Timothy Cornelius Donahue (June 8, 1870 in Raynham, Massachusetts – June 12, 1902 in Taunton, Massachusetts) was a catcher in Major League Baseball.

Sources[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

This biographical article relating to a United States baseball catcher born in the 1870s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

James LaBrie
James LaBrie in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Kevin James LaBrie
Born	(1963-05-05) May 5, 1963 (age 49) Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Progressive metal, progressive rock, power metal, rock opera, melodic death metal, glam metal
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, percussion
Labels	Roadrunner
Associated acts	Dream Theater, Winter Rose, Ayreon, MullMuzzler, True Symphonic Rockestra, Sebastian Bach, Fates Warning, Shadow Gallery, Explorers Club, Trent Gardner, Henning Pauly, Frameshift, Tim Donahue
Website	www.jameslabrie.com

Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian vocalist who is best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada and started singing and playing drums at age 5. By his mid-teens, he was a member of several bands as a singer and/or drummer. He stopped playing drums at age 17^[1] and in 1981, at age 18, he moved to Toronto to further his musical pursuits.

Career[link]

Winter Rose[link]

After stints with various bands, LaBrie became the vocalist for the glam metal band Winter Rose, who released their self-titled album in 1989.

Dream Theater[link]

In 1990, LaBrie learned that American progressive metal band Dream Theater was looking for a new singer, so he submitted a tape and was quickly flown to New York for a full audition. The trial went well, and he was chosen ahead of 200 other hopefuls to fill the full-time vocalist position in that band.^[2]

LaBrie has since had a significant impact on the vocal melodies on each Dream Theater album, but until recently has had little input on the instrumentation of Dream Theater's music - 2011's A Dramatic Turn of Events features LaBrie in the music credits on three songs. To date he has written or co-written lyrics for at least one song on eight of the ten albums Dream Theater has released with him in the band, Images and Words and Black Clouds & Silver Linings containing none of them.

Asked by Prog-Sphere.com what is his favorite Dream Theater song to play live, James says "The favorite song for me is Scarred, I love performing that live. And… well, Octavarium, that whole frickin’ thing."^[3]

Solo[link]

With Matt Guillory, LaBrie has released four solo albums under various names (Mullmuzzler, James LaBrie's Mullmuzzler, and simply James LaBrie).

In an interview from "Beyond The Dark Horizon" on June 12, 2010, James LaBrie stated that his next solo album entitled "Static Impulse", is in the mixing stages and will contain 12 tracks. James stated "It’s very heavy and I’m really excited."^[4]

On July 27, 2010 it was announced on Dream Theater's website that "Static Impulse" would be released on September 27, 2010 through InsideOut Music. It features longtime collaborator Matt Guillory on keyboards, Marco Sfogli ("Elements of Persuasion") on guitars, Peter Wildoer from DARKANE on drums/screaming vocals, and Ray Riendeau on bass.

James LaBrie stated "The release of Static Impulse is one that the whole band is psyched about. This is modern Metal and as heavy and relevant as any other band out there going in a similar musical direction. There are riffs that will blow your head off and melodies both musically and vocally that are hypnotic. Get in the driver's seat and let the ears bleed. Enjoy and see you out there with a tour to follow up and support this release."^[5]

In 2011's interview for Prog-Sphere.com, LaBrie stated that the US tour got cancelled, saying "Because it was so disorganized last time. That’s why I basically said, 'You don’t have the visas yet. Where we’re at this point, by the time you get the visas processed, we're gonna have one rehearsal and then we're gonna go out.' And I said, 'I'm not doing that.' "^[3]

Other projects[link]

Throughout his career with Dream Theater, LaBrie has lent his voice to many other artists' records as well as tribute albums. In 1991, not long after joining Dream Theater (and before ever appearing on a Dream Theater recording), he sang background vocals on the song "Life in Still Water" on Fates Warning's "Parallels" album.^[6] He has appeared on many Trent Gardner releases (including Leonardo: The Absolute Man and Explorer's Club), as well as appearing on albums by such artists as Ayreon (The Human Equation, released 2004), Shadow Gallery, Tim Donahue and Frameshift.

LaBrie is also a featured vocalist on Henning Pauly's "Babysteps" project released in 2006; LaBrie plays the role of the arrogant doctor.

Since 2004, LaBrie has been working with the True Symphonic Rockestra project, along with Thomas Dewald, Vladimir Grishko, Dirk Ulrich, Christoph Wansleben, Sandro Martinez, Paul Mayland, Marvin Philippi, and Igor Marin. Their album, "Concerto In True Minor - 3 Rock Tenors" was released on iTunes and for download on Amazon on March 28, 2008 by Brainworx and Marinsound.

