Personal Messages from the band.

[Spacebar.]

Just got an email from Roadrunner with personal messages from the band about the tour. Not sure if this has been discussed before so admins are welcome to delete if this is the case.

14 months later and its a wrap. Can't help but think how true the following words describe who and what we were becoming, but against all odds, admirably managed to transcend... "divided we falter, united we conquer."
ADTOE was incredibly rewarding as a band ,individually and last and definitely not least musically. On tour we all upped our game and the band was better than ever. The band was more powerful, tight, soulful and spiritually renewed. I personally was reminded of who I once was as a singer and why I dreamt of doing this as a kid. The entire band each and every night displayed conviction and confidence that was palpable. The synergy and camaraderie was unprecedented and the fans worldwide were always eager to comment with such positive praise. The unyielding support and faith from the fans has never been taken for granted. No words truly describe how grateful and honoured we are to be recipients of such fortune and benevolence.

Our behind the scenes heroes... Manager: Frank Solomon, Business Manager: Rob Shore, Booking Agents: Steve Martin, Derek Kemp, Tour Manager: Rikk Feulner, Crew/Technicians, first name basis... TJ, Roe, Johnathan, Nigel, Maddie, Eric, Zocco, Gianluca, Brian, E-rock, Johnny, Benton, Glen, Steve. Also to the other various techs who were a part of the team at some point throughout the world tour. Thank you all for your tireless, invaluable contributions.

To my four Rock Bruthas, John, John, Jordan and Mike. As great as the last 14 months have proven it is only the first chapter of an incredible read still yet to be penned.

Lastly, my family. Karen, Chloe and Chance who keep me focused and grounded.

- James LaBrie

It does feel good to be home after such a busy tour and such a busy year, especially when I know that we were able to deliver the goods every night for all of you!

Some of my favorite things about touring the world is getting to meet so many nice people who have the same love and passion for progressive music that we do.

We've enjoyed many great meals, glasses of wine and late night bus ride story telling sessions together as a band while on the road! It's especially been fun to have my wife Rena and three kids come out and join me a couple of times as well.

I'll never forget our trip to Rome! Even had my son Reny work for the band on our first European run. He had a blast!

We have the most incredible crew on the planet, hands down. All of those guys worked tirelessly over the last 14 months to not only ensure that we presented a polished and professional DT show every night, but that all of us were comfortable, healthy, safe and ready to rock!

I've received more complements on the live sound as well as the light and video presentation and I am so appreciative and thankful for all of the creativity, dedication and commitment our technicians have shown and shared with us each and every night.

I'll certainly miss the rush of performing on stage for all of you and all of the awesome on-stage guitar rig soundcheck "tweak time" as well! I'm such a tone addict.

What I will not miss is being away from my beautiful family!

"We each pay a fabulous price for our visions of paradise".

Said so well by Neil Peart, it really sums up the sacrifice all of us make to live out our dreams.

I think what I will remember the most about this tour was how gracious and welcoming all of our fans were everywhere around the world as we introduced DT with our new drummer Mike Mangini each night, and all of the support and faith you showed us right from the beginning.

Our fans are just amazing! Loud, loud, loud and full of enthusiasm! There were some memorable moments for sure...The couple who dressed in full unicyclist garb stand out as well as those who held up score cards at one gig after we played the LNF unison. You guys are just hilarious!

I'll always remember the smiles in the crowd, the hands in the air and the defeating chants of support that filled the venues. I met so many DT fans that have been to 10, 20, 30+ shows who told me that this was the best they've seen the band yet. That means so much to me!

It was inspiring to meet people along the way who were eager to share how our music helped them through a difficult time or to deal with loss and tragedy. The healing power of music just blows me away.

I'll will never forget those stories and want everyone to know that greater things are still to come!

Thank you to my family, Rena, Sami, Reny and Kiki for always being there for me and making this life possible.

Thanks to everyone at Roadrunner Records, to our awesome manager Frank Solomon, our booking agents the great Steve Martin and Derek Kemp, our fearless tour manager Rikk Feulner, the-great-one Rob Shore and to our incredible team who works behind the scenes. Thank you to my amazing guitar tech Maddi for always having my back and most of all, thank you to everyone who came out to the shows and joined us for this crazy, awesome and Dramatic Tour of Events!!

