Regarded as a doyen of progressive-rock bass playing, John Myung has helped steer Dream Theater through a sometimes turbulent career since their formation in the late ‘80s. He also showcases in a part-time project, Platypus, which includes guitarist and fellow Yamaha artist Ty Tabor.

Biography:

Born in Chicago in 1967, John Myung moved as a young boy to Long Island, New York, where he still lives. A keen listener of classical music he took up the violin at the age of five, turning to bass when he was in his mid teens, drawing on the inspiration of players like Yes’s Chris Squire, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and Rush’s Geddy Lee.

When at Boston’s Berklee School of Music in 1986, Myung teamed up with fellow students, guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy, and along with a keyboardist and vocalist, formed the band Majesty. A record deal was secured the following year but Majesty was short-lived because of a conflict with a similarly named band in Las Vegas, and the group renamed themselves Dream Theater, after a now-demolished Californian cinema.

Myung, Petrucci and Portnoy remain in the band to this day, but there have been various changes of vocalists and keyboardists over the years. Despite the ups and downs, Dream Theater have produced nine critically acclaimed albums since their ’89 debut release When Dream And Day Unite, and their commitment to metal-influenced progressive-rock ideals remains as alive as ever. Scenes From A Memory in 1999, for example, is a 77-minute rock opera epic hailed as one of the most legendary prog-rock albums ever, while the band’s 2002 release, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, is a two-CD work including a marathon track over 40 minutes long!

In between times, Myung has been a key member of Platypus since 1998, a collaboration with King’s X’s Ty Tabor, ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian and Dixie Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein which has resulted in three albums to date, the latest of which is The Jelly Jam. John also has a tuition video to his name - Progressive Bass Concepts, released in ’96.

Yamaha Equipment: RBX-JM six-string signature bass.

Web: www.dreamtheater.net/bio_jm (Editor’s note: He also now has an official personal site at www.johnmyung.com but the biog section is still under development.and contains nothing at the moment.)