Jordan was recognized by his 2nd grade teacher as an exceptional piano player, and was immediately given professional tuition to enhance his prodigious talents. By the age of nine he entered the prestigious Julliard School of Music Pre-College Division for classical piano training, but by his late teens he had grown increasingly interested in synthesizers and progressive rock music. Against the advice and wishes of his parents and tutors, he decided to turn away from classical piano and try his hand as a solo prog rock keyboardist.
After performing in various projects during the 1980s, he gained national attention in 1994 when he was voted "Best New Talent" in the Keyboard Magazine readers' poll after the release of his Listen solo album.Two of the bands who took notice of the up and coming young star were Dixie Dregs and Dream Theater, both of whom invited him to join their respective bands. Jordan chose the Dregs primarily because being a part-time member of the band would have less of an impact on his young family, a choice he wasn't given with Dream Theater.
During his time with the Dregs, Jordan formed a so-called "power duo" with drummer Rod Morgenstein. The genesis of this pairing occurred when a power outage caused all of the Dregs' instruments to fail except Jordan's, so he and Rod improvised with each other until power was restored and the concert could continue. The chemistry between the two was so strong during this jam that they decided to perform together on a regular basis (under the name Rudess/Morgenstein Project or later RPM) and have since released a studio and a live record.
Jordan encountered Dream Theater once again when he and Morgenstein secured the support slot on one of Dream Theater's North American tours.
In 1997, when Mike Portnoy was asked to form a supergroup by Magna Carta Records, Jordan was chosen to fill the keyboardist spot in the band, which also consisted of Tony Levin and Mike's Dream Theater colleague John Petrucci. During the recording of Liquid Tension Experiment's two albums, it became evident to Mike and John that Jordan was precisely what Dream Theater needed. They asked Jordan to join the band, and when he accepted they released their then-keyboardist Derek Sherinian to make way for Jordan.
Jordan has been the full-time keyboardist in Dream Theater since the recording of 1999's Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory. He has recorded 8 other studio albums since then; 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2003's Train of Thought, 2005's Octavarium, 2007's Systematic Chaos, 2009's Black Clouds & Silver Linings, 2011's A Dramatic Turn of Events, 2013's Dream Theater, and 2016's The Astonishing. In addition, he has appeared on the live albums Live Scenes From New York, Live at Budokan, Score, Chaos in Motion, Live at Luna Park, and Breaking the Fourth Wall.
While most keyboard players in rock bands tend towards bringing numerous keyboards on stage, Rudess took full advantage of the possibilities offered by the Kurzweil K2600xs during his usage from the 1990's to 2004. Often sampling sounds from other keyboards, Rudess creates a series of setups, each of which maps different sounds to different layers and key ranges of the keyboard controller; these setups are then arranged in the order they will be required for a gig, and cycled through one at a time with a control pedal.
While Rudess' physical method of changing live setups will more than likely remain the same, his choice of hardware to implement this changed as of 2005. Citing a need for better tour support and more current technologies (his Kurzweil 2600's maximum sample memory of 128 MB had become insufficient for his touring needs) Rudess switched keyboard endorsements from Kurzweil to Korg's new flagship Korg Oasys workstation (which supports up to 1.5gb of sample memory [1]), which he uses on tour with Dream Theater along with a Receptor and a Haken Continuum triggering a Roland V-Synth and a Synthesizers.com Modular.
