John Petrucci
John Petrucci | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | John Peter Petrucci |
Born | Kings Park, New York, U.S. | July 12, 1967
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1984–present |
Labels |
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Website | johnpetrucci.com |
John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with former member Mike Portnoy before he departed the band in 2010) all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) to A View from the Top of the World (2021), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).
Early life and influences
John Peter Petrucci was born on July 12, 1967, in Kings Park, New York, to an Italian American family. He picked up the guitar at around the age of eight because his older sister was allowed to go to bed later in order to practice the organ. However, he decided to quit the guitar when his attempts to stay up late were unsuccessful. He picked up the guitar again at the age of 12. Petrucci has said he committed to practicing guitar six hours a day when he discovered it was his passion. His early influences were bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and later developed an interest in progressive rock and heavy metal, exemplified by Rush, Yes, Iron Maiden, Dixie Dregs and Metallica.[1][2]
Career
Eventually, his childhood friend and future Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore invited Petrucci to join his cover band. Petrucci attended Berklee College of Music in Boston with childhood friend John Myung (bass), where they met future bandmate Mike Portnoy (drums). While in Berklee they often covered two of their biggest influences, Iron Maiden and Rush. These three, in addition to Kevin Moore, formed the band Majesty. Because there was already another band with the same name, the group later became Dream Theater.
While Petrucci is most commonly associated with Dream Theater, he is also in the project band Liquid Tension Experiment, and has appeared as a guest on records by other artists, such as the Age of Impact album by the Explorer's Club.
Petrucci has released a guitar instructional video, Rock Discipline, which covers warm-up exercises, exercises to avoid injury while playing, alternate picking, sweep picking, chords and other techniques for developing one's guitar playing. Petrucci also has a book named "Guitar World presents John Petrucci's Wild Stringdom", which was compiled from columns he wrote for Guitar World magazine under that title.
In 2001, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai invited Petrucci to tour with them on the popular G3 guitar tour, which exposed him to a massive number of new fans and inspired a solo album. The album, Suspended Animation, was released on March 1, 2005, and was available for order from his web site. Petrucci also appeared on the 2005 and 2006 G3 tours, and in 2007, went on G3 tour again, this time with Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani. In a video with Larry DiMarzio, Petrucci announced that he is working on a follow-up to his 2005 album, Suspended Animation and a new Dream Theater album.[3]
Petrucci also wrote and recorded two instrumental soundtrack songs for a Sega Saturn game titled Digital Pinball: Necronomicon. Each track is roughly two minutes long, and are named simply Prologue and Epilogue. In a spoof rock band, Nightmare Cinema (which was the Dream Theater members changing instruments for encores), he used the "alternate stage name" Johnny James.
In 2012, Petrucci was invited once again to join Joe Satriani on the G3 tour, along with Steve Morse. He was accompanied by bassist Dave LaRue and drummer and Dream Theater bandmate Mike Mangini.
Dream Theater bandmate Jordan Rudess revealed in an interview that Petrucci is a practicing Catholic and Petrucci himself told about it in a Dream Theater Q&A session with DreamTheaterForums.[4][5]
In 2018, Petrucci joined Joe Satriani on the G3 tour. They were accompanied by Uli Jon Roth on the European leg of the tour, and Phil Collen in North America. His second solo album, titled Terminal Velocity was released in 2020.[6]
Musical style
Guitar technique
Petrucci is respected for his variety of guitar styles and skills. One of the most notable of these is his high-speed alternate picking which, as he himself claims, requires a "strong sense of synchronization between the two [playing] hands." He is notable for frequent use of the seven-string electric guitar, which he says he uses as a writing tool, taking advantage of the extended range for heavier riffing and to play extended range runs as part of a solo. Moreover, Petrucci often combines his metal shredding technique with a slower, emotive soloing style. His influences as a guitarist include Jimmy Page,[7] Brian May,[7] Eddie Van Halen,[7] Steve Morse, Al Di Meola, Steve Howe, Allan Holdsworth, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Alex Lifeson, Yngwie Malmsteen and David Gilmour.[2][8]
Lyrics
Petrucci is Dream Theater's most prolific lyricist, with each album including at least three songs featuring his lyrics. Some of Petrucci's notable songs include "Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper", "The Spirit Carries On", "The Great Debate", "In the Presence of Enemies", and "Through Her Eyes". Petrucci has occasionally used real-life experiences for lyrical inspiration, as heard in songs such as "The Count of Tuscany", "A Nightmare to Remember" and "Endless Sacrifice".
Singing
Petrucci has acted as a backing vocalist live since the Awake Tour. He is a baritone, producing a sound darker than that of James LaBrie's tenor voice. He has also written vocal melodies for Dream Theater. Petrucci's role as a vocalist expanded following the departure of Mike Portnoy, who had been Dream Theater's primary backing vocalist and occasionally even shared lead vocals with LaBrie. In live performances, Petrucci now replicates some vocal parts originally sung by Portnoy, with others being recorded samples.
