JP new interview

[erwinrafael]

  Nice.  I hadn't seen your post (or if I did, I had long since forgotten about it).  JP mentioned it when we were chatting after the G3 show in Reno last month.  I can't remember exactly how it came up, but we were somehow talking about how huge that production was, and I asked whether I was correct in assuming they were just leasing all that equipment and didn't buy it.  At some point, he made the comment that he kind of wished they had done the release differently and that it might have been cool if they released the book first, and then gave the album away at the shows, and then released it for purchase after the tour so those who didn't attend could buy it.

Now that is a game changer. If the album was given away exclusively to those who would attend the shows, I think that would be quite exciting. Like watch a concert of an unreleased album, then you get the album afterwards as part of the package.

[gzarruk]

*bosk goes to a DT show*
*bosk posts a thread How long do you think DT have left?*
*people panic*

 

Calling it now.  On April 1 Bosk throws out "hypothetical" MP returns thread.  DTF explodes....

 

[bosk1]

While that would be funny, I think there are a lot of reasons why it wouldn't be cool to go there.

[AngelBack]

While that would be funny, I think there are a lot of reasons why it wouldn't be cool to go there.

Of course.  But I do find it funny that from now on anytime you speculate on anything DT related, folks will wonder if JP tipped you off to something.

[Madman Shepherd]

Bosk: Hey guys! Do you prefer crunchy or creamy peanut butter?

DT Forum: OMG! Dream Theater is releasing a line of peanut butters!!!

[MinistroRaven]

Bosk: Hey guys! Do you prefer crunchy or creamy peanut butter?

DT Forum: OMG! Dream Theater is releasing a line of peanut butters!!!

 

[pg1067]

Bosk: Hey guys! Do you prefer crunchy or creamy peanut butter?

DT Forum: OMG! Dream Theater is releasing a line of peanut butters!!!

Hopefully also a a line of jelly jams!

[TAC]

Bosk: Hey guys! Do you prefer crunchy or creamy peanut butter?

DT Forum: OMG! Dream Theater is releasing a line of peanut butters!!!

Hopefully also a a line of jelly jams!

[Peter Mc]

My personal opinion is that the cd would have been received better if it was not marketed as "the new Dream Theater album".  If it was explained that JP/JR had written a musical theatre piece and this was the soundtrack to that as performed by Dream Theater, I think fans would maybe have had more of an idea what was coming.

Instead I think many fans were expecting another DT prog metal album except with the added excitement of it being a 2 disc concept album so everyone was ridiculously hyped up considering how their last concept album was received.  What we got was something very different, more of a cheesy broadway musical with some metal elements rather than a DT album as we know it.  I think fans would be more accepting if this was not considered a DT album but a separate thing.

That being said, I do enjoy the album but the book should have been ready to go at the time the album was released or shortly after to capitalise on the fans excitement at that time.  Not sure how many people are really desperate now to dig in to the story of an album released 2 years ago.  I am getting it (I got it for a Christmas present in 2016 and am still waiting!) but more for the collector in me and the hopefully nice packaging and extra materials rather than any desperate desire to read the book.

[noxon]

I do believe there's something to that - DTF was more accepting towards the album, and it might be because people knew (from me talking about it) what it was about...

[MirrorMask]

Not sure how many people are really desperate now to dig in to the story of an album released 2 years ago.

Sadly, I'm not. And I'm an avid book reader and I love very much The Astonishing. It's been 2 years, I simply moved on. They have yet to write it, and still the release of DT14 is nearer than the release of The Astonishing is, at this point in time.

