| James LaBrie | |
|---|---|
James LaBrie in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin James LaBrie |
| Born | May 5, 1963 Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Progressive metal, progressive rock, power metal, rock opera, melodic death metal, glam metal, jazz fusion |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, percussion |
| Labels | Roadrunner |
| Associated acts | Dream Theater, Winter Rose, Ayreon, MullMuzzler, True Symphonic Rockestra, Sebastian Bach, Fates Warning, Shadow Gallery, Explorers Club, Trent Gardner, Henning Pauly, Frameshift, Tim Donahue |
| Website | www.jameslabrie.com |
Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian vocalist who is best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater.
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James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada and started singing and playing drums at age 5. By his mid-teens, he was a member of several bands as a singer and/or drummer. He stopped playing drums at age 17[1] and in 1981, at age 18, he moved to Toronto to further his musical pursuits.
After stints with various bands, LaBrie became the vocalist for the glam metal band Winter Rose, who released their self-titled album in 1989.
In 1990, LaBrie learned that American progressive metal band Dream Theater was looking for a new singer, so he submitted a tape and was quickly flown to New York for a full audition. The trial went well, and he was chosen ahead of 200 other hopefuls to fill the full-time vocalist position in that band.[2]
LaBrie has since had a significant impact on the vocal melodies on each Dream Theater -album, but until recently has had little input on the instrumentation of Dream Theater's music - 2011's A Dramatic Turn of Events features LaBrie in the music credits on three songs. To date he has written or co-written lyrics for at least one song on eight of the ten albums Dream Theater has released with him in the band, Images and Words and Black Clouds & Silver Linings containing none of them.
Asked by Prog-Sphere.com what is his favorite Dream Theater song to play live, James says "The favorite song for me is Scarred, I love performing that live. And… well, Octavarium, that whole frickin’ thing."[3]
With Matt Guillory, LaBrie has released four solo albums under various names (Mullmuzzler, James LaBrie's Mullmuzzler, and simply James LaBrie).
In an interview from "Beyond The Dark Horizon" on June 12, 2010, James LaBrie stated that his next solo album entitled "Static Impulse", is in the mixing stages and will contain 12 tracks. James stated "It’s very heavy and I’m really excited."[4]
On July 27, 2010 it was announced on Dream Theater's website that "Static Impulse" would be released on September 27, 2010 through InsideOut Music. It features longtime collaborator Matt Guillory on keyboards, Marco Sfogli ("Elements of Persuasion") on guitars, Peter Wildoer from DARKANE on drums/screaming vocals, and Ray Riendeau on bass.
James LaBrie stated "The release of Static Impulse is one that the whole band is psyched about. This is modern Metal and as heavy and relevant as any other band out there going in a similar musical direction. There are riffs that will blow your head off and melodies both musically and vocally that are hypnotic. Get in the driver's seat and let the ears bleed. Enjoy and see you out there with a tour to follow up and support this release."[5]
In 2011's interview for Prog-Sphere.com, LaBrie stated that the US tour got cancelled, saying "Because it was so disorganized last time. That’s why I basically said, "you don’t have the visas yet. Where we’re at this point, by the time you get the visas processed, we’re gonna have one rehearsal and then we’re gonna go out." And I said, "I’m not doing that."[3]
Throughout his career with Dream Theater, LaBrie has lent his voice to many other artists' records as well as tribute albums. In 1991, not long after joining Dream Theater (and before ever appearing on a Dream Theater recording), he sang background vocals on the song "Life in Still Water" on Fates Warning's "Parallels" album.[6] He has appeared on many Trent Gardner releases (including Leonardo: The Absolute Man and Explorer's Club), as well as appearing on albums by such artists as Ayreon (The Human Equation, released 2004), Shadow Gallery, Tim Donahue and Frameshift.
LaBrie is also a featured vocalist on Henning Pauly's "Babysteps" project released in 2006; LaBrie plays the role of the arrogant doctor.
Since 2004, LaBrie has been working with the True Symphonic Rockestra project, along with Thomas Dewald, Vladimir Grishko, Dirk Ulrich, Christopher Jesidero, Sandro Martinez, Paul Mayland, Marvin Philippi, and Igor Marin. Their album, "Concerto In True Minor - 3 Rock Tenors" was released on iTunes and for download on Amazon on March 28, 2008 by Brainworx and Marinsound.
LaBrie currently resides in Midland, Ontario, with his wife Karen, daughter Chloe, and son Chance. His Dream Theater bandmate, Jordan Rudess jokingly nicknamed him Pirate, as he stated in the Chaos in Motion DVD. According to the spoof rock band Nightmare Cinema (the Dream Theater members changing instruments playing a gig) he got the "alternate stage name" Abdul Matahari.
James has said in many interviews that he is Christian, and actively practices the religion.
His musical inspiration comes from many different genres, including such artists as Sebastian Bach, Aerosmith, Don Dokken, Metallica, The Doors, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole,[7] Queen, Sting, and Muse whose inspiration, according to LaBrie, is shown on Dream Theater's album, Octavarium.
LaBrie was placed #15 on MusicRadar's "The greatest vocalists of all time" in 2010.[8] During his career with Dream Theater, LaBrie's singing voice has also attracted criticism. In response to detractors of his vocal abilities, LaBrie has said, "These people are pathetic and need to move on. I say get a life and maybe work on making your life a better one instead of thinking the answer lies in cutting someone else up to raise your miserable spirit."[9]
On December 29, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie was stricken with a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated shrimp and while vomiting, he ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do except have him rest his voice as much as possible. However, on January 12, 1995, and against doctor's orders, he was on the "Awake" tour in Japan with his voice far from normal.[10] LaBrie has said he did not feel vocally "normal" until at least 2002. LaBrie has said that this was a very hard time for him as a singer, and depression as a result caused him to consider departing from the band, although his bandmates supported him and told him to stay. After the "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" tour he discovered that his voice had fully returned. He has said that his voice was fully healed by time and training.[10]
| Title | Release | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Rose | 1989 | Winter Rose |
| Images and Words | 1992 | Dream Theater |
| Awake | 1994 | |
| A Change of Seasons | 1995 | |
| Falling into Infinity | 1997 | |
| Scenes from a Memory | 1999 | |
| Keep It to Yourself | MullMuzzler | |
| MullMuzzler 2 | 2001 | |
| Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence | 2002 | Dream Theater |
| Train of Thought | 2003 | |
| Octavarium | 2005 | |
| Elements of Persuasion | Solo | |
| Systematic Chaos | 2007 | Dream Theater |
| Black Clouds & Silver Linings | 2009 | |
| Static Impulse | 2010 | Solo |
| A Dramatic Turn of Events | 2011 | Dream Theater |
| TBA | 2012 | Solo |
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