Accolades and praise
Regarded as "one of the most celebrated guitarists alive" by Premier Guitar,[9] Petrucci has performed as the third guitarist on the G3 tour seven times, more than any other invited guitarist. In their article "John Petrucci: The Ultimate Evolved Guitarist",[10] Premier Guitar calls Petrucci "one of the best who's ever laid a hand on a fretboard".[11] He was voted "Best Prog guitarist" by The Prog Magazine[12] and the "Greatest Guitarist" by Burrn magazine[13] and Mariskalrock.[14] Guitar World magazine lists Petrucci among the "Fastest Guitarists of All Time"[15] and calls him "the most celebrated and popular guitarist in the world of progressive metal" and "arguably the most versatile and proficient player in his realm, with a highly developed melodic sense and an alternate picking technique that is virtually untouchable as far as speed and precision", while also ranking him among the top 5 "Best Guitarists of the Decade".[16]
In 2019, Petrucci won the SENA Performers European Award.[17] Joel McIver's 2009 book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists ranks Petrucci second, after Dave Mustaine.[18] He was also named as one of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time" by GuitarOne magazine.[19] In 2012, Petrucci was ranked the 17th greatest guitarist of all time by a Guitar World magazine reader's poll.[20] According to Forbes, the Ernie Ball-Music Man John Petrucci JP6 is the second-best-selling signature model of all time, behind only the Gibson Les Paul, which isn't technically an artist signature model.[21]
Equipment
Petrucci is a long-time user of Music Man JP and Majesty series guitars and Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. While his pedalboard, controller, effects and overdrives have undergone changes over the years, the core of Petrucci's guitar sound remains Dimarzio pickups and Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. Most recently the signature JP-2C amplifier based on the Mark IIC+ series and other Mark and Rectifier series amplifiers, such as during the recording of Train of Thought.[22][23][24]
A number of brands have released signature guitar equipment designed or endorsed by Petrucci:
- Ibanez released the first John Petrucci signature guitars, made from 1995 to 1999
- Dimarzio have produced several pickups designed in collaboration with Petrucci
- Ernie Ball Music Man (USA) began producing John Petrucci signature guitars in 2001 and have made numerous models bearing his name since.
- Dunlop produce John Petrucci signature guitar picks including the Jazz III and flow
- Dunlop Guitar straps
- TC Electronic released the Dreamscape John Petrucci signature modulation pedal in 2013.
At the beginning of 2016 two new releases were announced: the Dunlop John Petrucci signature Cry-Baby wah, and the Mesa/Boogie JP-2C John Petrucci head, a three-channel amplifier which is available both as a stand-alone amp head and as a rack-mounted amp head, and differs from other Mesa/Boogie Mark series amps in that it features two separate graphic EQs, midi controllable and channel assignable, "Shred" circuit and "pull" functionality on several settings resulting in increased versatility.[25]
Personal life
Petrucci lives in St. James, New York with his wife Rena Sands, a guitarist in the all-female heavy metal band Meanstreak, and they have three children. He is the uncle of Jake Bowen, a guitarist in the progressive metal band Periphery.
Petrucci is an avid fan of bodybuilding and dedicates much of his off time to weight training. He is a voting member of NARAS.[26]
Discography
Solo albums
- Suspended Animation (2005)
- Terminal Velocity (2020)
With Dream Theater - Studio albums
- When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
- Images and Words (1992)
- Awake (1994)
- Falling into Infinity (1997)
- Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999)
- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
- Train of Thought (2003)
- Octavarium (2005)
- Systematic Chaos (2007)
- Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
- A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
- Dream Theater (2013)
- The Astonishing (2016)
- Distance over Time (2019)
- A View from the Top of the World (2021)
With Liquid Tension Experiment
- Liquid Tension Experiment (1998)
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (1999)
- Liquid Tension Experiment 3 (2021)[27]
With G3
- G3: Live in Tokyo (With guitarists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani) (2005)
With Jordan Rudess
As a guest
- Digital Pinball: Necronomicon soundtrack (1996)
- Explorers Club – Age of Impact (1998)
- Jon Finn Group – Wicked (1998)
- Jordan Rudess – Feeding the Wheel (2001)
- Derek Sherinian – Blood of the Snake (Played on track "Czar Of Steel") (2006)
- Marty Friedman – Loudspeaker (Special guest guitarist on "Black Orchid") (2006)
- Periphery – Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (Guest solo on track "Erised") (2012)[28]
- Sterling Ball, John Ferraro and Jim Cox – The Mutual Admiration Society (2018)[29]
- Jordan Rudess – Wired for Madness (2019)
- Bryan Beller – Scenes from the Flood (Solo on "World Class") (2019)
Others
- Working Man – A Tribute to Rush – Various Artists (A tribute to Rush) (1996)
- Dragon Attack – Various Artists (A tribute to Queen) (1997)
- Guitar Battle – Various Artists (1998)
