A look inside the vaults of a slightly obsessed DT collector

[Ruba]

Holy shit OMG Mike likes Sepultura!!!!!

Not only does he like Sepultura, but he's in an occasional side project metal cover band with Andreas Kisser (called HAIL!)

Hmm yeah I've heard of HAIL! It's a cover band, isn't it?

Andreas is though far from his best days. He is one of the most talented guitarists in the world, but he has been doing ear-braking wah-wah/vibrato for last 15 years.

[SystematicThought]

When the paper said September 8th, I thought it referred to 2010 XDDD

"Mike, if someone were to ask you if on this day, September 8th, in about 13-15 years you would leave this band to do other things, how would you respond."
MP: This is my baby, and I don't think I could ever divorce this wife that is Dream Theater. It's not like there is another guy named Mike out there that could replace me.

[Prog Snob]

When the paper said September 8th, I thought it referred to 2010 XDDD

"Mike, if someone were to ask you if on this day, September 8th, in about 13-15 years you would leave this band to do other things, how would you respond."
MP: This is my baby, and I don't think I could ever divorce this wife that is Dream Theater. It's not like there is another guy named Mike out there that could replace me.

 

[ytserush]

When I was still living at my parents' house my entire bedroom was pretty much covered with DT posters.  It was pretty ridiculous.

Old WDADU poster (w/ Charlie), I&W Booklet poster, DTIFC poster and LSFNY Poster -



Super duper ginourmous SFAM poster -

And some others.... (WDADU, I&W, Awake and FII album covers and a couple other random ones) -

I remember these from the last time you put them up here. Cool pics.

A lot of my favs are in here.  I actually like that Scenes poster more than the movie poster that I had, but then I usually love those Euro tour posters more than the ones you find here.



Never bought those Rush bobbleheads. They never did anything for me.

[ZeppelinDT]

Never bought those Rush bobbleheads. They never did anything for me.

Not even when you do this? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8_AhxR3tZ4

[ZeppelinDT]

ITEM #6 - CHARLIE DOMINICI BACKSTAGE PASS

Front:



Back:



I guess this is a sort of one-of-a-kind item too.  This is a backstage pass for Charlie's last show with DT at the Ritz in New York City.  But it's not just any backstage pass - it's the one that was actually used by Charlie for the show.  I got this one directly from Charlie himself when he was selling off some old DT stuff to raise money for his recent albums.

[Pols Voice]

Totally awesome!

[Lolzeez]

Gotta love the "Say no to drugs"

[DebraKadabra]

That's pretty cool, Zep!

Gotta love the "Say no to drugs"

Yeah, no kidding.

[Weymolith]

ITEM #6 - CHARLIE DOMINICI BACKSTAGE PASS

I guess this is a sort of one-of-a-kind item too.  This is a backstage pass for Charlie's last show with DT at the Ritz in New York City.  But it's not just any backstage pass - it's the one that was actually used by Charlie for the show.  I got this one directly from Charlie himself when he was selling off some old DT stuff to raise money for his recent albums.

Nice! I've got a ticket from that show signed by him!

[ytserush]

ITEM #6 - CHARLIE DOMINICI BACKSTAGE PASS

Front:



Back:



I guess this is a sort of one-of-a-kind item too.  This is a backstage pass for Charlie's last show with DT at the Ritz in New York City.  But it's not just any backstage pass - it's the one that was actually used by Charlie for the show.  I got this one directly from Charlie himself when he was selling off some old DT stuff to raise money for his recent albums.

Nice!  Probably is one of a kind. Even more cool is that venue doesn't exist anymore (at least i don't think it does.)


All of have from that show is an unsigned ticket stub, a T-shirt that doesn't fit me anymore and a fading memory of that show (which I revisit via live recording).

I'm not sure who I was more excited to see that night Dream Theater or Marillion.


2 for 6.

[Prog Snob]

Nice!  Probably is one of a kind. Even more cool is that venue doesn't exist anymore (at least i don't think it does.)


All of have from that show is an unsigned ticket stub, a T-shirt that doesn't fit me anymore and a fading memory of that show (which I revisit via live recording).

I'm not sure who I was more excited to see that night Dream Theater or Marillion.


2 for 6.

As far as I know, the building reverted back to Studio 54 and shows off-Broadway shows.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Awesome stuff Zepp!!!!! 

[ytserush]

Nice!  Probably is one of a kind. Even more cool is that venue doesn't exist anymore (at least i don't think it does.)


All of have from that show is an unsigned ticket stub, a T-shirt that doesn't fit me anymore and a fading memory of that show (which I revisit via live recording).

I'm not sure who I was more excited to see that night Dream Theater or Marillion.


2 for 6.

As far as I know, the building reverted back to Studio 54 and shows off-Broadway shows.

That sounds about right.

