Metal-Rules.com's Marko Syrjala spoke with Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie before the band's recent gig in Helsinki, Finland. He discussed various things including the ongoing anniversary tour, the band’s challenging early days, the breakthrough, LaBrie’s solo career and his other musical projects outside the band. Read an excerpt below:

Metal-Rules.com: I’m sure that you’re aware that next year is going to be your 30th anniversary with Dream Theater?

James LaBrie: "Mm-hmm. I know that!" (Laughs)

Metal-Rules.com: It’s a very long time for anything. I can guess that when you joined the band, you probably didn’t expect this trip to last that long?

James LaBrie: "I mean, hey, for a band to even last freaking fifteen years is something. So when I sit back and I think that it will be thirty years in 2021… I mean, I was just telling you I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it’s been twenty years since Scenes From A Memory was released. Now it’s going to be thirty years since I’ve been in the band and it’s crazy for me to think about that. At the same time, each and every one of us in this band, we realize just how fortunate we are and how blessed we are to have had such an elongated and successful career. How many people can say that? Not many."

Metal-Rules.com: If I remember correctly, after the band released When Dream And Day Unite, they split quickly with vocalist Charlie Dominici. Then they briefly had a guy called Steve Stone in the band, but it didn’t last, and then they performed instrumental shows. When did you hear about the band the first time?

James LaBrie: "Well, what happened was that I was in a band which you’re probably aware of, Winter Rose. We were out touring with Lee Aaron. Long story short, I gave Lee Aaron a disc that we had written all these songs with Winter Rose, and she threw it down to a friend of hers in Quebec. He threw it down to New York, and the Dream Theater guys heard that disc, at which point they contacted me. They sent me When Dream And Day Unite. I had never heard of Dream Theater before because my understanding was that when that album came out, it had critical acclaim from rock magazines around the world, but it didn’t really do anything.

"I think it initially sold something like 5,000 or 10,000 copies or something like that. So, me being in Canada - I was in Toronto - I wasn’t even aware of this band. What I was told is, somebody from MCA records, her name was Charity, she contacted me and said, 'There’s this band called Dream Theater. They’re in New York, and I heard that you were really into progressive music.' And I said, 'Yeah, I am. Who told you that?' And she said, 'Oh, this guy Pierre.' 'Oh, okay. Okay.' And she said, 'This band Dream Theater, can I send you off the disc and you can listen to it and let me know what you think.' Well, as soon as I heard it - I’m a huge Rush fan. So as soon as I heard it, I was like, 'What the fuck is going on here? These guys are incredible, they’re brilliant, and they’re only - what, 20, 21 years old?' So at that point, Mike Portnoy actually called me and said, 'Hey, we got your disc. We listened to it. We want to fly you down to New York and have you come and jam with us.' And I said, 'Sure, man.' I said, 'I just listened to your album, and it’s freaking great. What you guys are doing is brilliant.' I said, 'I’ll come down, and let’s see if we can make this work, and if it clicks.' And that’s what happened."

Read the complete interview at Metal-Rules.com.

Dream Theater kicked off 2020 with the European leg of their most recent "Evening With” touring cycle; featuring a celebration of the band’s latest record, Distance Over Time, and their acclaimed milestone achievement, Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory.

The Distance Over Time Tour - Celebrating 20 Years Of Scenes From A Memory sees the band perform their full and complete 3-hour set for audiences throughout Europe. Full itinerary of dates and information on tickets for all upcoming shows, as well as VIP packages can be found here.

(Photo - Marko Syrjala)