After Brussels the band enjoyed a day off in
Frachen, Germany, near Cologne. The weather was perfect for experiencing a rural German town complete with a Saturday
midday marketplace, then an evening in Cologne drinking in images of the city's beautiful cathedrals, the Rhine River,
and culture. The Palladium in Cologne was the third largest show of the tour with close to 4,000 fans. An interesting
venue in an industrial park, it looked like a transformed machine shop or factory. The following day's show at the
Forum in Nurnburg, Germany saw the first of the Tiles/Dream Theater sound
check jams. Various members of both groups jammed delightfully on Rush and Deep Purple covers shortly before the doors
opened at the venue. Chris explains, "It came from my offer to play Petrucci's guitar and amp rig so he could hear how
it sounded out front. The sound and power were just massive! Portnoy was still tapping on his drums so we started
playing a few covers like Xanadu and 2112 from Rush. Mike switched to bass with Pat on drums, John reclaimed his
guitar, and Jordan joined in on Deep Purple tunes and some general jamming. It was a lot of fun!"
These touring experiences, coupled with the wonderful scenery and European people and atmosphere, proved very
inspirational to Chris. "You know, we thought it perfectly reasonable to speculate that this may be our only true
tour, outside of what we do around the Midwest," he explains. "Touring is very costly and we don't have a wall of gold
records to make it consistently affordable. In weighing the financial responsibility we assumed against the
opportunity to travel Europe, support DT in front of 25,000 fans, and play to our own European fans - all with the
invaluable assistance from our record company - how could we turn down the chance?"
"We certainly owe a huge debt of gratitude to our driver Michael. A native German, he interacted on our behalf every
day, and also spoke enough Dutch and French to pull us through. Except for days off, Michael would make arrangements
with the venues and get permission for us to park overnight with an electrical hookup so we could sleep on the
bus. He was kind enough to act as occasional tour guide and chaperoned our excursions into the cities," continues
Chris. Besides the sights and scenery, another aspect truly enjoyed by Tiles was the food native to each country. At
least "most" everyone appreciated it! "The catering throughout the tour covered a wide spectrum in quality, but you
could always depend on the German chefs to be the best," enthuses Herin. "Practically gourmet! We always made a special
point of trying various dishes on off days, especially when we could do some sightseeing. An odd 'drummer-thing'
occurred though. Both Mike and Pat went on and on about the consistency of McDonald's food throughout Europe. We
finally turned Pat around and got him sampling something more adventurous! I'm not sure about Mike."
The second half of the tour marched back and forth through the Swiss, Italian, Austrian, and French Alps for some
breathtaking scenery. The late night trip from Munich, Germany to Milan, Italy was lighted by a full moon that
silhouetted the intimidating mountain range against a skiff of snow that had started to accumulate. The road snaked its
way through the huge valley, running parallel to the river. Clusters of lights shone in the distance and announced the
locations of small towns. Several major cities were also nestled in the valley, their lights casting an eerie glow,
which shone to the highest peak. "It's hard to sleep knowing what's passing by," Chris explains. "I sat in the front
passenger seat of the bus looking out the big windows at the country side until I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I
can still picture it."
Tiles arrived in Milan, Italy for the only arena show of the tour. Over 7,500 eager Dream Theater fans began piling
into the venue as Tiles set up their equipment and prepared for a
brief sound check. The promoter's production schedule was so far behind that DT barely had time for a proper sound
check. "The Milan show generates a lot of conflicting memories that's for sure," recalls Chris. "The fans and the media
were great, the promoter rude and unreasonable, and the venue was huge and fun! Our soundman, Mark, really delivered
under less than ideal circumstances. Also, someone stole a plastic Simpsons-family caricature that Mike had loaned as a
stage prop off our dressing room door. But overall a great experience and show which we captured on video."
Following Italy was a day off in Lyon, France. On the eve of their tenth gig of the tour, both bands wound up staying
at the same hotel. Chris and Alex, DT's tour manager, had discussed an evening out
with the bands and crew. Lyon was the last chance so plans were made for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The evening was
spent swapping musical anecdotes; road stories, jokes, and harassing the French waitresses who spoke zero English.
"James and Mike helped the rest of us decipher the menu then we would point at what we wanted," laughs Chris. "The bar
tab nearly equaled the food so you can imagine the frustration of the poor waitresses having to cope with 20 loud
Americans and a Canadian."
After dinner John Petrucci invited Chris to his
hotel room for a little jamming. It was an experience he wouldn't soon forget. "I had pestered John off and on about
getting a lesson from him before the tour was over. Mike Portnoy and I had a few cognacs in the bar of the hotel while
I waited for John to finish up some phone calls. Mike said how guitarists are always asking to jam with John - people
like Marty Friedman and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth - which actually
started making me more nervous," expresses Herin. "Petrucci is the consummate musician, much like Steve Morse - so it
was a little intimidating at first. He's able to adapt to almost any kind of music - flawless technique but never at
the expense of musical value or melody. Anyway, he was just so nice. He said 'I never give lessons, I only exchange
ideas. I always can learn something from everybody.' To hear someone of his skill level say that is such a refreshing
attitude." They proceeded to dissect an Allan Holdsworth transcription from Metal Fatigue that Chris learned from an
old Guitar Player magazine. John took a liking to it and the exercise provided a launching pad for shared discussion
and playing.
