Rod Whitfield of SF Media recently conducted an interview with keyboardist Jordan Rudess of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. On the band's new, self-titled album: "Yeah, I'm so excited about it. I think it's definitely one of our best, and we feel so good about it that we decided to stamp it with a self titled name, so everybody's happy. "We just feel that the band is at such a great point, personally and musically, that it was really time to mark this down, and say 'Hey, you know what? If you want to know about DREAM THEATER this is it.' It's really a representation of who we are as people at this point in time. It was a fantastic year before this on the road with [recently added drummer] Mike Mangini, and getting him fully integrated into the band." On what Mike Mangini has added to the DREAM THEATER songwriting process: "Having him come into the studio with us gave us that extra spark, not only musically, but he's also such a lively, energetic fun guy. So it brought us to this very strong, unified and powerful level. Having him there was just a treat, because he's such a unique person, his playing is really individual, and the way he thinks, he offered some really interesting ideas. Especially in the realm of rhythm, it was very cool." On the differences in the personalities and playing of Mike Mangini and former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy: "Yeah, I feel so lucky in my career to have worked with some of the greatest drummers, and guitarists as well, but we're talking about drummers, and Mike Portnoy is one of the greatest drummers out there. We had a great time playing for many years together. And now we're playing with Mangini, it's a whole nother wonderful musical experience. And what's really cool is that all these great drummers that I've played with, they're all so different, but what's especially cool about Mangini is that, not only is he a different kind of a drummer, but he can also fit like a glove into the music. So when we play the older DREAM THEATER songs, it feels very comfortable. Even though he has a different approach, it kinda fits like a glove, if you will. So that's obviously why he got the gig, because he can do that, but he can also offer some fresh and exciting ideas into what we're doing." Read the entire interview at SF Media.
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