Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / 40 Years Young With JORDAN RUDESS From DREAM THEATER

Transcript

40 Years Young With JORDAN RUDESS From DREAM THEATER · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm Jordan Rudis and I've been with this
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: band called Dream Theater for the last almost twenty seven
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: years and we're excited because we have got a couple
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: more legs of the tour to go and the next
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: one is, as I think you know, is going to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: be bringing us over to Australia of all places.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Fantastic mate, thanks for joining us today.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks for having me man.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: My pleasure.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: So, as you say, Dream Theater returned to Australia in
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: February for Runham shows celebrating the band's fortieth anniversary, kicking
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: off an Adelaide on February to tent and edding to
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Melbourne and Sydney and finishing in Brisbane on February fifteenth.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: So that's not long after Christmas mate, You're gonna have
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: to work off the holiday calories.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah absolutely, I mean you have to get myself
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: in shape and remember how this music goes.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: This is going to be Dream Theater's first stur of
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: Australia with Mike Portnoy on drums in fifteen years.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Mate.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: So aside from importantite coming back, what else is shame
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: for Dreams Theater Since you last visit.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Oh my god. Well, I mean we've been on the
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: road for over a year now doing our world tour,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: so just getting out there and playing you know, all
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: over the place, and it's been massive, incredible, and we're
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: kind of rounding it up with the next two legs.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: So that's you know, that's kind of where we're at
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: at the moment.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: And nice.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Now, I know, a bane's always bigger than just one
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: member mate, but with Mike coming back in like what
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: sort of extra dimensions as he's playing bringing the band's
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: live sound.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, Mike Portnoy was there at the beginning.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: It was instrumental in creating the sound of Dream Theater.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: There's no denying it is what it is. So you know,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: his return is amazing. It's like, welcome home and let's
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: continue on what.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: You started, you know. And here's the thing.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, Portnoy is not only a really great drummer,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: but also he has so many other skills that he offers,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: you know, that he puts into the band that it's
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: you know, it's unique, it's really unique. I mean when
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Portnoy was gone and we had thirteen years without him,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: we managed fine. We won a Grammy. We played amazing
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: shows all over the world and it was okay. You know,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: it's good now that he's back, though, you know, there's
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: a reality to the fact that there's so many things
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: that he does that he specializes in, like you know,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: set lists, like thinking along the lines of like a
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: movie director when it comes to you know, albums and
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: little placing themes and all kinds of stuff that he's
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: just really good at and we really all appreciate so much.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: And not only that, but you know, having him with
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: us when we were out there performing and he's got
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: you know, he's a unique performer with a certain kind
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: of charisma that's really welcoming and the fans really are
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: engaged with and it means a lot to the the
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: band comes off in a live experience. So you know,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: there's there's a lot to it. There's a lot to
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: having him back.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: It's notable is now the touring is jobbed an evening
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: with Dream Theater, which almost sounds like cabaret show mate, Like,
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: is it a more intimate affair or is it a
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: straight out rockshot cabaret show.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: It sounds like an evening with Dream Theater.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: I love it. Yeah, well that's yeah. I mean that's
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: kind of how they promote these kind of longer shows
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: that don't have that don't have opening bands. But yeah,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Portnoy's going to come out with a little dress on
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: and I'm going to ride it here from the stage.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: It's going to be amazing.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Bring donkey because we haven't got any ivory.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Oh well, okay, sorry, we're gonna He's gonna ride out
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: on a kangaroo.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: How about that, that's dole.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: That'd be perfect. No, it's a big rock show, you know,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: we're just gonna I think that the way that that
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: particular phrasing basically means that it is an evening with
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Dream Theater, like prepare to be to have your mind
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: expanded as well, come with you all engines on full
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: force and play you know, three hours or whatever it
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: is worth of our music.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: I did think that's what it was. I just thought
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: a better cliify just in case.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: No, it's good to check because the cabaret show that
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: would have been a little bit different, you know.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: It would have been she would have been very challenging.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really would have been. Right.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: Dream Theater is celebrating forty years as a band on
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: this tour as well. But as you said before, it's
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: on each twenty seven years for you after you joined
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: in ninety nine. So can you recall how it felt
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: at the time like joining a band as awesome as
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: Dream Theater.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Well, I had been playing with John and Mike in
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Liquid Tension Experiment before that we did a couple albums,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: and you know the reason that I joined, Well, I
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: was asked to join Dream Theater before we did the
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: like Liquid Tension albums, but in those days that wasn't
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: quite in the headspace to join, so I said no.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: But then I did join them for the LTE albums
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: and we had a great time writing that music together.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: We bombed and we had just musically, you know, created
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: some great stuff. So they asked me again, and then
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I was more in a position to say yes, so
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: I did, and I thought, you know, okay, well, I
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: just played music with them, and now I'll walk into
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: the room. Instead of a tall bald guy playing bass,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: there'd be a you know, skinny Asian guy like playing bass,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: and that would be like the extent of the and
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: somebody's singing obviously, you know Canadian dude. So I thought
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: there'd be a lot of similarities. But then I found
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: out that that was kind of wrong. What I found
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: out first is that Dream Theater had their window of
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: what they do, you know, and Liquid Tension was very
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: different than that. That was an open you know, like
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: pot of stew or something. We had thrown any ingredients
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: and just kind of doing it. So I first kind
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: of had to understand, like what the stylistic I hate
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: to use the word limitations, but I guess in a
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: way it was that and what the rules are for
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: this new adventure. So that was a big deal, you know.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: The other thing that was a major deal for me
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: was that all of a sudden, like I didn't know,
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: but Dream Theater, even in those days, was a very
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: international act. People knew about them and cared about them
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: all over the world, and there were fan clubs around
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: the world. There were publications, press people who were involved
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: in following their story and covering what every move we make.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: And I kind of like had my eyes open, going
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: like wow, this is amazing, like with Japan, you know, Italy,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: South America agree, and I was like, wow, I just
