John Petrucci

[SymphonyOfDreams]

Bunch of replies, yet not one verifiable story of Petrucci actually being an asshole. On the other hand we have 1 of him being quite a nice guy... wich is all I've heard about him before. There's even a story of a fan that came up to him while he was talking to Dave LaRue and Dave DiCenso about making his solo album in a restaurant and he was very cool with the guy...

 

[Luis]

Take a look at Michael Romeo, he`s much more skilled and also alot nicer and "Down to earth" towards the fans.

I agree

 

[BastrdDrmr]

ok, for all those that want me to "elaborate," I'll begin by saying I approached Petrucci. I said the show was fucking great and that the songs he wrote for the tour were good. Petrucci seemed uninterested and was sort of looking around like he didn't give half a shit about me or my brother. I proceeded to ask about whether these songs would be released sometime in the near future. He then looked at someone else and started talking to them. Nice guy eh?

 

[Shiny McShining Rodriguez]

ok, for all those that want me to "elaborate," I'll begin by saying I approached Petrucci. I said the show was fucking great and that the songs he wrote for the tour were good. Petrucci seemed uninterested and was sort of looking around like he didn't give half a shit about me or my brother. I proceeded to ask about whether these songs would be released sometime in the near future. He then looked at someone else and started talking to them. Nice guy eh?

That doesn't necessarily demonstrate that he is an arrogant prick...
Yeah maybe he is. I have never met the man personally, or to a great extent taken notice of his interactions with others, but as far as that experience goes perhaps he just wasn't totally with it and is just a vague/distant type of person. If so, it's unfortunate for fans, but personally I would be more than happy to put up with it in return for his other talents. If he is indeed and arrogant prick then I think I will need to hear more solid proof before I go calling him one.

In my opinion, there are alot of different types of people in this world and not all of them can be Michael Romeo (sad but true), who on all accounts appears to be an absolutely top bloke.

 

[aiwass]

From what I've heard (from people who know him) JP is a very private guy, so that could explain his lack of socializing with all the fans. You might be pissed off because he didn't treat you like an old friend backstage, but hell, to him you're still a stranger. Nevertheless, from what I've heard, he's supposedly very humble and never full of himself, so these "rock star" allegations are completely new to me.

 

[joeshabadoo]

Ive met him, (not too personally, just a hand shake and an autograph), but he seemed like a cool guy. But I would really say that Mike Portnoy is a bigger ego-maniac. Personality aside, if you've heard the new Dt album Train of Thought, the band as a whole (but especially JP) has literally doubled level their technical proficiency with eachother. A human was not meant to develop the kind of picking hand that JP now has. No one, and I mean NO ONE has done some of the things Im hearing on this album. The speed and length of some of his solo and unison runs with Jordan are disgusting but not show off wankery. and the album ROCKS hard, soooo heavy. I think alot of Sym X fans who are metal heads and were hesitant to like DT before will have no trouble. Don't worry, Sym X and DT are still complete equals as far as my fav bands go.

 

[kenwood]

IMHO, Petrucci could sacrifice goats to Ra after shows instead of signing for me, and I wouldn't think any differently of him whatsoever. I will buy albums JP plays on because he's pretty elite in his field...and if he doesn't want to talk to me after the show, I'm still buying Train of Thought anyway because it is probably good.

 

[Mr. Shred-ididle]

A human was not meant to develop the kind of picking hand that JP now has. No one, and I mean NO ONE has done some of the things Im hearing on this album.

i know that JP has bassicly doubled his chops on ToT, but to say noone isn't as fast as him is false....heres a list of players that can pretty much outdo JP (even now) i dont actually think many of these players are IMO better than JP (other than Romeo and Fort'e), but they are definatly faster

Rusty Cooley
Mike Angelo
Stephan Fort'e
MIKE ROMEO!!!!!!!!\m/ (>.<) \m/!!!
Marcel Conan
Possibly Jeff Loomis (cant quite remember, but from memory)

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

i know that JP has bassicly doubled his chops on ToT, but to say noone isn't as fast as him is false....heres a list of players that can pretty much outdo JP (even now) i dont actually think many of these players are IMO better than JP (other than Romeo and Fort'e), but they are definatly faster

Rusty Cooley
Mike Angelo
Stephan Fort'e
MIKE ROMEO!!!!!!!!\m/ (>.<) \m/!!!
Marcel Conan
Possibly Jeff Loomis (cant quite remember, but from memory)

Marcus Paus is faster than anyone in the world, it's a well proven fact.

 

[The Wickerman]

This is the first I'm hearing of that. I've never met John myself, but he's never come off as arrogant at all to me, and I've spoken to several people who have met him, none of which said anything like that.

