And of
course we're so excited because you guys making a pit
stop here, bake here sound in clear Water on September
tenth is part of your fortieth anniversary tour and supporting
your new album How Badass Is That Man? Welcome to
Tampa Bay.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Colub, Thank you, Craig and Ag. Yeah, I mean, you know,
we're we're excited. We've been touring since last October. We're
you know, everything is going according to plan. And I
think more importantly, we're just having a great time being
out here and support obviously in support of Parasomnia, our
(00:50):
latest release, but at the same time playing all at
Classics is a lot of fun with your original lineup Parasomnia.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Tell us about that was any meaning behind the definition
of parasomnia.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It is sleep terrors, nightmares caused by well several several
things can can lead to that. It can be a
ptsd U, it can be uh, you know, anything that
might have thrown you off kilt in the past, and
(01:29):
it's people that are suffering from these realistic nightmares on
a nightly basis, and nowadays they have therapy for that.
But it is a very tormenting and relentless illness that
people are suffering from from around the world. So, once again,
(01:50):
Dream Theater, being who we are, we're not just going
to talk about love stories. We got to get into
something profound as that.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Makes the dance floor pretty pretty wide when you talk
about something you just described, ye.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
But yeah, it'd be a great horror movie dance scene,
you know.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah. But diving into those.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Things, you know, that pretty much sums it up.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I mean, is it something that any of you guys
have had some of those experiences with and how is
that influencing your vocal performance on stage?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Oh well, I mean with every album and every song
crash I've had, like I've been, I've always immersed myself
within the lyrics, so it wouldn't on any given song.
I'm trying to be as true to it emotionally and
(02:43):
how it resonates with me so that it can be
sincere and genuine. So once again, with parasomnia, once I
researched this situation with so many people, I was able
to fully understand it and then be able to I
think convey it as I said sincerely. So it's you know,
(03:04):
I it's one of the things that it's a beautiful
situation for a singer to be in a band like
Dream Theater because of our music being so eclectic and
our lyrical content. I mean, the sky's up wide open
for me and it's it's a beautiful position to be
in because there's no there's no risk of me feeling
(03:25):
as if I'm you know, suffering from groundhog Day or
any now.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's always interesting, always different.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah. Now, for somebody that hasn't deeped into, you know,
dived into the internet to take a look at the
cheat sheets out there to see some of the set list,
I mean, what's somebody that can expect forty years fortieth
anniversary congratulations, Absolutely stunning. But with that being said, are
there any deeper cuts maybe, you know, well, something people
can look forward too in that regard.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Well, I would. I would consider the fact that we're
going to be doing a change of seasons on this leg,
which we haven't played with Mike for at least I'm
going to say fifteen years, maybe seven sey wo years,
and so that's going to be extremely exciting for the
(04:13):
fans to see that again. And not to mention, I mean,
we do go back all the way to the Images
and Words album and then throughout we try and encapsulate
the entire catalog to some degree, but I mean that
is impossible even though we're doing a two and a
half to three hours set list every night, so it's
(04:36):
still difficult for us to fit that in. But there's
more tours to you know, we feel really good about
going on for another five or ten years, if you
can believe it. But I mean it seems to me
when I look out there, optics are telling me that
I'm still seeing people in their late seventies out there
rocking it. So that's inspiring. But yeah, it's going to
(04:59):
be an overall view of who and what Dream Theater is.
We'll you know, dig deep into our catalog. But at
the same time we are going to be featuring Parasomnia.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Which the reunion with Mike has been a huge story.
What was that like being on stage with him again
for the first time in over a decade.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, the very first time we were on stage together
was at the two Arena in London, and I think
we were all just somewhat paralyzed from what was upon us,
you know, the very first show, having to go out
there having not played with Mike in fifteen years. It
was kind of overwhelming. But once we got a couple
(05:45):
of songs under our belt, then everything felt great and
very natural, and everything kind of sets into autopilot and
it's just been a lot of fun. I mean, you
realize and you are reminded of that chemistry. Mike has
a very specific kind of style the way he plays.
(06:05):
He's very musical to begin with, but because of that,
his drumming just has a certain unique taste to it
and groove and and uh, I didn't realize until I
was on stage. Well actually, even in rehearsals, we were
all commenting on it. You kind of forget how it
feels to play with certain musicians, And it was very,
(06:29):
very evident when we started to jam with with Mike
again and obviously start this this world tour. So it's
it's been an amazing bride thus far. And and uh yeah,
I mean we're very thankful to be back together and
uh and doing this and we're all you know, it's
we're all having a great time. We're joking around, we're laughing,
(06:52):
we're having a you know, the odd drink here and
there together and uh, you know, we don't party or
anything like that, but that's that's that's the behind us.
