evolusi dari Computer Based Information System

1. Jelaskan evolusi dari Computer Based Information System!

Computer Based Information System (CBIS)

A. Pengertian CBIS

Sistem Informasi Berbasis Komputer atau Computer Based Information System (CBIS) merupakan sistem pengolahan suatu data menjadi sebuah informasi yang berkualitas dan dapat dipergunakan sebagai alat bantu yang mendukung pengambilan keputusan, koordinasi dan kendali serta visualisasi dan analisis. Beberapa istilah yang terkait dengan CBIS antara lain adalah data, informasi, sistem, sistem informasi dan basis komputer. Berikut penjelasan masing-masing istilah tersebut. Data Data merupakan deskripsi dari sesuatu dan kejadian yang kita hadapi.Jadi pada intinya, data merupakan kenyataan yang menggambarkan suatu kejadian dan merupakan kesatuan nyata yang nantinya akan digunakan sebagai bahan dasar suatu informasi. Informasi Informasi merupakan hasil dari pengolahan data menjadi bentuk yang lebih berguna bagi yang menerimanya yang menggambarkan suatu kejadian-kejadian nyata dan dapat digunakan sebagai alat bantu untuk pengambilan suatu keputusan. Sistem Sistem merupakan entitas, baik abstrak maupun nyata, dimana terdiri dari beberapa komponen yang saling terkait satu sama lain. Objek yang tidak memiliki kaitan dengan unsur-unsur dari sebuah sistem bukanlah komponen dari sistem tersebut. Sistem Informasi Sistem Informasi merupakan sistem pembangkit informasi. Dengan integrasi yang dimiliki antar subsistemnya,system informasi akan mampu menyediakan informasi yang berkualitas, tepat, cepat dan akurat sesuai dengan manajemen yang membutuhkannya. Berbasis Komputer Sistem Informasi “berbasis komputer” mengandung arti bahwa komputer memainkan peranan penting dalam sebuah sistem informasi. Secara teori, penerapan sebuah Sistem Informasi memang tidak harus menggunakan komputer dalam kegiatannya. Tetapi pada prakteknya tidak mungkin sistem informasi yang sangat kompleks itu dapat berjalan dengan baik jika tanpa adanya komputer. Sistem Informasi yang akurat dan efektif, dalam kenyataannya selalu berhubungan dengan istilah “computer-based” atau pengolahan informasi yang berbasis pada komputer.

Sub Sistem dari Sistem Informasi Berbasis Komputer

Sub sistem dari CBIS adalah :

1. Sistem Informasi Akuntansi

2. Sistem Informasi Manajemen

3. Sistem Pendukung Keputusan

4. Automasi Kantor (Virtual Office)

5. Sistem Pakar

2. Jelaskan manfaat dan kendala yang dapat diantisipasi dari E-Commerce

E-Commerce (electronic commerce) merupakan salah satu teknologi yang berkembang pesat seiring dengan kehadiran internet dalam kehidupan kita. Ecommerce sendiri berasal dari layanan EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), layanan EDI ini telah berkembang sedemikian pesatnya di negara-negara yang mempunyai jaringan komputer dan telepon. Jika sebelumnya kita telah sering menggunakan media elektronik seperti telepon, fax, hingga handphone untuk melakukan perniagaan / perdagangan, sekarang ini, kita dapat menggunakan internet untuk melakukan perniagaan. E-Commerce memiliki beberapa jenis, yaitu:

Business to business (B2B): Bisnis antara perusahaan dengan perusahaan lain

Business to consumer (B2C): Retail, sifatnya melayani pelanggan yang bervariasi

Consumer to consumer (C2C): Sifatnya lelang (auction)

Government: G2G, G2B, G2C :melakukan layanan terhadap perusahaan untuk keperluan bisnis hingga melayani masyarakat

MANFAAT DAN KENDALA E-COMMERCE

Manfaat yang diantisipasi dari Perdagangan Melalui Jaringan Elektronik:

1. Pelayanan pelanggan yang lebih baik.
2. Hubungan dengan pemasok dan masyarakat keuangan yang lebih baik.
3. Pengembangan atas investasi pemegang saham dan pemilik yang meningkat.
4. menekan biaya barang dan jasa,
5. serta dapat meningkatkan kepuasan konsumen sepanjang yang menyangkut kecepatan untuk mendapatkan barang yang dibutuhkan dengan kualitas yang terbaik sesuai dengan harganya
6. memperpendek waktu produk cycle
7. meningatkan Value Chain
8. meningkatkan costumer loyality
9. dan melebarkan jangkauwan.

Secara ringkas keuntungan e-commerce tersebut adalah sebagai berikut :

• Bagi Konsumen : harga lebih murah, belanja cukup pada satu tempat.
• Bagi Pengelola bisnis : efisiensi, tanpa kesalahan, tepat waktu
• Bagi Manajemen : peningkatan pendapatan, loyalitas pelanggan.

Kendala Perdagangan Melalui Jaringan Elektronik:

1. Jumlah penduduk Indonesia sebanyak 220 Juta jiwa, tetapi jumlah pengguna internet di Indonesia sekitar 5-7 juta orang. Jumlah tersebut belum lagi dipecah menjadi, pengguna aktif, pengguna yang mengerti browsing (karena ada pengguna yang hanya membuka email untuk kebutuhan komunikasi), pengguna yang mengerti e-commerce, atau pengguna pemula. Kalaupun ada kelompok yang mengerti e-commerce, harus dibagi lagi menjadi, berapa orang yang nyaman berbelanja online, berapa orang yang punya kartu kredit, berapa orang yang percaya dengan kualitas, karena barang tidak dilihat lansung.
2. Selain membuahkan hasil, bisnis di internet juga banyak yang rontok, banyak sekali pelaku bisnis di internet yang gulung tikar karena tidak sanggup bersaing dan tidak memiliki inovasi dan kreatifitas.
3. Banyaknya kriminalitas di internet, seperti card froud (pencurian akses kartu kredit). Hal ini membuat orang konsumen malas berbelanja online. Walaupun sebagian besar toko online menerima pembayaran melalui transfer antar bank.
4. Budaya orang Indonesia yang merasa tidak nyaman kalo berbelanja hanya dengan melihat katalog produk, tanpa menyentuh, apalagi mencoba-coba. Bayangkan saja, berapa orang ibu-ibu yang pergi ke toko butik, dan menyentuh baju atau tas, lalu coba sana dan coba sini, trus ibu-ibu tersebut bilang sama yang punya toko, “maaf pak, bajunya gak cocok sama saya”. Konon lagi konsumen e-commerce hanya mengandalkan katalog.
5. Infrastruktur internet tidak merata di seluruh Indonesia, khususnya desa-desa. Toko anda akan buka 24 jam sehari dan 7 hari seminggu. Artinya setiap hari anda harus mengecek apakah ada pesan yang masuk dari konsumen anda, bayangkan kalo anda ingin berlibur ke desa, atau pulang kampung ke desa yang tidak ada akses internetnya?. Bisa jadi konsumen anda kehilangan kepercayaan terhadap toko anda. Atau mungkin anda ingin memasang plang dengan tulisan “Maaf!!! sedang berlibur ke daerah yang tidak terkoneksi internet”.
6. Jasa kurir yang tidak terjangkau daerah tertentu. Banyak sekali konsumen yang kecewa ketika ingin memilih daerah tujuan pengiriman barang, mereka menemukan tulisan“Maaf!! tujuan pengiriman yang anda inginkan belum bisa dilayani”. Bayangkan kecewanya pelanggan anda.

