Interview with James

[goo-goo]

Interesting tidbits.

https://q1043.iheart.com/featured/qna/content/2019-07-30-james-labrie-credits-a-fluke-with-dream-theaters-influential-career/?fbclid=IwAR3-jcNtN6ilOIweO7Yo-aeK6wwsVs6yKZjMd_bAxWNlk-7AYfn3iaO7CF4

Would love to see Tesseract with DT at some point.

[cramx3]

Doing a cruise has been thrown at them  I wonder if that means a DT cruise or more like being on one of the existing ones. 

[The Walrus]

"It just really has resulted in me singing, I think, better than I ever have."

No, no, no, no, no. Maybe in some ways his technique might be better but the actual sounds that are coming out? Better than how he was in his 20s? C'mon.

[gzarruk]

"It just really has resulted in me singing, I think, better than I ever have."

No, no, no, no, no. Maybe in some ways his technique might be better but the actual sounds that are coming out? Better than how he was in his 20s? C'mon.

What threw me off wasn't that statement, but what he said after that about searching for the videos of this tour and seeing how he's reching notes he hasn't in a while. It's funny, 'cause I've been watching some lately and he seemed to be struggling a bit (which is fine), and definitely not reaching some of the high notes. Maybe I watched the wrong videos?

Other than that, it was a cool interview. Specially where he says that MM and JM might have been a bit upset over JR and JP writing 100% of the material on TA. We knew about Mangini, but it's interesting to hear about Myung too, since he, well... doesn't speak much

[cramx3]

  actually I missed that comment about watching videos... isn't he not a fan of people filming him? and yet he watches them?  I hope he watches mine, but that's kind of funny.

[gzarruk]

Congratulations on the new album, Distance Over Time. I think it’s this Dream Theater lineup's best record. One of the things that really jumped out to me upon the first listen was how strong your voice sounded. Were you doing something different on this album?

Well, I went back to studying voice there. Years ago I have some vocal cord problems. Long story short, I went back to studying … and incorporated some new warmups and cool downs. It just really has resulted in me singing, I think, better than I ever have.

Even if you go on YouTube and look at this tour, the ‘Distance Over Time’ tour, and pull up any videos, you can see that I’m singing notes that I haven’t been singing in many years.

[geeeemo]

"It just really has resulted in me singing, I think, better than I ever have."

No, no, no, no, no. Maybe in some ways his technique might be better but the actual sounds that are coming out? Better than how he was in his 20s? C'mon.

What threw me off wasn't that statement, but what he said after that about searching for the videos of this tour and seeing how he's reching notes he hasn't in a while. It's funny, 'cause I've been watching some lately and he seemed to be struggling a bit (which is fine), and definitely not reaching some of the high notes. Maybe I watched the wrong videos?

Other than that, it was a cool interview. Specially where he says that MM and JM might have been a bit upset over JR and JP writing 100% of the material on TA. We knew about Mangini, but it's interesting to hear about Myung too, since he, well... doesn't speak much

I do agree with your comment, but..I did see a video of the current tour on FB of him screaming a high note (can't remember which song), and it was fantastic.  My issue is that ( and I love James - even have my pic on his Pirate ship website) he seems out of tune at times. Barstool Warrior sticks out.  I don't get that. Can he not hear how he sounds while he sings or the mix or something. I think his voice sound fine, but that just bugs me.

[pg1067]

I found this comment interesting:  "While front man James LaBrie tells Q104.3 New York's QN'A that the band stands behind The Astonishing, to many fans the album was a momentary lapse of perspective from a band that has so adroitly balanced ambition and bombast for three decades."

Obvious weasel words, but is that really true?  I sort of look at TA as nothing more than something they tried knowing that it was a bit "out there."  I think if you could have sat down with JP before the album was released, and if he would have been completely honest, he would have said something like, "Yeah, this album isn't going to resonate with everyone, and I suspect some of our fans will downright hate it.  But I want to give it a try and think we did a really good job with what it is."  That seems a lot more likely than James's statement that he "thought that it was going to be wholly embraced by our fans."

[cramx3]

Well, I dont know, I still don't get the dislike other than it being really long and maybe the lyrics/story.  Musically its essentially everything DT has always been to my ears.

[MirrorMask]

Maybe James thought that since their last concept, SFAM, was a smash hit, another concept album would have been very welcomed.

[Madman Shepherd]

"It just really has resulted in me singing, I think, better than I ever have."

