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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Mebert78 on April 11, 2011, 09:33:04 AM
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Jordan just posted a news item on Facebook about a benefit concert for Japan he'll be performing in later this month. He said:
"Performing a benefit concert for Japan on April 30 at a local high school. I'll be playing some synth, some iPad and will be joined by some talented friends and some kids from the school. I'm thinking about adding a twist to some mainstream songs for this crowd. Will keep you posted. We're selling twenty $35 meet and greet tickets for sale here: helenhayesyt@aol.com. All other tickets: $15 at the door."
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=207220119305447 (https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=207220119305447)
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This guy's a class act, I tell you.
B.Lee
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Anyone thinking of going? Looking at a map, West Nyack seems close to Tarrytown, which is where he performed in January. So I'm sure it could be a similar crowd, plus local students and community members. I think I might go.
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I might go. I had a great time at the last show, and its on a Saturday, but I'm not completely sold on the idea yet.
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I hope their auditorium is big.
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This thread sunk pretty quickly. No one else planning to go besides ZBomber? I'll be on the road nearby after leaving a baseball game and the timing works out well, so I'll be there. It might be interesting.
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I don't think I'll be going now. :lol Just would be too much of a hassle for me at this point. Should be a cool show though! :tup
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I wish I had a phone that took good videos. I'd like to shoot it for everyone to see. But I only have a crappy cell.
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No one else planning to go besides ZBomber?
Most of us don't live near NY. If I was an hour away, I'd be front and center.
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Is there a small chance that the new drummer or the band as a whole could make a surprise debut appearance at this benefit on Saturday night? You know, the drummer is being revealed tomorrow so maybe this would be a low-key and fun way for them to play together live for the first time and get their feet wet. Plus, all the band members are within 2-3 hours of the venue, since they all live nearby and JLB is presently recording his vocals in NY.
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That situation certainly would be interesting! I'm not sure though. It's not just Rudess - it's other community members and Japanese taiko. As interesting as it would be to see the new drummer have some fun with traditional drumming, I wouldn't hope for it.
I'll be going with some friends and be doing the meet and greet. The e-mail address that Rudess provided is that of his wife, so she might be there as well. It is "local" for him in that sense!
I'm looking very much forward to this.
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That situation certainly would be interesting! I'm not sure though. It's not just Rudess - it's other community members and Japanese taiko. As interesting as it would be to see the new drummer have some fun with traditional drumming, I wouldn't hope for it.
I'll be going with some friends and be doing the meet and greet. The e-mail address that Rudess provided is that of his wife, so she might be there as well. It is "local" for him in that sense!
I'm looking very much forward to this.
Me too! I'm doing the meet and greet, and I also corresponded with his wife, lol. I'll be wearing a DT cap like in my avatar. Say hi if you see me!
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I most certainly will! Isn't his wife the owner of a theater troupe or something to that effect? He grew up in Great Neck, I believe, which is close to Tarrytown and West Nyack.
Also, do you know what type of meet and greet this is? I've been to some of other bands and they can go anywhere from "Shake their hands and say hi for two seconds" to "Chat with them relatively personally for thirty minutes". I've never been to a DT one, but again, this isn't DT.
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Yes, I think his wife works with Helen Hayes theatre or something like that. The high school doing the benefit gave me her phone # to request my VIP tickets for the meet and greet, so I actually spokt with her briefly. She is nice and friendly. She was enjoying the drummer documentary too, but wouldn't reveal his identity to me, lol. Not sure about the type of meet and greet. I think it's after the show though, right? I hope it is, because I might be running late. I just want a photo with Jordan!
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I believe so. The doors open at 6:15 and the show starts at 7. If they wanted to do the meet-and-greet before the show, they probably would have mentioned it somewhere.
Does Jordan like photos with fans? I'm not sure if he prefers that or autographs... ;)
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Meet and greet is after the show. Just checked. See you theeeeeen!!!
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Just got back from the show! Incredible job by Jordan! I took a bunch of pics and I met the wizard afterwards. I also got some info on the status of recording for the new album and the songwriting process this time around, with Mangini. I'll say more in a bit. I'm a little tired and I want to upload my pics!
Also, nice meeting you, Frank!
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OK. So here's a synopsis of Jordan's solo show/benefit for Japan tonight. The show was held at Jordan's local high school in West Nyack, NY. His daughter attends the school. The show began with some student opening acts, and then Jordan hit the stage. He kept rotating back and forth between the piano close to the audience and the keyboard on stage. There were a few DT fans there wearing shirts, but it was mostly students, parents and community members in attendance. Whenever he mentioned DT, a bunch of people would scream. So I think there were a bunch of DT fans there not wearing DT shirts.