- Super Mario Bros. Theme Remix – FamilyJules (2018)[30][31]
Videography
Year | Title | Notes |
1993 | Images and Words: Live in Tokyo | First Dream Theater live DVD. Includes extended version of "Take the Time." |
1995 | Rock Discipline – VHS | John Petrucci does a DVD on guitar warmups, tricks, exercises, and his gear. |
1998 | 5 Years in a LIVEtime | The only live Dream Theater DVD with Derek Sherinian. |
2001 | Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York | |
2002 | Rock Discipline – DVD | |
2004 | Live at Budokan | |
2005 | G3: Live in Tokyo | |
2006 | Score | 2DVD's recorded at Radio City Music Hall on April 1, 2006 New York, US Celebrating Dream Theater's 20th Anniversary. They performed this concert with a symphony orchestra. |
2007 | Chaos in Progress: The Making of Systematic Chaos | DVD included in the special edition of Systematic Chaos |
2008 | Chaos in Motion 2007–2008 | Released September 30, 2008. Documents the band's 2007/2008 Chaos in Motion and Progressive Nation tours. |
2013 | Live at Luna Park | |
2014 | Breaking the Fourth Wall | 2DVD's recorded live at the Boston Opera House on March 25, 2014, released on September 29, 2014 on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. |
References
- ^ "Interview with John Petrucci (Dream Theater)". Wikimetal. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
- ^ a b "John Petrucci: Biography". johnpetrucci.com. Archived from the original on 1999-11-27.
- ^ John Petrucci and his DiMarzio® Pickups. on YouTube
- ^ The Dream Theater official FAQ Archived 2008-04-18(Date mismatch) at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "DreamTheaterForums.org presents a Q&A Session with Dream Theater". DreamTheaterForums.org. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Munro, Scott (19 June 2020). "Dream Theater's John Petrucci announces new solo album Terminal Velocity". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ a b c "John Petrucci | Similar Artists".
- ^ "John Petrucci Talks About the New Dream Theater Album in the November 2011 Issue of Guitar World". guitarworld.com.
- ^ September 24, Corbin Reiff; 2013 (24 September 2013). "John Petrucci: The Ultimate Evolved Guitarist". premierguitar.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
{{cite web}}
:|last2=
has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ September 24, Corbin Reiff; 2013 (24 September 2013). "John Petrucci: The Ultimate Evolved Guitarist". premierguitar.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
{{cite web}}
:|last2=
has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ September 24, Corbin Reiff; 2013 (24 September 2013). "John Petrucci: The Ultimate Evolved Guitarist". premierguitar.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
{{cite web}}
:|last2=
has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Prog Awards 2019: Dream Theater, Big Big Train, Hawkwind among this year's winners". 12 September 2019.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=126844294034258&story_fbid=3156067807778543
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3098748576843800&set=a.133462500039104
- ^ "Need for speed: The 50 fastest shred guitarists of all time". 11 March 2015.
- ^ "The 20 best guitarists of the decade". 30 December 2019.
- ^ "John Petrucci winner of the Sena Performers European Guitar Award 2019". 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Dave Mustaine Discusses 'The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists'". Ultimate-Guitar.
- ^ "Top Shredders of All Time". RandyCiak.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ "Readers Poll Results: The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Guitar World. Retrieved 13 October 2012
- ^ "These Are 7 Best Selling Models of Big Guitar Manufacturers".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Rig Rundown - Dream Theater's John Petrucci". 25 October 2011.
- ^ "John Petrucci's Gear and Equipment (2015)".
- ^ "Dream Theater's John Petrucci Gear Guide".
- ^ The Official John Petrucci Web Site Archived 2008-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ewing, Jerry (11 January 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment reveal artwork and tracklisting for new album". Louder Sound.
- ^ Exclusive: Periphery Officially Announce July 3 Release Date for New Album
- ^ http://www.mutualadmirationsocietymusic.com/
- ^ "Dream Theater's guitarist John Petrucci featured in Super Mario Bros. main theme remix with FamilyJules". Loudwire.
- ^ "VIDEO: Super Mario Bros. theme by FamilyJules (feat. John Petrucci)". YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
External links
- Dream Theater members
- American heavy metal guitarists
- American heavy metal singers
- American male singers
- Record producers from New York (state)
- American Roman Catholics
- Seven-string guitarists
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- American people of Italian descent
- 1967 births
- Living people
- G3 (tour)
- People from Kings Park, New York
- Lead guitarists
- Progressive rock guitarists
- Progressive metal guitarists
- Singers from New York (state)
- People from St. James, New York
- Guitarists from New York (state)
- American male guitarists
- 20th-century American guitarists
- Science fiction fans
- Explorers Club (band) members
- Liquid Tension Experiment members