Versatile Dream Theatre gains exposure in U.S.

The Grand Rapids Press

What do you get when you cross the complicated musical structures of 1970s icons King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Yes with bands such as Metallica and Queensryche?

One could conjure up something pretty odd, but the New York City-based group Dream Theater has somehow found a way to combine the strengths of these bands and make it work.

The band, which is appearing Sunday evening at Club Eastbrook, is on its first headlining tour in support of its latest release “Images And Words.”

The album Is packed with extended guitar and keyboard solos reminiscent of the art rock movement two decades ago.

Guitarist John Petrucci, in a phone interview from Detroit, said the similarities are not an accident.

“Our major Influences are really obvious,” Petrucci said. “We all listened to bands like Yes, Rush and The Dregs.”

The group was formed in the mid-1980s by Petrucci, bassist John Myung, drummer Mike Portnoy, and keyboardist Kevin Moore – Calling themselves Majesty – while attending the Berklee College of Music.

After dropping that name and their first lead vocalist, band members hired another vocalist and recorded “Mechanic” for MCA Records in 1989.

Three years later, Dream Theater is on lead vocalist number three – James LaBrie, former singer for the Canadian band Coney Hatch – and has moved to Atco Records.

“This is our first real album,” Petrucci said. “We weren’t getting any support from MCA. This album is produced worlds better than the last one.”

Petrucci said the induction of LaBrie into the lineup has made a big difference.

“No matter what kind of music, the vocalist is the center of attention,” he said. “We needed someone closer to the center and he has the voice to be the glue to keep us together.”

“Images And Words” clocks in at nearly 60 minutes, containing only eight tracks. The album represents various forms of musical styles, including the melancholy songs “Another Day” and “Surrounded” stressing harmonies and vocals, and the epic montage of instrumentation in songs such as “Metropolis” and “Learning To Live.”

Petrucci even cites “Learning To Live” as his favorite song to play.

“Both musically and lyrically, the song encompasses every theme on the album, as well as every element of style,” he said.

While the band, which is named after a movie theater in California, is just beginning to gain exposure in the United States, the album has already been certified gold in Japan and reaction in Europe has been positive. Petrucci said Dream Theater has already scheduled a tour of Japan and hopes to travel to Europe after that.

The guitarist said the U.S. tour, now in its third week, will take the band from coast to coast and has been quite successful.

“The crowds have been good,” he said. “We’ve been playing at halls with capacities of 500 to 2,000 people. This is our first tour, so I didn’t know if we would be playing empty halls, but we haven’t.”

Petrucci said he was surprised to see how many fans the group has already attracted.

“It’s amazing to see people mouthing the lyrics,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to reach somebody .

“Our fans are not just passive fans – they’re really into it. Maybe we have more of a personal connection. It’s a really cool feeling.”

TONIGHT

DREAM THEATER. 8 p.m. at Club Eastbrook. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.