REVIEW: LickLibrary – Jam With Dream Theater
As those who have sweated it out over Dream Theater tab books know, there’s much to be learned from John Petrucci and co that you can apply to your own music. Phrasing techniques, interesting chords, odd time signatures, intricate multi-octave riffs – there’s plenty in there to help you find your way.
LickLibrary takes this approach and presents in an easy-to-digest way that puts the focus on playing rather than reading.In Jam With Dream Theater, Andy James takes us through many classic Dream Theater songs – “Pull Me Under,” “Under A Glass Moon,” “Fatal Tragedy,” “Erotomania,” “As I Am,” “Constant Motion” and “Wither” – in a way that’s very much reminiscent of sitting across from a guitar teacher. James breaks each riff and lick down into snack-size pieces and repeats them several times in several tempos, which really lets you get into John Petrucci’s head. Stripped of the do-it-yourself nature of tab books, this method gets you playing sooner, and allows you to instantly see finger patterns and fretboard positions.
CLICK HERE to buy LickLibrary – Jam With Dream Theater
COOL VIDEO ALERT: Dream Theater’s first gig with Mike Mangini
Sound quality’s not great, but dig this! Dream Theater at Ippodromo Capannelle in Rome, Italy on July 4.
REVIEW: Sterling By Music Man JP100
Ernie Ball Music Man scored quite the coup in the late 90s when they wooed Dream Theater’s John Petrucci over from Ibanez. Here was a guy who was strongly identified with another brand and had a well-established and well-selling signature model, jumping ship for a whole different signature axe that was very different in style from his ‘Picasso’ graphic Ibanii. The resulting EBMM JP models have gone through a few changes over the years (like the ultra-cool JPX, the 7-string version of which is right at the very top of my personal wish list). The Sterling By Music Man brand now has several Petrucci models available: the original, stripped back JP50 which was introduced a couple of years ago and, new for 2011, the JP60 (which has the inlays of the EBMM models, right down to the JP shield at the first fret position) and JP100. Continue reading
NEWS: Jim Dunlop offers John Petrucci Pick preview
Check it out! The long-in-development Jim Dunlop John Petrucci pick is imminent! Jim Dunlop offered a little sneak peak here. Check it out – it looks like you could fly away in that freakin’ thing. It’s the most sci-fi pick I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to get my hands on one.
Go to the Jim Dunlop blog for another pic of the pick.
NEWS: Lick Library releases Jam With Dream Theater DVD
Check out this new release from Lick Library, featuring Andy James and focusing on Dream Theater and the very nearly impossible fretboard skills of John Petrucci. What a killer song selection too!
PRESS RELEASE
Lick Library Releases Jam With Dream Theater Double DVD
Lick Library has just released the ultimate shredding guitar tuition DVD with the launch of Jam With Dream Theater. This is a double DVD guitar tuition set, with Andy James taking you through the intricacies of some of the world’s most skilled guitar playing, all in the style of John Petrucci and Dream Theater, the award winning progressive rock band.
Dream Theater’s guitarist John Petrucci is well known for his fast riffs, technical wizardry, and precise execution. John was named one of the ‘Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders Of All Time’ by GuitarOne magazine, and in 2009 he was the number two best metal guitarist by Joel McIVer in his book ‘The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists’.
Jam with Dream Theater (RRP £27.99) Double DVD set shows you how to play seven tracks that span more that a decade (1992 TO 2009) of Dream Theater music. From the classic Images and Words album, this new DVD features a guitar lesson onPull Me Under, widely considered to be Dream Theater’s most well known song and also Under A Glass Moon.
Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for Gibson.com, Australian Guitar, Australian Musician, Mixdown Magazine (including my instructional column, 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God,' which has been running since 2007), guitarworld.com, Tone Deaf, Beat (including their weekly hard rock/metal column Crunch) and The Brag. And I'm Assistant Social Coordinator with Seymour Duncan.
I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18. I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week), a setup tech, a newspaper editor, and I've also dabbled in radio a little bit. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my hobbies include drinking way too much coffee, and eating way too much Mexican food.
You can check out my guitar playing at Reverbnation or on YouTube, and feel free to email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com