John Petrucci has revealed that Allan Holdsworth and Tommy Emmanuel are two guitarists who continue to leave him in awe, and he also reflected on Dream Theater’s deep admiration for Iron Maiden and Rush.
Throughout his career, John Petrucci has amazed audiences with his guitar playing. Whether with Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, his solo projects, G3, or other musical endeavors, Petrucci has become a respected figure in the progressive rock guitar world. However, even a virtuoso like Petrucci is moved by the incredible talent of other musicians, as he shared in a recent interview on the “John The Metal Mailman” podcast.
When asked to name some guitarists who make him think, “How do they do that?”, Petrucci shared the following:
“I mean, so many… Back when he was alive, Allan Holdsworth. He’s one of those players where I would just say, ‘What? How? How do you play guitar like that!? It’s insane.’ I’m a big fan of Tommy Emmanuel. I’ve seen him live a bunch of times, and he has such command over the acoustic guitar. I’m laughing, crying, like, ‘How the hell is he doing that?’ It’s crazy.”
No matter how progressive Dream Theater’s music becomes, the band has always stayed true to its metal roots, which is reflected in their key influences. Petrucci recalled that in the early days of the band, he and bassist John Myung would often play Iron Maiden songs:
“We sure did. John Myung and I, when we were in middle school, around 12 years old, all we did was play Maiden. We knew every single Maiden song, from ‘Number of the Beast’ to ‘Peace of Mind’…”
Rush was also a major influence on Dream Theater, and Petrucci made it clear that Rush is his favorite band of all time. He shared:
“We were also huge Rush fans. Rush is my favorite band of all time. When John and I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston at 18, I met Mike Portnoy there, and that was definitely something we all had in common. We were huge Rush fans, huge Maiden fans. That’s what brought us together.”
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