Heay Metal at the Mining Co. Interview with John Myung from Dream Theater Dateline: 1/30/98 MB: So you guy finished up your U.S. tour now, right? JM: Well, I look at it more as a part one of our U.S. tour. MB: So you guys are going to be coming back then? JM: Yeah. We are going to eventually do more touring here. But it probably won’t be until to the middle of this year. MB: How’s the turn out and response been so far? JM: The tour is doing great. We are pretty much selling out everywhere we go. And we are getting a very, very strong response to our live show. It’s been great. I don’t really have the numbers and everything, but pretty much everywhere we go it sells out. And there’s been great word of mouth. There’s been great word of mouth happening everywhere, although we haven’t had a lot of advertising and promotion that’s coinciding with our record. But that’s only because it’s been hard getting coverage from major publication and outside musician magazines. The few this year, the momentum of our touring, and going to areas and putting on a good show, I think are working. Things are working for us at that level. It’s creating a network for us right now. And our new single is doing really good right now… our second single. It’s been at radio for two weeks now, and it’s gotten close to ninety adds already. So, who knows, things can turn around for us in the United States. We’ll just have to wait and see at this point. MB: Talking about word of mouth, there’s been a lot of bands that have come out over the years that have tried to copy what you are doing, and almost ride on your coat tails, but they’ve never been able to capture the type of following that you have. What is it that you feel sets Dream Theater apart from everyone else? What do you think makes people so loyal to you? JM: The music that we create it’s… you know, when I’m playing up on stage, I look over and I see Derek, I see John, I see Mike, and it’s like I feel a certain magic happening when we all come together and create and play music. It’s one of the greatest experiences to have. To have that chemistry. So I think it’s the chemistry of who we are as people creating the music. And that’s ultimately what comes out in the sound and the music. And it’s all about the music, right? It’s all about people listening. Listening and liking what they hear and then going out and pursuing it further. Buying the album, and getting to know it, and listening to it, and living with it. So I think it’s the chemistry that we have as players together with each other. It’s synergistic, you know. The sum is greater than the parts. You get into a situation where one plus one equals three, and not one point five. When we get together, it’s a real cool chemistry. MB: So how did you first get interested in music? JM: Just through the sheer power and energy that I experienced as a kid going to see rock concerts and listening to rock music. It was just a real… it became a real obsession. And, you know, kids in my neighborhood were forming bands. And one thing led to another, and I started playing bass. And then playing in different bands in high school. Then eventually, going to music college. That’s where the band formed. Well, the core anyway, with me, John, and Mike - the bass, drum, and guitar part of the band. Well that’s. . I don’t want to go there. That’s just biographical. That’s boring. You know, one thing led to another. It’s a real passion, you know. Something that I really enjoy doing. I love jamming and performing with friends of mine. And then I went to college to learn a little bit about music. And to jell with other players that I went to the college. And then the band formed up there, and one thing led to another, you know. We just stayed in the basement. We didn’t do too much playing out, but we always had a definite plan of action when it came to how we would practice. We were very dedicated. Every night, no matter what we did, we would always meet each other at six o’clock and play to ten, to twelve, every night Monday through Friday. That’s what we had embedded in our minds to do. And, over a period of time, we had a collection of songs put together. Then we shopped that. And then we had a record deal. And then the whole roller coaster ride began. Going from album to album, touring behind each album, and it’s been a great learning experience, you know. With each new album, it’s a whole new chapter. It’s a whole new chapter in our career. MB: Would you say that the bands dedication has been one of the key things that have really pushed you to the level that you’re at? JM: Absolutely. It’s just a fundamental, really. Hard work. It’s a basic fundamental that you have to embrace to be good at what you do. MB: Absolutely. Each album that you’ve done has had a different feel from each of the others. How do you think that your music has changed the most from the first album until now? JM: You just have different sets of experiences flowing through you with each album. It’s a reflection of where you are musically, and just what you are experiencing at the time. It all plays into the type of record you make. And, you know, we started out in 1989, and it’s 1998. So it’s been almost nine years. It’s been nine years of steady hard work and growth. That’s how I look at it. MB: What do you feel really sets this album apart from everything else that you’ve done? What makes this album special for you? JM: Well, there’s a new member involved. That certainly changes things a bit, you know. Whenever you change the ingredients, things change. You know about that right? MB: Just a little bit. I don’t know all the details on it. JM: With this album, Derek Sherinian was the new member of the band. And it was a great experience working with Derek, and just learning how to work with each other. We had a lot of fun. We had a year and a half of writing, and recording, and making demos. It was just a real positive experience. But it took a little getting used to, because whenever… I mean, I’ve been with… You know what? I don’t even want to go there. That’s like getting all wishy-washy. But, I mean, this album… over time we have become