Rich Wilson is a UK based rock journalist who has contributed articles to magazines such as Classic Rock, Record Collector, Discoveries and Metal Hammer over the last decade. He has spent over three years researching and writing this definitive book on Dream Theater’s history. Along the way, he has carried out extensive and detailed interviews with:

Current Band Members:

Mike Portnoy, James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung.

Former Band Members:

Charlie Dominici, Chris Collins, Stephan Erickson (a.k.a Steve Stone), John Arch, Derek Sherinian, Chris Cintron.

Album Producers/ Engineers:

David Prater, Kevin Shirley, Terry Date, Doug Oberkircher.

Cover Artists:

Larry Freemantle, Amy Guip, Dung Hoang, Hugh Syme, Storm Thorgerson, Peter Curzon, Dave McKean.

Band Managers/ Record Label Personnel:

Derek Oliver, Dante Bonutto, Jim Pitulski, Derek Simon, Rob Shore, Rikk Feulner, Bill Barclay, Frank Soloman, Janna Glasser, David 5-1 Norman, Derek Shulman.

Various:

Bruce Dickinson, Pete Trewavas, Ben Huggins, Jamshied Sharifi, Jens Johansson, Chris Jericho, Sebastian Bach, Erik Neldner and Eric Gandras.

For once, I actually got in at the start. Back in the late eighties, the UK was blessed with a national radio station that dedicated vast chunks Friday and Saturday evenings to blasting the airwaves with flawless rock shows. Tommy Vance and Alan Freeman were the respective DJ’s, and although I can’t actually remember which one of them first played a Dream Theater track – or which song it was – I was instantly blown away and I’ve been appreciating their music ever since.

The Dream Theater story may not be as gory as that of Mötley Crüe, or as littered with as many casualties as Def Leppard’s, but it’s no less intriguing. When you discover the inner turmoil the band have endured, the seemingly relentless industry battles and the “unfashionable” music they’ve created, it’s amazing that they have survived for so long. Throw into the mix five talented musicians with diverse personalities and their own idiosyncrasies; along with the fact that their popularity is continually rising, their story becomes even more remarkable.

In collating together the material for this book, I’ve endeavoured to track down and interview as many of the characters that have been involved in the Dream Theater story so far. Where possible, I’ve also let those people tell their story without too much pontificating or over-analysis from myself, taking the view that the people who were actually there are best placed to interpret events. The fact that they were all keen and readily donated also their time speaks volumes about the regard that the band are held in the industry. The members of Dream Theater have also approved of this project and, in an effort to ensure factual correctness, they read the book prior to release. No changes to the content were suggested or made, which ensured that this book remained authorised but not sanitised. Of course, there were some who didn’t want to be interviewed, which is regrettable but I respect their decision. That said, if any of you come across Kevin Moore, give him a gentle nudge from me – there’s always the second edition!

This project really has been a labour of love, especially my desire to ensure that the book was released in this luxury format rather than a cheap paperback. It may be a cliché, but I genuinely I hope, from one fan to another, that you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it . . .

Rich Wilson

Manchester, England. April 2007

封麵為Tour Edition

http://www.dreamtheaterbook.com/

The authorized biography of Dream Theater - the American progressive-metal band comprising of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Portnoy - Traces the band's history over the last two decades.

The book features all new interviews with the members and with others who have played their part in the rise of this innovative band that has resolutely defied popular trends and fickle public tastes to forge its own distinctive path. Dream Theater have essentially remained an underground act, with a loyal and expanding fan base which has assisted in their remarkable growth. This is their no-holds-barred story. (DRA43489)

【WOW!

In the words of the Grateful Dead, "what a long, strange trip it’s been..."

In the words of the Beatles, it’s surely been a "long and winding road..."

In the words of Metallica, "fuck it all and fuckin’ no regrets..."

(OK...maybe I should’ve stopped at The Beatles!)

Reading this book has been an incredible trip down memory lane for me and quite an emotional experience - seeing my professional life flash before my eyes...the good, the bad and the ugly, indeed!

Rich Wilson has truly captured the ups and downs that has made Dream Theater’s journey thus far a very interesting story. No, it’s not a typical biography filled with sex, drugs and Rock and Roll road stories, but when you read through the story of our career, it really is a great tale of the fight for musical integrity, strong professional perseverance and living out a deep-rooted belief in oneself.

Rich has done a remarkable job tracking down almost every single person that has been a part of Dream Theater’s first twenty years...from the obvious players such as eight out of the nine "official" members from throughout the band’s history (one glaringly obvious missing member still sadly refusing to contribute and acknowledge his past) all the way through managers, record company personnel, producers, friends, fellow musicians and even some incredibly obscure people from our past whom I haven’t seen or spoken to in well over fifteen years...(Stephen Michael Stone?? Wow!!)

When I put together the 1 hour documentary for Dream Theater’s "Score" DVD, I did my best to tell the story of the band’s first twenty years in sixty minutes, and while I am indeed very proud of that piece, I must say watching that is like "VH1’s Behind The Music" when you compare it to Rich Wilson’s "Beatles Anthology" that you are now holding in your hands!

THIS book is indeed the "whole story"...

It is truly amazing that Dream Theater has achieved all we have in our first two decades – against all odds, trends and fashionable musical styles – and yet we’re still growing and climbing higher and higher each album and tour!

As amazing as this story is thus far, I am sure we still have MANY, MANY more exciting chapters to still write ahead of us....

Enjoy the ride!】 Mike Portnoy (writing from a tour bus in Berkeley, CA - Saturday March 17th 2007)