Anyway, on the piano he played an AMAZING cover of Pink Floyd's "Hey, You." No joke. It was breathtaking. He also played The Beatles' "Yesterday" on piano and DT's "Hollow Years," which was the only DT song he played. Several student groups joined him to sing and play guitar. What a great opportunity for these young kids to play and perform with Jordan. One student duo performed Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" with him. There was also a large student chorus (pictured below) that sang two songs, while Jordan accompanied on piano. The finale was a performance by the Wesleyan Taiko drum ensemble, which played these giant tribal-type drums while Jordan improvised over their beats. For me, the highlight was when Jordan played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on Morphwiz, except the iPad cut out on the final notes. Jordan blurts out: "Oh no, I hit the Home button," lol. Everyone laughed, and then Jordan turned to his keyboard and improvised an impressive ending to the song. He then instructed all music teachers to teach their students to improvise, because clearly you never know when you might need to!
During intermission, they played DT's Awake album over the loudspeaker. It was a weird choice since Jordan doesn't play on that CD, but cool nonetheless. I got there late, so I don't know what they played pre-show, but after they played BC&SL tunes. When the show was over about 10-15 of us were brought backstage and we formed a line to meet him. I thanked him for picking Mike Mangini as the new drummer, and I said he's a great fit. I was so nervous that I don't remember everything he said. While he was talking, I just remember thinking: "I can't believe I'm talking to Jordan," lol. But he did say something like, he was nervous that the documentary was initially getting a mixed reaction from some fans. Either that, or he said HE was initially worried that it might get a mixed reaction. I can't remember his wording. But he's happy everyone seems to be embracing Mangini. I told him the documentary was a great way to be open and bring fans behind the scenes like Portnoy used to do video wise, and this was a good first step to maintain that fan interaction that Portnoy had done. He then said something about the band having to pick up Portnoy's other tasks, like rotating setlists. I think that's what he said. He mentioned something about that topic, but I was nervous and not focusing completely.
Lastly, I asked him if he could give me any details on the new album, songtitles, anything. He said one thing he could tell me is that Myung wrote lyrics for songs (I believe he said songs, plural -- as in multiple songs). Of course, we already figured this would happen. He said next he is recording his keyboard parts. I asked him if drums are done. He said yes and they are killer. He said Mangini would play some parts with one hand and he's never seen anything like it. I asked if Mangini wrote the music together with the band, like Portnoy used to do. He said no. Jordan, John and John did the writing without Mangini. I think that's pretty much it. I kept it short, because I didn't want to hog his time. But it was great to meet him. Such a nice guy. Cool show. Definitely worth the car ride!
Here are some pics. The first is Jordan and I.
(https://img571.imageshack.us/img571/2889/jordanphoto2.jpg) (https://img571.imageshack.us/i/jordanphoto2.jpg/)
(https://img860.imageshack.us/img860/5742/106be.jpg) (https://img860.imageshack.us/i/106be.jpg/)
(https://img42.imageshack.us/img42/9778/097sv.jpg) (https://img42.imageshack.us/i/097sv.jpg/)
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We get Myung lyrics!! It's just nice to have it confirmed
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:metal :metal :metal
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Fantastic stuff, thanks for sharing!
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Pretty awesome dude, thanks for the post! :tup
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Hah! When did Jordan start giving metal-horns?
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JMX LYRICS :metal :metal :metal
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Mebert dude, that is awesome, thanks for sharing all of that. :tup Sounds like a really cool experience.
-J
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Thank you for sharing this! :) I'm really happy to see Myung wrapping the pen! :tup
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Thanks! I'm looking forward to some JM lyrics again.
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Well we have some awesome news my Friends :metal :metal JM writing lyrics, JP & JR & JM writing music. Very good news, I expect different album than 6DOIT or TOT or SC or BC&SL... I expect now for real - the Greatest Dream Theater album. :metal :metal
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I expect now for real - the Greatest Dream Theater album. :metal :metal
come on now
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I expect now for real - the Greatest Dream Theater album. :metal :metal
Mmmm nah.
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Ok, maybe I have gone too far with that :P
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Well I don't see why it's not a possibility.
Don't worry Cody, you're just less grumpy and cynical than those giant indies.
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:lol at how this turned into an "OMG JMX LYRICS!" thread! Not that it's a bad thing, though.
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Multiple contributions on the same album?!
He's broken a personal record!!
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Great to hear! Thanks for the report!
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Oh my God. This record is going to KILL.