3. Jelaskan model yang digunakan dalam Model Sistem Umum Perusahaan

Definisi Model : Model adalah penyederhanaan (abstraction)dari sesuatu. Model mewakili sejumlah objek atau aktivitas yang disebut dengan entitas (entity). Manajer menggunakan model untuk memecahkan permasalahan.

Model mewakili sejumlah objek atau aktifitas yang disebut entitas.

JENIS-JENIS MODEL :

Model Fisik ; penggambaran entitas dalam bentuk 3 dimensi.

Model Naratif ; menggambarkan entitas secara lisan atau tulisan.

Model Grafik ; menggambarkan entitas dengan sejumlah garis atau symbol.

Model matematika ; sebagian besar perhatian dalam pembuatan bisnis (business modeling) saat ini tertuju pada model matematika. Keunggulannya, ketelitian dalam menjelaskan hubungan antara berbagai bagian dari suatu objek.

KEGUNAAN MODEL :

Mempermudah Pengertian, suatu model pasti lebih sederhana dari pada entitasnya. Entitas lebih mudah dimengerti jika elemen-elemennya dan hubungannya disajikan dalam cara yang sederhana.

Mempermudah Komunikasi, setelah problem solver mengerti entitasnya, pengertian itu sering pula dikomunikasikan pada orang lain.

Memperkirakan Masa Depan, ketelitian dalam menggambarkan entitas membuat model matematika dapat memberikan kemampuan yang tidak dapat disediakan model-model jenis lain.

MODEL SISTEM UMUM”

Sistem Fisik :

merupakan sistem terbuka, yang berhubungan dengan lingkungannya melalui arus sumber daya fisik.

Arus sumber daya fisik yang mengalir :

Arus material.

Material-material input diterima dari pemasok bahan baku dan komponen rakitan. Material

ini disimpan di tempat penyimpanan sampai dibutuhkan dalam proses transformasi.

Arus personil.

Input personil berasal dari lingkungan. Calon pegawai berasal dari masyarakat setempat dan mungkin dari serikat buruh pesaing. Input personil ini biasanya diproses oleh fungsi sumber daya manusia, kemudian ditugaskan ke berbagai bidang fungsional.

Arus mesin.

Mesin-mesin diperoleh dari pemasok, dan biasanya berada di perusahaan untuk jangka waktu lama (3 – 20 tahun atau lebih). Namun, akhirnya semua mesin dikembalikan kepada lingkungan dalam bentuk tukar tambah dengan model baru, atau sebagai rongsokan.

Arus uang.

Uang terutama diperoleh dari para pemilik, yang menyediakan modal investasi, dan dari para pelanggan perusahaan yang memberikan pendapatan penjualan. Sumber lainnya mencakup lembaga keuangan,

2. Sistem Konseptual,

Sebagian sistem terbuka dapat mengendalikan operasinya sendiri, sebagian lagi tidak. Pengendalian ini dapat dicapai dengan menggunakan suatu lingkaran yang disebut“Lingkaran Umpan Balik” yang menyediakan suatu jalur bagi sinyal-sinyal dari sistem ke mekanisme pengendalian begitu pula sebaliknya.

a. Sistem Lingkaran Terbuka.

Adalah suatu sistem tanpa lingkaran umpan balik atau mekanisme pengendalian.

Perusahaan-perusahaan tersebut menggunakan sistem terbuka, tetapi umpan balik dan mekanise pengendaliannya tidak bekerja sebagaimana mestinya.

b. Sistem Lingkaran Tertutup.

Adalah suatu sistem yang memiliki lingkaran umpan balik dan mekanisme

pengendalian. Sistem tersebut dapat mengendalikan output-nya dengan membuat penyesuaian-penyesuaian pada input-nya. Hal tersebut ditunjukka Pengendalian Manajemen; pihak manajemen menerima informasi yang menggambarkan output

sistem. Pengolah Informasi; Perjalanan informasi tidak selalu dari sistem fisik kepada manajer. Para manajer memperoleh informasi dari sistem yang menghasilkan informasi dari data yang terkumpul.

4.Apa yang anda ketahui tentang konsep Management By Exception,jelaskan

Management by exception

Standar dikombinasikan dengan output informasi dari pengolah informasi, memungkinkan manajer untuk melaksanakan management by exception. Management by exception adalah suatu gaya yang diikuti manajer, yaitu manajer terlibat dalam aktivitas hanya jika aktivitas itu menyimpang dari kinerja yang dapat diterima. Agar manajer dapat mempraktekanmanagement by exception, harus ditetapkan standar dalam bentuk batas atas dan batas bawah kinerja yang dapat diterima.

Management by exception memberikan tiga keuntungan dasar, yaitu :

manajer tidak membuang-buang waktu untuk memantau aktivitas yang berlangsung secara normal.

karena lebih sedikit keputusan yang dibuat, tiap keputusan dapat memperoleh perhatian lebih menyeluruh.

perhatian dipusatkan pada peluang-peluang, maupun pada hal-hal yang tidak berjalan semestinya.

Namun terdapat pula sejumlah kendala yang harus diketahui, yaitu :

1. beberapa jenis kinerja bisnis tertentu tidak mudah ditentukan secara kuantitas sehingga standar tidak dapat ditetapkan.
2. suatu sistem informasi yang memantau kinerja secara akurat sangat diperlukan.
3. perhatian harus terus diarahkan pada standar untuk menjaga standar pada tingkat yang tepat.
4. manajer tidak boleh pasif dan hanya menunggu batas kinerja lewat. Manajer harus bertindak memecahkan suatu permasalahan sebelum situasi menjadi tidak terkendali.

Management by exception merupakan kemampuan dasar yang disediakan CBIS. Dengan membiarkan CBIS memikul sebagian tanggung jawab memantau sistem fisik, waktu manajer dapat digunakan secara efektif.

System Pendukung Keputusan (SPK) atau Decision Support System (DSS) dibuat sebagai suatu cara untuk memenuhi kebutuhan seorang manajer dalam membuat keputusan yang spesifik dalam memecahkan masalah yang spesifik pula.

Tahapan dalam pengambilan keputusan yaitu:
1). Tahap Pemahaman yaitu sebuah proses pemahaman terhadap masalah dengan mengidentifikasi dan mempelajari masalah terhadap lingkungan yang memerlukan data à mengolah data à mengujinya à menjadikan petunjuk dalam menemukan pokok masalah à mencari solusi (bergerak dari tingkat system ke subsystem).
2). Tahap Perancangan yaitu sebuah proses pengembangan, analisis dan pencarian alternatif tindakan atau solusi yang mungkin untuk di ambil/ dilakukan (Identifikasi dan mengevaluasi alternatif).
3). Tahap Pemilihan yaitu sebuah proses pemilihan salah satu alternatif solusi yang dimunculkan pada tahap perancangan untuk menentukan arah tindakan dengan memperhatikan kriteria-kriteria berdasar tujuan yang dapat dicapai pada tahap berikutnya (memlih solusi terbaik).
4). Tahap Penerapan yaitu sebuah proses untuk melaksanakan dan menerapkan alternatif tindakan yang dipilih untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan yang telah di identifikasi (menerapkan solusi dan membuat tindak lanjut).

Berbagai jenis keputusan ialah keputusan tak terprogram, terprogram, dan semi terprogram.
Berbagai jenis masalah yang ada yaitu masalah terstruktur (terdapat 3 tahap yaitu pemahaman, perancangan, dan pemilihan), masalah tidak terstruktur (tidak terdapat dalam 4 tahap), dan masalah semi terstruktur.
Keharusan DDS yaitu Membantu manajer dalam membuat keutusan untuk memecahkan masalah semi terstruktur, mendukung penilaian manajer, dan meningkatkan efektivitas pengambilan keputusan manajer dari hanya sekedar efisiensi.
Model DSS dimana terdapat database yang isinya digunakan oleh Perangkat Lunak Penulisan Laporan (menghasilkan laporan periodik maupun khusus), Model Matematika (menghasilkan informasi sebagai hasil dari simulasi yang melibatkan satu atau beberapa komponen), dan Perangkat Lunak GDSS.

