Jordan Rudess

DREAM THEATER’s JORDAN RUDESS: ‘We’re Passionate About Making Music’

Felicity Hall of GetYourRockOut conducted an interview with keyboardist Jordan Rudess of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER at the U.K. edition of the Sonisphere festival, which was held July 4-6 at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. You can now watch the chat below. Asked if DREAM THEATER has already begun thinking about the follow-up to last year's self-titled release, Rudess said: "We haven't really gotten into serious band discussions about what's gonna happen next, although we've had little discussions between some of us about what we would like to see happen next. At the same, if I get a good idea in the middle of the night, or whatever, I'll record it onto my iPhone. I elected James [LaBrie, vocals] to kind of be the keeper of some of my ideas; I'll send him little YouTube clips of me playing something I think is cool. And then when it wraps around and we get into writing again and start our process, then we'll go back an see what we've got and kind of figure it out." Rudess also reassured fans that there are no plans for DREAM THEATER to stop making new music and become a nostalgia act. He said: "Oh, no no no. We love what we do. We're passionate about making music and as composers; that's just who we are. DREAM THEATER has never been a band that hit at a particular fashionable point and said, 'OK, that's basically it.' We're a band that really… It's important to us to write music and put it out there and to work together. And we love it. And that's why we keep going." DREAM THEATER's latest, self-titled album sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on September 24, 2013 via Roadrunner.

DREAM THEATER Keyboardist: ‘We Feel That This Is One Of The Best Albums That We’ve Done’

Brian Giffin of Australia's Loud magazine recently conducted an interview with keyboardist Jordan Rudess of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Loud: Does releasing a self-titled album mark some sort of new beginning for DREAM THEATER? Rudess: I think it was more that we wanted to put the stamp of a self-titled album here because we felt very strong about it. We felt like we're at this great point where we felt that people should take notice. We've been very clear — we're all getting along so well; musically we're having a great time together in the studio; and we felt that we've made a great album that we want people to know about. If you want to know what DREAM THEATER is about, check this album out, because we feel that this is one of the best albums that we've done. Loud: What was it like reconvening to record this time with [new drummer] Mike Mangini a part of the band? Rudess: He was really well behaved, so it was good. It was a lot of fun to have him there, unlike the previous album where we brought him in for the drum parts after the music was written. For this one, he was there the whole time. Some people know it, some people don't, but Mike Mangini is a very upbeat character. He's very funny, he's got a very good nature, he's lively and in front of the drums, he's a madman. He can play things no one else can play. So him being there personally, with his upbeat personality, and him contributing to the dynamic to the music we were writing really gave the music a real spark. So we enjoyed that quite a lot. With "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", we had a good time writing that, but this time, all being together working on the album as a band was great. We had been on tour with Mike Mangini for a year, we knew that we all got along, we knew that we were a very effective unit with each other playing music. The fans had all voiced their opinions and they all loved our shows. Loud: Tell us something about "Illumination Theory", because that's quite an extensive piece.