We did that when we first started out. But yeah,
well you know, it all comes down to the stage
and we're just having a great time.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
And you know, speaking of going all the way back
to the beginning, you guys have been doing this for forty years.
So one question I always love to ask, is is
there the moment from that first performance that kind of
sticks out in your brain that maybe you could walk
us through the first time you guys all got on
stage together or you know whatever reiteration just like that,
What was it that kind of sticks out.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
In your brain? Just the crowd erupting, you know, there
was I'm not sure how many people were there, fifteen
thousand people and it was just it was deafening the sound. Yeah,
we kind of like looked at one another and smiled
and then before you know it, because I think so
(07:52):
much was building up to that moment, it was pretty
crazy because we all came off stage at the end
of that night. Oh my god, did that just fly by? It?
Did you feel it was like the blink of an eye?
And it was That's exactly what it felt like, because
you're just overstimulated and everything is just it's indescribable, the feeling,
(08:17):
the feelings that you're having wow while you're on stage.
So yeah, it was just we'll never forget the moment,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Rung with James Lebrie from Dream Theater. Of course. I
know you've about forty years of being familiar with musicians,
taking a break from musicians and now going on this
fortieth anniverse with a new album. What's changed inside the band?
Is there? Is there? There's always journeys when you're talking
(08:46):
about forty years, but is there something you know inside
the band chemistry wise between all you members that's changed.
That's that's led us to where we are today.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I think, you know, individually, I think that we all
are really in top form. We're all playing. You know,
I'm singing better than I have in probably twenty five
thirty years, and but you know, and that stands true
with the other guys. I think because of this reunion,
(09:20):
we were all just so inspired to be able to
make sure that you know, we're going to go out
there and we're going to give it our best, and
we're going to prove to everyone that we're still out
there for the right reasons that you know, we are
absolutely in love with what we do, and I think
that's quite evident when we're on stage that everybody can
(09:43):
see we're not just going through the motions and not
getting a big paycheck because of what we're doing. We're
actually out there for the reasons of being that we
want to support the latest album, which we're extremely proud of,
and we want to be able to just keep doing what,
as you keep saying, which keeps blowing my mind, forty
years so we're having We're just I think it comes
(10:08):
down to that not really that much has changed, aside
from the fact that we know that this is the
right fit and that this is the way that it
started and this is the way that it should remain,
you know, the five of us being together and being
dream theater and just having a great time doing it,
(10:31):
which I think as long as we can ensure that
that is always going to be present, then you know what,
it's the sky's the limit as far as we want to.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Take it when I see when I see bands play,
they've been together for a long time. One of my
favorite parts is having the front man like yourself, introduce
the different members of the band and they have a
little musical cameos. Yeah, you know during the show. Is
that for you guys, that's got to be even more
special right now? Just look at each other and call
each's name out again and say, yep, that's us, we're
(11:01):
still here.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Well, you know what's funny about that is that the
only one that I'm really introducing in the day is
Mike because he's back in the band. I'll go, you know, like,
I'll just say something to the effect that, oh, you know,
and you might recognize somebody back here behind me behind
to sit once again, you know, Mike portnite, right, I'm
(11:26):
a little bit more enthusised it when we're live on stage,
I'm kind of screaming it out. But but yeah, and
then it's only been a couple of times where I'll
just because I kind of go with the flow in
the moment and very spontaneous. And I always like to
include humor when I'm on stage because I think that's
(11:47):
extremely important to just be personable and have a sense
of personality and just go with it, like read the room,
reflect off of what's going on in front of you.
People love that kind of stuff. And I think it's
only been maybe a couple times that I've said, you know,
we got John Patrucci over here, We've got Jordi Rudis,
we got John my Young, right, and but and it's
(12:09):
all it's all good because at this point it's you know,
when it happens, it happens. And now I'm not even
doing it every night. It's own with Mike. I'm doing
it if we happen to be in new terricles that
we haven't played yet with Mike Pack in the band.