Perangkat lunak penulisan laporan
Laporan periodik = disiapkan sesuai jadwal
Laporan khusus = disiapkan ketika sesuatu yang luar biasa terjadi
Menyatukan Management by Exception ke dalam laporan
à konsep yang memungkinkan manajer hanya memperhatikan aktifitas yang layak mendapatkan perhatian manajemen

Dapat disatukan dalam satu laporan melalui 4 cara :
1). Menyiapkan laporan hanya jika terjadi perkecualian
2). Menggunakan urutan laporan untuk menyoroti perkecualian
3). Mengelompokkan perkecualian bersama-sama
4). Menunjukkan varians dari normal

Perangkat lunak GDSS memungkinkan beberapa pemecah masalah bekerja bersama-sama sebagai satu kelompok untuk mencapai solusi. Pemecah masalah dapat mewakili sebuah komite atau tim proyek, para anggota kelompok dapat berkomunikasi secara langsung atau melalui GDSS.

GDSS adalah Suatu sistem berbasis komputer yang mendukung kelompok-kelompok orang yang terlibat dalam satu tugas (tujuan) bersama dan yang menyediakan interfase bagi suatu lingkungan yang digunakan bersama.

Proses yang terjadi pada GDSS :
1. Mengorganisasi pendapat yang muncul dalam kelompok
2. Mengumpulkan informasi
3. Mengurutkan berdasar prioritas
4. Mengumpulkan aspek-aspek pendukung

Otomasi perkantoran (Office Automation) Mencakup semua sistem elektronik formal dan informal yang terutama berkaitan dengan komunikasi informasi ke dan dari orang-orang di dalam maupun di luar perusahaan (siapa saja yang menggunakan OA). Kelompok pemakai OA adalah pekerja terdidik (manajer dan profesional), sekretaris, dan pegawai administrasi. Tujuan dari OA ialah mengurangi biaya administrasi, pemecahan masalah, dan pelengkap serta bukan pengganti. Beberapa contoh aplikasi OA yaitu pengolahan kata, E-mail, voice mail, kalender elektronik, konferensi audio/video, konferensi komputer, PAX, imaging, dan dekstop publising.
Pengolahan kata yaitu Penggunaan alat elektronik yang secara otomatis melaksanakan banyak tugas yang berkaitan dengan penyiapan dokumen yang tercetak.
Surat elektronik /E-mail ialah Penggunaan jaringan komputer yang memungkinkan para pemakai mengirim, menyimpan dan menerima pesan-pesan dengan menggunakan terminak komputer dan alat penyimpanan.
Voice mail ialah Pengiriman pesan dengan mengucapkan ke dalam telepon, dan pesan yang telah terkirim, oleh penerima dapat diambil melalui telepon juga.
Kalender elektronik Penggunaan jaringan komputer untuk membuat, menyimpan dan mengambil agenda pertemuan (jadwal kerja).
Konferensi audio Penggunaan peralatan komunikasi suara untuk membuat suatu hubungan audio diantara orang-orang yang tersebar secara geografis dengan tujuan melaksanakan konferensi.

Daya tarik konferensi audio :
1. Biaya relatif murah bagi perusahaan
2. Orang-orang merasa nyaman berbicara
3. Butuh beberapa menit saja untuk menyiapkan peralatan

Ke-efisiensi-an sebuah konferensi audio :
1. Di tunjuk moderator (orang yang mengkoordininasi jalannya konferensi)
2. Jumlah peserta dibatasi (< 6 orang)
3. Ada hasil dari pembicaraan yang dibagikan keseluruh peserta atau rekaman konferensi harus disimpan
4. Setiap peserta yang akan bicara harus meng-identifikasi dirinya

Penggunaan peralatan komunikasi suara dan gambar untuk membuat suatu hubungan audio-video diantara orang-orang yang tersebar secara geografis dengan tujuan melaksanakan konferensi.

Unsraw

Unsraw (アンスロウ ansurō^?, or typeset as UnsraW), is a Japanese metal band currently signed to the label Speed Disk. They were formed in July 2006.

Biography

After the dissolution of the independent band Core the Child, vocalist Yuuki and drummer Shou started a new project called UnsraW.^[1] The band performed several "secret lives" with no releases, and were scouted by Speed Disk, a record label specializing in bands of the visual kei style.

After signing to Speed Disk, UnsraW released the singles "-9-" and "Gate of Death". Both singles were limited to a 1000-copy pressing, and sold out quickly. In late 2006, the band released its first EP, Spiral Circle in two types, which also sold out soon after release.

Beginning in 2007, UnsraW began releasing material in Europe through import label CLJ Records, with their first full-length album Spiral Circle -Complete-, and concert DVD Screaming Birthday. The band went on to release another single leading to a pair of EPs in the summer of 2007 titled Abel and Kein (a reference toCain and Abel). Abel was released in August, while Kein was released on September 26.^[2] The two EPs were released as a single album in Europe with a bonus track, and later in Japan with a differing bonus track.

After a few shows initiating 2008, Yuuki became suddenly ill and unable to perform with the band. The rest of the members performed instrumental shows, not wanting to cancel any performances. In April, it was revealed Yuuki would be returning to music, but that he was still fighting a lung disease,^[3] but in May UnsraW announced they will be pausing activities until Yuuki has fully recovered.^[4]

In June 2009, UnsraW announced that Yuuki had made a full recovery, and they would be having two return lives scheduled in August to celebrate.^[5] Unfortunately, due to a hand injury acquired in a motorcycle accident on 24 December 2008, bassist Jun decided to withdraw from the band.

After restarting their activities in August, UnsraW announced the release of their first single after one year hiatus. The single will be out on 23 September and will include three songs: Nightmare, Reborn, and Switch.

On 13 January 2010 it was announced Rai would be leaving UnsraW on February 27 after their European tour. And on February 27, it was announced they have two new members: Madoka (円) and Jin (迅). It was also announced they'd be having a oneman live on 19 April 2010 called "TRACE OF GUILT" in Takadanobaba AREA.

Miscellaneous facts

• Yuuki is the member that writes all of the lyrics and composes almost all of the music, only collaborating with Shou on some songs.
• Their new bassist Jin was previously their support bassist on their European Tour.

Members

• Yuuki (勇企) – vocals
• Madoka (円) - guitar
• Tetsu (哲) – guitar
• Jin (迅) - bass guitar
• Shou (匠) – drums

Former Member(s)

• Jun (准) – bass guitar
• Rai (礼) – guitar

Discography

[edit]Albums

• Spiral Circle -Complete- (January 24, 2007)
• Abel/Kein (September 26, 2007)

[edit]Extended plays

• Spiral Circle (December 20, 2006)
• Calling (March 28, 2007)
• Abel (August 29, 2007)
• Kein (September 26, 2007)
• "Guilty" (April 21, 2010)

[edit]Singles

• "-9-" (August 30, 2006)
• "Gate of Death" (October 25, 2006)
• "Lustful Days" (June 27, 2007)
• "Reborn" (September 23, 2009)
• "Kleza in Utero" (November 19, 2010)
• "Kleza in Marsh" (December 21, 2010)
• "Kleza in Red clay" (January 16, 2011)

[edit]DVDs

• Screaming Birthday (June 27, 2007)

Drum

Drum adalah kelompok alat musik perkusi yang terdiri dari kulit yang direntangkan dan dipukul dengan tangan atau sebuah batang. Selain kulit, drum juga digunakan dari bahan lain, misalnya plastik. Drum terdapat di seluruh dunia dan memiliki banyak jenis, misalnya kendang, timpani, Bodhrán, Ashiko, snare drum, bass drum, tom-tom, beduk, dan lain-lain.

