THERE aren't too many heavy metal bands in the same league as Dream Theatre. The progressive rockers are as proficient in their music writing as they are in their playing ability so you know you’re in for a good show. Kicking around since 1985, the band is one of the world heavyweights and has just put out their 10th studio album. On The Barrier caught up with keyboardist Jordan Rudess to discuss their latest release Black Clouds and Silver Linings and their latest tour Down Under.

OTB: where are you at the moment?
Rudess: I’m in New York at home. On a break between tours.

OTB: Before we start I really want to know, I mean you’ve been around a while so you must have done HEAPS of interviews but is there anything you wish someone would ask you, out of all the interviews you’ve done over the years? Like I can speak Mexican!

Rudess:I’ve been asked so many questions and occasionally I think of something really cool I wish I had told interviewers but I always forget.

OTB: Have you picked up another language with all the touring you’ve done?
Rudess:Oh god I wish I was that good at language! Yeah part of the problem with being an English speaking person is you get spoiled by everyone. There are less and less people out there who can’t speak English so I don’t generally have to worry about it.

OTB: Have you ever thought ‘man I wish we had a different band name’?
Rudess: Um I’ve always been happy with our band’s name, I think it’s an inspirational band name. But yeah I have a list of cool names that could be used at some point for something. I guess that’s one of things that musicians do when they start putting a band together, they start thinking about band names.

OTB: Do you ever wonder whether you’d be as successful had you have kept the band name Majesty?
Rudesso: Yeah but I think majesty was a cool name as well.


OTB: If you could give Dream Theatre a mascot what would it be?

Rudess: I love cats so maybe some kind of big cat… a tiger!


OTB: What’s the most bizarre thing a fan has ever given you?
Rudess: I’m actually looking at it. Someone gave me a picture of Dream Theatre, of all of us, and we have these sexy female bodies. It’s cool.


OTB: What’s the most memorable thing that’s ever happened while you’ve been performing live?
Rudess: Well, it could be a good thing or of course a bad thing. The bad thing was getting on stage in Japan and taking a look down at keyboard and seeing that the entire set was loaded in incorrectly with all the wrong sounds. So I basically had to fake it while I loaded whole set properly. Meanwhile I wasn’t even really playing but I was making the audience believe it. (A good thing would be) the New York shows are always pretty memorable because they’re home town shows. When I first started with band and I was just getting used to the energy on stage, we played this gig and everyone was screaming ‘Jordan!’ so it was a combination of playing at home and have fans be really responsive to what I was doing.

OTb: Are there any songs that haven’t made the cut for your albums that you wish you could release now?
Rudess: Not so much. Since my time with Dream Theatre we pretty much write the songs that will be on album. I know with Falling Into Infinity there were a lot of songs written besides the ones on album. But since I’ve been in the group has been a lot more focused. But there was a tune that I wrote around the time of last album, I’ll have to look for it, but I thought it was really nice so yeah we might revisit it.

OTB: If you could be part of any other band, what band would you choose?
Rudess: One of my favourite rock bands is my buddy’s band Porcupine Tree. I would probably play with them.

OTB: Who would you say is your biggest musical influence?
Rudess: Chopan, classical Debussy, progressive rock like Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and right now I’m really influenced by electronica. Well I guess in smallest of doses. Even though the guys think it’s really cool. We had this kind of new electronica type jam that was pretty cool. We chuckled a bit and laughed it off because we could never do that. Our fans wouldn’t accept it.


OTB: Ok so tell me about Black Clouds and Silver Linings?
Rudess: It’s an album we put together without any preconceived notions except creating an interesting Dream Theatre thing. All but two albums have been planned out but yeah this one wasn’t thought about a whole lot and all songs have been created with an open slate. It’s a very well rounded Dream Theatre album. It’s a nice mix of all the different styles we work with. It’s one of my favourites now. We’ve been playing it for a while and living with it for a while but I’m still really enjoying it, plus it’s very fun to play live.

OTB: Are there any songs on there that are particularly memorable for you, the writing process or the recording process?
Rudess: Yeah, there’s one part of A Count of Tuscany that has a funny story about it. I was at home and it was morning and we were in writing mode. You never know when inspiration will hit, you wait for it and then when it happens you go with it. So it was 9.30am in the morning and I was about to go to the gym when I had this idea and started playing it on piano, and well one riff turns into more and the next thing I know I’ve got four ideas and brought them into the studio to show the guys. They thought they were really pretty cool, a little whacky but cool. So we spent time and learned them and put them together and laid them down. But then the next day James heard what we’d laid down and he was like ‘I don’t know guys’. Because it seems so left field. He really felt like his perspective didn’t fit, and I guess it really is this quirky instrumental thing but it’s really ‘Dream Theatre’. And yeah anyway it ended up being one of those parts that’s my favourite part. I named that part James’ favourite part because he was so doubtful.

OTB: Anything you want to add or say to your fans?
RudUm sure, I hope you don’t mind if I take the opportunity to tell you all about my new solo album. It’s my first independent release. It’s mostly made up of Dream Theatre music.


By Nikkita Dixon