Dream Theater Biography

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_theater
1986 - 1990

Founding members John Myung, Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci in 1986Dream Theater was formed in 1986 by guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy while studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Kevin Moore, a high school band-mate of Petrucci's, was recruited to play keyboards and Chris Collins was enlisted as vocalist.

The quintet settled on the name Majesty for their newly-formed group (a name inspired by Portnoy's description of the closing section of "Bastille Day" by Rush), and the three Berklee attendees dropped out to concentrate on the band.

In November 1986, after a few months of writing and performing together, Chris Collins left the band because of creative differences with the other members. 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 playing more shows in and around the New York City area, and gained a considerable amount of exposure for a band that had not yet released an album.

Their first major recording project was The Majesty Demos, a collection of ideas and demos that were released in 1987. The initial run of 1,000 sold out within six months, and dubbed copies of the cassette spread like wildfire through the progressive metal scene all over the world.

Shortly after the release of the demos, they were forced to change their name when another band named Majesty threatened legal action. Various names were trialled until Portnoy's father suggested the name Dream Theater, which was subsequently settled upon.read more...