Originally published in Bravewords.com · March 2021
Ioannis interview (excerpt)
Interview1 min read
BraveWords: Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Unite.
Ioannis: “In 1989, I was hired as the creative director for Mechanic Records in New York City. The label had just launched and there were a number of new bands they had signed with new releases coming. One of those was Dream Theater. The original name of the band was Majesty. At the last minute they discovered that there was a similar unsigned band in the Midwest, so they decided to change the name of the band. The cover was a collaboration with photographer Amy Guip. By then, as an art director, I was creating cover art that was collaborations with other creative individuals, specifically photographers, like Mick Rock. The band changed their name after the artwork was created with the main character on the cover having the Majesty logo branded on his chest. They were very pleased with the artwork as was the label head and cemented my relationship with the label. I worked on all the label’s releases including Voivod, working on the album Nothingface, along with Away - the band’s drummer, who did these incredible drawings.”