Dalam musik pop, rock, dan jazz, drums biasanya mengacu kepada drum kit atau drum set, yaitu sekelompok drum yang biasanya terdiri dari snare drum, tom-tom, bass drum, cymbal, hi-hat, dan kadang ditambah berbagai alat musik drum listrik. Orang yang memainkan drum set disebut "drummer".

Jenis drum

• Aburukuwa
• Ashiko
• Bodhrán
• Bougarabou
• Cajón
• Chenda
• Conga
• Davul
• Dhol
• Djembe
• Dunun
• Mridangam
• Taiko
• Tabla
• Tapan
• Timbales
• Timpani

Dream Theater

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by Mike Portnoy,John Myung, and John Petrucci while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, before they dropped out to support the band. Though a number of lineup changes followed, the three original members remained together along with James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess until September 8, 2010 when Mike Portnoy decided to leave the band, due to conflicting interests.

Dream Theater has become a successful progressive metal band. Although the band has had one successful hit ("Pull Me Under" in 1992, which received extensive MTV rotation), they have not broken through to more mainstream audiences.

The band is well known for the technical proficiency of its instrumentalists, who have won many awards from music instruction magazines. Dream Theater's members have collaborated with many other notable musicians. Guitarist John Petrucci has been named as the third player on the G3 tour six times, more than any other invited guitarist, following in the footsteps of Eric Johnson and Robert Fripp. Former drummer Mike Portnoy has won 23 awards fromModern Drummer Magazine and is also the second youngest person (at the age of 37) to be inducted into the Rock Drummer Hall of Fame.

The band's highest selling album is the gold selling Images and Words (1992), which reached #61 on the Billboard 200 charts.^[2] Both the 1994 release Awake and their 2002 release Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also entered the charts at #32 and #46 respectively and received mostly positive reviews. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also led to Dream Theater becoming the initial band reviewed in the Music Section of Entertainment Weekly during its opening week of release, despite the magazine generally preferring more mainstream music. In 2007, Systematic Chaos entered US Billboard 200 at #19.^[2] Dream Theater has sold over 2.1 million albums in the U.S.,^[3] and over 10 million records worldwide,..

History

Early years (1985-1989)

Formation

Dream Theater was formed in Massachusetts in 1985 when guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and drummer Mike Portnoy decided to form a band in their spare time while studying at the Berklee College of Music. The trio started by covering Rush and Iron Maiden songs in the rehearsal rooms at Berklee.

Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy joined together on the name Majesty for their newly formed group. According to the The Score So Far... documentary, they were waiting in line for tickets to a Rush concert at the Berklee Performance Center while listening to the band on a boom box. Portnoy commented that the ending of the song "Bastille Day" (from the albumCaress of Steel) sounded "majestic". It was then decided that Majesty would be the band's name.^[5]

The trio then set out to fill the remaining positions in the group. Petrucci asked his high school band-mate Kevin Moore to play the keyboard. After he accepted the position, another friend from home, Chris Collins, was recruited as lead vocalist after band members heard him sing a cover of "Queen of the Reich" by Queensrÿche.^[6] During this time, Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung's hectic schedules forced them to abandon their studies to concentrate on their music, as they did not feel they could learn more in college. Moore also left his college, SUNY Fredonia, to concentrate on the band.

	"Another Won" "Another Won" from The Majesty Demos.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The beginning months of 1986 were filled with various concert dates in and around the New York City area. During this time, the band recorded a collection of demos, titled The Majesty Demos. The initial run of 1,000 sold out within six months, and dubbed copies of the cassette became popular within the progressive metal scene. TheMajesty Demos are still available in their original tape format today, despite being released officially on CD, through Mike Portnoy's YtseJam Records.

In November 1986, after a few months of writing and performing together, Chris Collins was fired. After a year of trying to find a replacement, Charlie Dominici, who was far older and more experienced than anyone else in the band, successfully auditioned for the group. With the stability that Dominici's appointment brought to Majesty, they began to increase the number of shows played in the New York City area, gaining a considerable amount of exposure.

Shortly after hiring Dominici, a Las Vegas group also named Majesty^[7] threatened legal action for intellectual property infringement related to the use of their name, so the band was forced to adopt a new moniker. Various possibilities were proposed and tested, among them Glasser, Magus, and M1, which were all rejected, though the band did go as Glasser for about a week, though fans reacted poorly to this decision. It wasn't^[8] until Portnoy's father suggested the name Dream Theater, the name of a movie house in Monterey, California.

[edit]When Dream and Day Unite

With their new name and band stability, Dream Theater concentrated on writing more material while playing more concerts in New York and in neighboring states. This eventually attracted the attention of Mechanic Records, a division of MCA. Dream Theater signed their first record contract with Mechanic on June 23, 1988^[8] and set out to record their debut album. The band recorded the album at Kajem Victory Studios in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Recording the basic tracks took about 10 days, and the entire album was completed in about 3 weeks.^[9]

When Dream and Day Unite was released in 1989 to far less fanfare than the band had anticipated. Mechanic ended up breaking the majority of the financial promises they had made to Dream Theater prior to signing their contract, so the band was restricted to playing around New York City. The promotional tour for the album consisted of just five concerts, all of which were relatively local. Their first show was at Sundance in Bay Shore, New York opening for the classic rock power trioZebra.^[10]

After the fourth show, Dominici was fired because of personal and creative differences. Shortly after, however, the bandMarillion asked Dream Theater to open for them at a gig at the Ritz in New York, so Dominici was given the opportunity to perform one last time.^[10] It would be another two years before Dream Theater had a replacement vocalist.

The Atlantic years (1990-2006)

[edit]Images and Words

"Pull Me Under" "Pull Me Under" from Images and Words. Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Following Dominici's firing, Dream Theater fought successfully to be released from their contract with Mechanic, and set about auditioning singers and writing material for their next album. In their search for a new singer, they auditioned over 200 people, among them former Fates Warning front man John Arch; all were turned down. In mid-1990, at a gig in New York, Dream Theater introduced Steve Stone as their new singer. They had successfully recorded demos with him, which can be seen on the Images and Words Demos, though he only performed one live show with them that ended up disastrous, and ended up with him being fired immediately. The band says he had been dancing around the stage in an rather odd manner, seemingly doing a bad impression of Bruce Dickinson. Also, he had infamously shouted 'Scream for me Long Beach!' several times throughout the show, but they were in Bayshore instead, embarrassing the band further.^[11] It was five months before Dream Theater played another show, this time all-instrumental (under the name YtseJam). Until 1991, the band remained focused in an attempt to hire another singer and writing additional music.^[10] It was during this period that they wrote the majority of what would become 1992'sImages and Words.

In January 1991, Kevin James LaBrie, of glam metal band Winter Rose, was flown from Canada to New York for an audition. LaBrie jammed on three songs with the band, and was immediately hired to fill the vocalist position. Once recruited, LaBrie decided to drop his first name to avoid confusion with the other Kevin in the band. For the next few months, the band returned to playing live shows (still mostly around NYC), while working on vocal parts for the music written before acquiring LaBrie. Derek Shulman and ATCO Records (now EastWest), a division of Elektra Records, signed Dream Theater to a seven album contract based on a three song demo (later made available as "The ATCO Demos" through the Dream Theater fan club).

