YTSEJAM Digest 5674 Today's Topics: 1) Re: bands I'd like to check out by Chris Oates 2) Xmas CD by Steffen Barabasch - The Mirror 3) new dt trading list by Kurt M Hampton 4) Listening party report by "Marko Randjelovic" 5) IRS,LIEN,DIVORCE,ATTORNEY,& SEIZURE-PROOF!!! 11577 by email_address_removed 6) Re: SymX, FFIX. by Brian Larkin 7) amp questions by email_address_removed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 02:51:19 -0800 From: Chris Oates To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: Re: bands I'd like to check out Message-ID: At 03:50 PM 11/17/2000, you wrote: >I wasn't aware that the amount of shredding determined if it was >neo-classical. I foolishly thought it meant having melodies and rhythms >reminiscent of classical music. (replying to myself) And, of course, being largely ignorant of classical music as I am, I should clarify that neo-classical seems to be largely influenced by the Baroque (I think) period, and not just all classical music. To me, when I hear a harpsichord sound playing fast arpeggios on a keyboard, that sets off the neo-classical warning signs in my mind. Oh, and one more thing. The guys in Labyrinth wear poofy shirts and capes in their band photos! They gotta be neo-classical! Either that or they were on their way to the local Vampire LARP....... ~Chris ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 13:24:03 +0100 From: Steffen Barabasch - The Mirror To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: Xmas CD Message-ID: >Oh yeah, The Christmas CD. Rumour has it that this year's will be the last - >anyone have any hints as to what it might contain? You bet! But I won't tell ya, bwwahahahaha.... Steffen -- Steffen Barabasch (mailto:email_address_removed) THE MIRROR - German Dream Theater Fan Club (http://www.dtifc.com/themirror) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 10:59:55 -0600 From: Kurt M Hampton To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: new dt trading list Message-ID: hey jammers, there is a new mailing list for dt trading only. If you wanna join here is the address: email_address_removed Coolness, Kurt ytsekurt on AOL instant messenger Trade page-www.geocities.com/kurt_labrie/Startpage.html "Shut the f*ck up. Don't make me come down there and kick your f*cking ass" -James Labrie 4/16/97 ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 16:50:33 +0100 From: "Marko Randjelovic" To: "Multiple recipients of list" Subject: Listening party report Message-ID: <01c05177$4a3ddc20$LocalHost@king> by Stephanie Kushner -Savatage--The POETS AND MADMEN listening party New York, NY November 5, 2000 Savatage's forthcoming release, POETS AND MADMEN, is the long awaited follow-up to their last studio album, THE WAKE OF MAGELLAN (1997 in Europe and Japan, 1998 in the US). The band is working very hard to ensure that the album will indeed be ready for its scheduled February 2001 release, even while in the midst of a series of grueling rehearsals for the December tour of their symphonic rock side project, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. (Note: the recent closing of the American offices of Savatage's record label, Nuclear Blast, should not affect the release date of the new album. Nuclear Blast America has been licensed to the American company of Century Media, who will be distributing Nuclear Blast artists in the US). If there are two things that have remained constant throughout the nearly 20-year career of Savatage, they are the following: they consistently write, record, and perform great music, and they are consistently changing lineups! With the defection of guitarist Al Pitrelli to the Megadeth camp in mid-2000, and the recent departure of lead vocalist Zachary Stevens, the 'tage have recorded POETS AND MADMEN as a four-piece (however, there are a couple of Al Pitrelli solos on the album which he recorded before he joined Megadeth). Drummer Jeff Plate, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, guitarist Chris Caffery, and co-founder/vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter extraordinaire Jon Oliva make up the current lineup, which should be referred to more accurately as a "trimmed down" lineup rather than a "new" lineup. The album was produced by Paul O'Neill, who has essentially been the fifth, sixth, or seventh member of Savatage (depending on the lineup!) since he started producing the band back in 1987, the results of that initial collaboration resulting in the creation of the classic metal album HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING. With POETS AND MADMEN, listeners will experience something from a Savatage album that has not happened since the release of "STREETS" A ROCK OPERA in 1991--every lead vocal is sung by Jon Oliva. (Yes, Jon did handle all lead vocals on the 1994 release of Doctor Butcher's self-titled album, but I'm talking strictly Savatage here, OK?) This album also marks the first Savatage release on which Chris Caffery is the only guitarist, with the exception of a couple of solos, as I mentioned above. (And yeah, again, Doctor Butcher does *not* count! Savatage only, remember?) The creation of POETS AND MADMEN started quite a while ago. In fact, Jon Oliva played me some initial rough demos of songs back in April of 1999. One of those songs, "Man In The Mirror," has made the final cut of the album, and I got to hear the final version at the listening party that was held for members of the press and the record label at the band's recording studio in New York City. The party was hosted by Paul O'Neill, who served as master of ceremonies and storyteller, giving us a brief introduction to each song before it was played. We were joined in the studio by bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, who was also hearing the (almost) final product for the first time. Song titles include "Commissar," "I Seek Power," "Drive," "Cantations," "Surrender," "Man In The Mirror," and "Got To Get Back To A Reason." There will be at least four additional songs on the album which were not yet finished enough to present to the media, one of which will probably be entitled "Awaken." Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery were also in attendance, and along with Johnny Lee and Paul, fielded questions from the media at a short press conference held that same afternoon at the studio. When asked about the departure of vocalist Zak Stevens, Paul assured everyone that it was an amicable split. Zak wanted to spend more time with his family, but he will continue to work on side projects such as TSO. The possibility of his returning to Savatage full time in the future is not being ruled out. "I've left before, Chris has left before, and it's not an easy decision to make," says Jon. "The reason we waited so long to say anything [regarding his departure] was because we wanted to leave the door open for him as long as possible." Like their two previous studio efforts, POETS AND MADMEN will be a concept album. "We're still putting the final touches on it," says Paul. "It's going to have a cool plot twist. It's complicated, but I can't really say too much about it until we clear some legal rights. Basically, it's about three kids who break into an old abandoned building...and the story spills out from there. What you are experiencing right now is a work in progress. Jon doesn't believe it will ever get done!" In a reply which earns my award for "Quote Of The Press Conference," Jon joked "I tell ya, we're still mixing STREETS! You guys just don't know it! Little Paul O'Neill demons sneak into your house at night and remix the songs before you wake up!" The new album reminds Jon of STREETS in other ways as well. "We wrote and recorded a lot of songs for STREETS, and we wrote about 25 songs for the new record." Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, the old Savatage logo will be back for this record, because as Chris Caffery joked, "It's easier to spell!" Um, OK Chris! *grin* I mentioned some song titles earlier. How do they sound, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, this is the heaviest stuff the band has recorded since STREETS (there's that album again!). In fact, it was the band's intention to move Savatage into a heavier direction in order to provide more separation between them and TSO. No complaints here! This is definitely the heaviest drum sound they have recorded in years, and the bass is so FAT--Johnny joked that he was already doing neck exercises to help prevent any headbanging injuries from happening while playing the new material live! *grin* The guitars are more in-your-face than on the more recent releases--Chris really gets an opportunity to shine on this album and he takes full advantage of it. And, last but certainly not least, the lead vocals of the Mountain King himself--I am not exaggerating when I say that Jon Oliva sounds absolutely amazing! Oh, and his keyboard playing ain't too shabby either! If anyone is harboring any doubts about Jon's ability to handle lead vocal duties on this album, fuhgehdabowtit! What we have here is classic Savatage--powerful, heavy, and intense both musically and lyrically. I must admit I had a hard time keeping myself from standing in the studio with a big, goofy grin on my face as I was listening to these songs. Not because they are silly songs, but because Savatage has done what they always seem to be able to do--despite whatever chaos might be occurring around them, they never fail to outdo themselves with each album. So, what about tour plans? Yes, there will be a new vocalist and a new guitarist joining the band for the upcoming tour. Yes, there are candidates for both jobs. No, the band can't say anything yet, due to the lack of a final decision and the usual legal red tape surrounding these things, especially due to the fact that several of the candidates are currently in other bands. The plan is to make a final decision and get everything worked out after the TSO tour, which is taking priority at this moment as two different touring companies are in rehearsal for this tour in order to play both the West and East coasts simultaneously in about a three-week period. Not to fear, however, as both Paul and Jon vehemently stated in the press conference that Savatage is and will always be the number one priority. However, December needs to be set aside for TSO because of the Christmas albums. It would indeed be a bit odd to do a Christmas tour in May, now wouldn't it? Before I sign off, I would like to say that I understand that there are many fans of Zak's (including myself) who are disappointed that he has left the band. We need to respect Zak's decision, and who knows what the future may hold? I believe that the door to Savatage will always be open for him should he choose to return. With that said, I want to urge every Savatage fan (and those who may be new to the band) to give this album a chance. Several people have said to me that when EDGE OF THORNS was released in 1993 and they discovered that Jon was not in the band anymore, they ignored the album, only to "re-discover" it a few years later and regret not having given it a chance upon its release. Don't put yourself into the same position and not buy this album because Zak isn't on it. Give it a chance to stand on its own, because from what I have heard, it truly is a remarkable album. OK, I'll step down from the soapbox now! *grin* Many thanks to Liz, formerly from Nuclear Blast, for allowing me to attend this wonderful event--best of luck to you in the future. Also thanks to Paul O'Neill, Jon Oliva, Chris Caffery, and Johnny Lee Middleton for taking time out of their busy schedules to make this event a great one. Marko Randjelovic Yugoslavia (KG) ICQ# 57104705 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 13:06:10 -0400 From: email_address_removed To: Subject: IRS,LIEN,DIVORCE,ATTORNEY,& SEIZURE-PROOF!!! 11577 Message-ID: <000021484a33$00007ef8$00002d39@204.192.4.30> You're ready for a financial and (TAX) breakthrough so I'l= l get right to the point.

