A Conversation with JORDAN RUDESS + new music from his album Permission to Fly (Into the Lair)

[@rodarkness6189]

I am a simple man, i see Jordan Rudess i press like

[@marcio1745]

Fantastic interview. Love you both

[@matthew-1710]

Jordan's a very lovely guy from what I've heard, he played for the wedding of someone I know a few years back out of the kindness of his heart.

[@JUNTESECONELQUEES]

Fantastic interview Doug!

[@martinr5235]

Love this, also love that Jordan loves Tarkus

[@jesterstear4759]

Brilliant album. Love the songs, especially the vocals and melodies. Love to see this continued in future albums.

[@YusufKucuk]

thanks Doug for bringing in Jordan, fantastic interview

[@mheib9904]

Right on to interview the wizard for the second time. His new album is fantastical.

[@rhythmicbeast]

2 Legends 🤘♥️🔥

[@carlosnascimento9269]

Always great to hear from the wizard.

[@RachelFlowersMusic]

It’s funny, O was about to mention the instruments being stronger than the vocal diction. I enjoyed your interview.

[@Gethrag]

Looking forward to this

[@bubba3133]

Doug, how cool to see you interview fellow musicians. Did't catch former interviews. Awesome!!!

[@JimNewstead]

Lovely interview Doug, I had similar experience with him a couple of weeks ago!

[@KevinDixon-wp4yj]

Great interview!

[@Yupppi]

I had missed Jordan's first appearance, but it was sort of a surprise to get an interview by Doug. And on Rudess too, very cool. It actually took me forever to come to terms with how "normal people" listen to music and how it's not inferior to how I listen to it. I learned to appreciate lyrics and vocals both and enjoy them, realised that if I play guitar, it's worth it to learn to sing a bit as well and maybe keep the guitar more simple, so I can entertain people other than myself. I very rarely knew the lyrics (because English is not my first language) and I listened to the instruments far more intensely. Only if I was really into the band and heard a cool phrase would I pay attention to the lyrics. Or if the vocalist used his voice like a really cool instrument, they caught my attention and made me listen to the lyrics as well. Or when I was young and got a new album and listened through with the booklet of lyrics. It is really important to have some sort of message with the music as well like Jordan said. It's cool to make music, but if you also have something to say about life and can dress it up in your personal way, in a way that people might go and say "wow, he really managed to put my thoughts and feelings into words so conscisely". And there's a couple of lyricists, but almost all of them that I know in Finnish, who actually use the lyrics as a form of exciting entertainment along with telling the story and message. Like using words that make you feel them in your mouth and that tickle something in your brain, similar words and expressions that put together make you see a new interpretation and connections over intended things, wordplays (like you know some expressions we use all the time in daily life that are a bit nonsensical if you think of them literally, and using them in the right context the literal interpretation combined to another thing opens a new world). But things like "Rosetta Stoned" make me have shivers, I get so much enjoyment out of it. And a lot of songs where the writers use the contradicting contrast, writing about really gruesome thing on a really happy song, or vice versa. I love it when the writer has the unfathomable skill to write a great story, use enjoyable lyrical tricks and arrange and adapt the story and expressions to fit a great vocal performance. I think I heard Rudess talk about the AI thing in some interview by another artist. By this point I can't remember if it was Devin Townsend, Joe Satriani, Alex Skolnick or Steve Vai. But it was someone. Very interesting thing to take advantage over instead of being a bit protective and scared of the new technology. It requires a lot of trust in the future to jump into the darkness and see what comes out, openly exploring. Another thing I hugely agree with him is that thing where you can take a break from the instrument, you can get the chops back, it's not the end of the world. But if you for a moment a day have the motivation or desire to just pluck a couple of chords or so, while perhaps being in the mental state of musicality and instead of technique you just approach it like "does this sound enjoyable or emotional", I believe that will take your mind further. I haven't touched my guitars in like two months other than recording one piece, practiced for a day or two, but I've been constantly thinking about music and how to play things and feeling out how music "should" go when I listen to things and I think it is doing me more service than forcing mechanical practice on the instrument. Lately, even though I've been trying to fix my poor fundamentals for 10 years now, I've started to strive less and less for technique and mastering a bit rather than finding that emotional and musical vibe to it. If I can make it easier to play, make it simpler and not achieve that technical level I initially aimed for, but improve how it feels as part of the music, I'm much more happier about the outcome. I'm starting to fall into that blues thing where you should be able to play one note for a minute without people going "this is boring and doesn't work", I want to be able to play less with more meaning, to find the meaning in every note I play. Some of Into the Lair sounded a lot like video game soundtrack, like Castlevania soundtracks. Particularly the metroidvanias like Symphony of the Night or the ones on Gameboy Advance/Nintendo DS. I always thought lair was something where say a spider has its trap and adventurers go into lairs to overcome a beast.

