With Jim Matheos (guitar) and Mark Zonder (drums)
Interview By: Antonio Kontokanis for PROGnosis Magazine
Photography By: Richard Rodriguez for PROGnosis Magazine

Jim-It's really hard to answer briefly we've been around for 10 years now.Um,started together in '83 in Connecticut bunch of guys from different local bands just getting together deciding to do some original material. And to make this really brief we did a demo got signed to Metal Blade, put a couple of albums out had a few member changes another couple of albums another couple of member changes...

Mark - Here we are!

Jim- Here we are basically.

Jim-Um yes, so that was... I mean without going into a lot more detail, that's about it. Mark came in 19' (hesitation) was it '89?

Mark-'89 Perfect Symmetry album.

PROGnosis-Yeah, I remember Mark from the Warlord days.

Jim-Right!

Mark- Actually this is the longest that the band has been together with any lineup, three albums, there has never been three albums done by the same lineup

PROGnosis-Give us a little insight on "Inside Out", the new album, a little brief description, how did you guys get together and worked on it...and so forth.

Jim- Um, this one was done a little different then the last one, Parallels (hesitation). Parallels we've kind of all worked together in Toronto on it. I did still a lot of the writing but we'd get together every night at rehearsal and go over new arrangements and new ideas and things like that and really a lot of bouncing off each other bouncing ideas off each other. This one more or less was done Um, via tape really, me and Mark were in LA. I would come up with the basic writing of the song, me and Mark would work on the arrangements and things like that get it to a fairly fine construction hopefully and then send it out to the different members and then they would add there parts on to it and send it back to us.

PROGnosis-Great!

Mark-Done a lot through the mail.

PROGnosis-Yeah, a lot of bands are starting to do that now, I don't know why? (Guess Tony, duh?) Maybe it's because ahh everybody is spread...out?

Mark-Don't hang out with them all year long.

Jim-Yeah you kind of limit yourself if your just going to get a band member from your neighborhood you know?

PROGnosis-Right! There you go...that's true!

PROGnosis-How is life on the road with Dream Theater?

Mark-It's great, it's great!

Mark-It's probably been the best thing that we've done!

PROGnosis-Yeah, I was going to say, what other bands have you toured with?

Jim-We've done...nothing this extensive where it's night in night out with the same band, we've done little stints with Manowar and Saxon...a few shows...

Mark- Five dates.

Jim-Things like that!

Jim-This has been, you know four or five weeks, and just playing night in night out with those guys, its been great we get a long great!

PROGnosis-You guys have the chemistry for it! Man, I tell you...(tell them what?)

Jim-Yeah we all get along great.

PROGnosis-Inseparable.

PROGnosis-Actually this one is geared a little towards Jim, what made you want to record an album like "First Impressions"?

Jim-Um, well I think me, just like everybody else, we all have a lot of different influences you know? What you see on a Fates Warning record isn't the result of everyone influences, everyone is interested in a lot of outside music aside from what we do. Um, that was just really what I was into at that time, I'm still really into that kind of music too. Just want to explore some different fields outside of this.

PROGnosis-Yeah, a lot of people are doing that, Michael Manring is another guy.

Jim-Right! He went the opposite actually! (smile)

PROGnosis-Yeah exactly!

Jim-He was kind of more like the acoustic stuff...yeah his great!

PROGnosis-Do you plan on following up on your solo album?

Jim-Yeah, I like to do something, you know,I'm just starting to think about it now I don't know if it's going to be same style or again go into a totally different field again. 'Cause I do it more or less just for myself you know? Just things that I want to explore so whenever I'm...I don't know what I'm going to do next.

PROGnosis-A question for both of you guys, influences...

Mark-Um, in this band it really varies, it's like when your talking to a lot of guys who listen to a lot of music and a lot of DIFFERENT music really, really spans,there's lot of influences, I can't really name it down to three or four I think just um, a lot of good music and what we consider good music.

PROGnosis-Did you have like any drummers that you listen to when you were growing up?

Mark-Oh, now when I was growing up, like everybody else there were certain bands you know certain rock bands and stuff, it was the Rainbow, Rush, Black Sabbath whatever! You know that kind of stuff.

Jim-Yeah, I think a lot of the stuff that you can call influences is mainly... I can consider my influences the stuff that I listen to like when I was nine or ten ,eleven, twelve. When I was growing up that's really what gets you in the mood to want to do this for a living and get you started playing things like that. So I mean, same bands you know, Rush, UFO, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath...

Mark-A lot of Europeans!

Jim-Just keeps going on.

Mark-Classic metal bands of the 70's and 80's, I guess.