The first album to be recorded under their new record contract was 1992's Images and Words. For promotion, the label released a CD Single and video clip for the song "Another Day", but neither made significant commercial impact. The song "Pull Me Under", however, managed to garner a high level of radio airplay without any organized promotion from the band or their label. In response, ATCO produced a video clip for "Pull Me Under", which saw heavy rotation on MTV. A third video clip was produced for "Take the Time", but it was not nearly as successful as "Pull Me Under".

The success of "Pull Me Under", combined with relentless touring throughout the U.S. and Japan, caused Images and Words to achieve gold record certification in the States and platinum status in Japan. A tour of Europe followed in 1993, which included a show at London's famed Marquee Club. The show was recorded and released as Live at the Marquee, Dream Theater's first official live album. Additionally, a video compilation of their Japanese concerts (mixed in with documentary-style footage of the off-stage portion of the tour) was released as Images and Words: Live in Tokyo.

Awake

"A Mind Beside Itself: II - Voices" "Voices" from Awake. Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Eager to work on fresh material, Dream Theater retreated to the studio in May 1994. Awake, Dream Theater's third studio album, was released on October 4, 1994 in a hail of controversy among fans. Shortly before the album was mixed, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he was simply no longer interested in touring, nor did he favor the style of music Dream Theater performed and would be quitting Dream Theater to concentrate on his own musical interests.^[12] As a result, the band had to scramble to find a replacement keyboardist before a tour could be considered.

Jens Johansson, who would go on to become a member of Stratovarius, was among the biggest names to audition, however the band members were eager to fill the position with keyboardist Jordan Rudess. Portnoy and Petrucci had come across Rudess in Keyboard Magazine, where he was recognized as "best new talent" in the readers' poll. The two invited him to play a trial gig with the band at the Concrete Foundations Forum in Burbank, California.^[10] For the members of Dream Theater, the show went incredibly well, and Rudess was asked to fill the keyboardist position permanently, however Rudess opted to tour with The Dixie Dregs instead, since it granted him more personal latitude. Dream Theater hired fellow Berklee alumnus Derek Sherinian, whose previous work included stints withAlice Cooper and Kiss, to fill in for the Awake promotional tour. By the conclusion of the tour, the band decided to take Sherinian on as Moore's full-time replacement.^[5]

[edit]A Change of Seasons and Falling Into Infinity

"A Change of Seasons" "A Change of Seasons" from A Change of Seasons. Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Once again finding themselves with a new member, Dream Theater did not immediately start working on new material. Fans around the world, united on the YtseJam Mailing List (the most popular form of communication between Dream Theater fans at that point), had started placing pressure on the band to officially release the song "A Change of Seasons". It had been written in 1989 and was intended to be a part of Images and Words, but at almost 17 minutes, it was deemed too long for studio placement. However, the band did perform it live on occasion while continuing to revise it in the years leading up to 1995.

The petition was successful, and the group entered BearTracks Studios in New York in May 1995 to rewrite and record the 23 minute song with Sherinian contributing significantly to the final product. To disseminate "A Change of Seasons", the band released it as an EP along with a collection of cover songs recorded live at the Uncovered fan club gig.

After a short run of small concerts to promote A Change of Seasons, Dream Theater took a break for a few months. To keep busy, however, the band released a special Christmas CD through their official fan club, consisting of rare live tracks recorded during the band's early years. They continued releasing a new CD each Christmas until 2005.^[13] Also during the break the individual members set out to write compositions for their upcoming collaborative writing sessions.

Meanwhile, there were several changes at EastWest, and Dream Theater's main contact within the label was fired. As a result, the new team at the company were unaccustomed to the relationship Dream Theater had with former EastWest personnel, and they pressured Dream Theater to write an album that was more accessible. In mid-1997, they entered the studio to write their next album. In addition to pressuring the band to adopt a more mainstream sound, EastWest recruited writer/producer Desmond Child to work with Petrucci on polishing the lyrics to his song "You Or Me". The whole band substantially reworked the music to the song, and it appeared on the album as "You Not Me" with a chorus that was barely reminiscent of the original. Child also had a noticeable impact on the album, with a shift towards compositions that were less complex and more radio-friendly.

The band wrote almost two CDs worth of material, 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 it felt that a 140-minute record would not be digestible by the general public. James LaBrie also felt that the CD should be a single disc.^[14] The unused songs were later released in the Ytsejam Records release The Falling Into Infinity Demos.^[15]

The material that made it onto the album proper was released as Falling Into Infinity, which received a mixed reception from fans who were more familiar with the band's earlier sound. While the album was moderately progressive-sounding, tracks such as "Hollow Years" and "You Not Me" prompted some to believe it was the dawn of a new, mainstream-sounding Dream Theater. Overall, the album was both a critical and commercial disappointment. Although Portnoy didn't speak out publicly at the time, many years later, in the 2004 DVD commentary for 5 Years in a Livetime, he revealed that he had been so discouraged during this period he'd considered disbanding Dream Theater altogether.

During the European leg of the Touring Into Infinity world tour, two shows were recorded for a live album entitled Once in a LIVEtime, in France and TheNetherlands. The album was released at around the same time as the video 5 Years in a Livetime, which chronicled the time from when Kevin Moore left the band up to the Falling Into Infinity promotional tour.

[edit]Scenes from a Memory

In 1997, Magna Carta Records' Mike Varney invited Portnoy to assemble a progressive 'supergroup' to work on an album, which would become the first in a long string of side-projects for the members of Dream Theater.^[16] The lineup consisted of Portnoy on drums, Petrucci on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who had finished with the Dixie Dregs. The band assumed the name Liquid Tension Experiment, and would act as a medium through which Portnoy and Petrucci could once again court Rudess to join Dream Theater. In 1999, he accepted an offer to become the third full-time Dream Theater keyboardist, replacing Sherinian.^[5]

With yet another new member, Dream Theater entered BearTracks Studio once again to write and record their next album. As a result of an ultimatum from Portnoy, the label gave the band complete creative control. The follow-up to "Metropolis Part 1", which was written during the Falling Into Infinity sessions (but not used on that album), was taken off the shelf for reworking. They decided to expand the 20-minute song into a complete concept album, with a story revolving around themes such as reincarnation, murder and betrayal. To avoid stirring up the fan base, a tight veil of secrecy enveloped the writing and recording process. The only things fans were privy to prior to its release were a track list that had been leaked against the band's wishes, and a release date. In 1999, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was released to high critical acclaim. It was hailed as Dream Theater's masterpiece by many fans and critics alike, despite only reaching #73 on the US album chart.^[2]

The album was mixed by David Bottrill, but only a few of his mixes made it on the final album. The bulk was remixed by Kevin Shirley. The rest of the mixes can be heard in the band's official bootleg "The Making of Scenes from a Memory".

A massive world tour followed recording the album, taking over a year to complete, by far their largest to that point. The concerts reflected the theatrical aspect of the album. They played the entire Scenes From a Memory album from start to finish, with a video screen on the back wall of the stage showing a narrative companion to the story of the album. In addition to playing the album in its entirety, the band also played a second set of Dream Theater songs, as well as a few covers and improvisations of old Dream Theater material. For one extra special show, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, actors were hired to play characters in the story, and a gospel choir was enlisted to perform in some sections of the performance.

This show, the last North American date of the tour, was recorded for the band's first DVD release. After many technical delays, the DVD, titled Metropolis 2000, was released in early 2001. Shortly after, the band announced that an audio version of the concert, with the entire four-hour long set-list (some of which had to be cut from the DVD to save space), would be released.

