A look inside the vaults of a slightly obsessed DT collector

[ZeppelinDT]

So as some of you may know, in the past I've made collecting Dream Theater stuff a *slight* hobby of mine.  It started pretty early on.  I first discovered DT around 1997, and quickly picked up their entire discography.  Then I found out about some singles with B sides, and, being the completist that I am, I started scouring Amazon for as many of those as I could find too.  And as soon as I thought I had finally gotten it all, I learned about these mysterious fan club Christmas CDs that had been sent out.  Then I started seeing other users on DTF posting pictures of their collections and noticed there was still more stuff that I didn't have (e.g., promo singles, Japanese versions, etc, etc).  Not one to be outdone, I began digging deeper and deeper into eBay, learning how to win auctions through sniping programs, find overlooked stuff through misspellings ("Dream Theatre" is an ever popular one) or by searching titles and descriptions (Ive scored many a deal by finding rare stuff buried in eBay lot sales, such as a sealed WDADU longbox for $5.00).  I began getting to know the other serious collectors on the scene, and before I knew it, my collection had expanded from a single mini CD tower to an entire bookshelf and then some.

But by around 2007, I was living on my own, working full time and living a pretty busy life, and I just didn't really have the time available that was necessary to continue building such a collection, rarities were becoming more and more expensive and sought after, and the overall cost of keeping up with all of that was starting to become a bit much, so my collecting habits more or less dwindled at that point and eventually stopped completely.  Since then, about half of my collection has just been sitting around on display in my apartment, while the rest of it (mostly the posters and t-shirts) remain buried in the back of my closets.  There have been plenty of times where I've tried to figure out what exactly I want to do with all this stuff... is it worth keeping?  Should I just sell it all?  Should I store it away somewhere?  I've gone back and forth a bunch of times, but every time I start thinking about the possibility of selling it, I realize that I spent so much time and energy gathering all of this stuff into one place, that it would be pretty tough to part with it all - especially the true gems and rarities.

So lately I've decided that at the very least I should take a look through it all and re-familiarize myself with everything to see what I've actually got, what might be worth displaying, what might be sellable without too much pain, etc, etc.  In the past, many people have jokingly told me I should open a Dream Theater museum, and while I laughed at the time, I started thinking about it and realized that in recent years Long Islanders have created the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, which Dream Theater were inducted into last year.  They had no physical location, but they're in the process of opening a physical museum in my home town featuring inductees, so I've got a message in to them and I'm attempting to persuade them to open a temporary Dream Theater featured exhibit.  I have no idea how that will turn out, but if it works I'd certainly be lending them some of my stuff.

But in the meantime, I thought it might be kind of fun to start a thread where every now and then I pick one item from my collection and do a little feature on it here.  Pictures, background, any stories behind it, etc.  (Note - one thing I probably won't be posting is how much I paid for stuff - and that's not out of any desire for privacy or anything, but because of the much more practical reason that, I was doing so much buying, selling and trading that, for most of this stuff, I just flat out don't remember).  I figured it would be a fun way for me to revisit my own collection, while also being a way for some other fans to check out stuff that they otherwise may not have known even existed.  Ideally I'll try to do at least one per week, but I guess the frequency will really depend mostly on whether or not there's actually any interest in this.

So anyway, I've decided to start with what is probably the most obvious choice, so here we go.

Edit - I thought it would be convenient to create an index linking directly to the posts about specific items:


ITEM #1 - MAJESTY DEMO TEST PRESSING CASSETTE TAPE (Scroll down)
ITEM #2 - IMAGES & WORDS CD (ALTERNATE VERSION)
ITEM #3 - AWAKE - THE INTERACTIVE GUIDE
ITEM #4 - JORDAN RUDESS - A CHRISTMAS CAROL CD
ITEM #5 - MAJESTY DEMO SONG LYRICS PACKAGE
ITEM #6 - CHARLIE DOMINICI BACKSTAGE PASS
ITEM #7 - DOROTHY WALLACE - AMERICA/AUTOMO JOE


ITEM #1 - MAJESTY DEMO TEST PRESSING CASSETTE TAPE

Front:



Back:



JP Autograph:



MP Autograph:



JM Autograph:




This is easily the rarest item in my collection.  There is only one of them in existence, and this is it.  In a sense, it's really the very first "professional" thing that Dream Theater recorded as a band.  I picked up it a few years ago from Andrew Ross, who managed DT (well, Majesty) during the very earliest stages of their career.  I had dealt with Andy before on other items, so I was pretty confident in its authenticity, but obviously with such a rare and unusual thing, one is never 100% certain.  But then about 5 years ago DT did a pre-show meet and greet at a local record store, so I brought this tape to get it signed by Mike and the Johns, and I asked Mike about it directly and his was response was along the lines of "Yeah, this is definitely real.  I listened to this exact tape over 20 years ago".  I honestly don't remember exactly what I paid for it - the best of my recollection is that it was "A lot, but not the most I've ever spend on a single item".  So there you have it.  A genuine piece of Dream Theater history.  Until next time...