PROGnosis-How do you feel about the music scene today? What are your opinions?

Jim-One word, one word to describe them would be alienated. (laugh)

PROGnosis-I know there some pretty bad stuff!

Mark-Completely out of it.

Jim-Right, the stuff that is popular today, I don't really feel any kind of...

Mark-Association to it whatsoever!

Jim-Exactly!

Mark-NONE!

Jim-I guess that about sums it up.

PROGnosis-Is there any artists...?

Jim-Oh yeah, there's a few here and there. Yeah, I'm just talking about the majority of things that are out there right now that are really popular, I just don't understand? Obviously there's a few spots, there's Dream Theater, for me anyway, Dream Theater, Kings X,

PROGnosis-Great band!

Jim-Tribe after Tribe...

PROGnosis-That's another great band!

Jim-Yeah, I mean there's things out there!

PROGnosis-A lot of these bands don't get much recognition!

PROGnosis-Do you guys plan on playing any of the older Fates Warning classics? Everybody is asking, 'Guardian', you know this and that...

Mark-We actually do 'Guardian' on the headlining set but tonight we only played 45 minutes.

Jim-Yeah, you got to keep that in mind, we did 45 minutes tonight, we have 7 albums to pick 45 minutes...

Mark-Promoting a new record.

Jim-Yeah we are promoting a new record, exactly!

Mark-And then you have to think, OK ,well your promoting a new record, your record before this was the most popular...

Jim-Right!

PROGnosis-Right.

Mark-So there's seven songs right there before you start between those two and that's, you know, the 45 minutes goes by really quick...

PROGnosis-But definitely as a headliner...

Jim-As a headliner we dove into the past a little bit, it's kind of a an issue we've been talking about a lot lately 'cause, I mean just for myself I really don't like playing a lot of the old stuff. Some of the other guys want to play some of the older stuff.

PROGnosis-Right, I mean everybody is...

Jim-Yeah, The fans, we hear it a lot, you know we hear it a lot from some of the fans they want to hear the older stuff but for me it's kind of like looking at a picture of yourself ten years ago you know, I don't feel comfortable with it.

Mark-Also what happens, you got to remember it was a completely different band, shit you know. You talk about a major singer change!

PROGnosis-Plus your drums.

Mark-That the styles, and the drums too but it's the singer change! It's like a guy trying to sing something else...we've tried stuff and it's like...

Jim-It bores us every time we play it.

PROGnosis-Where is?... Um, now I kind of heard this a bit ago, but what is Jon (Arch, ex Fates vocalist) doing these days? (Directed to Mark)-And then from your band (Warlord) do you ever keep in touch with any of the Warlord guys?

Mark-Well after they got out of the cocaine rehabilitation program...

PROGnosis-(surprised) Oh is that what happened? (laugh)

Mark-Found religion now (relating to ex Warlord member ).

PROGnosis-Yeah, most of them?

Mark-No just the one...

Jim-There is only two of them.

Mark-There is only two of us.

PROGnosis-Well, yeah? Really? (like this is news to me!)I thought there was...

Mark-Tell him what Jon is doing!

Jim-Um, Jon is just, is just a happily married guy with a kid and working a day job, his just a...average guy!

Mark-We see him all the time when were in Connecticut and everything.

PROGnosis-I heard that you guys did a couple of shows with um...

Jim-We did one show and he came out and he did Guardian with us, yeah!

PROGnosis-Yeah, was that the Connecticut show?

Jim-Right.

Mark-Awesome!

PROGnosis-I heard that there was some tapes floating around!

Jim- (Wise remark) Yeah I bet there is!

PROGnosis-(Mumble) Yeah, I like to get my greedy hands on them! (smile)

PROGnosis-What is next for Fates Warning? Possible European tour? Headline in the US or Europe?

Jim-Immediately is Europe, sometime in January or early February. Were still trying to finalize the plans right now. After that you can definitely say the rest of the band would want to come back here and tour the states some more!

Mark- I think we definitely agreed that we liked the opening type slot!

Jim-I mean this is what we wanted to do for the longest time, I mean like, were like complaining about 45 minutes but this is what we want to do! We want to get out there and play to a lot of people.

PROGnosis-I was at the Foundations Forum and that was one of Ray's (Fates lead vocalist) wishes when they had the panel, (talking about Fates wish to do a tour with Dream Theater during the annual Foundations Forum, back in September of 1994).

Jim-Yeah, Yeah!

PROGnosis-I guess...what? I Mother Earth got the first...

Jim-Yeah, they did the first two weeks actually.

PROGnosis-Wow, that was pretty short!

