He tells Rolling Stone: "We told ourselves in the process of recording that there would be no booking tours. We only accepted because it was Dream Theater. We have a list of bands, 10 or 15 names long, that no matter what, we will say yes. It was the single biggest learning experience we've ever had as a touring professional act.

"They never sat us down and told us anything. It was just observing - how they conduct themselves with fans, how they conduct themselves with other bands, with crew, with local crew, how they practice every night, how seriously they take their craft, how tough on themselves and their performance every night they are."