[jonnybaxy]

Holy shit man, very nice man! Just finishing my discography collection off soon then rarer albums and so on, soon I'll be like you haha

[Unlegit]

Cool! Is it just the Majesty Demos that are on it?

[jonnybaxy]

wait does that sticker say 84? Didn't they get together in 85?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Great thread idea! 

[wasteland]

This thread is going to be an early Christmas for me :excited:

[cyberdrummer]

wait does that sticker say 84? Didn't they get together in 85?

It says 86 I think.

[GasparXR]

Damn son. That's a nice find.

[Implode]

That is really awesome. Can't wait to see more from the vaults of ZeppelinDT!

[ZeppelinDT]

Cool! Is it just the Majesty Demos that are on it?

Yup.  It's the test pressing of the original 6-track demo tape.

wait does that sticker say 84? Didn't they get together in 85?

It says "8-11-86" (i.e., August 11, 1986).  I guess that's the day it was finished.

[Lolzeez]

Hmph. I still have my promo picture cd.  Still,that thing you have there is badass. 

[Progmetty]

You're pretty awesome ZeppelinDT, not just for having such an item or being a prime DT collector, but also for the way you're going about the whole hobby, with the exhibit idea and giving insight into what you have and how you came to have it and sharing it with other fans, etc. I appreciate this 

[yeshaberto]

thanks for sharing Zep

[black_biff_stadler]

Cool thread Zep It's startling how much that guy's 4s, 6s, and 8s resemble the way my dad writes them too.

[wasteland]

I think that guy might be Mike Portnoy. The numbers resemble those he wrote in the front cover of Cleaning Out The Closet.

[Scorpion]

Awesome Zep! Following with interest.

[BlobVanDam]

Very cool!  Can't wait to see more stuff.

[Madman Shepherd]

Very cool thread!

[MoraWintersoul]

Oh this is going to be awesome. Thanks for taking the time to introduce us to your stuff, I really appreciate it

[jingle.boy]

You have a *slight* collection the way that the US has is *slightly* in debt.   

Following.

[?]

This is easily the rarest item in my collection.

It's not hard to believe that!

[DebraKadabra]

That is extremely cool, Zep.

[Another_Won]

Yes! very cool!  I will definitely be following this too.

[TAC]

Definitely following ZDT. Thanks for sharing.
That cassette would definitely have to be considered the Holy Grail, no?

Maybe you could swab it for DNA and we could actually have an MP/JP love child!!

[ZeppelinDT]

That cassette would definitely have to be considered the Holy Grail, no?

It certainly is to me.  Although there are at least two other items I can think of that to me would be just as cool to own.  One is the papier-mache heart from the Pull Me Under video that MP sold through his forum.  That one originally went for $700 though, which was out of my price range.  The other is the Images & Words RIAA gold record awarded to Bear Tracks Studios.  Jay Beckenstein sold that off through eBay years ago, but it sold for around $1,200, which is WAY out of my price range.

Anyway, glad to see this thread getting such a positive reaction.  I'll try to keep the posts coming.  I've got the next item lined up... just a little more work to do.  This one requires me to upload a video to fully capture the bizareness of it.  Working on that right now...

[Samsara]

Thanks for sharing bro. Very cool. I have some cool Queensryche and Fifth Angel gems like that too.

Hope to see you at the Queensryche show in March. We've never met, I think it's about time. Mike E is going too. It's a Sunday, but your old ass can still wake up in time for work on Monday.

Anyway, looking forward to future posts on your stuff.

[King Postwhore]

Awe yeah I am following Zepp!

[TAC]

Awe yeah I am following Zepp!

King, what's with the new avatar? Sunday night did more damage than I thought!

[DebraKadabra]

Anyway, glad to see this thread getting such a positive reaction.  I'll try to keep the posts coming.  I've got the next item lined up... just a little more work to do.  This one requires me to upload a video to fully capture the bizareness of it.  Working on that right now...

Looking forward to it!

[ytserush]

That cassette would definitely have to be considered the Holy Grail, no?

It certainly is to me.  Although there are at least two other items I can think of that to me would be just as cool to own.  One is the papier-mache heart from the Pull Me Under video that MP sold through his forum.  That one originally went for $700 though, which was out of my price range.  The other is the Images & Words RIAA gold record awarded to Bear Tracks Studios.  Jay Beckenstein sold that off through eBay years ago, but it sold for around $1,200, which is WAY out of my price range.

