He has jokingly referred to his guitar idols as "the Steves and the Als". Petrucci is a largely self-taught guitarist who developed his skills through attempts to match the skill of his idols, who included Steve Morse, Steve Howe, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Al Di Meola, Alex Lifeson and Allan Holdsworth. Influences, awards and other accomplishments However, his skill are seen as minimal, his overly zealous technique lead to him tiring himself completely out after one short song, much to Portnoy's amusement.
Like with Portnoy, Petrucci is a skilled songwriter and lyricist, writing most of the lyrics for Dream Theater songs, far more than any other member. He co-produced every Dream Theater album from Scenes From a Memory to Black Clouds & Silver Linings until Portnoy's departure in 2010, when Petrucci produced their proceeding album A Dramatic Turn of Events by himself. He also performs backing vocals, both live and in the studio, and has done so since the Awake tour.īack in 1997, when Dream Theater performed as Nightmare Cinema, Petrucci played drums. Petrucci is also known to be religious, a practicing Catholic, something that is often reflected in his lyrics.Īlthough Petrucci is primarly known as a guitarist, he has other skills as well. It is likely that Petrucci's strict regimen of exercise and practice keeps him from having very much spare time, though he does reportedly enjoy video games. He has a wife, Rena Petrucci as well as three children Remy, Kiara and SamiJo. Very little is known about Petrucci's personal life, as he chooses to live privately. Petrucci, like Portnoy has a website with a forum, however his posts are infrequent and usually related only to his music. As opposed to Portnoy, who goes out of his way to converse and meet with fans, Petrucci does not seek them out, however fans have noted him to be approachable and amiable in person. Petrucci's relationship with his fans is also reserved. Petrucci has working relationships with many musicians, though if he has any friendships with them, they are kept private.
To many, Petrucci seems like the more quiet counterpart to Mike Portnoy, seeming to be an amiable yet reserved individual. Petrucci's role in Dream Theater can best be described as a "co-leader" along with Portnoy, whom he had been known to defer to in certain cases. Petrucci's influence in the band, particularly songwriting, is vast, perhaps only secondary to Portnoy due to the drummer's more vocal approach. The three struck up an immediate friendship and, along with another high school friend Kevin Moore on keyboards and Chris Collins on vocals, and started a band, "Majesty," later known as Dream Theater based on their mutual influences. Petrucci along with his childhood friend John Myung attended Berklee College, and the two friends came across Mike Portnoy, another Long Island native who shared an interest in progressive and metal music. Petrucci noted that he had a hard time convincing his parents to let him go to Berklee, a famous university of musical study, and an even harder time convincing them to let him drop out, to pursue his career with the band that would eventually become Dream Theater. Petrucci started an almost obsessive regimen of practice and exercise, often cited to practice upwards of six hours a day, a regimen he is largely believed to continue to this day. Petrucci abandoned the instrument at this point, but picked it up again at age 12 to join a band along with his friend Kevin Moore. He chose guitar becuase it "seemed fun" but his plan backfired as his practice sessions were scheduled in the early afternoon. Noticing that his sister got to stay up past her bedtime to practice the organ, Petrucci decided to take up an instrument as a ploy to stay up late. Petrucci first had an interest in guitar at the age of eight. Petrucci grew up in Long Island with his parents and sister, who were also musicians.