So I'm being a little bit more selective than when
we first started out.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Now, speaking of rid in the room, how's it come
when it comes to setlists? For instance, you got people
out of the crowd. Are they holding up signs can't
we hear this song? Or yelling song titles that they
want to hear? Is that something that actually happens with
you guys as the band too? Is everybody choosing like
is it all coming up to an agreement or is
there like at least you know, each band members get
that that one song that yeah, we need to play
(12:51):
this one, this one for so and so. How's that
come about.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean definitely, I mean we know we're going
to play pull Me Under, and so we kind of
save that for the end of the night. But yeah,
we do see the signs out front. We do have
the fans kind of saying, you know, hey about they're here.
Whether it's in the setliss or not. Like let's just
say the spirit care is on or surrounded or you know,
(13:18):
learning to live or something like that. They will spit
out songs and they'll yell them out, or they'll be
holding a sign saying that, or they'll be holding the
sign saying it's our anniversary or it's our birthday or
you know, stuff like that is always out in front,
and I acknowledge them. I'll look at them and I'll
point to them and you know, give them a thumbs
(13:40):
up and stuff like that. But I'm not necessarily saying, hey,
it's this guy's or this girl's birthday, but I definitely
acknowledge it. But you know, it's so funny because online
or something, you get these requests all the time, Hey, James,
you know we're coming to the show. It would be
really great if you could sing my son on the
(14:02):
Happy Birthday. And I'm thinking, wow, you know this isn't
gonna happen. I'm sorry, but anyways, it's all good. It's
all good that they're keeping it that light. And yeah,
for sure, what.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Shows have you actually have you frequented any shows recently?
Any other bands that you that you really took note of,
you enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Well, my son and I went saw Metallica when they
were here in Toronto and that was fantastic. I mean
I was just wow, look at what these guys are doing, man,
and they sound great. They sounded great, really did. And
then to see pan Terra up there again is really cool.
We've done shows with pan Terra in the past, like
(14:49):
at big festivals in Europe. Well actually we did a
couple of shows with Metallica at these big festivals in Europe.
But yeah, I was gonna go see a system of
the down and depthtones in September. They're playing in Toronto,
like just maybe a week a little over a week
from now, but I'm going to be kicking off the
(15:11):
US tour, so I'm not going to see that. But
generally speaking, I don't go to too many shows. I'm
very very selective of who and what I want to see,
and I just like, I like chilling. You know. I'm
the kind of guy when I come home, I really
like my home and my property, and I like to
(15:34):
go bike riding and hiking, and in the winter I'm
downhill skiing down mountains all time. So I really like
to be more as far as I'm concerned, connected to
natures as much as I can.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Ye, no light show in downhill right there.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Although there's a light show going on in my head.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah right, ah Man appreciated time.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of course. Once again, Drain Theater are going to be
performing Bay here Sounding clear Water September twenty fifth, which
I got to know real quick. What type of vibe
or energy do you get from the Tampa Bay audience?
Speaker 3 (16:21):
The vibe, I mean, so far on every show they're exciting.
They're excited. In fact, what's really been blowing our minds
on this last tour, especially when we just finished the
European tour three and a half weeks ago, is there's
a lot of mosh pits happening again. Yeah, and it
(16:43):
might have I know, and it's just blowing our mind
because we used to see that on the Images and
Works tour and on the Wake tour because some of
those tracks on those albums are pretty damn heavy. But
so in that sense, it's been kind of very, very surprising,
but at the same time, bring it on, you know,
(17:04):
we love it. But every night I have to say,
it's everybody is there full throttle. They're singing along with
the songs, they're they're screaming, yelling, they're they're so into it.
And I think one of the beautiful things on the
last leg that we just did in Europe is we
(17:25):
were playing all these beautiful iconic venues, like in Plovdiv, Bulgaria,
we played a place called the Antique Theater and it's
twenty nine one hundred years old. And then when we
played it we played in Orange at this I can't
(17:48):
remember the venue name now, Oh my god, the French
people are going to knock me out over that, but
it was once again, I think it was twenty five
hundred years old. And then when we played POMPEII and
we played that the famous you know, the famous theater
that that Pink Floyd played in nineteen seventy two. So
(18:09):
there's all these venues that we were playing that were
kind of on our bucket list. Well, Pompeii was definitely
definitely something we always talked about, and it was something
that Mike Portnoy had always said, we go on to
play Pompeii. He was so moved by playing Pompeii. He
he had tears coming down his face. So, you know,
(18:29):
but that's you know, Mike is just I think he's
one of the biggest music fans I've ever met in
my life. And then that's why when it comes to
Dream Theater and he's putting together the setlist, because he's
in you know, he puts together all the setlists once again,
and he puts them out to us and says, Okay, guys,
you're good with this. This is what I'm thinking to
(18:50):
this leg, and he nails it because he's so completely
immersed in what Dream Theater is. And I think, first
and foremost, as crazy as it sounds, he is the
biggest band of the band. So in that sense, he
always knows how he wants to go forward with the
band and what we should be playing. And he's very analytical.
