DREAM THEATER Guitarist John Petrucci Discusses Future Plans; Video Interview Available
July 25, 2014, 10 years ago
The TeamRock.com interview clip below features Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci discussing the band's headline show on the Saturn Stage at Sonisphere UK, the current resurgence of progressive music, and whether they have any plans to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of 1994's Awake album:
Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess has taken part in Music Radar's series My Best And Worst Gigs Ever. Following is an excerpt from the interview:
“It’s really easy to pick the worst gig – actually, two stand out in a big way. Because I use all of this technology and am interested in the art of entertaining, I open myself up to the possibility of things going south.
“I remember a Dream Theater show at the National Auditorium in Mexico. I was playing my then-newest keyboard stand creation. The thing operates on hydraulics – it goes this way and that way and in all different directions. I was very proud of it. Everything was going fine, and on the second tune I wanted to show it off a little bit. I moved the stand so that the keyboard would face the audience, and there I was, playing in all my glory, feeling all special and showing off. 'This is so cool,' I thought.
“Well, after I was done playing my lead, I hit the ‘Back’ button that would send the keyboard to its normal position, but the thing just wouldn’t move. It was frozen. I called my tech and waved him to come out on stage, and he rushed over to me and attempted to get the thing back to where it should be. It was all the way down, so I was leaning over it while playing.
“After a minute of him putzing with it, I realized, ‘This thing isn’t gonna budge.’ As this is happening, we’re continuing to play. Then the guitar tech came over with his tools, so he starts in on it. Pretty soon, I had every tech kneeling below the keyboard stand trying to fix it – all of this going on while I’m playing. I’m just thinking, ‘This is so embarrassing. Beam me up, please. I want to disappear.’
“By the time we got to the next song, John Petrucci and James (LaBrie) came over, trying to lift it. Now my back is starting to hurt because I’m leaning way over the keyboard trying to play my best in this absurd fashion – and I'm in front of 10,000 people. I had to do that for the rest of the show.
“It was such a mental test. Each part would come up, like a piano solo, and I would think, ‘Oh, shit, can I do this? Can I actually get through it?’ You can’t lose track too much, because it’s Dream Theater. I ended up getting through it, and I actually heard that it was an OK show. I think it was fun for the audience because, not only did they see something unusual happen – it’s different than just a normal show – but they got to see my hands on the keys really well. Not that I was planning it like that.
“I walked off the stage all crooked from being contorted the whole night. I asked my tech if he could please arrange a chiropractor for me the next day. What an ordeal."
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Catch Dream Theater live on tour:
July
26 - Budapest Park - Budapest, Hungary
28 - Romexpo - Bucharest, Romania
29 - Festivalna Hall - Sofia, Bulgaria
31 - Kucukciftlik Park - Macka, Turkey