September 13th: Release Day!!

Today is a very important day on two accounts:  It is the release day for two much-anticipated albums (by me and hopefully countless others) - "A Dramatic Turn of Events" by Dream Theater (with new drummer phenom Mike Mangini) and "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper (sequel to his 1975 first solo album, "Welcome to My Nightmare").  Here is a little taste of what's to come, with some commentary videos at the end of each from the artists about what's behind the songs in their albums:

Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events:



"On the Backs of Angels" - Music Video:



Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare:

Adrenaline Mob!! (and friends....)

In 2010, Mike Portnoy left his longtime band Dream Theater...and in 2011 he joined the band Adrenaline Mob.  They went on tour and I saw them as they hit the DC area at Jaxx Nightclub.  After a long but exciting night of 7 opening bands (!!!!), Adrenaline Mob took the stage about 11 pm.   They are a strong and energetic band, but if you're looking for Dream Theater 2.0, I wouldn't say they are it.  :)  Here is a sneak peek at their performance (and some from their colleagues):

Adrenaline Mob


Seven Kingdoms and Artizan

Dream Theater's New Drummer!

Well, it was announced last year that Mike Portnoy, the drummer for Dream Theater, decided to leave the band. (Read Mike's and Dream Theater's statements here)

So Dream Theater embarked upon a quest for a new drummer. Interestingly, they decided to film the auditioning process, and created a documentary and released it in installments this week. Watch their journey here with the new drummer revealed at the end!

Here are the songs they had the drummers audition with:

The Dance of Eternity
A Nightmare to Remember
The Spirit Carries On




Read the interview Mike did with Modern Drummer Magazine on his new future with Dream Theater.

Read the Interviews that Drum Magazine conducted with Mike.
Read the interview that Music Radar conducted with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess about their ordeal as a band in search of a new drummer and the future of Dream Theater.

Watch the video below to see some of Mike's previous work as well as how he attained his title of World's Fastest Drummer.  (and a cute commercial he was in demonstrating his mad skills)

Dream Theater and Queensryche in Concert!

We got to see Dream Theater again on their Progressive Nation 2009 Tour, along with their opening acts Scale the Summit, Bigelf, and Zappa plays Zappa (with Frank's son, Dweezil). They played some great past songs along with several from their most recent release, Black Clouds and Silver Linings. A great bonus was Queensryche also joined the lineup, the only Dream Theater concert they also played on, played mostly from their newest album written about soldier's stories called American Soldier. Here's a slide show of some pictures of Queensryche and Dream Theater:

Dream Theater in DC

I finally got to see one of my favorite bands, Dream Theater, live on Memorial Day in DC at the DAR Constitution Hall during their Progressive Nation Tour featuring their newest album, Systematic Chaos. I was able to catch some of their music on video, and attached some pictures afterwards with another one of their songs. Although the video came out pretty well, I think the audio was too overwhelming for my little microphone (it was a VERY loud concert). Anyhow, I hope you enjoy my images from the concert.



Songs featured: 2001 Space Odyssey; In the Presence of Enemies, Pt. 1; Scene Two: Overture 1928