Dream Theater hail from LONG ISLAND(Kings Park, to be
precise), NEW YORK, and are EASILY the BEST band
to surface during the 1990's by far. Their individual talent goes
unsurpassed, as the musicianship of this band is absolutely phenomonal.
I was fortunate enough to study with JOHN PETRUCCI for 2 years-
and believe me, he is the best guitarist to come out in YEARS.
Never mind Eddie Van- whatever his name is.! I must say that IMAGES
AND WORDS is easily the best Dream Theater album to date.
An incredible album from beginning to end.
They began in '85 as MAJESTY
on the local LONG ISLAND circuit here, with singer CHRIS COLLINS.
CHRIS COLLINS was later
replaced by CHARLIE DOMINICI on vocals, and the album WHEN DREAM
AND DAY UNITE was recorded.
This is definately an AWESOME
album as well- from beginning to end. The only disappointing part
is the mix.
Unfortunately, the band
was SCREWED around by their record label- (MCA/Mechanic), and
in addition to that, had a falling out with singer- Charlie Dominici.
This record company situation went on for a LONG TIME (Probably
2 years?)
In the meantime, the band
were searching for a new Lead singer. They wanted the person RIGHT
for the job, so nevertheless, it was a task that would take many
years.
In the meantime, they did
a few shows here as a 4 piece instrumental act- ALL instrumental
versions of their songs, including many of the tunes that would
later appear on the IMAGES AND WORDS album 2 years later, as well
as the original version of A CHANGE OF SEASONS. TRULY Awesome
shows and performances! For one of the shows, a "thought-to-be"
new lead singer was brought down for the 2nd half, but unfortunately
for the band (well, actually not!) didn't work out too well.
One prospect during the
auditions was former FATES WARNING singer JOHN ARCH. I must say,
aside from JAMES LABRIE- JOHN ARCH sounded truly perfect for the
band. (If anyone out there has the FULL demos and/or rehearsals
from these sessions, please contact me!!!!) Not too much later,
they discovered JAMES (Actually Kevin) LaBrie, from Canadian band
WINTER ROSE. The few debut shows the band finally did at the local
clubs here were truly astonishing! The masterpiece IMAGES AND
WORDS would follow months later, and the rest is history!
BACK
BACK
TO HOME
