About James Labrie

Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian vocalist who is best known for being the lead singer in progressive metal band Dream Theater. He has released several (progressive rock/metal style) solo albums as well as collaborating in various projects. He was born in Penetenguishene, Ontario, Canada and started singing and playing drums at age 5. By his mid-teens, LaBrie was a member of several bands as a singer and/or drummer, and in 1981, at age 18, he moved to Toronto to further his musical pursuits. He currently still resides in Toronto, with his wife Karen, daughter Chloe, and son Chance. Formerly of the band Winter Rose, he sent a sample to Dream Theater when they were auditioning for a new vocalist after firing their previous one, Charlie Dominici. He subsequently got the job, debuting on Dream Theater's seminal progressive metal album "Images and Words", and reverted to using James as his first name to avoid confusion, as there already was a Kevin, as well as two Johns in the band at the time. LaBrie has made many guest appearances with other artists, beginning with the song Life In Still Water on Fates Warning's album "Parallels". In 1998, he performed on the Explorers Club album "Age of Impact". He participated in Ayreon's rock opera "The Human Equation", where he had one of the main parts as the character "Me", released in 2004. James had earlier said that appearing on an Ayreon record would be a dream come true, and Arjen Anthony Lucassen isn't the type of person to spoil such a chance. He also lent his voice to the conceptual progressive project Frameshift from Henning Pauly on its first album "Unweaving the Rainbow", and to the track Another Day Dies on Redemption's "Snowfall On Judgement Day". He released solo albums "Keep It To Yourself" and "Mullmuzzler 2" under the name Mullmuzzler, featuring collaborations with Matt Guillory, as well as with members of Shadow Gallery and Magellan. Even though his 2005 album, "Elements Of Persuasion", was released under his name, it is actually the same band line-up as MullMuzzler, with the exception of guitarist Mike Keneally, who was replaced by Marco Sfogli. This album was followed by "Static Impulse" (2010) and "Impermanent Resonance" (2013). He also sang as one of the three tenors of TSR (a.k.a. True Symphonic Rockestra).