Mark-Yep!

PROGnosis-What does the future hold, is there any albums? Do you have any new stuff that you are working on?

Jim-Not really, This is still pretty fresh and that is what we are focused on right now, supporting this album.

Mark-This was the first five weeks of the tour, this is the initial touring for this record, it sort of early on!

Jim-Hopefully it's still has a lot of life in it!

Mark-Yeah!

PROGnosis-There is definitely a lot of life! Man, I tell you!

PROGnosis-From the past, present, drawing from your memory, can you tell the fans about a unique moment in the bands history, it could be funny, death defying, fascinating or just simply weird!

Jim-It's sitting right there! (pointing to a model of a miniature Stonehenge prop that was used that night during the Dream Theater set. Jim and Frank came out dressed like elves prancing around Stonehenge in the middle of DT's set! For those who might not now where this skit is from, it's taken from the cult classic "Spinal Tap")

Mark/Jim-Stonehenge!!!!

Jim-(after lots of laughter, picture taking and reminiscing about the repairs that will be needed on the Stoenhenge model we finally get to the point)-This is it man, this was just fucking hilarious!

PROGnosis-So how did you guys decide this?

Jim-We originally came up with it but obviously its the end of the tour and you start thinking about pranks pretty early on. So we wanted to really do something to really show them (Dream Theater that is)up. We always wind up watching that movie when we are on the road...so...

Mark-You know everybody knows what it is, so...a little ingenuity...

PROGnosis-Here is a couple of questions that I got from the Internet.Do you guys feel really strongly about the information highway, the Internet?

Jim-Um, a little familiar with it, yeah.

PROGnosis-I mean, they have for Dream Theater, they got a whole fan club.

Jim-I know.

PROGnosis-I mean, you guys are mentioned like almost, you know every two or three sentences (did I say that?), so it goes boom like that (man Tony what are you thinking about? ).

Jim-We know!

PROGnosis-Here is a couple questions that I got off the Internet, and this will be passed back to the guys.One of them asked, who played keys on 'Inside Out'?

Mark-There are no keys...

Jim-Well, yeah, there is a little bit of piano that I did.

Mark-Oh! That's right!

Jim-The rest of it is guitar synth actually.

PROGnosis-Guitar synth!

Mark - Jim played it all!

(Interruption, JJ, Fates tour manager, gives me the 5 minute sign!)

PROGnosis-There was talk about a release of a Fates Warning compilation video? Whatever happened...?

Jim-Were still talking about it. We talk about it every six months or so it's just, I don't know time hasn't been right yet, I would still guess that there would be one out sometime in the new year. It's something we want to do it's just something we never really, I guess got all the paper work together for it but hopefully this year or next year we'll get one out!

PROGnosis-Basically that's about it! I know that bands hate been labeled and stuff, I know here it comes, what category would you consider yourselves?

Mark-Rock.

PROGnosis-No progression? Close?

Jim-Funk!

PROGnosis-Good album (I thought he said 'Thonk', pertaining to Michael Manrings' new album)!

Mark-Sorry, jazz...(laugh)

PROGnosis-What are you guys listening to today? I know we've mentioned this, but if you had to pick an album...

Jim-That's easy for me that is...

PROGnosis-I know, "Awake"(puzzled when I heard their answers!).

Jim-Sarah McLachlan.

PROGnosis-Great!

Jim-Day in day out, for me!

Mark-Melissa Ethridge.

PROGnosis-Excellent!

PROGnosis-(To Jim) I heard that you are a big Kevin Gilbert fan too (Kevin Gilbert ex-Toy Matinee, Giraffe singer now solo)?

Jim-Awesome man!

PROGnosis-There's rumors that he might be showing up somewhere tomorrow.(apparently, Kevin couldn't make the Los Angeles show the following night).

Jim-Yeah, hopefully it's more then rumor man, I'm dying to meet him!

PROGnosis-Yeah great guy! I mean he just did Progfest not to long ago! (other things were said here that I can't repeat to protect the innocent )

PROGnosis-(Parting words!) Anyway guys, thank you very much!

Jim-Thank you man!

Mark-Thank you, my pleasure (exchanging parting words, blah blah blah blah).

Richard Rodriguez- (PROGnosis photographer who remained quiet for most of the time)- (To Mark) you are great drummer!

Mark-Thank you!

PROGnosis-(Passing out magazines to the guys!)Here you go, here is a copy!

Jim-(surprised!) Oh! It's this one, OK, we had this floating around the bus in Salt Lake City.

PROGnosis (snide comment ) So you guys don't need it (jokingly)!

Jim/Mark-Huh huh

THE END!