No, no, no, no, no. Maybe in some ways his technique might be better but the actual sounds that are coming out? Better than how he was in his 20s? C'mon.

His statement may be a little off but in many ways he is. When I first got into DT in 2000, so many fans would talk about how insane his voice was before the accident. When I finally heard it, yeah there were moments of OMG but also, his voice was way less controlled and other moments where he would just scream through a vocal phrase to hit the high notes. After he started training, he was way more consistent. He didn't necessarily have the power but he hit 98% of the notes and sounded great doing it.

At times he has suffered and the I&W&B tour he compensated by modifying a lot of the melodies. That ended up being such a damn fun show though. DoT tour he certainly sounded great in Chicago and somehow sounded back to how he did before the I&W&B tour. He's also in his damn 50s so in my book, he gets a few mulligans now and again.

[pg1067]

Well, I dont know, I still don't get the dislike other than it being really long and maybe the lyrics/story.  Musically its essentially everything DT has always been to my ears.

I don't know if this makes sense.  I don't like TA, but I don't dislike it either.  I get what they were doing, and it doesn't bother me that they tried it.  I just didn't click with me, and that's ok.  But it sounds like there's a segment of the fan base that was somehow offended by the mere concept of TA.

Maybe James thought that since their last concept, SFAM, was a smash hit, another concept album would have been very welcomed.

Maybe so, and maybe it's just me, but SFAM and TA seem very different to me for lots of reasons.

[Setlist Scotty]

My issue is that ( and I love James - even have my pic on his Pirate ship website) he seems out of tune at times. Barstool Warrior sticks out.  I don't get that. Can he not hear how he sounds while he sings or the mix or something. I think his voice sound fine, but that just bugs me.

He's always been a bit pitchy.
 
 

Well, I dont know, I still don't get the dislike other than it being really long and maybe the lyrics/story.  Musically its essentially everything DT has always been to my ears.

Besides the story and the lyrics being a bit on the cheesy side, I think musically the album was *on average* more mellow than anything they had done previously as well as the Disney-ish sound that came through at times was a turn off. Had the album had a few more longer songs, some more heavy tracks, perhaps an actual battle sequence and less dialogue, I imagine it would be more appealing to me, and perhaps the same would be true for others, too. I don't think the length in and of itself was the turn off - it certainly wasn't for me.

[TAC]

Disney is the 6D's Overture.

[Setlist Scotty]

Disney is the 6D's Overture.

That too (part of why I'm not a huge fan of the title track to SDoIT). But that's not the album we're talking about right now. 

[The Walrus]

How is the Overture "Disney" and is that meant to be a pejorative?

[TAC]

Pejorative? I used it as an adjective.

[MoraWintersoul]

James reads more comments than the other guys, and two of the biggest requests for the band have been "another concept album!" and "I want them to really challenge themselves and do something they've never done before". So I'm not surprised he thought people would love TA. TA was wish fulfillment in a lot of ways. The way it came out musically and some aspects of the story turned some people off, but in its essence, it's something people have said they've been wanting for a really long time.

[pg1067]

IMO, the most "Disney" sounding thing in DT's catalog is the middle section of Illumination Theory.

[KevShmev]

Nothing wrong with sounding a little Disney, or whatever that means.  To me, one of the best moments of the entire Astonishing record, which some would call a Disney moment, is the reprise on the strings of the Road to Revolution chorus in 2285 Entr'acte; that still gives me goosebumps every time.

Anyway, cool interview. I don't agree that he is singing better than ever, but it's not like he is going to come out and say, "I can't sing like I used to."  He still sounded really good on Distance over Time, although it does seem heavier on the effects than normal, but who knows.  He has always been a mixed bag live for me, but I wouldn't want anyone else being the lead singer for Dream Theater. 

[geeeemo]

but I wouldn't want anyone else being the lead singer for Dream Theater. 

100%   

[bosk1]

To me, one of the best moments of the entire Astonishing record, which some would call a Disney moment, is the reprise on the strings of the Road to Revolution chorus in 2285 Entr'acte; that still gives me goosebumps every time.

Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about.  I love that part, too.  Surprisingly (for me, anyway), I really love a lot of parts of 2285 Entr'acte.  And, to me, the transition from that into Moment of Betrayal makes both songs better than they would be on their own. 

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about.  I love that part, too.  Surprisingly (for me, anyway), I really love a lot of parts of 2285 Entr'acte.  And, to me, the transition from that into Moment of Betrayal makes both songs better than they would be on their own.

