DREAM THEATER - Interview With JOHN PETRUCCI And MIKE PORTNOY Available

Blistering.com recently caught up with DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy to discuss the band's new album, Systematic Chaos. The following is a brief excerpt from the Petrucci interview:

Blistering: When Atlantic absorbed Elektra, you weren't able to leave at that point; Warners still held you to that contract.

John Petrucci: "Yeah. There were several changes, actually. When we first got signed it was Atco Records and then eventually changed to EastWest and then Elektra, and all are different. So many different people came and went; we had so many different A&R; people, presidents and this and that, but the deal stuck, yeah. They renewed every single option we had. It was an eight-album deal."

Blistering: It seemed like they put out your record, and that's it. There wasn't any promotion.

Petrucci: "Yeah. That was a big thing . . . we sort of felt like that we were a little too self-sufficient, that obviously we were doin' our job makin' the best records we can and putting 'em out. But then at that point, when it was time for the label to take over and promote, do their job, it wasn't really there. Hopefully, and it seems like so far, it will be different this time."

Blistering: There's also the special edition of the (new) CD. Have you guys done anything like that in a while?

Petrucci: "No, not really. We really haven't. That's another thing. Kind of offering more. I think it's really important to sort of keep up with the demand . . . People can get things so easily now, you need to constantly be offering things, and the fact that what's being offered on the special edition is kind of a making-of the album, and it's really spectacular. So I think fans are, they're really gettin' their money's worth on that . . . [and] the 5.1 mix as well."

Click here to check out the rest of the Petrucci interview. Go to this location to check out the interview with Mike Portnoy.