New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ RoadRunner Records) Dream Theater has finished its world tour in support of A Dramatic Turn of Events, which was released just over a year ago, in
September 2011. And each member of the group has posted a personal message on the band's site, DreamTheater.net, saluting the fans who came out to see them across the globe. Excerpts from each message are below; click each member's name to read the whole thing.
James LaBrie: "ADTOE was incredibly rewarding as a band, individually and last and definitely not least musically. On tour we all upped our game and the band was better than ever. The band was more powerful, tight, soulful and spiritually renewed. I personally was reminded of who I once was as a singer and why I dreamt of doing this as a kid. The entire band each and every night displayed conviction and confidence that was palpable. The synergy and camaraderie was unprecedented and the fans worldwide were always eager to comment with such positive praise. The unyielding support and faith from the fans has never been taken for granted. No words truly describe how grateful and honoured we are to be recipients of such fortune and benevolence."
John Petrucci: "I think what I will remember the most about this tour was how gracious and welcoming all of our fans were everywhere around the world as we introduced DT with our new drummer Mike Mangini each night, and all of the support and faith you showed us right from the beginning. Our fans are just amazing! Loud, loud, loud and full of enthusiasm! There were some memorable moments for sure...The couple who dressed in full unicyclist garb stand out as well as those who held up score cards at one gig after we played the LNF unison. You guys are just hilarious! I'll always remember the smiles in the crowd, the hands in the air and the defeating chants of support that filled the venues. I met so many DT fans that have been to 10, 20, 30+ shows who told me that this was the best they've seen the band yet. That means so much to me!"
Jordan Rudess: "The last 14 months have taken us all around the world and it's been an amazing adventure! We have played in a lot of familiar places but also made new friends in countries that we had never been before! As a lot of you know, I like to go out whenever possible and explore the places we visit. Walking around Jakarta, Indonesia and San Jose, Costa Rica are still fresh on my mind! To me the actual playing of the show is wonderful, but understanding who all of you are as people and experiencing the places you live is just as important! Thank you all for your incredible support. This last album and tour was so important for us because we had our latest family member Mr. Mike Mangini join us on drums. It was gratifying hearing everyone scream out his name every night and feel the overwhelming joy in your hearts that you have for
Dream Theater!"
John Myung: "I really enjoyed the time and energy we spent night after night in different cities around the world bringing our latest release ADTOE to life, it was simply awesome! My gratitude goes out to our amazing fans that made this all possible!...Now it's time to enjoy some very much needed quality time back at home. Looking forward to the next chapter."
Mike Mangini: "The close of the Dramatic Tour of Events left me with thinking of one word; Wow! My memory of it is multilayered: from receiving the invitation to audition through my gear preparation for the record, the recording, all kinds of venues, and the fans' hands in the air during the tour. My overall feeling about it stems from one thing: the fans' acceptance of me from show #1 in Rome through the last show in Brasilia...Performing the shows as proficiently as possible was hard work. The challenge of performing each show so the songs sounded like the recordings was evident in my inner dialog while playing. I talked to myself all night, every night with phrases like, "here comes the five thing, then the short verse" in order to remember my way through the songs. A DT show is a mental challenge far beyond what I could have imagined, but because the music feels natural to me and because the whole band would communicate onstage so much, it provided the greatest joy of my career."
