SIX DEGREES OF INNER TURBULENCE

Meet Dream Theater:
John Petrucci - Guitars
Mike Portnoy - Drums
Jordan Rudess - Keyboards (Kevin Moore ruled the throne before him)
John Myung - Bass
James LaBrie - Vocals

Dream Theater was formed in 1985 by guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy, while all were studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Kevin Moore, a high school bandmate of Petrucci's, was recruited to play keyboards.

In 1991 a tape arrived from Canadian band Winter Rose's singer Kevin James LaBrie, who was immediately flown to New York for a proper audition. After a short jam session he was hired as full-time singer, and started using his middle name, James, as his first to avoid confusion with Kevin Moore.

After a petition from fans to EastWest, the group recorded their previously unreleased song "A Change of Seasons", which had been written in 1989 and was originally to appear on Images and Words, and distributed it as an EP with a collection of live cover tracks. After a short run of small "one-off" concerts to promote the EP, Dream Theater entered the studio once more to write their next album.

In all, almost two CDs worth of material were written during the sessions, including a 20 minute long follow-up to the Images and Words song "Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper". The label, however, did not allow the release of a double album because they felt that a 140-minute record would not be digestible by the general public, so half the songs had to be cut.

Awake was released in October 1994. It featured a distinctly heavier sound than the band's previous releases, which may have served to polarize critical and fan opinion of the album. Shortly before the album was mixed, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he wished to concentrate on his own musical interests and would be quitting Dream Theater. As a result, the band had to scramble to find a replacement keyboardist before planning its next tour.

Jordan Rudess, an up-and-coming keyboardist who was relatively unknown in rock music circles to that point, was invited to play a trial performance with Dream Theater in the hopes that he would join the band. The gig, in Burbank, California, went well but Rudess decided to accept an invitation from The Dixie Dregs to perform with them instead. Derek Sherinian was brought on as a hired gun, and by the conclusion of the Awake promotional tour Sherinian was Dream Theater's new full-time keyboardist.

They decided to rewrite and expand the 20-minute song with a fresh, new band member into a complete concept album, with the story revolving around themes such as reincarnation, murder and betrayal. A shroud of secrecy enveloped the writing and recording process. The only things fans knew before its release were a track list that had been leaked against the band's wishes, as well as a release date. They knew nothing of the title, the music, or even the fact that it would be a concept album. In 1999, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was released; it was cited as Dream Theater's best album by many fans.

Dream Theater once again entered BearTracks Studios to record its sixth studio album. Four years after they first petitioned EastWest to allow them to release a double album, they finally got their chance with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. The first disc consisted of five tracks of 6-14 minutes in length, and the second disc was devoted entirely to the 42-minute title track, split into 8 sections, which is to date the longest song Dream Theater has written.

Dream Theater has performed with a diverse range of acts. Some of their more notable touring partners include Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, King's X, Marillion, Megadeth, In Flames, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Queensrÿche, Spock's Beard, Fear Factory, Enchant, Symphony X, and Yes. In 2005, Dream Theater toured North America with the Gigantour festival, co-headlining with Megadeth.


AWARDS:


RIAA Gold and Platinum certification
* Images and Words (Gold) - February 2, 1995
* Metropolis 2000: Live Scenes From New York (Gold) - November 8, 2002
* Live at Budokan (DVD) (Platinum) - January 26, 2005
* Live in Tokyo/5 Years in a Livetime (Platinum) - March 22, 2006
* Score (DVD) (Platinum) - October 11, 2006

Keyboard Magazine
Jordan Rudess was awarded the following Keyboard Magazine Reader's Poll award:
* Best New Talent (1994)


Modern Drummer
Mike Portnoy won the following Modern Drummer magazine Reader's Poll awards;

* Best Up & Coming Talent (1994)
* Best Progressive Rock Drummer (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
* Best Recorded Performance (1995 for Awake, 1996 for A Change of Seasons, 1998 for Falling Into Infinity, 2000 for Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, 2002 for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence)
* Best Clinician (2000, 2002)
* Best Educational Video/DVD (2000, 2002)
* Hall of Fame Inductee (2004)

Guitar World
The album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was ranked #95 on the magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.