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: joined something that's pretty interesting. It's pretty cool, so you know,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: and then of course the touring part of it, you know,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: going everywhere, going all over the world, and you know,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: getting on a tour bus and doing the whole thing.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: For me, it was a major life change and it
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: was pretty pretty amazing stepping into this world, which now
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: after twenty seven years or just more than a quarter
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: of a century, i'm pretty used to.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: You mentioned like the solistic approach to Dream Theater and
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: the way they're sort of set in this sown and
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: this structures like it. So, but here was a musician
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: coming into that. Was it difficult for you adjusting to
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: something that was so sort of set and rigid in wits.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Well, let's face it, it's not you know, three chord rock,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: so you know, it's even That's why I didn't want
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: to say limitations.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: But they've got their own sound and their price.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but as you know, the Dream Theater has a
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: certain sound that people understood and respect, and they didn't
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: really they're not interested in changing that, so it all
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: of a sudden became something else. They want to keep
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: true to the brand. I mean, we still kind of
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: do that. You know, there is a brand. You know,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: these are words that I don't like so much, but
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: there is a brand that is Dream Theater that you
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: have to remain true to because you've got fans that
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: are they like Dream Theater because of what it is
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: and what we've created and what they created even before
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I joined the band, And not to say not to
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: say that you can't change the style and try different things,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: and of true, surely when I joined the band, there
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: were things that we tried and directions we went in
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: that were different than what they had done before, and
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: that was a natural evolution once we were together and
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: kind of like taking those steps as a team. But
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: all along there is there definitely is something with a
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: group like Dream Theater where there is an awareness of
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: what it is we created and what that window is
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: that you're working within.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna ask you to sort of step outside the
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: band for a second, made which might be hard for
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: you to do, but what is it.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: You think make? Stream Theater is such.
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: An irresistible sonic force, sonic sonic force, like everybody loves
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: about it?
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: What do you.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know I was talking I was talking to
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: somebody earlier about it, and I think what we were
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: talking about kind of like covers that rather well, which
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: is that? Excuse me? Like Dream Theater. You know, everybody
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: in the band, we're all like really serious musicians. We
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: practice our instruments and we take what we do here.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: We want to have really good techniques so we can
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: express things that are fast and things that are slow
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: and do it all with accuracy and do it really well.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: And there is that let's call it virtuostic.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: And for kind of more boring term like academic kind
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: of side of what we do. But at the same
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: time as we do that, we also are very aware
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: of the heart and emotion side of music and what
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: what it means to people. Like when we go out
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: and play, we see what people react to, we feel it.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: We ourselves as music listeners, we like music that is
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: not necessarily so complicated or you know, filled with a
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: million notes. We like when it's just a beautiful melody.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: So I think what happens with Dream Theater is that
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: since we're all kind of we have this shared passion
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: for music, not that's not only technical and involved, but
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: we also really love like the heart of you know,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: of music, and I think that that creates the difference.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Like when we go out and play, like we're doing
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: the show, you know, and just pick Italy for an example,
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: like everybody at certain points that that show is going
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: to be singing along. There's a lot of places during
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: the night where they're just singing these melodies. You know,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: there is really pretty melodies or they're comfortable men to sing.
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: And I believe that Dream Theater has.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: Captured that combination in a way that no other band has.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: And I get why, I really do because as a
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: musician who comes from a classical background is practice many
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: hours a day.
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: You want to you know, a musician wants to show
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: what they can do.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: They want to play their involved music and it's hard
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: to step back and go. But you know what, people
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: around the world, they don't care so much about that.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: They care about other things. So if you give them
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: the right mix, which I do believe Dream Theater does,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: then you can really get somewhere.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: It's got a good answer, now, Ellie.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: This year Dream Theater released your six staged studio album, Parasomnia.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: So how is that received by the fans?
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Great? Parasomnia has done very, very well, and we were
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: very we were very proud of it and feel like,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: you know, we invested so much time and energy into
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: it and passion that you know seems to be really
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: continues to resonate with people, so you know, it's a
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: wonderful thing considering it was an important album because Portnoy
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: is back and we needed to create something to say, Okay,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: you know here it is. You know, here's the core
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: band again, right.
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: So that's that's on the pressure release proclaimed that album
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: is a bold new era for Dream Theater. Was that
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: because Mike came back or was there something else musically
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: that they were alluding to.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: That's because we have an incredible marketing person. A bold
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: new era. I love that, can you.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: I've got to find out who wrote that and get
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: him to write all my ship.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Didn't really nicely with everything else there right too?
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: I love that.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you for pointing that out. It's great.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: No new era, just continuation and getting better as you go.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: There you go, there you go. It's a bold new
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: year and I'll go with I'm gonna buy that. Yes,
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: it's a bold new era for Dream Theater.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: Betas well.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: If you want to witness the bold new era for
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: Dream Theater firsthand, get along to one of the shows
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: that starts in Australia from February, The Chance celebrating forty years,
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: forty years of music, forty years are fun. Tickets will
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: go fast to get a hold one for Christmas.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: Man, it's gonna be awesome. I mean, we haven't been to.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Australia in a while and we're all looking forward to
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: getting there and doing our show and also the shows.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: This show is probably the biggest production that we've ever done.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, like we've got not only you know, the
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: amazing lights and the videos, but we also have other elements,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Like there's lasers involved in our shows. Now there's what
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: do they called geysers. You know, like we've really up
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the game a bit. It's a bold new era for
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Dream Theater. Check it out.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna call this article a bold new era.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I love it. But the bold new era the one
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: and only CABARETIHO I thin