Personal life[link]

LaBrie currently resides in Midland, Ontario, with his wife Karen, daughter Chloe, and son Chance. His Dream Theater bandmate, Jordan Rudess, jokingly nicknamed him Pirate, as he stated in the Chaos in Motion DVD. According to the parody rock band, Nightmare Cinema (the Dream Theater members changing instruments playing a gig), he got the "alternate stage name" Abdul Matahari.

Religious views[link]

James had said in many older interviews that he was Christian, and actively practiced the religion. However, in 2005 he revealed that he's since strayed from organised religion, and now considers himself "a more spiritual-directed person."^[7][8]

Singing[link]

Influences[link]

His musical inspiration comes from many different genres, including such artists as Sebastian Bach, Aerosmith, Don Dokken, Metallica, The Doors, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole,^[9] Queen, Sting, and Muse whose inspiration, according to LaBrie, is shown on Dream Theater's album, Octavarium.

Reception[link]

LaBrie was placed #15 on MusicRadar's "The greatest vocalists of all time" in 2010.^[10] During his career with Dream Theater, LaBrie's singing voice has also attracted criticism. In response to detractors of his vocal abilities, LaBrie has said, "These people are pathetic and need to move on. I say get a life and maybe work on making your life a better one instead of thinking the answer lies in cutting someone else up to raise your miserable spirit."^[11]

Food poisoning incident[link]

On December 29, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie was stricken with a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated shrimp and while vomiting, he ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do except have him rest his voice as much as possible. However, on January 12, 1995, and against doctor's orders, he was on the "Awake" tour in Japan with his voice far from normal.^[12] LaBrie has said he did not feel vocally "normal" until at least 2002. LaBrie has said that this was a very hard time for him as a singer, and depression as a result caused him to consider departing from the band, although his bandmates supported him and told him to stay. After the "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" tour he discovered that his voice had fully returned. He has said that his voice was fully healed by time and training.^[12]

Discography[link]

Albums

As a guest[link]

• Fates Warning - Parallels (1991)
• Various Artists - Working Man – A Tribute to Rush (1996)
• Various Artists - Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen (1997)
• Shadow Gallery - Tyranny (1998)
• Explorers Club - Age of Impact (1998)
• Various Artists - Encores, Legends & Paradox - A Tribute to the Music Of ELP (1999)
• Trent Gardner - Leonardo: The Absolute Man (2001)
• Explorers Club - Raising the Mammoth (2002)
• Frameshift - Unweaving the Rainbow (2003)
• Tim Donahue - Madmen & Sinners (2004)
• Ayreon - The Human Equation (2004)
• Henning Pauly - Babysteps (2006)
• John Macaluso - The Radio Waves Goodbye (2007)
• True Symphonic Rockestra - Concerto in True Minor (2008)
• Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon (2009)^[13]
• Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day (2009)
• Eden's Curse - Trinity (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• James LaBrie official web site
• 2011 interview with James LaBrie on Prog Sphere

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Edwin H. (Eddie) Kramer (born 1942 in Cape Town, South Africa) is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with, among others, Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss (and solo Ace Frehley), Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Spooky Tooth, Peter Frampton, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, Loudness and Robin Trower. As a child Kramer studied classical piano, cello and violin. He attended the prestigious South African College of Music to learn classical piano, but formed an interest in jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby.

Career[link]

1960s[link]

He started his career at Advision Sound Studios in 1962. He joined Pye Studios in 1963 where he recorded a variety of artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, The Kinks and The Searchers. He often went on the road with Bob Auger, PYE's chief engineer, to record a 90 piece symphony orchestra (using the PYE Mobile) demonstrating a versatility which Kramer possesses to this day.

In 1964 Kramer established the sophisticated KPS Studios which, despite its rudimentary two-track recording capability, gained such a reputation that, in less than a year, it was bought out by Regent Sound (where The Rolling Stones recorded their first album) who then enlisted Kramer to oversee construction and run their new four-track studio (where The Beatles recorded "Fixing A Hole").

He joined Olympic Sound Studios in 1966, in London, where he engineered albums for acts including Traffic, Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, for whom Kramer engineered every album from Are You Experienced to The Cry of Love. After Hendrix's death he co-produced War Heroes, Rainbow Bridge and Hendrix in the West.