better players. And we have a new member on this album. And also we worked with an amazing producer in Kevin Shirley. Who, right before working with us, came off the live Aerosmith album. Kevin Shirley really brought a lot of live energy to the recording. And we also recorded the album differently than we have in the past. In the past we would first lay all the drums down, then guitars, then the bass, the keyboards, the leads, and the vocals. It would be a layering process. Whereas with this album, what we did with Kevin is we recorded each song from start to finish before moving on to the next song. So it was really beneficial to the song to do it that way, because we were all able to give it our undivided attention. Undivided attention to the song that was being recorded. So we were really able to explore different experimental options that could possibly make the song a stronger song, or a more interesting song, than the original. So there was a lot of time to experiment and to take different points of view. And it ranged from just a simple… it could range from a simple bass part, to the way we arranged the whole song. And I think that really helped to find the character of each song, as well. So, when you put all those things together, it made for a really interesting album. MB: Do you feel that it maybe captured more of the energy of a live show that way? JM: Absolutely. That’s one of Kevin Shirley’s fortes - recording a band live and capturing that live energy on the tape. MB: I know you guys have had a big influence on so many people. How does it make you feel to know that you’ve had that effect on different bands? JM: It’s great. It’s just really positive feedback, you know. You put something out, and you don’t know how it’s going to get received. But when people come up to you after a show and tell you how great they thought the show was, and how much they love the record, it’s a very rewarding feeling. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s a real good experience. MB: Out of all of the things that the band has accomplished, and I know you’ve accomplished a lot, what’s the one thing that you are most proud of achieving? JM: Being able to make a living as a musician. There are just so many great players out there, and so many bands trying to make it, that just the fact that I was able to do something… I just feel really, really blessed that I have been able to be a part of something that is successful, and to make a good living at it. That is one of the major accomplishments. MB: What’s the one thing that you haven’t yet done that you’d most like to before you’re done? JM: Well, I think we all want at one point to… that’s a good question. I really haven’t thought that far ahead. I don’t know if I can answer that. We are just doing the best we can taking it day by day. Taking everything one step at a time. I mean, eventually, we would like to be bigger than we are today. Hopefully as we grow, so will our audience. I think that’s pretty much the plan. It sounds simplistic, but that’s really what it is in simple terms. It’s just the growth of the players into mature people. MB: What do you enjoy most about what you do? JM: I enjoy getting out there and playing in front of people. It’s very rewarding when you are warming up, getting ready to play a sold out show, and all these people are out there waiting for you. And they want to see you play. And you go out, and it's just the biggest rush of adrenaline when you go out there. I think that’s the best part. MB: What do you think is probably the most popular misconception that people have about Dream Theater? JM: I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it, to tell you the truth. I don’t know. MB: I know some people feel that this latest album was made to be more radio friendly than your other albums. Do you feel that this is the case? And how important is radio play to a band like Dream Theater? JM: Well, radio play is very important because it determines how many people are going to know that you exist. Without that much of a radio presence, you are pretty much on your own. And it’s really hard, you know. It’s really hard to try to build a career without radio. You need it, now. There’s only a certain amount of weight the band can pull through touring. Then radio brings it to a whole other level of exposure. So it’s really important to be able to get played on the radio to let people know that you are alive. That there’s a band called Dream Theater that exists. That we do write songs, and put out albums, you know. It’s very competitive out there. So many records are coming out all the time. And so much music. It’s hard to cut through all of that. And that’s where radio comes in. If you have a successful song, and it gets played, then people will hear you. And if they like what they hear, they’ll go out and buy you. That’s one way to start the relationship with us and our fans. It helps people come to hear about the band. There’s this one story – I met a fan that had read an article about us, a review of the band, and then with this album, he walked into Tower Records and he heard the album playing and he asked the people that worked there, "Who is this?" And they said, "Oh, this is Dream Theater." "I remember I read something about them awhile back." And he liked what he heard, and went bought the record. And then he explored the record, and really liked what he heard, so he came to see a show. And then he started following us around because he was just so into it, you know. And that wouldn’t have happened without that initial... You need a certain amount of presence in the public eye so that people know you exist, or else no one will know about you, and no one will come and see you play. So you need that balance. And that’s where radio comes in. MB: Do you think that some of your more hard core fans misunderstand the importance of radio play? JM: They might. But, you know, there’s two parts to it. There’s the creative, and then there’s the business part of it. And you can’t ignore the business part because how much of a career are you going to have when you show up to play a show and you’re