Jordan and his new instrument : his Iphone !
Radio Metal : Does having Progressive Nation, a very prog-oriented festival, bring you something that you couldn’t find with more metal-oriented festivals? More freedom when it comes to the set-list, maybe, or a more receptive audience?
Jordan Rudess : One of the ideas of doing it this way was that we would be able to hand pick our own groups. It’s Mike Portnoy’s thing; he takes a lot of pride in picking the groups. His vision is that he wanted to introduce the new progressive bands to our audience.
Personally, did you feel the need to play in front of a more prog- than metal-oriented audience?Personally I think it’s good to play in front of both. I think that the Dream Theater audience is a mixture of the two. Sometimes I feel sad that at a real metal festival, they might not understand Dream Theater. Although the majority of Dream Theater fans are metal fans, there is also a strong prog rock side to our music.
We all know about the affinity Mike has with extreme metal, but this affinity is not shared by everyone (cf. the “growling” episode in A Nightmare To Remember): what is your own approach to this type of music?I am someone who is always thinking about a stylistic blend. I am interested in many types of music. I would never immerse myself in strictly metal, I am very curious of mixing style together. I thought it was cool when Mike did his growls because coming from a band which mixes lots of styles anyway, it’s good to take influences from different places and making interesting mixtures.
I like extreme metal in small doses. I come from a classical background so it’s not completely my thing. The other day, I was listening to Black Dahlia Murder and I enjoyed it (laughs).
I think it was an excellent album but I think that Black Clouds is even better. This is a result of the fact that Dream Theater is an intelligent organisation and we learn a lot from making albums. We try to improve ourselves and I think we succeeded on this album. The sound and writing, as well as communication within the band is better. I’m not saying that the previous albums were bad but I definitely see some very positive changes happened on this album.
Black Clouds & Silver Linings could be a summary of the two eras of Dream Theater, a synthesis of the Dream Theater from the 90s and the more modern DT of the new millenium. Is it the end of an era, in a way? A conclusion before a new turning point?Dream Theater’s evolving is a slow and gradual process. When I came into the band, certain things changed, people’s expectations were high and Scenes from a Memory came out. From that point we have been moving steadily. I don’t think that anything radical is going to happen to our sound. This is because we have a lot of respect for who we are as a group, what we have already presented and who are fans are. We try to be honest to our music and we understand the parameters that make Dream Theater. In terms of the instruments, if I bring in my iphone or any other source of creativity, there is always something new but in general it always remains Dream Theater.
There are always critics to judge our songs. They can sometimes be harsh and cruel. They were some very meaningful lyrics to Mike and I’m sure it was challenging for him to come up with them. It was also a difficult time for him. He can take it though (laughs).
Let’s now talk about the phenomenon you mention in « Never Enough ». DT have developed a huge interaction with their fans. How do you explain then that DT fans are the most demanding?This is our lives and we are connected to a lot of people. Through these connections come a lot of requests and expectations. Sometimes this gets very challenging. There is a point for bands who have a long career like Dream Theater that the band feels under pressure. Mike gets the most requests because people know that he is a controlling factor in Dream Theater and that he can influence our organisation the most out of all of us. What can you expect, it’s Dream Theater! The fans are hungry for the stuff! (laughs).
Some fans tend to put Kevin Moore on a pedestal. When you joined DT, did you feel the need to be accepted by the fans?The Dream Theater community was amazing in accepting what I do and who I am. For the most part, it was all positive. I certainly understand how someone can buy an album and become very attached to it. The other keyboard players in Dream Theater were also very good. I have a lot of respect for their work and who they are as musicians as well as people.
On Black Clouds & Silver Linings you used your iPhone to create sound effects. If I give you my number, do you think you’ll be able to send me a text message with your iPhone in the middle of the concert?Of course! No problem (laughs)!
Now for the stupid question of the interview: like every prog band, the members of Dream Theater are extremely rigorous and master their instruments irreproachably. Do you have an anecdote to share about your most embarrassing mistake on stage?There are always plenty of mistakes you know. Just the other day, we were playing the song The Mirror, which we had not played in a long time, and so I had learned from the studio recording and I forgot that we had changed it! So I was like “ah! Wrong…” (laughs). That was only like a week ago! It’s probably on YouTube…
Interview conducted in Paris in October 2009
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