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Unless Myung wrote death metal songs...
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Lastly, I asked him if he could give me any details on the new album, songtitles, anything. He said one thing he could tell me is that Myung wrote lyrics for songs (I believe he said songs, plural -- as in multiple songs).
pick up Portnoy's other tasks, like rotating setlists
Words cannot grasp the awesomeness of this. The record and the upcoming tour seem to get more promising by every day.
Also, thanks a lot for the report, Mebert. It really must have been an amazing evening. :tup
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silver lining: JM
black cloud: they wrote without a drummer
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MYUNG LYRICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where's the picture of the head shaking and exploding? That's me right now.
Also, the show itself sounds really cool.
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Thanks for this great synopsis! I find it funny that we waited months without any news at all and now, within a week, everything seems to be happening at the same time!
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Thanks for sharing! I'm psyched!
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Thanks for all the cool info, i'm so excited for the next album :metal
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Sounds like a cool show! Congrats on meeting him.
Bummer that they wrote without MM :(
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Awesome report Mebert! Gracias! :metal
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I don't think "we wrote it w/o MM" is as black and white as it sounds. We know he wrote his own drum parts, and he could have very easily had a hand in arrangement/structure as well...i.e. "hey, what about shortening this section, repating that other section, and switching where they are?". It's not really writing, but it's definitely a contribution to the finished product beyond just comign up with the percussion. This seems very feasible here since we know that writing came before recording this time around, and there were even demos of at least one tune being sent back and forth.
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I don't think "we wrote it w/o MM" is as black and white as it sounds. We know he wrote his own drum parts, and he could have very easily had a hand in arrangement/structure as well...i.e. "hey, what about shortening this section, repating that other section, and switching where they are?". It's not really writing, but it's definitely a contribution to the finished product beyond just comign up with the percussion. This seems very feasible here since we know that writing came before recording this time around, and there were even demos of at least one tune being sent back and forth.
I agree with that totally.
Also, glad you guys liked my synopsis. One more thing that was kinda embarrasing for me. The third or fourth song Jordan played was DT's "Hollow Years." Before he started to play it, he told the audience it would be a DT song, but he didn't say what song. So he starts it off with a 20-30 second improvisation and then starts to play the opening to "Hollow Years." When I recognized it, I yelled out: "Wooooo! Yeah!" Everyone looked at me and no one else yelled. Like I said earlier the majority of the audience was community members that don't know DT songs, so no one understood why I yelled out 40 seconds into a song, lol. I felt like an ass, lol.
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I don't think "we wrote it w/o MM" is as black and white as it sounds. We know he wrote his own drum parts, and he could have very easily had a hand in arrangement/structure as well...i.e. "hey, what about shortening this section, repating that other section, and switching where they are?". It's not really writing, but it's definitely a contribution to the finished product beyond just comign up with the percussion. This seems very feasible here since we know that writing came before recording this time around, and there were even demos of at least one tune being sent back and forth.
Very well put, agree 100%. Either way, I'm totally psyked about the upcoming album and also hearing the Myung lyrics!
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Made a Myung thread: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=22690.0
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More Myung lyrics is a great thing. :coolio
I don't think Mangini being part of the writing process is a big deal at all. They probably want to play with him a bit more and let them all get used to each other a lot more before he becomes a part of the writing process. It is different from Sherinian, who had toured with the band and did the ACOS EP before the first full album together, and Rudess, who had done the LTE records, so he already had a chemistry with Petrucci and Portnoy.
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Fantastic synopsis, Mebert - great meeting you as well! Sorry we didn't speak long. I was there with my girlfriend and my mom and she decided to whip out her phone for the last part of his jam with the taiko ensemble, so maybe I'll upload that to YouTube soon. Jordan seemed very down-to-earth during the concert. The Japanese section sang We Are the World in Japanese for a bit, and some of the students were fantastic as well.
Meeting Jordan Rudess was great. I just said typical fan stuff to him, but he seemed to enjoy it. But the guy who directed the Youth Choir tonight was my girlfriend's choir teacher was she was a kid (the director lived in a different area then) so she got a personalized introduction to Jordan Rudess - something like, "Jordan, I want you to meet this girl, she's one of my old babies" and Jordan responded very positively. She was so freaked out that she was meeting him, though, she probably tripped over her words! Afterwards we were walking around the school (decorated to the brim with Japanese materials like cranes and hiragana signs) and we saw Jordan's daughter, Kayla. We decided to get her autograph also, and she seemed very surprised! I certainly hope we didn't leave a negative impression!