not bringing enough people in to support the tour. That means you can’t go out and play. What happens is that you can’t go out and play, you can’t make a living, so you have to seek an alternate means of income. That means no record, no music, no band. So, you know, it is important. But the thing is to keep everything in balance. Which, I think, through the years, we have balance. We have really long songs. We didn’t… the criteria for our writing is wide open. In terms of content length and … MB: It often seems that as a band gains more popularity, for every maybe two fans that it gains, one leaves because they are not happy. It almost seems that with a lot of bands, as they become more popular, certain people tend to be more critical of them. I was wondering if maybe you think that’s because as a band comes more into the spotlight, they draw more attention. And people always like to criticize whoever grabs the most attention? JM: I don’t think that’s so much happening with us, because we’re… you know, with this album, it’s just exploding everywhere. We’re just growing. You get to certain point where people ought to accept you for what you are. And you can’t please everybody. MB: Absolutely. I’ve heard talk that you are planning on making and EP called Metropolis II. Is that true? JM: All of that is just rumor. We do have a song called "Metropolis II", but as to whether it’s going to be released, and things like that, it hasn’t been determined yet. MB: Out of all of the songs that Dream Theater has written and done, which means the most to you and why? JM: Which song means the most to me? Well, the songs that I feel the closest to are the ones that I’ve written lyrics for. Because when I wrote them, it was all about… it was really personal, you know. It was a way of clarifying a personal experience in musical terms. It’s weird, you know. I don’t know if… I mean, I appreciate the balance that we all give to the record. I couldn’t really narrow it down to just one song, because then it would be one-dimensional. I appreciate the differences in the band, because that’s what adds the dimensions and the variety of the writing. Without that, it would be all one-dimensional. But the fact that we are all different people, we all bring different ideas, different personalities, different energies to the music. It just really makes for a diverse record, you know. And it takes a lot of getting used to, but it is better than… I’m just babbling, tell me to shut up. MB: Do you feel that’s the most important ingredient in quality music - to be able to pull on the experiences and the emotions of each of the people in the band, and bring it all together? JM: Absolutely. It’s all about synergy. It’s all about finding out about what it is that we can do, and create with each other, that exceeds… It’s all about just being able to create something that really taps into that part of each person where everyone is functioning at one hundred percent, you know. Where we are all playing, and none of us has our hands tied. We all feel good about what’s going on. That’s what’s important for the band. Because if you don’t have that, there’s something seriously missing. I’m starting to sound like a psychologist, aren’t I? Alright, let me give you a one sentence answer. MB: Okay. JM: It’s real important to synergies with your players, and to create… ah… next question. MB: Who would you say has probably been the most influential person on your life? JM: Most influence person? I would say Jesus Christ. MB: Cool. If you weren’t a musician, what do you think you would do? What’s your second biggest passion that you’d like to follow? JM: Hmmm… I’m really into computers. MB: That’s right up my alley. JM: I just picked up an IBM 560E laptop with 48 Meg, 2.1 Gig. It’s got an Intel Pentium 150 MMX chip. It’s just great. I love learning about the technology, and then finding out ways that it can work for you. MB: I know the band has an official web site, and only about one hundred or so more on the Internet, how do you feel about the Internet as a way to interact with your fans? JM: I think it’s the future. It’s great because it sort of gives you the ability to bypass the problems that we have at a public level. As far as at the present with retail and all the different magazines. But if people know who you are now, there’s a way for them to get the information that they can’t find anywhere else. And that’s great. That’s what makes it a very useful tool. MB: You guys are known for really going out of your way to keep in touch with your fans. How important is it to you to have that kind of personal communication between you and the people that like your music? JM: It’s very important. It’s a relationship just like anything else. I mean, it’s a little more indirect than the relationship that you would have with your brother or your wife or husband or friend, but it is a relationship. And relationships need to be maintained. The minute you isolate yourself, you become intangible. And what does that do to the relationship? MB: Yup. If you could take back one thing that you’ve done in your life, and make it like it never happened, is there anything that you would take back? JM: No. I’ve done everything that I had to do to get to where I’m at. Whether it be a mistake I made, or something positive, in the end they were all learning experiences that added to my life. And things that I’ve learned from that have made me who I am today. So, I mean, I don’t really regret any one thing. Everything happens for a reason. MB: Absolutely. When it’s all said and done, how would you like people to remember you as a musician? JM: I’d like them to remember me as a bass player, you know. If someone saw my picture, I’d like them to know that. That’s a bass player. MB: Cool, anything else? JM: No, I think that would do it. MB: Well that’s pretty much all the questions I have. Do you have any message that you’d like to send to your fans? JM: I’d just like to thank everyone for their patience, and the support that they’ve given us through the years. I just want to thank them for the enthusiasm that they’ve shared with us. MB: Thanks, John.