Many of the larger progressive bands have a much larger online presence than their equivalents in the mainstream. If you want to spread the word to like-minded people, you'll need to start posting...

John Petrucci: “It’s completely necessary. The music that we’re playing in Periphery and Dream Theater is not the type of thing that gets mainstream exposure. The network of fans all connecting, interchanging, trading stories… it’s essential for bands like ours to spread the word.”

Misha Mansoor: “I’d just post songs online [to SoundClick], and people seemed to dig them and I was always corresponding. Yeah, criticism comes with the territory. It’s a loud minority, and the plain truth is that 99 per cent of these people would never tell you that to your face.”

John Petrucci: “You have to always maintain self-confidence, because if you lose that identity and play into what everybody’s saying, then you’re losing yourself, and the music isn’t gonna have the same conviction… and then you’re done.”

Pick up Total Guitar issue 226, on sale in the US this month, for the full in-depth interview with John Petrucci and Misha Mansoor, plus a special tutorial feature on John’s ultimate warm-up routine.

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