Anyway, glad to see this thread getting such a positive reaction.  I'll try to keep the posts coming.  I've got the next item lined up... just a little more work to do.  This one requires me to upload a video to fully capture the bizareness of it.  Working on that right now...

I feel your pain. The stuff I have is mostly in closets and boxes. (My guess is I have about half to two thirds of what you have.)

Bought a few things from Andrew Ross myself.     I have the more common sealed purple majesty demo tape that I picked up at a record show in the 90s

I just found one of those Awake 18X24 promo posters(a mini version of which can be found inside the Awake CD booklet) that had slipped behind the shelf and fallen to the floor. I've always thought about framing it and putting it up as I think it's one of the cooler promo posters out there but I may just end up selling it.



Can't wait to see that video....

[ZeppelinDT]

ITEM #2 - IMAGES & WORDS CD (ALTERNATE VERSION)

Front:


Innards:


Back:



Ok, so at this point you're probably thinking "Uhh... how is this rare?".  Well, as with many collectors, my collection goes beyond just getting promos, single, and odd memorabilia.  A good part of my collection consists of multiple versions of the same item, all of which are slightly different from each other in one way or another.  Some differences are pretty obvious, e.g., Japanese versions with an OBI strip, versions with alternate covers, or with alternate track lists, or with bonus discs, etc etc.  Some differences are fairly subtle, e.g., versions using the same basic template that were pressed in different countries, reissues, CD club versions, and so on.  Based on the above pictures, you're probably thinking that this particular alternate version falls into the latter category, as it looks pretty darn similar to the standard issue CD.  But if you think that's the case, then you're wrong.  This version is EXTREMELY different from the standard common versions.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is the most unusual version of Images & Words out there.  It's just unusual in a different sort of way.  It's unusual in a way that is impossible to capture using pictures alone, since, in a strictly VISUAL sense, this version is, in fact, identical to all of the others.  To best demonstrate what makes this version so unique, I've created a short video.  Now, if you're the curmudgeonly type and are thinking "OH MY GOD JUST GET TO THE POINT ALREADY", then you can just skip the video and I'll explain below.  But if you're enjoying this prelude, then watch the video first before reading on.  Just make sure your sound is on if you want the full effect.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Did you watch it?  Are you confused?  You should be.  Don't worry, your ears are not playing tricks on you.  Those first few notes you heard were indeed the intro to Hell's Bells.  That second song really was Shoot to Thrill.  In fact, despite the booklet, spine, and label on the disc all reading "Dream Theater - Images & Words", the audio contained on the CD is AC/DC's classic "Back In Black".  Apparently somebody at the CD pressing plant was asleep at the controls on the day these were made.  I can only imagine the confusion of somebody who bought one of these back in '92, settled down to listen to this new band they just discovered, and were confronted with an album they've known well for 12 years already.  (I also wonder if there's anybody who bought this without any knowledge of AC/DC, and actually thought this was what Dream Theater sounds like).

One other thing worth noting about this is that it isn't the only time this has happened to Dream Theater.  Apparently there's also a Canadian version of "A Change of Seasons" floating around out there that has the audio to Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Trouble Is..." (although I only know of one copy of that particular disc, and it's in the possession of Dream Theater mega-collector Franz).  I was never able to find my own copy of that one, but after years of searching, I did finally score this copy of I&W, which I picked up directly from another DT mega-collector named Paul, but more easily recognized by his username thefunkygibbons.  His copy (which I now own) and Franz's copy are the only two copies of this particular version that I know of.  The funny thing about this one though is that, since this can't be detected through visuals alone, there could be copies of it sitting in a used CD store quietly blending in with the other regular versions, or gathering dust on somebody's shelf without them ever even realizing it.  There could even be copies of it for sale on eBay or Amazon for only a couple of bucks, but you would never know until you actually stuck it in the CD player.  But if you ever do find yourself with one of these in your possession, don't let it go!

[Unlegit]

Aw man, when you said "Alternate Version" I thought it would have a different mix or track order. However. that's still pretty interesting! I know I have a CD somewhere that is basically the same as this; everything is one band, but the music is another.

[yeshaberto]

that is so cool

[ZeppelinDT]

Aw man, when you said "Alternate Version" I thought it would have a different mix or track order. However. that's still pretty interesting! I know I have a CD somewhere that is basically the same as this; everything is one band, but the music is another.

Yeah, I struggled with how I should title it.  I wanted to just call it "Back in Black mispressing" but that would have taken all the fun out of phrasing my post the way I did.

[SystematicThought]

I think it would be hilarious if someone had never heard Back in Black and thought that was Dream Theater for awhile