NEW DREAM THEATER INTERVIEW WITH SAN ANTONIO EXAMINER

JAMES LABRIE, vocalist of legendary progressive metal band DREAM THEATER has been interviewed by the San Antonio Examiner.
FROM THE SAN ANTONIO EXAMINER:
Q&A: Dream Theater shakeup, solo tour's cancellation can't dent singer LaBrie


No matter how often outside forces attempt to disrupt the good things in James LaBrie's life, the lead singer of Dream Theater knows only one response -- staying positive.
LaBrie and his solo band were set to launch a tour Nov. 26 that was to conclude with three Texas dates -- including Dec. 18 at Backstage Live -- in support of Static Impulse, which was released Sept. 28. But LaBrie and his melting pot of musicians are no longer coming, having had to scrap the entire tour before it began (the cancellation is not yet reflected on Backstage Live's website, but tickets should be refunded at point of purchase). Then of course there's the major blow that was handed down by Dream Theater leader and drummer Mike Portnoy, who announced three days prior to playing with Avenged Sevenfold at the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival stop in Corpus Christi this past Sept. 11 that he was leaving the band he had founded 25 years earlier. And speaking of 9/11 -- there's the more serious turn of events that hit home for LaBrie on a day he should have been celebrating the release of not one, but two, albums.

Static Impulse, which follows in the footsteps of LaBrie's earlier solo efforts under the moniker Mullmuzzler, is a crushing display of fashionably crafted metal that should rate among the top five metal releases of the year. It's that damn good. The 12-song effort molded by LaBrie and Matt Guillory (keyboards/vocals), Marco Sfogli (guitars), Ray Riendeau (bass) and Peter Wildoer (drums/screams), however, is likely to go down as one of the best records you've never heard (at least in San Antonio), given the tour's cancellation and the fact that LaBrie's -- and Dream Theater's -- music goes untouched by local radio stations.

Perhaps the biggest testament to Static Impulse's strength is that you don't have to be a Dream Theater fan to enjoy this -- dare we say? -- masterpiece. From the crunching salvos of opening number "One More Time" and the fury of "Mislead" and "This Is War," to the divine melodic chorus in "Just Watch Me" and the hauntingly soothing closer of lone ballad "Coming Home," fans of pure metal will appreciate this album whole-heartedly.

Kevin James LaBrie, 47, phoned me Monday from his native Canada:

Q: We were looking forward to having your solo tour end here in Texas. What happened?
A: It's real simple what happened, Jay. We were trying to process two work visas for people who live in Europe. Peter Wildoer, our drummer, in Sweden and Marco Sfogli our guitar player, who lives in Italy. Unfortunately, since post-9/11, it's quite the process. There's a lot of loopholes to jump through, and it took a little bit longer. There were some unforeseen complications along the way. Both guys, there's no record or anything like that. They're outstanding citizens, so it was nothing like that. But the window of opportunity seemed to close real quickly. We investigated to see if there were ways around it. The tour was going to start Nov. 26 (in Charlotte, N.C.), but rehearsals were going to start Nov. 18 or 19, and there was no way of getting it through. That's what it comes down to, me telling the long version of it. We didn't see it happening this way. I've been through this with Dream Theater, but we usually know six months ahead of time where everyone's at.

Q: So do you have any idea when the tour will be made up, because I'd heard Dream Theater was going to reconvene in January?
A: What's really unfortunate, Jay, is that like everyone in Dream Theater, our priority is Dream Theater. So the window of opportunity to go out and promote Static Impulse is closed because I go back into the studio with Dream Theater from January through May, and we'll probably start a world tour in June. I'm not quite sure about the release of the new Dream Theater album. It could be June, July or August. But I try to be real optimistic. I try to let someone know three, four, five months ahead of time. That's the only way I can see it happening within the relatively foreseeable future.

Q: When did you and the guys have time to make Static Impulse, because it seems as if you're always on tour with Dream Theater?
A: Actually, Matt and I started writing it June 2009. The way that we write, it's the simple process of sending several, several audio files back and forth to one another. Those are how we plant the seeds, and from there, we embellish upon the ideas and arrange them and come to a conclusion with every song. It becomes more and more prolific as we go along because the relationship becomes stronger every time. I think the music speaks well to that, as far as I'm concerned.

Q: How do you feel Static Impulse differs from your Mullmuzzler and Elements of Persuasion records?
A: Well, I mean obviously, it's much heavier. I look at Static Impulse as a classic metal album, with songs such as "Euphoric" and "Over the Edge," or even "I Tried," or getting more atmospheric with a song like "Coming Home." Static Impulse is a showing of where Matt Guillory and I are when it comes to bands we appreciate like Meshuggah or Soilwork, then the classic metal bands like Dark Tranquility and spawning off into In Flames. There are a lot of great bands with great musicianship, and Matt and I have been inspired by them. It's a real sincere appreciation that led us to this particular point in time.

Q: Can you talk about the thrash singing/screaming style of Peter's on "One More Time" to start the album, and on some of the other songs, and what that adds to the record?
A: Yeah, it was a bit more daring and risky just because of the title and that it's viewed as my solo album. The first track you hear is this death metal voice rather than mine. But we planned it that way. We wanted to hit them over the head like a sledgehammer. Then you hear me come in 30 seconds later, and you're on the ride. But nothing's random. It's something we can hold our heads high whether it's received well or criticized, and fortunately, the album has been very well received.