[Zook]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/pre-dream-theater-MAJESTY-RARE-1987-DEMO-cassette-tape-/360306058929?pt=Music_Cassettes&hash=item53e3ea26b1

[DebraKadabra]

1000 clams?

[Weymolith]

To a collector, that is worth it for a 4 track demo tape. A friend of GDT purchased a batch of such tapes from Charlie a few years ago and that looks just like them, so I'd say it's legit.

[ZeppelinDT]

I don't think anybody is gonna buy it for that much.  This has been listed for ages.  It was actually down to $750 about a month ago... I guess the seller decided "Hey, nobody is buying it for $750, so I might as well increase the price back to $1,000".  I definitely thinks its legit, but the difference between this and the Charlie tapes is that the Charlie tapes were a bunch of tapes, and they all had stuff that had never been released before.

[ytserush]

I don't think anybody is gonna buy it for that much.  This has been listed for ages.  It was actually down to $750 about a month ago... I guess the seller decided "Hey, nobody is buying it for $750, so I might as well increase the price back to $1,000".  I definitely thinks its legit, but the difference between this and the Charlie tapes is that the Charlie tapes were a bunch of tapes, and they all had stuff that had never been released before.

I don't doubt it's the real deal. I never saw one of these before.

My budget tops out at about $100 for this so I won't be adding it any time soon.

It lists 10 offers though. Is that considered high in the ebay world?

[ZeppelinDT]

I guess it's a lot, but this is also ridiculously overpriced for the eBay world, which is probably why there have been so many offers.  I briefly considered submitting an offer for $1.00.

p.s. ~ Still got more stuff coming, just been busy for the past few days.  Hoping to do the next one tomorrow night.  I know what it will be, but its another one requiring a video that I still need to shoot.

[ytserush]

p.s. ~ Still got more stuff coming, just been busy for the past few days.  Hoping to do the next one tomorrow night.  I know what it will be, but its another one requiring a video that I still need to shoot.

Looking forward to it....

[DebraKadabra]

[ZeppelinDT]

ITEM #7 - DOROTHY WALLACE - AMERICA/AUTOMO JOE

Front:


Back:


Disc:


I don't know the exact date of this one, but I'm assuming it's some time around 1991/1992.  Local artist Dorothy Wallace put out a 45 single of the song "America" with a Jimi Hendrix Tribute song, "Automo Joe", as the B-side.  I don't know exactly what the connection is between Dorothy Wallace and John Petrucci, or how this collaboration came about, but JP provides guitar for the Hendrix tribute.  For a long time most people (including me) didn't even know this existed, then about 10 years ago, a mega collector (whose name escapes me) became terminally ill and a friend of his helped him sell off his entire collection.  It was easily the largest DT collection I've ever seen, and as part of that collection, he had about 20 or 30 copies of this single.  They all went pretty quickly, as every serious collector on the scene at the time immediately bought one up, and then they completely disappeared again.  It's especially unique because it's a song that most people probably haven't heard, and features JP doing his best Hendrix impersonation.  I don't have a turntable cable of converting vinyl to digital, but I can at least blast my stereo and record it with my phone, so here's a YouTube clip featuring the song in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usRGvzYulRo

[Fiery Winds]

I go to Google to search for a digital version of that song and your YouTube video shows up on the first page.   

[ZeppelinDT]

Hah.  That's how rare it is.  I'd be surprised if a digital version exists.

[Mebert78]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/pre-dream-theater-MAJESTY-RARE-1987-DEMO-cassette-tape-/360306058929?pt=Music_Cassettes&hash=item53e3ea26b1

Maybe I'm being overly skeptical, but how would one possibly know this is legit?  I mean, technically the Majesty album booklet is just a folded photocopy and the cassette is just an old-school Maxwell tape, which is how unknown bands did things back then I assume.  But couldn't someone reproduce that today for like $5 -- and then post it on ebay for $1,000?  The hard part would just be getting the right Maxwell blank tape, which I'm sure could be found online somewhere for a few bucks.  I'm not accusing the seller of doing this, but it's possible -- and it's an easy way to make a few hundred $$ profit.     

[Mindflux]

Maybe I'm being overly skeptical, but how would one possibly know this is legit?  I mean, technically the Majesty album booklet is just a folded photocopy and the cassette is just an old-school Maxwell tape, which is how unknown bands did things back then I assume.  But couldn't someone reproduce that today for like $5 -- and then post it on ebay for $1,000?  The hard part would just be getting the right Maxwell blank tape, which I'm sure could be found online somewhere for a few bucks.  I'm not accusing the seller of doing this, but it's possible -- and it's an easy way to make a few hundred $$ profit.     

Maxwell House made tapes?