(19:12):
He'll look at what songs we played last time we
were in like, let's for instance, in clear Water. You
know last time we played here, Okay, we played these songs.
So then we're going to do this set because that'll
be refreshing to this this area that you know we
were once set. I don't even know have we played
(19:32):
clear Water.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Well, this is a new amphitheater here, so it just
opened up. But maybe I don't know if you've done
with Ruth Eckert or some of the other venues, but
this one is new.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, okay, so we have Okay, Okay,
that's good to know. It's good to know. But so
I think, you know, long and short of it is
that when we're out there, like people are are completely
immersed and they're uh, they're there for the right reasons.
(20:03):
They're celebrating the music with us. I say that every night.
You know what, let's just forget about everything else that's
going on in the world. We're here to celebrate the music,
be together, and you know, be spirited throughout the night.
And everyone's there for exactly those reasons and those reasons alone,
and I think it makes for a memorable evening for everyone.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
It's a beautiful backdrop you're going to be experiencing there
as well, So yeah, I cannot wait to get to
your aspects. You know you made your comments on how
what that experience was. Because there's gonna be a ton
of people here waiting to catch out forty years of
Dream theater.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Oh yeah, we can't wait. It's it's going to be
an incredible show. I hope the both of you will
be there as well to witness it.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, we look forward to forward to it. That'd be fantastic, absolutely,
And it's been such a pleasure talking to you today.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Us well, thank you and and uh yeah, looking forward
to it. Thank you for having me on and yeah,
all it's great. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Treat that our whooa Optember tenth Sound and clear Water
with ninety eight Rock
Is Crashing a j all with James will Brie and
of course lots to be excited about when it comes
to Dream Theater.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, welcome, Welcome to Crash and aj Thank you for
taking the time to talk to us today. And of
course we're so excited because you guys making a pit
stop here, bake here sound in clear Water on September
tenth is part of your fortieth anniversary tour and supporting
your new album How Badass Is That Man? Welcome to
Tampa Bay.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Colub, Thank you, Craig and Ag. Yeah, I mean, you know,
we're we're excited. We've been touring since last October. We're
you know, everything is going according to plan. And I
think more importantly, we're just having a great time being
out here and support obviously in support of Parasomnia, our
(00:50):
latest release, but at the same time playing all at
Classics is a lot of fun with your original lineup Parasomnia.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Tell us about that was any meaning behind the definition
of parasomnia.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It is sleep terrors, nightmares caused by well several several
things can can lead to that. It can be a
ptsd U, it can be uh, you know, anything that
might have thrown you off kilt in the past, and
(01:29):
it's people that are suffering from these realistic nightmares on
a nightly basis, and nowadays they have therapy for that.
But it is a very tormenting and relentless illness that
people are suffering from from around the world. So, once again,
(01:50):
Dream Theater, being who we are, we're not just going
to talk about love stories. We got to get into
something profound as that.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Makes the dance floor pretty pretty wide when you talk
about something you just described, ye.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
But yeah, it'd be a great horror movie dance scene,
you know.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah. But diving into those.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Things, you know, that pretty much sums it up.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I mean, is it something that any of you guys
have had some of those experiences with and how is
that influencing your vocal performance on stage?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Oh well, I mean with every album and every song
crash I've had, like I've been, I've always immersed myself
within the lyrics, so it wouldn't on any given song.