[bosk1]

Well, we've been over this quite a bit in the last two years, so I'm not saying anything new here, but I'll just put it out there anyway:  Typically, when a band with an established career gives in to a creative muse to put something out there that is totally different and "out there" from the norm, there is mixed reaction from the fan base.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  Some aren't entirely sure what to think.  And quite often, a couple of albums down the road, that "experimental" album will simply have its place in the discography as the controversial oddity that some loved, some hated, and some were unsure of, and the band will have gotten back to their usual thing and done more in line with what the fans had grown comfortable with over the years.  I think The Astonishing squarely fits that.  Fan reaction has run the gamut.  It is an unusual album, not just for DT, but for ANY band.  The band is proud of it.  Fan reaction is mixed.  Next album will likely be more typical, and TA will be a novelty in the rear view mirror.  Thankfully, I think most fans, even the ones who hated it, seem to appreciate that the band had the courage to do what they wanted to do when the inspiration struck them, even if it could have been any number of different ways to better please certain fans and be more digestible.  Personally, I'm really glad that they did that album.  It is VERY different.  I happen to like it, which is great.  For those who didn't, they'll likely get something more in line with what the band is traditionally known for this next time around. 

[Another_Won]

Well, we've been over this quite a bit in the last two years, so I'm not saying anything new here, but I'll just put it out there anyway:  Typically, when a band with an established career gives in to a creative muse to put something out there that is totally different and "out there" from the norm, there is mixed reaction from the fan base.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  Some aren't entirely sure what to think. And quite often, a couple of albums down the road, that "experimental" album will simply have its place in the discography as the controversial oddity that some loved, some hated, and some were unsure of, and the band will have gotten back to their usual thing and done more in line with what the fans had grown comfortable with over the years.  I think The Astonishing squarely fits that.  Fan reaction has run the gamut.  It is an unusual album, not just for DT, but for ANY band.  The band is proud of it.  Fan reaction is mixed.  Next album will likely be more typical, and TA will be a novelty in the rear view mirror.  Thankfully, I think most fans, even the ones who hated it, seem to appreciate that the band had the courage to do what they wanted to do when the inspiration struck them, even if it could have been any number of different ways to better please certain fans and be more digestible.  Personally, I'm really glad that they did that album.  It is VERY different.  I happen to like it, which is great.  For those who didn't, they'll likely get something more in line with what the band is traditionally known for this next time around.

I see what you did there 

"A gallop snapshot poll taken immediately after President Bush's speech on
funding embryonic stem cell research last night shows that half of Americans
approve of his decision, 25% do not, and still another 25% are not sure what
to think."

Is The Astonishing a good album? That is the great debate.

All joking aside, you make a great point!

[Peter Mc]

Well, we've been over this quite a bit in the last two years, so I'm not saying anything new here, but I'll just put it out there anyway:  Typically, when a band with an established career gives in to a creative muse to put something out there that is totally different and "out there" from the norm, there is mixed reaction from the fan base.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  Some aren't entirely sure what to think.  And quite often, a couple of albums down the road, that "experimental" album will simply have its place in the discography as the controversial oddity that some loved, some hated, and some were unsure of, and the band will have gotten back to their usual thing and done more in line with what the fans had grown comfortable with over the years.  I think The Astonishing squarely fits that.  Fan reaction has run the gamut.  It is an unusual album, not just for DT, but for ANY band.  The band is proud of it.  Fan reaction is mixed.  Next album will likely be more typical, and TA will be a novelty in the rear view mirror.  Thankfully, I think most fans, even the ones who hated it, seem to appreciate that the band had the courage to do what they wanted to do when the inspiration struck them, even if it could have been any number of different ways to better please certain fans and be more digestible.  Personally, I'm really glad that they did that album.  It is VERY different.  I happen to like it, which is great.  For those who didn't, they'll likely get something more in line with what the band is traditionally known for this next time around.

Don't disagree with any of this, I was just talking about how the music may have been better received and less of a divisive fan reaction.  If John Petrucci had said "Hey guys there won't be a new DT album for a while but we're working on a really exciting multi media project which will include a book, video game and a musical theatre piece.  We're really excited for you to see what we've created."  If you then release everything at once, I think people would not then have judged it as another DT album but something separate.  Doesn't mean everyone would have liked it of course but they may have been more understanding as to why it was not in the traditional DT style.

I am one of those fans that does appreciate that they did something new and creative though and still enjoy the album.