James LaBrie may be best known as the vocalist for prog giants Dream Theater, but he also has a flourishing solo career on the side. His latest solo album is called Impermanent Resonance (Inside Out) and it may very well be his finest solo outing to date. On a sunny afternoon I had the chance to sit down with James and Matt Guillory, his musical partner in crime. We discussed the new album, their working relationship and any tour opportunities with a new Dream Theater album coming up.
What’s the thought behind the album title?
Matt: Whenever James and I come up with an album title we take a step back and see what happens in the songs lyrically and come up with something which ties them altogether. What stood to us was a sense of nothing staying the same. A lot of the songs deal with personal relationships, hardships and challenges someone might be going through in his life, but no matter how bad things get, nothing is permanent and stays the same. It made sense to us to use Impermanent Resonance as the album title.
Impermanent Resonance is very much a refinement of the previous album. Was there any specific reason why you guys stuck with that sound?
Matt: Yes, one reason is that we really established our sound on Static Impulse. With the new album it was about using that music foundation, but push it more in all directions. We spent way more time on the melodic aspects of the music. That’s not to say we didn’t give the bass, drums and guitars the attention they deserve, but we spend so much time and effort getting the vocal melodies right and crafting the songs themselves. I think there’s clear distinction between Static Impulse and Impermanent Resonance, mainly in the melodic aspects and the overall dynamics.
James has a very busy schedule because of Dream Theater. How did you guys plan around to write and record the album?
James: We each recorded individually. Mat would put together a demo with all the music as it should be which made it all very concise and precise. Everyone involved knows exactly where a song is going and has a pretty good idea what is expected for them to play. That is the pretty much the blueprint we used. The whole writing and production took quite some time. That whole process started 1.5 years ago. By the time I was going into the studio with Dream Theater to start working on the new DT record Impermanent Resonance was 90 percent written. There were some things that needed completion or refinement, but at that point it was a matter of me finding time in my schedule to actually record my vocals. It was a matter of scheduling and making sure that I would do it when DT was taking a break. I flipped back and forth in a way. It’s scheduling, balancing and good time management really.
You guys have been working together since the first Mullmuzzler album back in 1999. How did you guys meet and how has your working relationship evolved over the years?
Matt: I was very fortunate when I was younger to do session work for the Magna Carta and Shrapnel labels. The people behind Magna Carta asked James whether he wanted to do a solo album for their label and they asked me whether I was interested in submitting music that they could present to James with no guarantee it would be used. Fortunately for me he liked what I sent him and a few weeks later he called me to start recording and that’s how we began working together. On the early records it wasn’t all about me and James. There were also other writers involved. It wasn’t until Elements Of Persuasion came along we sort of turned the page musically. That’s the moment we really found our sound.
James: When I first heard of what Mat was coming from as a writer back in 1998 I really liked his music and when we met there was this instant connection between us. I thought it would be really cool to work together. He was young back then, but also very mature at the same time. The first two Mullmuzzler albums were necessary for Matt and I to find what and who we were. Like Matt said with Elements Of Persuasion we could really let it all out and that we had a clear understanding what we’re musically wanted to do and that we set out to accomplish to capture what we’re really saying musically. That really manifested itself from Elements Of Persuasion onwards to the present day. It’s been a great ride over the years and obviously Matt and I are the constants in the entire process. With Marco Sfogli (guitars) coming in we could take things to entire new level because of his incredible talent. Moving onto Static Impulse Peter Wildoer (drums) and Ray Riendeau (bass) came aboard and that transcended everything we did before. All those steps shaped us in what we are today.
With a new Dream Theater album looming over the horizon touring in support of Impermanent Resonance will be a dicey affair at best. With this in mind, what tour plans do you have?
Matt: It’s tough because there a lot of logistics coming in in order to set up a tour, because all the members live in different parts of the world. We ran into this with Static Impulse. We had a very strong album to promote, but we didn’t have the time to make things happen. This time we want to take the time to prepare ourselves and tour. With that said Dream Theater is gearing up for their new record and eventually they’re going to tour to support it. We’ll have to look at the touring aspect when the Dream Theater touring cycle has ended. We’re all fired up and ready to go though.
James: Absolutely, it’s inevitable that we’ll be out and tour in support of the new record. It’s mainly a question of how and when. Realistically it would at the end of the next DT touring cycle when that winds down. The new album and the older material will be as relevant when we go out on tour tomorrow or when we do it in 1.5 years from now. It’s timeless in that sense. When we’ll go out eventually it will be really exciting and powerful to play this material and bring all the players together on a single stage. It will be an incredible experience. You have to be patient, but it will happen eventually.
Raymond Westland