I'm trying to be as true to it emotionally and
(02:43):
how it resonates with me so that it can be
sincere and genuine. So once again, with parasomnia, once I
researched this situation with so many people, I was able
to fully understand it and then be able to I
think convey it as I said sincerely. So it's you know,
(03:04):
I it's one of the things that it's a beautiful
situation for a singer to be in a band like
Dream Theater because of our music being so eclectic and
our lyrical content. I mean, the sky's up wide open
for me and it's it's a beautiful position to be
in because there's no there's no risk of me feeling
(03:25):
as if I'm you know, suffering from groundhog Day or
any now.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's always interesting, always different.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah. Now, for somebody that hasn't deeped into, you know,
dived into the internet to take a look at the
cheat sheets out there to see some of the set list,
I mean, what's somebody that can expect forty years fortieth
anniversary congratulations, Absolutely stunning. But with that being said, are
there any deeper cuts maybe, you know, well, something people
can look forward too in that regard.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Well, I would. I would consider the fact that we're
going to be doing a change of seasons on this leg,
which we haven't played with Mike for at least I'm
going to say fifteen years, maybe seven sey wo years,
and so that's going to be extremely exciting for the
(04:13):
fans to see that again. And not to mention, I mean,
we do go back all the way to the Images
and Words album and then throughout we try and encapsulate
the entire catalog to some degree, but I mean that
is impossible even though we're doing a two and a
half to three hours set list every night, so it's
(04:36):
still difficult for us to fit that in. But there's
more tours to you know, we feel really good about
going on for another five or ten years, if you
can believe it. But I mean it seems to me
when I look out there, optics are telling me that
I'm still seeing people in their late seventies out there
rocking it. So that's inspiring. But yeah, it's going to
(04:59):
be an overall view of who and what Dream Theater is.
We'll you know, dig deep into our catalog. But at
the same time we are going to be featuring Parasomnia.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Which the reunion with Mike has been a huge story.
What was that like being on stage with him again
for the first time in over a decade.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, the very first time we were on stage together
was at the two Arena in London, and I think
we were all just somewhat paralyzed from what was upon us,
you know, the very first show, having to go out
there having not played with Mike in fifteen years. It
was kind of overwhelming. But once we got a couple
(05:45):
of songs under our belt, then everything felt great and
very natural, and everything kind of sets into autopilot and
it's just been a lot of fun. I mean, you
realize and you are reminded of that chemistry. Mike has
a very specific kind of style the way he plays.
(06:05):
He's very musical to begin with, but because of that,
his drumming just has a certain unique taste to it
and groove and and uh, I didn't realize until I
was on stage. Well actually, even in rehearsals, we were
all commenting on it. You kind of forget how it
feels to play with certain musicians, And it was very,
(06:29):
very evident when we started to jam with with Mike
again and obviously start this this world tour. So it's
it's been an amazing bride thus far. And and uh yeah,
I mean we're very thankful to be back together and
uh and doing this and we're all you know, it's
we're all having a great time. We're joking around, we're laughing,
(06:52):
we're having a you know, the odd drink here and
there together and uh, you know, we don't party or
anything like that, but that's that's that's the behind us.
We did that when we first started out. But yeah,
well you know, it all comes down to the stage
and we're just having a great time.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
And you know, speaking of going all the way back
to the beginning, you guys have been doing this for forty years.
So one question I always love to ask, is is
there the moment from that first performance that kind of
sticks out in your brain that maybe you could walk
us through the first time you guys all got on
stage together or you know whatever reiteration just like that,
What was it that kind of sticks out.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
In your brain? Just the crowd erupting, you know, there
was I'm not sure how many people were there, fifteen
thousand people and it was just it was deafening the sound. Yeah,
we kind of like looked at one another and smiled
and then before you know it, because I think so
(07:52):
much was building up to that moment, it was pretty
crazy because we all came off stage at the end
of that night. Oh my god, did that just fly by? It?
Did you feel it was like the blink of an eye?
And it was That's exactly what it felt like, because
you're just overstimulated and everything is just it's indescribable, the feeling,
(08:17):
the feelings that you're having wow while you're on stage.
So yeah, it was just we'll never forget the moment,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Rung with James Lebrie from Dream Theater. Of course. I
know you've about forty years of being familiar with musicians,
taking a break from musicians and now going on this
fortieth anniverse with a new album. What's changed inside the band?
Is there? Is there? There's always journeys when you're talking
(08:46):
about forty years, but is there something you know inside
the band chemistry wise between all you members that's changed.