Q: What did Marco, Matt and the other guys bring to the writing and recording process that you don't normally get from your Dream Theater mates?
A: Matt and I pretty wrote much all of it. An example is him refining the riffs in "Over the Edge" to a harder hitting and more potent level, adding a little more spice to what it was originally. But aside from that, it was a 50-50 writing process between Matt and I. We're both involved in the writing of the music and lyrics and the creating of the vocal melodies. We both produced the album. In a true sense, it was an equal partnership. With Peter, Ray and Marco, just the fact that they're such incredibly talented musicians allows us to bring the songs to a whole new level. They're able to interpret it and bring their own personalities to it and make it much better than you originally envisioned it. Everyone's an integral part of the pie.

Q: "Coming Home" is the lone departure from the rest of the album, a mostly acoustic and piano song for your wife and family. Did anything beyond your family inspire it?
A: Well, you know, Matt came to me with this beautiful piano melody, and I said to myself, "Oh, my God." He said, "Can you do something with this?" And I said, "Oh, yes, absolutely!" I started fooling around with some vocal melodies, and the music went even further into something very somber and dark and emotionally moving. Matt kind of went with that and wrote a bit more of that musically. He added some synth pads that added that isolated, misunderstood emotion. I kind of fed off those vibes, and the lyrics came quickly. The idea, the subject matter was actually inspired by a show called "Dexter." I took the character's humanism -- he's a vigilante serial killer and has come to terms with who he is. He has a family, and I created my own episode. It's at the point where he is caught. He is incarcerated and discloses to his family who he is and is asking them for forgiveness. But at the same time, he's realizing what he is and that he's still a human being.

Q: When you're making a solo record, is it refreshing not having to sing songs that are 10-20 minutes long?
A: Well, you know, we approach the music the way we do. There are songs that immediately grab your attention. If there were times where we were aware of the length of time, there would be a reason for it. With us (solo band), it's more of a concise statement that most of the songs are between three and four minutes long.

Q: What's the concept behind the album cover?
A: My concept was that I wanted introspective and observatory lyrics. The lyrics are dealing with people looking for acceptance. The imagery on that is that we still feel that we're isolated, and there's still a lot of ignorance as to how people think or feel. There's still a lot of evolving that needs to be done as a race, as a species, before there's an acceptance of what we stand for as an entity. That's why you have the different kinds of people. You can see they're all in their own little world.

Q: Your MullMuzzler 2 CD was released on 9/11, as was Dream Theater's Live Scenes From New York. How surreal was that for you, especially playing in a New York band?
A: It was, I don't know, overwhelming, numbing, extremely painful and shocking. We had Live Scenes From New York with the burning towers (originally) on the cover, which was bizarre. The second Mullmuzzler album came out the same day. When I got in touch with my parents back home to let them know I was OK, and my wife, it took me two hours to get through because the cell phones were completely useless. To add insult to injury, my father had a stroke on the phone. He was OK and fully recovered, but it was enough to put him in the hospital. That's what inspired me to write "Sacrificed Sons" and things like that, just sitting in my hotel room and watching and wondering, "What the hell is going on here?" It was very surreal.
Q: Were you in New York at the time?
A: I flew into New York the night before. I got close to Canal St. -- anyone out there from New York might know where that is. I was still probably a quarter of a mile away. Just huge plumes of smoke and constant sirens. I was walking down the middle of 5th Ave. for quite awhile, just because everything had been brought to a standstill.

Q: You were in San Antonio on June 12 as Dream Theater kicked off the Iron Maiden tour in Texas. Slightly less than three months later, Mike announces he's leaving the band, which came as a shock to most in the public eye. For a group that's been around for 25 years, how did it come to that?
A: Well, you know, none of us saw it happening or becoming reality. It was not expected in any shape or form. But you know, according to Mike, he'd been thinking about it for quite some time. We don't really want to talk much about it because it's a very sensitive subject for us and for him. We have to respect where he's gone. Our priority is what's best for the other four guys. That's what we've been doing every night since that night happened in late August. I think everything will be fine. I don't think -- we're quite confident. Everything that could be said has been said. There have been moments where things were said that could be misinterpreted, so we don't want to say too much. We have taken the situation under control. We're doing what we've always done.

Q: The next obvious question on most people's minds is, who are other drummers you're looking at to replace him -- especially since Mike did a lot of the writing and other things besides drumming?
A: Well, you know what Jay, unfortunately, I can't shed any light on that. I think soon we will be able to. There are a lot of incredible drummers out there, but to be honest with you, I don't think it's a priority that who we're looking for has to be a composer as well. There's gotta be a chemistry, an interpretation to the style, we have to gel with this person as a human being -- and obviously, he has to be a phenomenal drummer. I just can't be too specific right now. It'll definitely be a new chapter with the departure of Mike. I think it'll prove to be very positive.

Q: Does it feel as if it's been 25 years of Dream Theater?
A: I've been in the band just over 20 of those years, but yeah, I can't believe 20 years has gone by. It's been a challenging ride, a great ride. It's not unlike any corporation out there that you need to make sure you stay relevant or flavorful (laughs), so to speak. I personally think it's going to continue for quite some time. There's still a lot we want to accomplish.

Q: Is there anything you can say about the direction of the next album?
A: We are actively having those conversations, as far as how we want to go about it and know what we have to achieve with the next album. It's just a matter of waiting for January to go into the studio.

James, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and for answering all my questions graciously. Best of luck to you and the rest of the guys in Dream Theater, and whatever form we see you back in San Antonio again, we hope it's soon. Continued success with the album.
Thanks, Jay, those words mean a lot. Thanks for the support. We have some phenomenal fans in Texas and San Antonio, and we'll hopefully see you soon.
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-