Jordan Rudess could have been a classical pianist if he hadn’t discovered prog; and if Dream Theater hadn’t invited him to join twice, he might never have been part of the band. In 2019 the keyboard maestro looked back on some key moments of his career to date.
Aged nine, you went to Juilliard School Of Music Pre-College Division. Could you have become a concert pianist?
It’s quite possible, yeah. The Juilliard training was so intense, whenever they spoke of music other than classical it was drummed into us that the artists responsible were lower-class citizens. I was almost brainwashed by that to the point that, when I discovered progressive rock via Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Tarkus, I didn’t know what to do with it – it was so alien to me.
When did Dream Theater appear on your radar?
Around the time they had Kevin Moore on keyboards with Awake [1994]. I thought: “Wow, they have the virtuoso thing going on. They play prog but they also have a feel for metal, and everything is so clean.” The fusion of those elements was so cool.
But you declined their first invitation to join the band that year, preferring instead to accept a part-time role with Dixie Dregs.
Dream Theater called and offered an audition, which I did. I played one show with them at an event called the Foundations Forum; but at the same time I was approached to do something with the Dregs. While I made up my mind I did a tour with the Dregs. At that time my wife and I had a small child and being with the Dregs just seemed better suited to my life.
I had said ‘no’ to Dream Theater, but I welcomed the call inviting me to play with John and Mike in Liquid Tension Experiment; it had felt like my only opportunity to do so. That was exciting. Tony Levin is a brilliant musician who came from another world to those guys, so I was the “in between guy.”Thinking about it now, that’s almost my role in Dream Theater – to keep things balanced.
How did you bring your own personality to the role?
The fact that we got along together so well was a very good start, but when I came into the group there were parameters to sort out. What stylistic elements from my world would be allowed into theirs? I had to learn and adjust to that. What I had to offer was my interest in orchestration. That changed the whole sonic picture. I was never about playing one sound. At the start that to them was like, “Ew!”
Sure, they were excited about my compositional ideas and my playing – John Petrucci really needed a partner to inspire and keep up with him – but at first my desire to push those buttons made them a little nervous.
You joined just prior to the recording of Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory. Do you agree with fans who rate it among Dream Theater’s career peaks?
Yeah – and of course that was such an exciting time. When I agreed to join them I had no idea of the life change it would bring. I had never travelled the world. They had a lifestyle that I’d only seen from a distance. Suddenly the doors were blasted open.
How long did it take to feel like you had complete acceptance?
Because of the experience with Liquid Tension it happened pretty much right away. They made me a full-time member and we went straight to work.
You stated that Dream Theater fuse metal and prog, but it’s done almost like some kind of seesaw, managing to balance the two elements.
The other guys are influenced by Iron Maiden and Metallica, plus various prog things such as Yes and Queensrÿche. But I come from a different place. For me, first and foremost it’s classical music, followed by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd.
What would be the most extreme metal you would listen to?
Well, I also play some guitar and I’m into AC/DC and Judas Priest. As a kid, while I was still figuring out my musical identity, I loved Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Being in this band taught me a lot about metal because early on we covered full albums by Iron Maiden [The Number Of The Beast] and Metallica [Master Of Puppets], so I had to learn how to play the second guitar parts on the keyboard.
There have been times when I’ve taken the band something that I consider to be a really heavy riff and they’ve given me a sideways look and said, “That sounds like Billy Joel to us!” As a keyboard player I have to be very careful how I present my ideas.
Which classical record would you recommend to somebody who believes it’s a stuffy form of music?
One of my favourite composers is Prokofiev, so if I’d point them towards one of his piano concertos. I’m also a fan of Bach, who not everyone can relate to; but if they picked up a record of Glenn Gould playing Bach I think they’d find that exciting.