[@AndyGrouch]

Into the the lair is a fantastic track!

[@kennytait6674]

As usual Jordan blows my mind!!!! Im hearing some Opeth type chord progressions mixed with some Tool and of course oodles of Dream Theater and vintage Jordan. Ariana's lyrics absolutely compliment the music.

[@Incompetent_Hero]

One of my favourite musicians on the planet, love seeing him here again 😮

[@AtomizedSound]

Same

[@pand4664]

Great!!! Saludos desde México city

[@michaelschmidt2199]

Jordan Rudess is the GOAT at playing piano he is a modern day Beethoven

[@artie218]

Well no, Beethoven was a great composer, with all due respect Mr Rudess has not done from a composition side anything close to the works of Beethoven.. But he is a very accomplished musician near the top for rock keyboardists and had he pursued a classical career I am sure he would have done well..

[@WINGSANDRAILS]

Why so less views on this one?? Amazing interview and song

[@simianmoonstudios]

Excellent interview. Jordon Rudess seems like a really cool guy.

[@stevemartin8326]

Feels very Dream Theater “The Astonishing.” VERY. Love it!!!

[@acarbonbasedlifeform70]

I met Jordan 15 years ago at a keyboards masterclass. A really nice guy

[@thiagotecnico]

Doug + Jordan Rudess = 🤯

[@AtomizedSound]

Jordan ❤

[@Argon_John]

I've watched all the new interviews with the members of the band. I'm 90% sold that they've made Metropolis pt3. The interview with MP and two Brazilian dudes was the biggest push for me to think this way. They asked something like "are you ever going to make metropolis pt 3?" And Mike answered with "we're not prepared to talk about that publicly yet". That, the new METROPOLIS book and they haven't released the name or ANY INFO AT ALL about the album has me thinking it's gotta be Metropolis.

[@reactions4u438]

Oops 😂… I’m kinda glad they aren’t doing part 3. Leave it as it is

[@Argon_John]

@@reactions4u438 I was wrong and I'm not angry about it.

[@janolesen8938]

You Got to hear and react to UFO love to love… please 🙏 Why I didn’t hear this before 3 weeks ago is a mystery. Young people should learn about this 😮

[@LuisRdzG10]

I use Moises! it's outstanding!

[@KBH27]

DT 40 , 1 more year ,stay safe and healthy.

[@qowiwkqkql]

You should react to any Howard Shore's lord of the rings tracks

[@PThaVi]

Getting some vibes of Gaia from Valensia here..

[@diegopeart]

Upon hearing the new track, the vocal track is rather low in the mix, so I can't make out the words as easily. other than that, amazing stuff, when it comes to Jordan, you learn to expect that kind of harmonic scope.

[@sirschnee8737]

thank you bradly hall, now i can't unsee his beard :/

[@mandoc3292]

Do Mozart.. requiem ❤

[@itorres008]

"I didn't have time to learn to record audio and that stuff..." Couldn't he get "a guy" to handle that? ☺Even if he wants total control, he can tell the guy exactly what he wants.

[@Roleren]

From what I have heard, Jordan is the kind of 1 month in the studio alone working all day to get it done kind of guy, or he simply did not have time before the DT album recording to find someone

[@Kouros-t6d]

What i like : the vocals and the atmoshpere, very majestic. What i DON'T like at all : the solos that sounds like boring distorted guitars!!! Jordan should use classic synth sound or organ to do solos oherwise is just a fake guitar that do the job!

[@NJM-DZ]

Plll'z react to EXO-cbx "Paper cuts" live Japan pllllz

[@MrTrubadurable]

Thats it. I’m unsubscribing. I’m tired of him focusing so much on Dream Theatre.

[@ABombs1]

Why not just avoid clicking on the videos you don't want to watch, and then click on the ones you want? Lol, come on

[@MrTrubadurable]

@@ABombs1 Ok maybe a harsh comment, but I really like his reactions, humor and good mood. Just wish he would react to for instance some of Dream theatres inspirations. Things like King Crimson, Holdsworth, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse band, Kings X and Rush, to name a few. ✌️

[@noneya237]

Thus is worst Jordan alblum I ever heard it not cuz Jordan is bad it cuz the singer is god awful. He not prog it sounds like aor alblum. I would preferred instrumental alblum tbh Jordan sang on last alblum I preferred that over this any day tbh