New JP Interview Sept. 29 2011 By HeraldExtra.Com

[davzdrummer]

Bandmember interviewed: John Petrucci
Interviewer: Daily Herald
Date: 09.29.11
Source:  https://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/music/article_028f6fc6-2661-547b-96e4-6c86b86c64df.html

JP explains ADTOE is not about MP.

Kindly delete if it has been posted, otherwise, enjoy! 

[GasparXR]

Great interview, but the interviewer said Petrucci wrote ADTOE. Fail.

[gmillerdrake]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

[davzdrummer]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

You might be right, maybe not.. we will never know 

[hefdaddy42]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

Well, some people will believe whatever they want, I suppose.

[AngelBack]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

Well, some people will believe whatever they want, I suppose.

Exactly, if you put yourself in DT's position for a moment, the LAST thing they would want to do, once they decided to move forward thru a difficult situation, is write an album that included songs that point to and draw attention to the recent past.

[ZirconBlue]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

*shrug* Until they prove themselves untrustworthy, I'll just take their word for it.  I'm certainly not willing to call them liars at this point. 

[Dcrupi]

I've said this elsewhere, but just because none of the lyrics were written directly about MP does NOT mean that the event did not inspire a mental framework/mood/idea that created those lyrics.  Music and poetry are not created in a vacuum--they are visceral responses to events in life, and no one could possibly suggest that MP's departure did not impact every member in a significant way, good or bad. 

DT may not have consciously written any of the songs about MP--in fact, they almost certainly did not intentionally do so.  That does NOT mean MP's choice did not indirectly inspire them, however...some of the parallels are quite striking.

[johncal]

JP already said specifically the music was not about the MP thing, but the emotions they were all going through at the time definitely influenced the writing. That makes perfect sense to me.

[gmillerdrake]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

Well, some people will believe whatever they want, I suppose.

Exactly, if you put yourself in DT's position for a moment, the LAST thing they would want to do, once they decided to move forward thru a difficult situation, is write an album that included songs that point to and draw attention to the recent past.

I am not a professional musician or artist or anything like that, but for me I have always dealt and coped with difficult situations or changes in my life through either writing or in my case drawing. Some may paint, some of you are musicians and can compose music in order to have that outlet to deal with things.
I find it hard to believe that musicians of this caliber wouldn't use that emotion as fuel for thier creativity...which I think they did. You guys can't tell me that when you read the lyrics to 'This is the Life' or 'Beneath the Surface' you can't see the connection to MP and that whole situation to it in any way? As I said, I get why they don't come out and flat say..'yep, that song is about Mike"..they just can't and are that classy.
If you want to say that I am calling them 'liars' then whatever...I'm not being that harsh. I am merely stating that I understand that due to the sensitivity of the whole situation and the man on the other end, they can't state that. But I will stand firm in belief that those two songs in particular are a refelction and a collection of emotions from the MP saga

[Infinite Cactus]

It's kind of like how Innocence Faded was inspired by what was happening with Kevin, but not direct about him. Just how it inspired the feelings of it all. I could see parts of This Is The Life, Beneath The Surface, and Breaking All Illusions as being somewhat influenced by the state of mind that they were in after the MP split, but not about MP the person etc.

[Perpetual Change]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

Yeah, I agree with the general sentiment of this post. Some of the lyrics definitely seem MP related. I completely understand why the band would deny it, though.

[Pols Voice]

Yeah, I mean, they called MP a power-craving tyrant.

[BelichickFan]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence

The lyrics to virtually every track can EASILY be looked at through the "Portnoy Leaving" prism.  I have no idea if they are or aren't, but it makes for some interesting listening if you listen to it that way.  I will say that I think DT intentionally made it so people could read different things into it.  One thing is for sure, by naming the CD what they did they knew that people would immediately think the title was about Portnoy.  My gut feeling ?  A ton of the lyrics are about him but they want to leave the lyrics open to everyone's interpretation, it makes things fun and interesting.

[i am fabio]

JP and the gang can tell me until they are blue in the face that none of the lyrics have to to with MP, but there are lyrics in several songs that SCREAM of being MP related and I cannot overlook that correlation and write it off as coincedence. I understand them not wanting to publicly admit it, but I don't think I' will ever be convinced that 'This is The Life' in particular isn't related to the MP situation. 'Beneath the Surface' seems to be worded in a way where one could connect the DT/MP saga to it as well, and I will even suggest the lyrics to 'Breaking All Illusions' are directly related to the split. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, the lyrics provided to us in those songs...to me....sound directly related to the MP situation.

*shrug* Until they prove themselves untrustworthy, I'll just take their word for it.  I'm certainly not willing to call them liars at this point.

Liars? haha thats way too strong. its more of a white lie imo...are they really robotic enough to not have been influenced lyrically by all they have been through? I hope not

[eosforum]

Yeah, I mean, they called MP a power-craving tyrant.

:neverusethis

[eosforum]

Yeah, I mean, they called MP a power-craving tyrant.

[ZirconBlue]

Liars? haha thats way too strong. its more of a white lie imo...are they really robotic enough to not have been influenced lyrically by all they have been through? I hope not

If you say "I know that you explicitly denied this, but I don't believe you," then you are, implicitly calling the person a liar. 

[ResultsMayVary]

They haven't provided any reason for me not to trust them. So I believe DT.

MP, on the hand...

[Perpetual Change]

They haven't provided any reason for me not to trust them. So I believe DT.

MP, on the hand...

It's not about "trust", it's about "PR". Some things are just better left unsaid.

[chaotic_ripper]

It's kind of like how Innocence Faded was inspired by what was happening with Kevin, but not direct about him. Just how it inspired the feelings of it all. I could see parts of This Is The Life, Beneath The Surface, and Breaking All Illusions as being somewhat influenced by the state of mind that they were in after the MP split, but not about MP the person etc.

+1

[GasparXR]

People are claiming DT lied about MP being an influence on the album.

Guys.

They said the songs were not written about MP or with MP in mind. They never said it didn't have an influence -- every kind of event that happens in your life, whether it be big or small, influences your writing. So they didn't lie -- they were claiming something else entirely, which is pretty clealy true.

[ZirconBlue]

They haven't provided any reason for me not to trust them. So I believe DT.

MP, on the hand...

It's not about "trust", it's about "PR". Some things are just better left unsaid.

But, we're not talking about things left unsaid.  We're talking about specific statements said by the band that people are saying they don't believe. 

[black_biff_stadler]

Liars? haha thats way too strong. its more of a white lie imo...are they really robotic enough to not have been influenced lyrically by all they have been through? I hope not

If you say "I know that you explicitly denied this, but I don't believe you," then you are, implicitly calling the person a liar.

Without love, without truth, there can be no turning back.