In 1968 Kramer moved to New York to work at the Record Plant, where he engineered Hendrix's Electric Ladyland LP and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker and NRBQ. Kramer went independent in 1969, producing Johnny Winter's first LP and engineering Led Zeppelin II – the first of five albums he engineered for the band. Kramer tells of one paticular session, "Zep II was mixed over a two day period in New York and, at one point, there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal which we could not get rid of in the recording of "Whole Lotta Love". It was the middle part where Robert (Plant) screams "Woman. You need it". Jimmy (Page) and I both grabbed for the reverb fader at the same time and threw some reverb on. We looked at each other and laughed and Page said "leave it in"...."^[1]

In mid-1969 Kramer was hired to record the Woodstock Festival for both the album and the movie. The project was arduous, as he recalled ^[1] "I arrived at dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the construction of the stage. The show was scheduled to start at lunch time and I was appalled at the raw state of the event. That pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had to have Vitamin B shots in the bum so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions but we got it done. Woodstock was 3 days of drugs and hell.”

Woodstock established Kramer as one of the most important live music producers of the rock era, recording Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, Derek and the Dominos and others.

1970s[link]

In 1969 Hendrix and his manager, Michael Jeffery, hired Kramer and architect John Storyk to build a state of the art studio in what was "The Generation Club" where Jimi used to jam. Thirteen months and a million dollars later, Electric Lady Studios was complete and Kramer served as its Director of Engineering from 1970-1974. During this time, in addition to producing the posthumous Hendrix records, Kramer produced records by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na, Jobriath and Peter Frampton, engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and Lena Horne plus David Bowie's "Live at the Spectrum" and "Young Americans" which included "Fame" with John Lennon playing rhythm guitar and mixed Led Zeppelin's "houses of the Holy" and "Physical Graffiti", among others.

In 1975 Kramer left Electric Lady Studios to produce Kiss' Alive! album, beginning a long time association with the band producing "Kiss Alive II", "Double Platinum", "Rock and Roll Over", "Love Gun" and Ace Frehley's first solo album ""Ace Frehley"". His engineering work included Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same, Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! and The Rolling Stones "Love You Live".

1980s onward[link]

Kramer produced Fastway, Anthrax and Twisted Sister, as well as country and classical acts including the Kentucky Headhunters and guitarist John Williams.

Kramer produced the Hendrix tribute album, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, featuring The Cure, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, raising $750,000 for the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to Berklee College of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and The Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Kramer produced and engineered Buddy Guy's Slippin' In (1995), which received a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Record and a W.C. Handy Blues Foundation Album of the Year award. Buddy Guy and The Saturday Nite Live Band with G.E. Smith, was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award.

He also produced In From the Storm (1995), a compilation of Hendrix tracks featuring: Sting, Steve Vai and Carlos Santana with the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

In 2010, Kramer produced and engineered a single for the Claire Stahlecker Band called "Never Stop Lovin' You". The band included Claire Stahlecker on Vocals/Guitar, Ben Beutel on bass, Derek Bahr on Guitar, and Patrick Scott Seals on Drums.

Kramer worked with John McDermott of Experience Hendrix (a company owned by the Hendrix family) and Janie Hendrix (Jimi's adopted half-sister) to complete and release of Valleys of Neptune in early 2010, an album of previously unheard Jimi Hendrix. Kramer also said that there is much more unreleased material.^[2][3]

2011[link]

In 2011, Kramer produced and engineered an album Fire Red for Michael Williams Band.^[4]

Other projects[link]

Eddie Kramer has produced an instructional video, Adventures in Modern Recording, which features an interview with guitarist Les Paul. He has co-authored a Hendrix biography, Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight, with John McDermott. He is also compiling a photographic book, From the Other Side of the Glass, which features his photographs and recollections about the artists he worked with in the 60's and 70's. An exhibition of his limited edition photographs is currently being held at Metropolis Studios in London.

In late 2009, Eddie Kramer and Waves released the Eddie Kramer Collection of audio software plug-ins, five application-specific plug-ins targeting guitar, drums, vocals, bass and special effects.^[5]

Production credits[link]

Selected production credits:^[6]

Engineering credits[link]

Selected engineering credits:^[6]

References[link]

Buzzy Linhart MUSIC 1970 Produced By Buzzy Linhart and Eddie Kramer

External links[link]

• Kramer Archives, Inc. , Photography Website
• Eddie Kramer Profile at StudioExpresso.com
• Eddie Kramer Facebook Page
• The Eddie Kramer plugin collection by Waves
• Michael Williams Band