That's that's led us to where we are today.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I think, you know, individually, I think that we all
are really in top form. We're all playing. You know,
I'm singing better than I have in probably twenty five
thirty years, and but you know, and that stands true
with the other guys. I think because of this reunion,
(09:20):
we were all just so inspired to be able to
make sure that you know, we're going to go out
there and we're going to give it our best, and
we're going to prove to everyone that we're still out
there for the right reasons that you know, we are
absolutely in love with what we do, and I think
that's quite evident when we're on stage that everybody can
(09:43):
see we're not just going through the motions and not
getting a big paycheck because of what we're doing. We're
actually out there for the reasons of being that we
want to support the latest album, which we're extremely proud of,
and we want to be able to just keep doing what,
as you keep saying, which keeps blowing my mind, forty
years so we're having We're just I think it comes
(10:08):
down to that not really that much has changed, aside
from the fact that we know that this is the
right fit and that this is the way that it
started and this is the way that it should remain,
you know, the five of us being together and being
dream theater and just having a great time doing it,
(10:31):
which I think as long as we can ensure that
that is always going to be present, then you know what,
it's the sky's the limit as far as we want to.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Take it when I see when I see bands play,
they've been together for a long time. One of my
favorite parts is having the front man like yourself, introduce
the different members of the band and they have a
little musical cameos. Yeah, you know during the show. Is
that for you guys, that's got to be even more
special right now? Just look at each other and call
each's name out again and say, yep, that's us, we're
(11:01):
still here.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Well, you know what's funny about that is that the
only one that I'm really introducing in the day is
Mike because he's back in the band. I'll go, you know, like,
I'll just say something to the effect that, oh, you know,
and you might recognize somebody back here behind me behind
to sit once again, you know, Mike portnite, right, I'm
(11:26):
a little bit more enthusised it when we're live on stage,
I'm kind of screaming it out. But but yeah, and
then it's only been a couple of times where I'll
just because I kind of go with the flow in
the moment and very spontaneous. And I always like to
include humor when I'm on stage because I think that's
(11:47):
extremely important to just be personable and have a sense
of personality and just go with it, like read the room,
reflect off of what's going on in front of you.
People love that kind of stuff. And I think it's
only been maybe a couple times that I've said, you know,
we got John Patrucci over here, We've got Jordi Rudis,
we got John my Young, right, and but and it's
(12:09):
all it's all good because at this point it's you know,
when it happens, it happens. And now I'm not even
doing it every night. It's own with Mike. I'm doing
it if we happen to be in new terricles that
we haven't played yet with Mike Pack in the band.
So I'm being a little bit more selective than when
we first started out.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Now, speaking of rid in the room, how's it come
when it comes to setlists? For instance, you got people
out of the crowd. Are they holding up signs can't
we hear this song? Or yelling song titles that they
want to hear? Is that something that actually happens with
you guys as the band too? Is everybody choosing like
is it all coming up to an agreement or is
there like at least you know, each band members get
that that one song that yeah, we need to play
(12:51):
this one, this one for so and so. How's that
come about.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean definitely, I mean we know we're going
to play pull Me Under, and so we kind of
save that for the end of the night. But yeah,
we do see the signs out front. We do have
the fans kind of saying, you know, hey about they're here.
Whether it's in the setliss or not. Like let's just
say the spirit care is on or surrounded or you know,
(13:18):
learning to live or something like that. They will spit
out songs and they'll yell them out, or they'll be
holding a sign saying that, or they'll be holding the
sign saying it's our anniversary or it's our birthday or
you know, stuff like that is always out in front,
and I acknowledge them. I'll look at them and I'll
point to them and you know, give them a thumbs
(13:40):
up and stuff like that. But I'm not necessarily saying, hey,
it's this guy's or this girl's birthday, but I definitely
acknowledge it. But you know, it's so funny because online
or something, you get these requests all the time, Hey, James,
you know we're coming to the show. It would be
really great if you could sing my son on the
(14:02):
Happy Birthday. And I'm thinking, wow, you know this isn't
gonna happen. I'm sorry, but anyways, it's all good. It's
all good that they're keeping it that light. And yeah,
for sure, what.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Shows have you actually have you frequented any shows recently?
Any other bands that you that you really took note of,
you enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Well, my son and I went saw Metallica when they
were here in Toronto and that was fantastic. I mean
I was just wow, look at what these guys are doing, man,
and they sound great. They sounded great, really did. And
then to see pan Terra up there again is really cool.
We've done shows with pan Terra in the past, like
(14:49):
at big festivals in Europe. Well actually we did a
couple of shows with Metallica at these big festivals in Europe.
