DREAM THEATER's JOHN PETRUCCI: We Have 'The Most Appreciative Audience'

EMP Rock Invasion recently conducted an interview with guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about DREAM THEATER's fan base, Petrucci said: "A lot of people have said our music attracts more, kind of, cerebral listeners, which is fine. To me, our audience is amazing, because we're up there and we're playing music that we're really passionate about and that we put a lot of work into, and we're trying to perform great and everything, and the last thing you want is somebody in the audience that doesn't care. And our audience are all very focused on what we're doing, they're paying attention, they notice everything, they're taking in the whole show — the music, the visuals, the lights. And, to me, it's the most appreciative audience that we could have. So I love it."

DREAM THEATER keyboardist, Jordan Rudess spoke to GetYourRockOut at this year's Sonisphere festival in the U.K. about whether the band has already begun thinking about the follow-up to last year's self-titled release. He said: "We haven't really gotten into serious band discussions about what's gonna happen next, although we've had little discussions between some of us about what we would like to see happen next. At the same, if I get a good idea in the middle of the night, or whatever, I'll record it onto my iPhone. I elected James [LaBrie, vocals] to kind of be the keeper of some of my ideas; I'll send him little YouTube clips of me playing something I think is cool. And then when it wraps around and we get into writing again and start our process, then we'll go back an see what we've got and kind of figure it out."

Rudess also reassured fans that there are no plans for DREAM THEATER to stop making new music and become a nostalgia act. He said: "Oh, no no no. We love what we do. We're passionate about making music and as composers; that's just who we are. DREAM THEATER has never been a band that hit at a particular fashionable point and said, 'OK, that's basically it.' We're a band that really… It's important to us to write music and put it out there and to work together. And we love it. And that's why we keep going."

DREAM THEATER's latest, self-titled album sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on September 24, 2013 via Roadrunner.