The cover for the CD version of the concert, titled Live Scenes from New York, depicted one of Dream Theater's early logos (the Images and Words-era burning heart, modeled on the Sacred Heart of Christ) modified to show an apple (as in "Big Apple") instead of the heart, and the New York skyline, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in the flame above it. In an unfortunate coincidence, the album was released on the same date as the September 11 attacks. The album was quickly recalled by the band and was re-released with revised artwork later,^[17] though some copies were sold, and have since become rare collectors items for fans.

[edit]Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

"Overture" "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Putting the whole ordeal behind them, Dream Theater once again entered BearTracks Studios to record their 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 7–13 minutes in length, and the second disc was devoted entirely to the 42-minute title track, which is to date the longest song Dream Theater has written. The genesis of that song came when Rudess wrote what would become the "Overture" section of "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence", and the band took some different melodies and ideas contained within it and expanded them into chapters of a complete story.^[5]

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended up being received very well by critics and the press. It was the most publicized of Dream Theater's albums since Awake, debuting on the Billboard charts at #46^[2] and the Billboard Internet charts at #1.^[18] Throughout the next year and a half they toured the world once more, with an expanded live show including a select few special "album cover" gigs (see Cover songs section, below), in which they played Metallica's Master of Puppets and Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast in their entirety.

[edit]Train of Thought

During 2003, Dream Theater entered the studio to write and record another album. Since Scenes from a Memory was written and recorded simultaneously in the studio, in the spirit of change, the band took a different approach by setting aside three weeks for writing prior to recording. In the middle of the recording sessions for the album, a special tour with two other progressive metal bands, Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, was undertaken in North America. The "Escape from the Studio American tour", as it was referred to in Dream Theater's promotional material, featured Queensrÿche and Dream Theater as co-headlining acts with Fates Warning performing supporting act duties. As a finale for each concert there was an extended encore in which both Dream Theater and Queensrÿche performed together on stage simultaneously, often playing cover songs.

At the completion of the tour, Dream Theater returned to the studio to finish the recording of their seventh album, Train of Thought. They concentrated more on writing a great song-oriented album, a mindset inspired by covering Master of Puppets and Number of the Beast on their previous concert tour. As a result, the more straight-forward metal sound of those two albums seemed to creep into Train of Thought.^[19] The album was a critical success, but it alienated a fair proportion of Dream Theater's fans who preferred traditional progressive rock, such as Yes or King Crimson. Regardless, it seemed to expand Dream Theater's fan base into new territory, capturing many more metal fans.^[5]

Another world tour followed, during which Dream Theater performed support act duties for one of their major influences, Yes. A modest North American tour was completed by the two bands, after which Dream Theater continued to tour the world with their so-called "An Evening With Dream Theater" shows.

Their next move was to release another live CD/DVD combination, this time recorded at the famous Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on their Train of Thought World Tour. Live at Budokan was released on October 5, 2004, and further propelled Dream Theater's reputation as one of the premier live acts in progressive metal.

[edit]Octavarium

Dream Theater after concert in Paris (2005). Left to right:Mike Portnoy,John Petrucci,James LaBrie,John Myung,Jordan Rudess

Upon the completion of their Train of Thought promotional tour, Dream Theater entered the Hit Factory studios in NYC to record their eighth album. As it turned out, they would be the last group ever to record in that famous studio, and after they wrapped up their final session, the lights were turned off at the studio forever.^[20]

Octavarium was released on June 7, 2005, and took the band's sound in yet another new direction. Among its eight songs is a continuation of Portnoy's "Twelve-step" saga ("The Root of All Evil", steps 6-7 in the 12-step plan), as well as the title track, a musically versatile 24 minute epic rivaling "A Change of Seasons". Octavarium received mixed reviews from fans and has been the subject of spirited debate. Octavarium was the last album under their seven-album deal with Elektra Records, which had inherited the contract upon its absorption of EastWest Records.

Dream Theater toured extensively throughout 2005 and 2006 to celebrate their 20th Anniversary as a band, including a headlining spot on Gigantour. During a show on August 2, 2005 in Dallas, the band paid tribute toPantera's late guitarist Dimebag Darrell by performing the song "Cemetery Gates" as an encore. In addition was the unexpected appearance of fellow musicians Russell Allen (Symphony X), Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), who joined the band on stage to perform parts of the song.

Dream Theater later departed from Gigantour and continued on with their own series of concerts. Several concerts were recorded and released for the Fanclubs. The 20th anniversary tour concluded with a show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 1, 2006. Though the show had minimal promotion, it was sold out days after tickets were made available. This show, which was recorded for a CD/DVD called Score released on August 29, 2006 through Rhino Records, was the band's first concert accompanied by an orchestra (the "Octavarium Orchestra").

[edit]The Roadrunner years (since 2007)

[edit]Systematic Chaos and Greatest Hit

Dream Theater's next album Systematic Chaos was released on June 5, 2007. The record marked their first with new label Roadrunner Records, a subsidiary ofAtlantic Records. Roadrunner implemented increased promotion for the album, and as a result, Systematic Chaos reached number 19 on the Billboard 200. It also saw the release of a video for "Constant Motion" on July 14, the band's first music video since Hollow Years in 1997. An authorized book entitled Lifting Shadows, detailing their first twenty years, was also released in 2007, with an updated and expanded edition released in 2009^[21] Systematic Chaos contains eight tracks, but technically only seven songs. The album contains an epic titled "In the Presence of Enemies", bookending the album as tracks 1 and 8, Portnoy's continuing AA Saga with the song "Repentance", and a song of political nature, "Prophets of War".

The 2007/2008 Chaos In Motion World Tour started off in Italy. Dream Theater played in the Gods of Metal concert on June 3, 2007.^[22] Dream Theater also appeared at the Fields Of Rock Festival in the Netherlands on June 17, 2007.^[23] They also played at various other European festivals including the UK's Download Festival and the French festival Hellfest Summer Open Air with other bands such as Megadeth, Korn, Mastodon and Slayer.

Dream Theater returned to perform the North American leg of the tour on July 24 in San Diego, California and wrapped up on August 26 in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. They played with opening acts Redemption and Into Eternity. The "Chaos In Motion" tour continued for the rest of the year and into 2008, playing shows in Asia, South America and, for the first time, Australia.^[24]

On April 1, 2008, a two-disc compilation album entitled Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) was released by the band. The title jokingly references the song "Pull Me Under", the band's only significant radio hit. It also includes three song re-mixes from their second album, Images and Words, five edited versions of previously released songs, and a track from a single B-side. Unlike most greatest hits compilations, Dream Theater was actively involved with the album, coming up with the tracklisting that they felt best represented their musical careers.

Mike Portnoy, after the release of Greatest Hit, organized a new tour called Progressive Nation 2008. Unlike previous Dream Theater tours, performances were held in cities that they had not visited before in the past (such as Vancouver, Canada) or cities they hadn't played in for several years. This tour also marked the first time, since the release of Images and Words, where the group performed in small venues and performance halls.

After this tour, the band released a DVD set called Chaos in Motion 2007–2008, a compilation of songs from the tour supporting their 9th album, Systematic Chaos. There were two sets of DVDs released. One was a regular two disk set while the Special Edition set contained three CDs of music that went along with the DVDs. It was released on September 30, 2008.

[edit]Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Mike Portnoy announced on June 2, 2008 that the band would be entering the studio to record a new album. On October 7, 2008, Dream Theater began work on their 10th album. The album, which is titled Black Clouds & Silver Linings, was released on June 23, 2009.^[25] In addition to the standard CD, the album is available on vinyl LP, as well as a 3-disc Special Edition CD that includes the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs from artists such as Queen and Rainbow.

