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Not all hard rock 'guitar heroes' that emerged during the late '80s-early '90s were instrumental solo artists, as evidenced by
DreamTheater's John Petrucci. Born on July 12, 1967, and raised in Kings Park (a town located in the suburb of Long Island,
New York), Petruccigot serious about guitar at the age of 12, and developed a liking for prog rock and heavy metal (Rush,
Iron Maiden, Yes, and later, Metallicaand Queensrÿche). But it was the technically demanding guitarists, like Yngwie
Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, and especially, Steve Morse,who inspired Petrucci the most. Enrolling at Bos ...read more
Not all hard rock 'guitar heroes' that emerged during the late '80s-early '90s were instrumental solo artists, as evidenced by
DreamTheater's John Petrucci. Born on July 12, 1967, and raised in Kings Park (a town located in the suburb of Long Island,
New York), Petruccigot serious about guitar at the age of 12, and developed a liking for prog rock and heavy metal (Rush,
Iron Maiden, Yes, and later, Metallicaand Queensrÿche). But it was the technically demanding guitarists, like Yngwie
Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, and especially, Steve Morse,who inspired Petrucci the most. Enrolling at Boston's Berklee
College of Music, Petrucci befriended such fellow classmates as bassist JohnMyung and drummer Mike Portnoy, who would
serve as the core for what would eventually be known as Dream Theater. Enlisting keyboardistKevin Moore and singer Chris
Collins, the quintet began playing and recording under the name of "Majesty", until they realized another groupowned the
rights to the name. Hence, by the late '80s, "Majesty" had changed their name to Dream Theater, and Collins was replaced
byCharlie Dominici. The Dominici-led version of Dream Theater lasted for a single album, 1989's When Dream and Day Unite,
before his exitearly in the new decade. Despite building a sizeable following in the New York area, Petrucci and his bandmates
were little known elsewhere,but this all changed with the arrival of new singer James LaBrie, and their sophomore effort,
1992's Images and Words. Despite a changingof tastes with most rock music fans (towards the sounds of Seattle), the album
proved to be a breakthrough commercial success (as thesong "Pull Me Under" became a surprise hit on both MTV and rock
radio). Arguably, nobody in Dream Theater benefited the most from thesudden wave of success than Petrucci, who was
instantly recognized as one of the most technically accomplished guitarists in all of hardrock -- winning polls in guitar
publications the world over, as well as being mentioned in the same breath as such six string wiz's as SteveVai and Joe
Satriani. Like Vai and Satriani (who also hailed from Long Island, as well), Petrucci became affiliated with the Ibanez
guitarcompany (even lending his name to his own signature series), before switching to the Ernie Ball company later on, and
once more, launchinghis own signature series. Dream Theater continued to issue albums on a regular basis throughout the
'90s and into the early 21st century -- retaining a large and loyal fan base even after MTV/radio stopped playing them. In
addition to his Dream Theater duties, Petrucci hasplayed with a variety of other projects (all in the prog metal mold),
including Explorer's Club, Liquid Tension Experiment (which also includedPortnoy, bass master Tony Levin, and eventual Dream
Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess), as well as supplying music to the Sega Saturnvideo game called Necronomicon. 2000
saw the release of a collaboration between Petrucci and Rudess, An Evening With John Petrucci andJordan Rudess, while
Petrucci joined forces with Vai and Satriani on tour as part of their annual G3 tour during the summer of 2001. « hide |
Similar Bands: Dream Theater, Marco Sfogli, Robert Pieculewicz, Liquid Tension Experiment, Joe Satriani
Contributors: rockandmetaljunkie, lak89, KjSwantko, BaturTogay, demon of surveillance, dante1991, Disconnected, Mikesn, Nexion, DTisdabestest, CoverHit, Skyler,
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