John Petrucci interview (excerpts)

During an October 3 appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Petrucci stated about Dream Theater fans’ response to his renewed collaboration with Portnoy (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net): “You see that right away. It makes people so happy to see that reconnection. It’s literally like... Any sort of post of a photo from that, every comment is just literally, like, ‘I’m crying. This makes me so happy,’ blah blah blah. More than any sort of controversial, stupid thing anyone could say, the overwhelming reaction is just a great, positive feeling in the Dream Theater-Mike Portnoy big community. And I love that. It’s the way it should be.”

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist’s reunion with Portnoy, including their current run of tour dates in support of “Terminal Velocity”, has resulted in Dream Theater fans speculating about Portnoy’s possible return to the band, John said: “I’ve been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with Liquid Tension Experiment, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and Dream Theater is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it’s important for me to make sure that people don’t misunderstand this. Because it’s not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it’s just toxic. So I’ve been saying... Maybe I’m selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in Dream Theater with Mangini, it’s like I’ve kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it’s important for people to know that and to have that clarity – I really do.”

https://blabbermouth.net/news/dream-theater-to-begin-recording-new-album-in-late-2023

Asked about Dream Theater’s plans for 2023 after he is done touring in support of his second solo album, “Terminal Velocity”, John said: “Dream Theater is gonna continue touring in 2023. Just like everybody else, we were shut down for two years and have a lot of catching up to do. We’re supporting ‘A View From The Top Of The World’. We’ve done extensive tours of U.S. and Europe, but even... We played two shows only in Asia; we played, like, four shows in South America. There’s a lot more ground to cover. So 2023 is gonna be filled with Dream Theater touring; I’m certain of that.”

Asked if he and his bandmates have thought about working on new music yet, Petrucci said: “We’re still working the last record. I can’t see us being back in the studio until roughly this time next year. If you kind of just look forward to next year, you see the way it’s gonna lay out, and we’ve got festivals. Before you know it, it’s August. There’s not gonna be any studio work done before the fall; I highly doubt it. So a new record wouldn’t be [released before] the following year.”