On May 1, Mike Portnoy spoke to Metal Hammer about the new album for their podcast saying that while 'The Shattered Fortress' was the last in a series of songsabout his 12 Steps recovery from alcoholism, 'The Best of Times' "is a real heavy personal subject about my dad who passed away during the making of the album," adding, "He was battling cancer throughout its making."^[26] The band has also announced a second Progressive Nation tour, including the tour's first performances in Europe. Opeth and Unexpect supported Dream Theater in Europe, while Zappa Plays Zappa and Scale the Summit played the North American leg, with Bigelf playing on both the NA and Europe tours.

On June 22, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced, on his forum, that there was a lineup change for the Progressive Nation 2009 tour in North America. Pain of Salvation and Beardfish were unable to tour with Dream Theater and Zappa Plays Zappa because of financial troubles within their respective record labels. He also announced two bands that will be filling the vacated slots for the Progressive Nation 2009 tour in North America, Bigelf and Scale The Summit. On this tour Dream Theater has often done an extended jam on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence's "Solitary Shell," making it around thirteen minutes in length. Similarly, they also did an extended jam on "Surrounded" during the Chaos In Motion tour. In addition, at their show in Toronto, the first encore was a cover of "The Camera Eye", which makes this the third cover of a Rush song performed by the band in concert.^[27]

On July 1, 2009, the album debuted at #6 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, with first week sales totalling 40,285.^[28] On November 12, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced that Dream Theater would enter the studio right after New Year's to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the upcoming PS3 game God of War III soundtrack. Titled "Raw Dog", 'God (of) War reversed, the instrumental was sent to Roadrunner Records January 8, 2010. This marked the first time that the band has written and recorded an exclusive track for an outside project.^[29]

In December 2009, during their Black Clouds & Silver Linings tour whilst visiting Australia, Dream Theater appeared with one support act, Pain of Salvation.^[30] In March 2010, they toured South America with Bigelf.

On March 4, 2010, it was announced that Dream Theater would be supporting Iron Maiden on the US and Canadian legs of their summer tour.^[31]

[edit]Next studio album and departure of Mike Portnoy

In a June 2010 interview, frontman James LaBrie revealed that the band will be taking a break until January and after that they will enter the studio to begin work on their next album.^[32] On Wednesday, September 8, 2010, Mike Portnoy announced he would be leaving Dream Theater.

In his official statement he said: "Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985...24/7, 365...never taking time off from DT's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was "off" between cycles)...working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band....But I've come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.

We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a "hiatus" to recharge our batteries and "save me from ourselves"...

Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather...I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be..."

The rest of the band did not agree and decided to continue on without him. Because of this decision, Portnoy decided he will be leaving Dream Theater. How the production of the 11th album or the future world tour will continue on without him is still unclear.^[33] According to John Petrucci's Twitter account, auditions to find a new drummer will begin in October.^[34] An interview with James LaBrie conducted on October 8, 2010 confirmed that there were seven world-class drummers lined up for auditions, which would be taking place through the rest of October. LaBrie is "confident that [their] new drummer lies within these seven".

[edit]Logo and imagery

Dream Theater wordmark and "Majesty" symbol

Despite the band's being forced to change their name, Dream Theater adopted a custom logo (known as the Majesty symbol) andwordmark which has appeared on the vast majority of their promotional material and on the front cover of every Dream Theater studio album. The Majesty symbol is derived from Mary, Queen of Scots' mark,^[35][36] which was re-worked by Charlie Dominicifor use on the album artwork for When Dream and Day Unite.^[37]

In September 2010, a fan of Dream Theater discovered that all of the letters of "DOMINICI" fit together perfectly into the Majesty symbol.^[38] When Charlie discovered this, he laughed and mentioned that "it only took them 25 years to figure out the 'Dominici Code!'"^[39] This has earlier also been discovered as shown on the comment section of DTFAQ ^[37] and in the DTNorway Podcast Episode 2 from 2008, with Charlie Dominici.^[40]

[edit]Influences

The members of Dream Theater have many times stated that their music was inspired by various musicians such as Asia, Boston, Dio, Emerson, Lake & Palmer,Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kansas, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Marillion, Megadeth, Steve Morse, Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Styx, The Beatles, Coldplay, Triumph, Yes, GTR, Tempest, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Metallica, U2, Queen, Queensrÿche, Rush, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, Fates Warning, and U.K..^[41]

[edit]Live performances

Throughout their career, Dream Theater's live shows have gradually become bigger, longer, and more diverse. The most obvious example of this is their rotational set list policy. That is, every single night of every tour has its set list devised by Portnoy using a meticulous process that ensures its uniqueness. Factors such as set lists from previous cities are taken into account to ensure that people who see Dream Theater multiple times within the same area will not see the same songs performed twice, and even the set list from the last time the band was in a particular city is taken into account for the benefit of fans who see the band on successive tours.^[42]

Rudess and Petrucci dueling in Buenos Aires,Argentina (2008).

For this to be possible, the band prepares to play the majority of its catalogue at any performance, depending on what Portnoy decides to program for that night. This process also requires the employment of a complex lighting system to load pre-configured lighting cues based on the individual songs.

Some of Dream Theater's more notable touring partners include Porcupine Tree, Symphony X, Between The Buried And Me, Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Iron Maiden, The Dixie Dregs, Joe Satriani, King's X, Marillion,Megadeth, In Flames, Pain of Salvation, Opeth, Queensrÿche, Riverside, Spock's Beard, Fear Factory, Enchant, 3, and Yes. In 2005, Dream Theater toured North America with the Gigantour festival, co-headlining with Megadeth, and have played with Megadeth and Iron Maiden physically on stage.

The band's full world tours, since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, have predominantly been so-called "Evening with..." tours, in which the band performs for at least three hours with an intermission and no opening act. The show that was recorded for Live Scenes From New York was nearly four hours in length, and resulted in Portnoy almost being hospitalized after acquiring severe food poisoning from the food he ate before the show.^[43][44]

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", live at Nagoya, Japan. Problems listening to this file? See media help.

There is also a significant amount of humor, casualness, and improvisation attached to a Dream Theater concert. In the midst of "A Change of Seasons" it is quite common for themes such as those for Major League Baseball and The Simpsons to be quoted, and Rudess routinely modifies his solo section in the song and others, often playing the ragtime section of "When the Water Breaks" from Liquid Tension Experiment 2. Several songs included on Once in a LIVETime include snippets of others' pieces, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee." Other quotations include "Mary Had a Little Lamb" during "Endless Sacrifice" on the Gigantour, a calliope-inspired break between verses of "Under a Glass Moon", a quote of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"'s main melody played by Petrucci while performing the intro solo of "Through Her Eyes" in Buenos Aires, the Turkish March at a concert in Istanbul, and the opening riff of Rush's "A Passage to Bangkok" at a show in Bangkok, Thailand. On the "20th Anniversary World Tour" Rudess has even thrown in a short "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" theme in a break during "Endless Sacrifice", and during a concert in Israel he started a spontaneous "Hava-Nagilla" later accompanied by the rest of the band.

Occasionally, a member of the audience is picked at random to perform on stage, an example of which can be seen during Portnoy's drum solo on the Live at Budokan DVD. There have also been many impromptu renditions of "Happy Birthday" when a member of the band or crew has a birthday corresponding to a tour date, which normally results in a birthday cake being thrown at the subject.

Perhaps the best example of Dream Theater's unpredictable concert structure is that during Derek Sherinian's time with the band. At selected shows the band members all swapped instruments and performed an encore as the fictitious band dubbed Nightmare Cinema. They usually performed a cover of Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers", and, on one occasion, Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". At some shows, Sherinian, Petrucci and Portnoy would take the stage together under the name "Nicky Lemons and the Migraine Brothers". Sherinian, wearing a feather boa and novelty sunglasses, would perform a pop-punk song entitled "I Don't Like You" with Petrucci and Portnoy backing. In Chaos in Motion tour, in several concerts before "Trial of Tears", Portnoy and Petrucci would change positions and play Van Halen's "Eruption".