- John Petrucci

I really enjoyed the time and energy we spent night after night in different cities around the world bringing our latest release ADTOE to life, it was simply awesome!

My gratitude goes out to our amazing fans that made this all possible!

A big thank you goes out to our professional and tireless crew that looked out for us night after night making sure that we were at our very best.

Now it's time to enjoy some very much needed quality time back at home.

Looking forward to the next chapter.

Be well and stay healthy!

- JM

The last 14 months have taken us all around the world and it's been an amazing adventure! We have played in a lot of familiar places but also made new friends in countries that we had never been before! As a lot of you know, I like to go out whenever possible and explore the places we visit. Walking around Jakarta Indonesia and San Jose, Costa Rica are still fresh on my mind! To me- the actual playing of the show is wonderful, but understanding who all of you are as people and experiencing the places you live is just as important!Thank you all for your incredible support. This last album and tour was so important for us because we had our latest family member Mr Mike Mangini join us on drums. It was gratifying hearing everyone scream out his name every night and feel the overwhelming joy in your hearts that you have for Dream Theater! So now it is time to decompress from a whole lot of airplane travel and hotel rooms and get my studio chops going again and most importantly, reunite with my amazing girls at home, Danielle, Ariana and Kayla!

I plan to create some new music on my own and then reunite with the boys for the next DT recording!

I'm sure you will see me on youtube/twitter/facebook etc and I know I will see all of you soon enough ON THE ROAD again!

- Jordan Rudess

The close of the Dramatic Tour of Events left me with thinking of one word; Wow! My memory of it is multilayered: from receiving the invitation to audition through my gear preparation for the record, the recording, all kinds of venues, and the fans' hands in the air during the tour. My overall feeling about it stems from one thing: the fans' acceptance of me from show #1 in Rome through the last show in Brasilia.

I believe very strongly that the drummer audition documentary single-handedly communicated the entire band's true intentions that happen to perfectly match the fans' needs: for Dream Theater to continue to exist and to continue making music. Personally, I put everything on the table for all to see. Normally, I would not plan to be emotional in front of millions of people, but it was the truth. If I weren't writing this right now, I'd simply submit any picture of me behind the drums at any show and say "just look at my face and you'll know how I feel."

Performing the shows as proficiently as possible was hard work. The challenge of performing each show so the songs sounded like the recordings was evident in my inner dialog while playing. I talked to myself all night, every night with phrases like, "here comes the five thing, then the short verse" in order to remember my way through the songs. A DT show is a mental challenge far beyond what I could have imagined, but because the music feels natural to me and because the whole band would communicate onstage so much, it provided the greatest joy of my career.

Some different kinds of a challenges appeared. Managing a wrist injury meant I couldn't do extra signings or shake hands sometimes. Staying in touch with friends pretty much disappeared, but they all understood. Video calling technology was a huge help as it single-handedly allowed my family to not feel so far away.
One of the surprises of the tour was the use of the time signature tests done at the audition. Being around a group of musicians that could adapt so quickly as a unit meant that new ideas were pouring out of us at sound checks and during warm ups for shows. Seeing the guys work around a riff, drum beat or a sung melody with such direction was very satisfying and helpful to me.
Finally, I can't express my gratitude enough to any fan, anyone in the DT organization, any kind of fate, family and endorsement company support, friendships or anything that has to do with my ending up as the drummer in a band with four of the greatest human beings. One could not ever dream up working with better people on and off the stage. The entire DT organization is like this. I'm telling you this from first-hand experience after experience just continuing to be professional, pleasant and simply focused on our making more and more music that is interesting, melodic, and relentlessly "Dream Theater." The intentions of the band are so "good" that it is no wonder that music just pours out of us the second we can get to our instruments, or good times occur each time an opportunity to eat dinner together arises no matter how tired we all are.

- Mike Mangini

[DebraKadabra]

I've got goose bumps.  Those guys...

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, I got that email.  Cool stuff.

[Polis]

DT is truly the best.

[robwebster]

Beautiful! All five of them, but Mike Mangini's, in particular. With an honorable mention to John Petrucci's score cards in Lost Not Forgotten.