[ZeppelinDT]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/pre-dream-theater-MAJESTY-RARE-1987-DEMO-cassette-tape-/360306058929?pt=Music_Cassettes&hash=item53e3ea26b1

Maybe I'm being overly skeptical, but how would one possibly know this is legit?  I mean, technically the Majesty album booklet is just a folded photocopy and the cassette is just an old-school Maxwell tape, which is how unknown bands did things back then I assume.  But couldn't someone reproduce that today for like $5 -- and then post it on ebay for $1,000?  The hard part would just be getting the right Maxwell blank tape, which I'm sure could be found online somewhere for a few bucks.  I'm not accusing the seller of doing this, but it's possible -- and it's an easy way to make a few hundred $$ profit.     

Really there's no way to be 100% sure other than maybe showing it to Mike Portnoy and asking him.  Most of the time with this stuff it really just comes down to instinct or subjective judgment.  But there are a few reasons I'm inclined to believe this is real - and they all really are about the insert rather than the tape itself.  The logo, font and P.O. Box address are all correct, and look exactly as they should look for something from this time period.  Obviously somebody with the right knowledge would be able to recreate this, but it would probably take a lot of effort (especially recreating that logo), and it would require having some pretty detailed knowledge of the band.  Plus, as Wey mentioned, the tapes look exactly like the Charlie tapes did... not just the fact that they're on the Maxwell brand tape, but even the way they're labeled - I'd be very surprised if that isn't Mike Portnoy's handwriting on the tape.  The fact that it's not evenly cut also gives it a bit of authenticity... a lot of times fakes of these things are a bit "too perfect".  Considering the status of the band at the time and the fact that this is just a rough demo, there's a good chance that the insert was just hand-cut.

[ytserush]

ITEM #7 - DOROTHY WALLACE - AMERICA/AUTOMO JOE

Front:



I don't know the exact date of this one, but I'm assuming it's some time around 1991/1992.  Local artist Dorothy Wallace put out a 45 single of the song "America" with a Jimi Hendrix Tribute song, "Automo Joe", as the B-side.  I don't know exactly what the connection is between Dorothy Wallace and John Petrucci, or how this collaboration came about, but JP provides guitar for the Hendrix tribute.  For a long time most people (including me) didn't even know this existed, then about 10 years ago, a mega collector (whose name escapes me) became terminally ill and a friend of his helped him sell off his entire collection.  It was easily the largest DT collection I've ever seen, and as part of that collection, he had about 20 or 30 copies of this single.  They all went pretty quickly, as every serious collector on the scene at the time immediately bought one up, and then they completely disappeared again.  It's especially unique because it's a song that most people probably haven't heard, and features JP doing his best Hendrix impersonation.  I don't have a turntable cable of converting vinyl to digital, but I can at least blast my stereo and record it with my phone, so here's a YouTube clip featuring the song in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usRGvzYulRo

I think I found out about this one in one of the fanzines stortly after it happened and found it at a record show (or maybe it was in Record Collector magazine?)

You're one up on me though, becuase I never played my copy -- never even heard it -- until I watched your clip. Sounds decent enough.

3 for 7.


As far as the demo tape goes.  If was interested in something like this (at that price), I'd be asking tons of questions about it and maybe goes as far a getting some independent verification somewhere.

It's easy for me to sit here and say it looks real because...well...it does.

There have been cases of more popular and collectible bands that people have tried to fake (The Beatles being an obvious one). You really have to know what you're looking for.

For example, before the only known real  Rush Caress of Steel boot surfaced, there was at least one attempt at a fake boot which used songs from Caress of Steel from other tours and used album versions of songs with a live crowd mixed in.

So there are certainly people that try and get away with stuff like that, you just have to weigh all of the various factors.

But as I said, it looks real to me for the reasons Zepp has already given.

[ZeppelinDT]

I think I found out about this one in one of the fanzines stortly after it happened and found it at a record show (or maybe it was in Record Collector magazine?)

I actually totally forgot about that.  Now that you mention it, I think it was mentioned at some point in one of the very early fanzines, but after that it was sort of forgotten about for ages.

[Prog Snob]

Nice piece of memorabilia Zepp. 

[DebraKadabra]

Nice piece of memorabilia Zepp.

No kidding!

[TAC]

Maybe I'm being overly skeptical, but how would one possibly know this is legit?  I mean, technically the Majesty album booklet is just a folded photocopy and the cassette is just an old-school Maxwell tape, which is how unknown bands did things back then I assume.  But couldn't someone reproduce that today for like $5 -- and then post it on ebay for $1,000?  The hard part would just be getting the right Maxwell blank tape, which I'm sure could be found online somewhere for a few bucks.  I'm not accusing the seller of doing this, but it's possible -- and it's an easy way to make a few hundred $$ profit.     

Maxwell House made tapes?

Good to the last note!

[DebraKadabra]

 

[Lolzeez]

When I was still living at my parents' house my entire bedroom was pretty much covered with DT posters.  It was pretty ridiculous.

Old WDADU poster (w/ Charlie), I&W Booklet poster, DTIFC poster and LSFNY Poster -

What's the vinyl next to Awake?