Friday, July 28, 2006

Photos And Horses

Been working through the piles of photos for use in the DT book. I've literally got about 20 CD's full of images that need sorting into the appropriate chapters. Plus there are copyright issues to worry about and making sure it'll be ok to use them. BTW If anyone has any old bits of memorabilia that might be useful - excluding live shots post 1997 - then feel free to scan and ping on to me at richwilson33@googlemail.com I can't guarantee they'll get used, but the bigger the pool to choose from the better!

I still have to sign with the publishers, and although they have verbally agreed to do it, until it's all signed and sealed I'm getting jumpy. Need to chase them again today and try to get things moving. I really want this to be out before the end of the year.

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Quote Of The Day - extracted from DT book

David Prater on James LaBrie : "He’s a big strong man with a fiery temperament who can easily intimidate a person who doesn’t know how to handle him. Kind of like a big horse . . ."

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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Score - Holy Cow

Every now and again, I'll get something to review that truly blows me away and gives me a goosebump moment. Todays "work" was to put together a few hundred words for Classic Rock on the upcoming Dream Theater DVD, 'Score'. I'm actually at the point now where I dread reviewing DT as there are only so many superlatives in the thesaurus, but this release is something else. I know I'm slightly biased, but this really is killer. Apart from the music, it's the whole feel to the DVD, with creative and innovative camera angles, superb sound and shrewd editing that really makes it shine. The second disc also has a fascinating hour-long documentary which traces the band's career. I'm not going to ruin any surprises, but it makes compelling viewing. As live DVD's go, I honestly can't think of any that surpass this. Oh, and don't forget to look out for the plonker in the Union Jack T-shirt . . .

Monday, July 24, 2006

Thesaurus Nights

Should have been off to see Guns N Roses last night. But the idea of spending all night standing around in a sweltering indoor arena waiting for Axl to get his arse on stage put me off. Plus who really cares about them any more? Axl and a bunch of blokes you've never heard of prancing around the stage? At least when they had that numpty with a KFC box on his head they had comedy value. Nah. Instead, I spent the evening wading through chapters and chapters of text, spell-checking and making sure that the style was consistent. Rock 'n' roll !! Sad thing is, I know that was far more interesting than watching Rose & Co. Which means I'm either getting old or says a helluva lot about the state of GNR in 2006.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Dream Theater Book Is Finished!

So after two-years of researching, interviewing and writing, the Dream Theater book is finally completed - well, in terms of the text at least. I'll be posting regular updates here recanting the progress from here- through proof-reading, dealing with publishers and the all important release dates. I'll also start to post a few teasers in the coming weeks to give an idea as to some of the book's content. But for now, I'm back to writing a few reviews for Classic Rock. The daunting task for today is a Lynyrd Skynyrd live DVD, which if you live in Kentucky and adore fried chicken, is probably the dogs bollocks. Sitting here in on the outskirts of Manchester, the appeal is distinctly less obvious . . .