But yeah, I was gonna go see a system of
the down and depthtones in September. They're playing in Toronto,
like just maybe a week a little over a week
from now, but I'm going to be kicking off the
(15:11):
US tour, so I'm not going to see that. But
generally speaking, I don't go to too many shows. I'm
very very selective of who and what I want to see,
and I just like, I like chilling. You know. I'm
the kind of guy when I come home, I really
like my home and my property, and I like to
(15:34):
go bike riding and hiking, and in the winter I'm
downhill skiing down mountains all time. So I really like
to be more as far as I'm concerned, connected to
natures as much as I can.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Ye, no light show in downhill right there.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Although there's a light show going on in my head.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah right, ah Man appreciated time.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of course. Once again, Drain Theater are going to be
performing Bay here Sounding clear Water September twenty fifth, which
I got to know real quick. What type of vibe
or energy do you get from the Tampa Bay audience?
Speaker 3 (16:21):
The vibe, I mean, so far on every show they're exciting.
They're excited. In fact, what's really been blowing our minds
on this last tour, especially when we just finished the
European tour three and a half weeks ago, is there's
a lot of mosh pits happening again. Yeah, and it
(16:43):
might have I know, and it's just blowing our mind
because we used to see that on the Images and
Works tour and on the Wake tour because some of
those tracks on those albums are pretty damn heavy. But
so in that sense, it's been kind of very, very surprising,
but at the same time, bring it on, you know,
(17:04):
we love it. But every night I have to say,
it's everybody is there full throttle. They're singing along with
the songs, they're they're screaming, yelling, they're they're so into it.
And I think one of the beautiful things on the
last leg that we just did in Europe is we
(17:25):
were playing all these beautiful iconic venues, like in Plovdiv, Bulgaria,
we played a place called the Antique Theater and it's
twenty nine one hundred years old. And then when we
played it we played in Orange at this I can't
(17:48):
remember the venue name now, Oh my god, the French
people are going to knock me out over that, but
it was once again, I think it was twenty five
hundred years old. And then when we played POMPEII and
we played that the famous you know, the famous theater
that that Pink Floyd played in nineteen seventy two. So
(18:09):
there's all these venues that we were playing that were
kind of on our bucket list. Well, Pompeii was definitely
definitely something we always talked about, and it was something
that Mike Portnoy had always said, we go on to
play Pompeii. He was so moved by playing Pompeii. He
he had tears coming down his face. So, you know,
(18:29):
but that's you know, Mike is just I think he's
one of the biggest music fans I've ever met in
my life. And then that's why when it comes to
Dream Theater and he's putting together the setlist, because he's
in you know, he puts together all the setlists once again,
and he puts them out to us and says, Okay, guys,
you're good with this. This is what I'm thinking to
(18:50):
this leg, and he nails it because he's so completely
immersed in what Dream Theater is. And I think, first
and foremost, as crazy as it sounds, he is the
biggest band of the band. So in that sense, he
always knows how he wants to go forward with the
band and what we should be playing. And he's very analytical.
(19:12):
He'll look at what songs we played last time we
were in like, let's for instance, in clear Water. You
know last time we played here, Okay, we played these songs.
So then we're going to do this set because that'll
be refreshing to this this area that you know we
were once set. I don't even know have we played
(19:32):
clear Water.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Well, this is a new amphitheater here, so it just
opened up. But maybe I don't know if you've done
with Ruth Eckert or some of the other venues, but
this one is new.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, okay, so we have Okay, Okay,
that's good to know. It's good to know. But so
I think, you know, long and short of it is
that when we're out there, like people are are completely
immersed and they're uh, they're there for the right reasons.
(20:03):
They're celebrating the music with us. I say that every night.
You know what, let's just forget about everything else that's
going on in the world. We're here to celebrate the music,
be together, and you know, be spirited throughout the night.
And everyone's there for exactly those reasons and those reasons alone,
and I think it makes for a memorable evening for everyone.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
It's a beautiful backdrop you're going to be experiencing there
as well, So yeah, I cannot wait to get to
your aspects. You know you made your comments on how
what that experience was. Because there's gonna be a ton
of people here waiting to catch out forty years of
Dream theater.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Oh yeah, we can't wait. It's it's going to be
an incredible show. I hope the both of you will
be there as well to witness it.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, we look forward to forward to it. That'd be fantastic, absolutely,
And it's been such a pleasure talking to you today.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Us well, thank you and and uh yeah, looking forward
to it. Thank you for having me on and yeah,
all it's great. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Treat that our whooa Optember tenth Sound and clear Water
with ninety eight Rock
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