DREAM THEATER Keyboardist: 'The Music Business Is Really In A Weird State Right Now'

Justin Donnelly of Blistering.com recently conducted an interview with DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the band's new album, "Black Clouds & Silver Linings":

"The reaction from most people to 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings' has been kind of interesting. I think the album has a nice balance of all the elements that make up the DREAM THEATER sound. Some people have claimed that some of our albums have been too heavy, and then there have been some that are saying that we need a little more of this, or a little less of that. Of course, people are still saying the same things about this album, but I think this album is just that more balanced out in regards to having a bit of everything that we're been known to put into our music, and people have been responding positively to that."

On writing process:

"Sometimes in the past, the guys might come in with a particular concept that they want to pursue. No so much as a concept album kind of idea, but more of an overall concept in terms of how they want the album to feel and sound. A lot of those ideas can come from [Mike] Portnoy [drums] or John Petrucci [guitar]. They're always cooking up something. If there's going to be a direction, they'll generally propose it. But on these last couple of albums, that didn't really happen. Portnoy is definitely a driving force within the band. He does things like devising the set lists for each show when we go out and play and he'll come up with other ideas, like the 'Progressive Nation' tours we've been undertaking for the last couple of years. He'll figure out which bands we'll take out with us, and take charge of organizing everything based around that. The rest of us don't have much to do with that side of things. But at the other end, when it comes to writing the music, then it really comes down to me, Portnoy and Petrucci. And it's really the three of us that write the music for DREAM THEATER, especially on 'Systematic Chaos' and 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings'. It was really just the three of us. Nobody else really had anything to do with it. Portnoy kind of takes it from there, and ensures that all the other stages come through as the producer of the album we all start to do the tracking. That's when everyone else starts to do their thing. John Myung [bass] will come down and lays down his parts, and then [James] LaBrie [vocals] puts his finishing touches to everything."

On music industry:

"The music business is really in a weird state right now, and it has been for some time. It's getting harder and harder for new bands to do anything, because record companies are just not picking up new bands like they used to. And there's nowhere for these new bands to play either, with music venues either closing down or restricting access to up and coming bands. You kind of heard about these things, and initially, it kind of comes across as being pessimistic for the most part. On the one hand, you brush it off as simply being one point of view, and rationalize with yourself that things really can't be that bad. But after a while, you realize that things really have changed. I really feel like it's in a messed up state right now. We really do have more bands today than ever before. I used to think that the Internet was great, because it provided all these avenues for the bands. Bands would figure it out and get their music out there to a whole new people of potential fans, all the while finding new and creative ways in using the Internet to get their music out there. But as time goes on, I think a lot of bands are finding out that it's a whole lot harder than it used to be. They're finding that their competing against a whole lot of other bands out there that are trying to get their music across in the same way. I don't know. I'm sure the industry will find a way to figure and straighten things out, and become a little clearer for people out there. But I guess for us in DREAM THEATER, we have this world of our own. Perhaps it's because we've been around so long, and we have this nice, solid and strong foundation that is there to support us in everything that we do. I think in general, DREAM THEATER is on their own planet in terms of the business side of things, because things are pretty good."

Read the entire interview from Blistering.com.