Derek Sherinian interview (excerpt)

MSJ: Considering your musical history (Kiss, Alice Cooper), when you joined Dream Theater, many considered you to be more the “rock” element in the band, rather than the “progressive” end. With Planet X, you show a very progressive side. This comes as a bit of a shock to many fans. Has the progressive thing been something that you have been interested in for a while, or is this something new for you?

DS: One of the biggest misconceptions is that I was one of the reasons why Falling Into Infinity had a lot of commercial elements to it. That was really just not true. My main contributions to the Falling Into Infinity were Lines In The Sand, which is probably the most progressive song on the record, and also New Millenium which also pretty prog. Other members were writing with Desmond Child going for a more commercial sound. That was kind of a disappointment to me, because when I first joined Dream Theater, I was really excited about really branching off and playing some progressive, but then a lot of the songs ended up being very commercial. What was amazing was that when I hooked up with Virgil, he affected me in such a heavy duty way. You go through your career where you play with people who are very talented, and are great players, but then, every once in a while, you come across someone who just has a really special gift. Virgil definitely fits into that category.

MSJ: You were recently rated in a major magazine poll as best keyboardist. Was that a surprise? How did that feel?

DS: To be honest, it showed a lot of vindication after getting fired, and then getting voted in the number one rock magazine in America as number one keyboardist. I thought it was quite ironic, as a lot of the fans did. It was cool, because usually you don’t see a lot of people in progressive rock place in a mainstream magazine like that.

MSJ: Who are some of the other keyboardists around today who you are impressed by?

DS: There’s a lot of people that I think have incredible technique. Jan Hammer, I’ve identified with his style the most throughout the years. That’s because it’s a very individual brand on his style, which is very cool. Jon Lord and Keith Emerson were great. There’s a lot of guys.

MSJ: If you weren’t a musician what would you be doing?

DS: I don’t know. I’d probably be in sales because I’m very much into self promotion, and promoting and hype. I’ve taken a very Gene Simmons approach to my career.

MSJ: What would be your five desert island discs?

DS: Bruford-One of a Kind, UK-In The Dead Of Night, Jeff Beck-Wired, Return to Forever-Romantic Warrior, and Van Halen I.