Well . . .
After hearing about the way Jordan Rudess recorded one of his albums - he basically locked himself in the studio for two weeks and didn't come out until he had finished - I decided the only way I was going to hit deadline and write the update to the DT book was to do the same. So for four days I tied myself to the computer and pulled my finger out of my ass.
And surprisingly, despite the odd venture out of the house to bring back kebabs, fish & chips and any other fat-filled take aways you can imagine - I stayed the course. Which means the book is 99% finished. I still have to write a new ending, tart up a few bits here and there, and slot in another interview that should be done this week, we are virtually ready to rock. I have employed a new proof reader - my non-journalistic mate who has the power to spot all typos (unlike the prick we used first time around and who put-more-fucking-errors-into-the-bastard-text) which is great. So he has the "pleasure" of reading it first. Also got the "go" from the band, so hopefully the publishers will get their mitts on the thing some time next week.
Now I know a lot of you are thinking: "Bollocks. I bought the first edition so why should I fork out my cash on this?". Well first of all, there was always the intention of the book being released in a second, single hardback edition. I always made this clear at the time. It has taken longer than expected to come to fruition for a number of reasons - my health being the main one - and it has taken time for me to have the energy and time to complete it. But that is actually a good thing as it means there is more info for you all to devour. Here are the main bullet points you need to know about:
- The book is to be released as a single hardback which will have a few pages of colour pics throughout the text. Think of your usual band biography.
- The book is around 30% longer in terms of the word count than the original.
- There is a massive chapter covering the Black Clouds & Silver Linings album that discusses the making of the album, the meaning of the songs, the touring as well as detailing some of the more controversial questions that crop up on the forums. For example why James wasn't involved in the writing process, cookie monster vocals, are the band trying to appeal to teenagers etc.
- There is also a huge chapter covering off the various side projects the guys in DT have been involved in. So that's solo albums, plus the likes of Transatlantic, OSI, Liquid Tension Experiment etc etc.
- Apart from the standard hardback, it is likely there will be a limited edition version which will be bound in real leather and signed by myself. Print run in the region of 1000. The publishers are constantly being asked for copies of the original limited edition which has sold out. There was talk of them reprinting it, which I was completely opposed to. But there are those people who want something a little bit more special than the standard book. So this is the compromise and it will look awesome.
- I have also made sure we offer you a discount if you bought the first edition, and even if you didn't buy it, we will be offering you a discount if you pre-order. Obviously though the pre-order discount won't be as great as is offered to those who bought the first edition.
- We are talking about opening up the pre-ordering in the next 3 or 4 weeks.
- I don't know the prices yet or the discounts, but I expect the retail price to be about (and please, please don't hold me to this) £19.99 or $29.99. And then you can get a discount off this price as noted above.
- The new interviewees for this edition apart from the band are Gail Flug, Andrew Ross, John Hendricks, Steve Sinclair, Robert Mason, Jim Matheos, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt and Tony Levin.
- The book should be released around October time.
I will post updates as to when you can order here, on the various DT forums, and via the "Dream Theater Book Lifting Shadows" Facebook page (become a "fan " to get the updates). We should also be emailing all of you who either bought the book or expressed an interest in being kept informed of future releases. Not sure if you are registered? Then go to http://www.essentialworks.co.uk/dreamtheater/ and enter you e-mail address.
Right, that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for all your continued support on this project. Sorry it has taken so long, and I'm also sorry I couldn't persuade Kevin Moore to speak to me and finally get his side of the story. I tried my best . . .
And surprisingly, despite the odd venture out of the house to bring back kebabs, fish & chips and any other fat-filled take aways you can imagine - I stayed the course. Which means the book is 99% finished. I still have to write a new ending, tart up a few bits here and there, and slot in another interview that should be done this week, we are virtually ready to rock. I have employed a new proof reader - my non-journalistic mate who has the power to spot all typos (unlike the prick we used first time around and who put-more-fucking-errors-into-the-bastard-text) which is great. So he has the "pleasure" of reading it first. Also got the "go" from the band, so hopefully the publishers will get their mitts on the thing some time next week.
Now I know a lot of you are thinking: "Bollocks. I bought the first edition so why should I fork out my cash on this?". Well first of all, there was always the intention of the book being released in a second, single hardback edition. I always made this clear at the time. It has taken longer than expected to come to fruition for a number of reasons - my health being the main one - and it has taken time for me to have the energy and time to complete it. But that is actually a good thing as it means there is more info for you all to devour. Here are the main bullet points you need to know about:
- The book is to be released as a single hardback which will have a few pages of colour pics throughout the text. Think of your usual band biography.
- The book is around 30% longer in terms of the word count than the original.
- There is a massive chapter covering the Black Clouds & Silver Linings album that discusses the making of the album, the meaning of the songs, the touring as well as detailing some of the more controversial questions that crop up on the forums. For example why James wasn't involved in the writing process, cookie monster vocals, are the band trying to appeal to teenagers etc.
- There is also a huge chapter covering off the various side projects the guys in DT have been involved in. So that's solo albums, plus the likes of Transatlantic, OSI, Liquid Tension Experiment etc etc.
- Apart from the standard hardback, it is likely there will be a limited edition version which will be bound in real leather and signed by myself. Print run in the region of 1000. The publishers are constantly being asked for copies of the original limited edition which has sold out. There was talk of them reprinting it, which I was completely opposed to. But there are those people who want something a little bit more special than the standard book. So this is the compromise and it will look awesome.
- I have also made sure we offer you a discount if you bought the first edition, and even if you didn't buy it, we will be offering you a discount if you pre-order. Obviously though the pre-order discount won't be as great as is offered to those who bought the first edition.
- We are talking about opening up the pre-ordering in the next 3 or 4 weeks.
- I don't know the prices yet or the discounts, but I expect the retail price to be about (and please, please don't hold me to this) £19.99 or $29.99. And then you can get a discount off this price as noted above.
- The new interviewees for this edition apart from the band are Gail Flug, Andrew Ross, John Hendricks, Steve Sinclair, Robert Mason, Jim Matheos, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt and Tony Levin.
- The book should be released around October time.
I will post updates as to when you can order here, on the various DT forums, and via the "Dream Theater Book Lifting Shadows" Facebook page (become a "fan " to get the updates). We should also be emailing all of you who either bought the book or expressed an interest in being kept informed of future releases. Not sure if you are registered? Then go to http://www.essentialworks.co.uk/dreamtheater/ and enter you e-mail address.
Right, that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for all your continued support on this project. Sorry it has taken so long, and I'm also sorry I couldn't persuade Kevin Moore to speak to me and finally get his side of the story. I tried my best . . .
posted by Rich Wilson at
5:17 pm
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