 

[shredmaster]

It`s true tha Marcus Paus is one of the fastest. His picking hand is just out of this world it gets so fast you almost can`t hear the notes, although it`s perfectly clear...

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

It`s true tha Marcus Paus is one of the fastest. His picking hand is just out of this world it gets so fast you almost can`t hear the notes, although it`s perfectly clear...

Too bad he quit playing in '98. I asked him this summer if he still was the fastest in the world, and he played me some insanely fast guitar, twice as fast as Angelo. He played parts of 'Speed Kills' nearly three times faster than the original.

 

[shredmaster]

Sounds like him all right Cool to see another fellow shredder from Norway here on the board, does`nt it just suck that we don`t get Symphony X to play concerts here?(Or in any part of Scandinavia for that matter).

 

[jaimek]

Sounds like him all right Cool to see another fellow shredder from Norway here on the board, does`nt it just suck that we don`t get Symphony X to play concerts here?(Or in any part of Scandinavia for that matter).

SX played in Sweden AND Finland last spring with Strato - Stockholm, Goteborg, Helsinki, etc. It's just you Norwegians who aren't cool enough to get shows.

As for John Petrucci, ten years ago it used to matter to me whether he was an arrogant prick (the whole band in general too) but nowadays I really just don't care... he's actually been quite nice the two times I've met him over the years, but I've heard horror stories too. *shrug* But I don't idolize bands... if they're cool to me, that's cool, if they're not, it's no skin off my nose. I'll just go talk to someone else who is.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Sounds like him all right Cool to see another fellow shredder from Norway here on the board, does`nt it just suck that we don`t get Symphony X to play concerts here?(Or in any part of Scandinavia for that matter).

Yeah, and I live so far north that it's damn near impossible for me to go to any concerts without paying several thousands for the trip and stay. I mean, I really want to go to the Deep Purple concert on the 25th, but I can't afford it.

 

[aiwass]

Too bad he quit playing in '98. I asked him this summer if he still was the fastest in the world, and he played me some insanely fast guitar, twice as fast as Angelo. He played parts of 'Speed Kills' nearly three times faster than the original.

Ah yes... Marcus Paus. The living legend.

A lot of people give him shit for being (or rather, having been) sloppy and unable to play slowly, but I still think his work with Mr. Cucumber was hella cool. Some of the melodies were pretty interesting, and that other guitar player, Håkon Hogganvik, did some killer sweeping work. Heard he quit too though... Anyway, Marcus is into classical composition now. Anybody know where I can get a hold of his newer material?

@Yngtchie Blacksteen: How did he pick? Did he use his forearm, or? Seems to me that when playing that fast, you'd have to rely on "vibrating" your forearm/elbow when picking. It's just not possible to build regular picking technique to such speeds, especially considering that when he set his infamous world record, he was only 16 or something...

PS: Godt å se litt nordmenn her.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Ah yes... Marcus Paus. The living legend.

A lot of people give him shit for being (or rather, having been) sloppy and unable to play slowly, but I still think his work with Mr. Cucumber was hella cool. Some of the melodies were pretty interesting, and that other guitar player, Håkon Hogganvik, did some killer sweeping work. Heard he quit too though... Anyway, Marcus is into classical composition now. Anybody know where I can get a hold of his newer material?

He had possibly the best technique I've ever heard, his playing was so fast and fluid that I almost didn't believe what I heard. He played lots of slow stuff for me, and his phrasing was impeccable. I heard some stuff he made for strings and guitar, sounded great, and this was before Malmsteen made his 'Concerto'. He moved to the States in August, I don't know where to get his present stuff.

@Yngtchie Blacksteen: How did he pick? Did he use his forearm, or? Seems to me that when playing that fast, you'd have to rely on "vibrating" your forearm/elbow when picking. It's just not possible to build regular picking technique to such speeds, especially considering that when he set his infamous world record, he was only 16 or something...

PS: Godt å se litt nordmenn her.

I spoke with him over the phone, didn't see his picking, then. He was really nice, we talked for hours and he showed me a lot of his playing. He had picked up the guitar for the first time in a long time, just because I asked if he still played. I asked him if he could play this and that, and he could play it all. He played some cool Malmsteen licks, twice as fast as the original, of course. He was really humble, didn't brag about his playing or anything. Alltid hyggelig å treffe landsmenn...

 

[shredmaster]

La oss snakke norsk!

 

[Serge...]

Where can I find some Mr. Cucumber to download? Or just some of Marcus Paus's playing?

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Where can I find some Mr. Cucumber to download? Or just some of Marcus Paus's playing?

Me don't have a clue, Marcus hated the Internet so he never put up his own playing there. I honestly don't know 'bout Mr. Cucumber, I've tried to find some of their music, but it's very difficult finding anything by them.