There were definitely a lot of Dream Theater fans, particularly in the Japanese club there. I think we didn't see a lot of DT shirt wearing people because they were all wearing their "Nihongo Kurabu" (Japanese Club) shirts. I know one of them gave me a high five when I walked in with my Octavarium shirt.
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I don't think "we wrote it w/o MM" is as black and white as it sounds. We know he wrote his own drum parts, and he could have very easily had a hand in arrangement/structure as well...i.e. "hey, what about shortening this section, repating that other section, and switching where they are?". It's not really writing, but it's definitely a contribution to the finished product beyond just comign up with the percussion. This seems very feasible here since we know that writing came before recording this time around, and there were even demos of at least one tune being sent back and forth.
Sorry, I have a hard time keeping up with all of the DT news, but can you provide a link that says MM wrote his drum parts? I was under the assumption they were written before hand and he just recorded them. That's a relief to hear that he wrote them though!
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Oh my God. This record is going to KILL.
Unless Myung wrote death metal songs...
I see what you did there. :biggrin:
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I don't think "we wrote it w/o MM" is as black and white as it sounds. We know he wrote his own drum parts, and he could have very easily had a hand in arrangement/structure as well...i.e. "hey, what about shortening this section, repating that other section, and switching where they are?". It's not really writing, but it's definitely a contribution to the finished product beyond just comign up with the percussion. This seems very feasible here since we know that writing came before recording this time around, and there were even demos of at least one tune being sent back and forth.
Sorry, I have a hard time keeping up with all of the DT news, but can you provide a link that says MM wrote his drum parts? I was under the assumption they were written before hand and he just recorded them. That's a relief to hear that he wrote them though!
Check out the "New Drummer Interview" thread:
Mike continues talking about the preparation for recording the new album with Dream Theater
“John [Petrucci] sent me a demo. He didn’t ask me to do anything, he just said, ‘Check it out.’ I grabbed it and thought, ‘I’m going to get back to him quicker than he thinks I am, and I’m going to get back to him with more than he’s expecting. I’m going to go the extra 17 miles.’ So, I transcribed it, got into my studio and recorded it, tried stuff and just did a take. And it was okay. I listened to it and thought to let my wife here it, and she said, ‘You’re holding back.’ She’s not a musician, but she said, ‘I know you. You’re holding back.’ And she was absolutely right. I said, ‘You know what, I’m afraid of doing something wrong or doing too much.’ Anyway, I did another take and I kind of let go. Again, because everything happened so naturally in the audition, that’s what I needed to follow as a feeling: just be me. Not think too much about this, that and the other thing, and just go with what’s coming out naturally. If it’s not the right thing, he’ll tell me.”
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Ah ok, I saw that actually. I just assumed when he said "transcribe" that they programed the drums or something and he had to write out the parts.
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More Myung lyrics is a great thing. :coolio
I don't think Mangini being part of the writing process is a big deal at all. They probably want to play with him a bit more and let them all get used to each other a lot more before he becomes a part of the writing process. It is different from Sherinian, who had toured with the band and did the ACOS EP before the first full album together, and Rudess, who had done the LTE records, so he already had a chemistry with Petrucci and Portnoy.
Well said! As I said in another thread:
I would imagine it was an issue of (1) timing, (2) keeping the drummer's name under wraps for as long as possible, and (3) letting him settle in first. Hopefully DT 12 will see him contribute to the writing process, especially as the jamming and riffing was such an integral part of the audition process.
Sorry, I have a hard time keeping up with all of the DT news, but can you provide a link that says MM wrote his drum parts? I was under the assumption they were written before hand and he just recorded them. That's a relief to hear that he wrote them though!
Non-drummers don't really write drum parts unless they're pretty simple. Obviously the general rhythmic ideas will have been there, but he will have drummed in a way that seemed natural. His comments in the only interview we have from him so far seem to support that: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=22621.0
EDIT Never mind, ninja'd!
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Non-drummers don't really write drum parts unless they're pretty simple.
I dunno about that! :biggrin: My friend is a guitarist/keyboardist, and he writes the parts for all of the instruments in his songs. He can't actually play the drum parts, but he's written some awesome beats/rhythms. If he can do it, I'm sure JP/JR could come up with some great drums if they actually attempted to. Especially now a days when its so easy to do things like that with computer programs.
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Non-drummers don't really write drum parts unless they're pretty simple.
I dunno about that! :biggrin: My friend is a guitarist/keyboardist, and he writes the parts for all of the instruments in his songs. He can't actually play the drum parts, but he's written some awesome beats/rhythms. If he can do it, I'm sure JP/JR could come up with some great drums if they actually attempted to. Especially now a days when its so easy to do things like that with computer programs.