Although --

If I weren't writing this right now, I'd simply submit any picture of me behind the drums at any show and say "just look at my face and you'll know how I feel."

- Mike Mangini

[DebraKadabra]

 

[OsMosis2259]

 

[chrisbDTM]

my heart sank when i saw the email subject. i thought it was gonna be a bad message 

[Orbert]

Very cool to hear from each of them.  Also, 14 months is a hell of a tour.  That's a long time to be on the road, away from your family.

[Cedar redaC]

Fantastic! I think these messages sum up my personal feelings about the tour. Each post is amazing and full of signs of good things to come!

[Madman Shepherd]

James LaBrie is a human dictionary.

John Petrucci needs to use spell check.

Either way, it was cool to read such heartfelt messages and to know that I was, in a very small way, a part of everything they said and cannot wait to drop hundreds of more dollars on their music, concerts, and maybe even another meet & greet. 

[ResultsMayVary]

Some people held score cards up after the LNF solo?!



Priceless!

[Cedar redaC]

Some people held score cards up after the LNF solo?!



Priceless!

The first question that arised to my mind was: What did they say?

[chrisbDTM]

i imagine it was something like this:

[ResultsMayVary]

Yea, that's what I figured as well.

[TheGreatPretender]

Best band ever! Always humble and gracious. True class act. Can't wait for the next album!

[Dreamer81]

Best band ever! Always humble and gracious. True class act. Can't wait for the next album!

This, they are amazing!!!

[yeshaberto]

those were a pleasure to read

[obscure]

my heart sank when i saw the email subject.

this.. for a different reason though... James replied to my semi-fangirly message yesterday .. and I saw it early this morning when I was half awake (nuggetz) and then this message subject in the inbox was a bit too much.... too much....

[Spacebar.]

Some people held score cards up after the LNF solo?!



Priceless!

The first question that arised to my mind was: What did they say?

Yeah! Anyone have pics or vids of these guys with the scorecards or in the unicyclist getup?!

[Mladen]

Some people held score cards up after the LNF solo?!

That must have been hilarious. 

Wonderful messages from the guys, I'm so happy for them and I can't wait for upcoming chapters. 

[MoraWintersoul]

James LaBrie is a human dictionary.

John Petrucci needs to use spell check.

And Mike Mangini is a ball of awesome.

[obscure]

 

[slycordinator]

John Petrucci needs to use spell check.

More like you need to understand the difference between a spell checker and a grammar checker. 

BTW, there will be consequences and repercussions. I received no email!

[MoraWintersoul]

More like you need to understand the difference between a spell checker and a grammar checker. 

Microsoft Word's kind of does both, that's what I thought about when I saw his post

[RaiseTheKnife]

my heart sank when i saw the email subject. i thought it was gonna be a bad message 

I hoped it was a personal invitation to spearhead the North American DT Fanclub, or perhaps a sampling of new songs which required my feedback... but seriously though, some very nice sentiments from each of the guys.

[nikostheater]

I enjoyed reading the messages..
Cool gesture from the band..
and i agree,those guys with the number cards should have been so hilarious!

[?]

And JM's message is the shortest one, as expected (not that it's a bad thing)! Anyway, reading James' message made me think:

"Let me introduce... MY FOUR ROCK BRUTHAS!"

[Lynxo]

The score cards sounds awesome. Very cool to read this.

[Madman Shepherd]

More like you need to understand the difference between a spell checker and a grammar checker. 

Microsoft Word's kind of does both, that's what I thought about when I saw his post

Noooo, we're supposed to gang up on them!  Divided we fall!!!!



OK, you're right.   

[nestcmartin]

Some people held score cards up after the LNF solo?!



Priceless!

The first question that arised to my mind was: What did they say?

Yeah! Anyone have pics or vids of these guys with the scorecards or in the unicyclist getup?!

[ZKX-2099]

They really are the classiest band.

[SeRoX]

my heart sank when i saw the email subject. i thought it was gonna be a bad message 

Fucking this! 

Things turned out well though.  They are the classiest guys ever.

[nikostheater]

Best band ever! Always humble and gracious. True class act. Can't wait for the next album!

I agree 100%

[TAC]

That's all great stuff. I have been thinking recently that we haven't heard anything from the band lately. These kinds of messages are good.