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------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 14:31:11 -0500 From: Brian Larkin To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: Re: SymX, FFIX. Message-ID: >From: "Matt Molite" >Subject: Re: SyX ramblings ><> >Ok, here's where I try to defend all the neoclassical/power/melodic >bands out there. First of all, I don't see Symphony X really stagnating as a band right now. It's true that a lot of their songs are in the same style, but I think they experiment enough on each album (at least since Divine Wings) to maintain some kind of growth and experimentation within their genre. On each of the last three albums, there are of course your definitive SymX moments (lots of modulation, trade-off solos - which BTW seem to be almost entirely absent on V) ... but there are also things that may be new for the band. The 12-part choral introduction to the title track of Divine Wings is a good example (can you find another full 2 minutes of SymX that sounds the same?!?!) ... how about a song like "Lady of the Snow" (one of my favorites from TiO)? That certainly isn't your stereotypical neoclassical shred song. And on the last CD, they've experimented with bigger-sounding orchestration (Prelude, On the Breath of Poseidon), more dissonant ideas (The Bird/Serpent War-Cataclysm, Death of Balance/Lacrymosa), and a new, less predictable sense of harmonic movement (almost every other song). This is why I continue to listen to SymX ... and believe me, I'm a big critic of cheesy/predictable/formulaic/overdone neoclassical wankery (ask Molite what I think of Stratovarius!). Which leads me to my next point about artists that DO become comfortable with a formula and follow it for 10-20 years with minimal experimentation or growth (AC/DC, Yngwie Malmsteen, Iron Maiden, Stratovarius, Pantera, just to name a few). Can these guys still produce great, kick-ass fuckin' music? You better believe it. Do I have as much respect for them as I do for the artists that have the musical strength and courage to challenge both themselves and their audiences from album to album? Hardly. But I don't think it matters. Sometimes we need constants in our lives. I still enjoy listening to Pantera every once in a while, and I'll still continue to check out their latest material as it's released. Will I know what to expect? Yeah, and Pantera know that - they've promised their fans that they'll always stay true to their style, or formula if you prefer. I'm glad that there are a few bands like Pantera out there who will continue to do WHAT they do, and do it as best they can, and it comforts me that with those bands I won't have to worry about any unpleasant surprise piles of shit like Load, Risk, or Q2K. "SURPRISE! WE SUCK NOW! AND YOU JUST LOST $20!" >On another note - Final Fantasy 9 comes out this week. Don't know >who else here is a fan of that game series... You know, Matt, if you spent as much time studying music and practicing as you do playing those fucking games ... *sigh* ;) Not that I should talk ... ~Brian, who still considers selling his Playstation and FF games from time to time ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 01:28:18 EST From: email_address_removed To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: amp questions Message-ID: sorry for the lack of DT content, but I am getting a 1982 Marshall JCM 800 and was wondering if anyone had any opnions on it? And the thing is so dmn loud, but i hear power brakes suck, does anyone have an idea on what to do about that? ps i don't remember who it was, but i was trading for a trasatlantic boot with some one. I lost your adress, so if your still interested send me an e-mail. ------------------------------ End of YTSEJAM Digest 5674 **************************