Yeah I do that for my music, but trust me, it's a lot of effort for anything vaguely complex. They knew they had MM so there would have been no need to do it that way! Like I said, basic rhythmic structure, definitely, maybe even with certain ideas here and there. But I can almost guarantee Mangini will have had plenty of room to do things the way he felt was right.
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Mebert, did Jordan say "mangini didnt write anything, JM/JP/myself did" or did he just say that mangini didn't? I'm curious because that is perhaps a clue as to JLB contributions (or lack thereof) on the new album.
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Hey, everyone. If you're interested, here's an article I wrote for Samsara's The Breakdown Room, a rock music e-zine, about Jordan's benefit for Japan:
Link: https://breakdownroom.net/hopeforjapan2011.html
Dream Theater's Rudess Lends Helping Hand to Japan
Just one day after progressive metal giants Dream Theater announced Mike Mangini as its new drummer, the band's affable keyboardist Jordan Rudess was already proposing a replacement for him at the kit position: the Wesleyan University Taiko Drum Ensemble.
The lighthearted remark came near the end of a solo show he played on April 30, at Clarkstown South High School, in West Nyack, N.Y., in which the energetic ensemble joined Rudess on stage for an improvised finale. The gig was the conclusion to a whirlwind week for the keyboardist, as Dream Theater revealed its new drummer after more than seven months of speculation following the departure of founding member Mike Portnoy.
But despite the drummer joke, Rudess made it clear the evening was about one thing: Japan. The gig was a benefit for the people of Japan, in response to the devastation caused by the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that rumbled offshore of the nation's east coast on March 11. The quake set off a 30-foot-high tsunami that inundated many coastal communities.
"When I learned of the earthquake in Japan, I felt like I needed to express my feelings and the best way I know how to do that is to just sit at my piano," Rudess said, shortly after taking the auditorium stage.
The "Hope for Japan" benefit materialized when Clarkstown Japanese language teacher Akiko Uchiyama – who has Rudess' daughter Kayla in one of her classes – mentioned a recent charity concert in Manhattan to her students that prompted them to create a fundraiser of their own. The teens then tapped Rudess, knowing his passion for the country after he posted a piano improvisation on YouTube in March called "For Japan" that currently has approximately 110,000 views.
But Rudess didn't take the stage alone in his effort to benefit the earthquake-ravaged region. Taking turns joining him was a handful of young local musicians, including the Lower Hudson Valley Youth Chorus and Brothers Page, a Rockland, N.Y.-based duo consisting of siblings Josh and Zach.
The pair performed a spot-on rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's classic folk song "Sounds of Silence," with Rudess tastefully accompanying the singing brothers on keyboards.
"Jordan is one of the most gracious spirits out there in the music world and it is truly who he is on and off stage," said Zach. "It's a kind of spiritual consistency that is very rarely found."
Other songs played by Rudess included piano covers of Pink Floyd's "Hey, You," The Beatles' "Yesterday," and Dream Theater's "Hollow Years." He also demonstrated his self-created and award-winning iPad app MorphWiz with a version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The app won first place in the category of "Best Music Creation App" in the Billboard Music App Awards on Oct. 5, 2010, in San Francisco.
Unfortunately, the iPad's sound suddenly cut out just prior to the end of the song.
"Ah, I hit the 'Home' button!" Rudess said, triggering a roar of laughter from the crowd.
Tickets were $15 and VIP passes that included a meet and greet were $40, with all funds benefiting the Japan Society. Also for sale were Rudess' 2009 solo CD, origami cranes, and a Korg M3 88 keyboard – normally priced at $2,700, but auctioned off for a bid of $2,000.
The instrument was won by Dream Theater fan Franz Vezuli of Newburgh, N.Y., who is a piano instructor at the New York School of Music and keyboardist in a progressive metal band named Room 10.
"I was actually at my guitarist's house on Friday telling him how I wanted a second keyboard and I wanted a Korg this coming summer," Vezuli said. "So when Jordan announced during the intermission that he was auctioning off a Korg for Japan it was like fate."
In post-show chats with fans, Rudess fielded questions about Dream Theater's upcoming album and the announcement of Mike Mangini as the band's new drummer via an online documentary just the prior day. He revealed that bassist John Myung is "back to writing lyrics" and said he's slated to record keyboard parts this month at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, N.Y.
- Michael R. Ebert
When not writing for The Breakdown Room, Michael R. Ebert is a reporter for Newsday, a daily newspaper on Long Island.
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Great article! :tup