Dream Theater's largest audience as a headlining act was 20,000 in Santiago, Chile on December 6, 2005.^[45] This was during their first tour of South Americancountries other than Brazil (which they had visited in 1997 and 1998). The show was released on DVD through Portnoy's YtseJam Records.

In the Score and Chaos in Motion DVDs, an animation has accompanied certain parts of the songs, showing the band playing along to the music as cartoon characters. On the Score DVD, during the song Octavarium, the band is seen performing in an octagonal shaped maze. As the animation continues Jordan Rudess spontaneously turns into Santa Claus and John Petrucci catches fire.^[46] In "The Dark Eternal Night" from the Chaos in Motion DVD, the band battles against a monster by shooting fireballs from guitars, throwing drum sticks, and screaming.^[47]

In 2007, after their show in Salt Lake City on July 30, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. signed a proclamation officially marking July 30, 2007 as "DREAM THEATER DAY" in the state of Utah.

In 2008 Dream Theater started the "Progressive Nation '08" tour, along with Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, and 3. The tour is the brainchild of Mike Portnoy, who stated, "I've been wanting to assemble a package tour like this for many years now. With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America, I've been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal. I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk."^[48]

On February 13, 2009, Dream Theater announced the official line up for their Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour was originally set to feature bands including Swedish bands Beardfish and Pain of Salvation, as well as Zappa plays Zappa. On June 22, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced that Pain of Salvation and Beardfish would not be touring the North American leg of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour because of record label complications. In the same announcement, Portnoy stated that the bands Scale the Summit and Bigelf would replace Pain of Salvation and Beardfish on the tour.^[49] This lineup change has put Bigelf on both the North American and European legs of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour's North American leg ran throughout July and August 2009. On March 26, 2009 it was announced that Dream Theater would take the Progressive Nation tour to Europe for the first time alongside Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect. The tour ran throughout September and October 2009.^[50]

In June/July 2010 Dream Theater were the opening band for Iron Maiden during the first leg of their Final Frontier Tour which included Madison Square Garden as one of the many venues.

Bootleg culture

Mike Portnoy started an official bootlegs series in response to Dream Theater fans' affinity for live versions of their concerts. Dream Theater is one of the most actively bootlegged bands in the progressive metal genre^{[dubious – discuss]}. Since their very first shows in New York as Majesty, fans have recorded almost every single show that Dream Theater have played (occasionally there are three or four versions of a single concert), and some very elaborate and professional recordings have been released.

However, not every member in the band condones the release of Dream Theater bootlegs. Portnoy was the most pro-bootlegging member, since he was an avid collector of many bootlegs in his younger days and keeps his own personal archive of Dream Theater material in his basement. Petrucci and LaBrie have voiced opposition to people recording their concerts. Petrucci takes issue with bootleggers because he prefers audience members to concentrate on the musicians on stage, and not the level adjustments on their recording device. LaBrie, on the other hand, argues that bootlegging takes ownership and control over Dream Theater's performances away from the band themselves and into the hands of the public. Myung has expressed mild opposition to bootlegging, but in some interviews has mentioned that he does not particularly take great issue with it.

Dream Theater have released a series of official bootlegs, demos and other rarities through YtseJam Records, headed by Portnoy.^[51] They include demos the band put out before official albums, as well as many live shows, including shows where the band has covered a particular album. Albums covered include The Dark Side of the Moon, Made in Japan, Master of Puppets, and Number of the Beast.

Cover songs

Dream Theater has covered other artists' work throughout their career. During the promotional tour for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, during shows in Barcelona,Chicago and New York City, they covered Metallica's Master of Puppets album in its entirety after a full set of Dream Theater material.^{[citation needed]}

On the next leg of the tour they covered Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast and received a similar reaction to Master of Puppets, although it was already known that a cover was to be performed that night because the tour itinerary included two successive gigs in a single city. On October 11, 2005, Dream Theater covered Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Dream Theater's official webpage stated that the second sets of the second nights in Amsterdam, London, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Tokyo (October 11, October 25, December 4, December 11 and January 13 respectively), and also the second set of the January 15 show in Osaka, would be a classic album covered in its entirety. The Dark Side of the Moon was played again on October 25 in London. However, in Buenos Aires (December 4) and São Paulo (December 11) the 'classic album' played was Dream Theater's own Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, to make up for not having visited Argentina and Brazil in their Metropolis 2000 tour. On January 13, 2006 (Tokyo) and on the 15th (Osaka), Dream Theater covered Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan. Portnoy says that he has one more cover show planned, but refuses to reveal when it will occur, or what album will be covered.^[52]

During Gigantour 2005, Dream Theater did a cover of Pantera's "Cemetery Gates" as a tribute to "Dimebag" Darrel Lance Abbott. As an added bonus, they hadBurton C. Bell of Fear Factory, and Russell Allen of Symphony X do guest vocals and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, do the main solo for the song.

In March 2006, Dream Theater played the rare Rush song "Jacob's Ladder" at a show in Toronto. John Petrucci said a few days later in Asbury Park, New Jersey, prior to the night's show, that "Rush wouldn't play it, so we thought we'd play it for them."

In addition, Dream Theater released several live cover songs on their EP A Change of Seasons, including songs from Elton John, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin,Queen, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Journey, Kansas, and Dixie Dregs.

In 2008, they recorded a version of Iron Maiden's "To Tame a Land" for a Kerrang magazine compilation entitled Maiden Heaven.^[53] This song was later included on the special edition of Black Clouds and Silver Linings.

Dream Theater also recorded a number of cover songs for their 2009 album Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The songs came as a bonus disc in the special editions version of the album.

Dream Theater played "Hava Nagila", the traditional Jewish song, during "Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper" at a sold-out concert in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2009.^[54]

On August 14, 2009 during a Toronto show, Dream Theater played the Rush song "The Camera Eye", which was originally released on Rush's Moving Picturesalbum.

Dream Theater also performed "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd eight times during their 'Escape The Studio' Tour accompanied by Queensrÿche from July 12 - August 2, 2003.

Discography

Main article: Dream Theater discography

• When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
• Images and Words (1992)
• Awake (1994)
• A Change of Seasons (EP) (1995)
• 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)

[edit]Band members

Current members John Petrucci - Guitar, vocals (1985–present) John Myung - Bass guitar, Chapman Stick (1985–present) James LaBrie - Lead vocals, percussion (1991–present) Jordan Rudess - Keyboards, continuum, lap steel guitar (1999–present) Awards and certificates RIAA gold and platinum certification[56] 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) [57] Burrn magazine's best keyboards player of the year (2007) Modern Drummer Mike Portnoy won the following Modern Drummer magazine Reader's Poll awards: Best Up & Coming Talent (1994) Best Progressive Rock Drummer (1995–2006) 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, and 2007 for Score) 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.[58] Total Guitar Paul Gillard John Petrucci won Guitarist of the year award (2007). Other recognitions At Dream Theater's Salt Lake City show, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. signed a proclamation making July 30, 2007, "Dream Theater Day".[citation needed] Dream Theater played twice on Xbox 360s Game With Fame event. They played Halo 3 in December 2007[59] and Call of Duty: World at War in June 2009.

Former members Mike Portnoy - Drums, Vocals (1985–2010) Chris Collins - Vocals (1986) Charlie Dominici - Vocals (1987–1989) Kevin Moore - Keyboards (1986–1994) Derek Sherinian - Keyboards, vocals (1994–1998)

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