Agreed.  And the whole "it sounds like Disney" comment nowadays strikes me as a swipe, almost like "this part sounds cinematic, and I am not a fan, so I will say it sounds like Disney as a way of demeaning it."

[Setlist Scotty]

I can't speak for anyone else, but while I referenced TA as having Disney-ish parts and did not mean that in a positive way, that doesn't mean I have that attitude of "this part sounds cinematic, and I am not a fan, so I will say it sounds like Disney as a way of demeaning it."

I described parts of TA that way for the same reason that most people would say that Peruvian Skies resembles Pink Floyd meets Metallica. Why? Because the sound of that song resembles those two bands. In the same way, parts of TA and the SDoIT Overture resemble Disney-style music, plain and simple. It has nothing to do with my personal opinion of it. That said, the fact that I don't like that particular style in DT's music, and I'd wager plenty of other fans too, is why I brought it up as a negative.

And for the record, I don't have a problem with DT sounding cinematic - as mentioned in that thread talking about favorites strictly from the MM-era, I cited both the Dystopian Overture and the False Awakening Suite as honorable mentions of songs I liked, and I would classify both definitely as cinematic. In fact Dystopian Overture does have an overtly Disney-ish part from 2:57 to 3:25, which I wish were orchestrated differently, but it doesn't seem to bother me as much as it does in other parts of the album.

[TAC]

…. as having Disney-ish parts and did not mean that in a positive way

[Lethean]

Re: James' voice - maybe he feels that his voice as a whole is in better shape than ever - if he takes everything about it into account.  I'm less willing to say that x or y is the definitive "best," than I used to be.... but I often think that James' performance on The Astonishing is the best he's done. 

Re: The Astonishing - I guess it might have been a little naive of him to expect an overwhelming positive response, but I kind of like that he did expect it... he was obviously really happy with it himself or he wouldn't have felt so strongly.

[Herrick]

Anyway, cool interview. I don't agree that he is singing better than ever, but it's not like he is going to come out and say, "I can't sing like I used to."

Why not? Even the most diehard LaBrie fans know he can't sing like he used to.

[DreamerTV]

Maybe when he talks about notes he hasn’t hit in a while,
he’s referring to things like this

https://youtu.be/5xv6vj_U0UI

(I was there and it almost scared me how high he went)

[EPIC Outro]

Maybe when he talks about notes he hasn’t hit in a while,
he’s referring to things like this

https://youtu.be/5xv6vj_U0UI

(I was there and it almost scared me how high he went)

Damn. I had to listen to that a few times in a row. Thanks for sharing!

[cramx3]

I could see "my muuuusssiiccc playerrrr" being a bit "Disney" but I kind of lump that in with story/lyrics being a turn off from TA for many.

[zappafrank2112]

Peruvian Skies resembles Pink Floyd meets Metallica.

Now that you mention it, I wonder if they ever tried to insert parts of, oh, say, PF's Have a Cigar and Metallica's Enter Sandman into the song.  HMMMM.....

[MirrorMask]

Peruvian Skies resembles Pink Floyd meets Metallica.

Now that you mention it, I wonder if they ever tried to insert parts of, oh, say, PF's Have a Cigar and Metallica's Enter Sandman into the song.  HMMMM.....

If they ever do that, I'd like for the second time to listen to a snippet of Whenever I May Roam in there.

 

[Herrick]

Maybe when he talks about notes he hasn’t hit in a while,
he’s referring to things like this

https://youtu.be/5xv6vj_U0UI

(I was there and it almost scared me how high he went)

Hey, he didn't do that at the concert I went to. I demand my money back! 

[pg1067]

I can't speak for anyone else, but while I referenced TA as having Disney-ish parts and did not mean that in a positive way

I don't necessarily mean it positively or negatively.  Disney has had some incredible music in its movies, and it's also had some terrible stuff.  For me, the two things that have an overtly "Disney-esque" feel are the middle section of Illumination Theory and some parts of the SDOIT Overture, and I happen to think those are both incredible pieces of music.  As for TA, I'm simply not familiar enough, but it doesn't surprise me to hear it being referred to in this way.

[SeRoX]

Maybe when he talks about notes he hasn’t hit in a while,
he’s referring to things like this

https://youtu.be/5xv6vj_U0UI

(I was there and it almost scared me how high he went)

This is beautiful.