Studio Equipment
* Korg Oasys
* Haken Audio Continuum Fingerboard
* Muse Research Receptor
* Kurzweil K2600xs fully loaded 88 note weighted keyboard
* Kurzweil K2600 Rack modules
* Kurzweil K2000VP keyboard
* Kurzweil PC2 rack
* Minimoog
* Roland V-Synth
* Synthesizer.com Modular Synth
Virtual Instruments
* MOTU Mach 5
* MOTU MX4 Soft Synth
* Korg Legacy
* Spectrasonics Atmosphere
* Spectrasonics Trilogy
* Spectrasonics Stylus
* Native Instruments Komplete 2
* Native Instruments Absynth
* Native Instruments B4
* Native Instruments Guitar Rig
* Native Instruments FM7
* Native Instruments Pro 53
Live Rig
* Korg OASYS 88
* Freehand Systems Music Pad Pro
* Muse Receptor
* Synthesizers.com Custom Modular Synth
* Haken Continuum Fingerboard
* (2)Roland V-Synth XT
* Lap Steel Guitar
* Mackie 1604VLZ Pro Mixer
* APS Power backup
* Glyph and Iomega Hard drives
Discography
Solo albums
* Arrival (Cassette) (1988)
* Listen (CD) (1993)
* Secrets of the Muse (CD) (1997)
* Resonance (CD) (1999)
* Feeding the Wheel (CD) (2001)
* 4NYC (CD) (2002)
* Christmas Sky (CD) (2002)
* Rhythm of Time (CD) (2004)
* The Road Home (CD) (2007)
* Notes on a Dream (CD) (2009)
* All That Is Now (CD) (2013)
* Explorations (CD) (2014)
* The Unforgotten Path (CD) (2015)
With Dream Theater
* Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (CD) (1999)
* Live Scenes from New York (DVD/3CD) (2001)
* Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2CD) (2002)
* Train of Thought (CD) (2003)
* Live at Budokan (2DVD/3CD) (2004)
* Octavarium (CD) (2005)
* Score (2DVD/3CD) (2006)
* Systematic Chaos (CD) (2007)
* Chaos in Motion (2DVD/3CD) (2008)
* Black Clouds & Silver Linings (CD; 3CD/DVD) (2009)
* A Dramatic Turn of Events (CD) (2011)
* Dream Theater (CD) (2013)
* Live at Luna Park (2DVD/3CD) (2013)
* Breaking the Fourth Wall (2DVD/3CD) (2014)
* The Astonishing (2CD) (2016)
Project Albums
* Rudess/Morgenstein Project (CD) (1997)
* An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess (CD) (2001)
* Rudess/Morgenstein Project - The Official Bootleg (CD) (2001)
With Liquid Tension Experiment/Liquid Trio Experiment
* Liquid Tension Experiment (CD) (1998)
* Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (CD) (1999)
* Spontaneous Combustion (CD) (2007, as Liquid Trio Experiment)
* When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in Chicago (CD) (2009, as Liquid Trio Experiment 2)
* Liquid Tension Experiment Live 2008 (6CD/2DVD/BR) (2009)
Guest Appearance
* Vinnie Moore - Time Odyssey (1988)
* Noirin Ni Riain - Celtic Soul (1996)
* Explorers Club - Age Of Impact (1998)
* Rhonda Larson - Free as a bird (1999)
* Paul Winter and The Earth Band - Journey With The Sun (2000)
* Scott McGill - Addition by Subtraction (2001)
* Prefab Sprout - The Gunman And Other Stories (2001)
* David Bowie - Heathen (2002)
* Jupiter - Echo and Art (2003)
* Neal Morse - ? (2005)
* Daniel J - Losing Time (2005)
* Steven Wilson - Insurgentes (2008)
* Neil Zaza - When Gravity Fails (Not yet released)
Other
* Speedway Boulevard - Speedway Boulevard (CD) (1981)
* Steinway to Heaven - Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10, No. 12)" (1996)
Dance on a Volcano
Jordan Rudess Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got to go faster than that to get to the top
Dirty old mountain
All covered in smoke, she can turn you to stone
So you better start doing it right
better start doing it right
You're halfway up and you're halfway down
Throw it away, you won't need it up there, and remember
You don't look back whatever you do
Better start doing it right
On your left and on your right
Crosses are green and crosses are blue
Your friends didn't make it through
Out of the night and out of the dark
Into the fire and into the fight
Well that's the way the heroes go, Ho! Ho! Ho!
Through a crack in Mother Earth
Blazing hot, the molten rock
Spills out over the land
And the lava's the lover who licks your boots away
Hey! Hey! Hey!
If you don't want to boil as well
B-B-Better start the dance
D-D-Do you want to dance with me
You better start doing it right
The music's playing, the notes are right
Put your left foot first and move into the light
The edge of this hill is the edge of the world
And if you're going to cross you better start doing it
Right
better start doing it right
You better start doing it right
Let the dance begin
The epic and intense song "Dance on a Volcano" by Jordan Rudess is a metaphorical account of climbing a dangerous volcano. The first verse opens with the singer emphasizing the need for speed "Holy Mother of God, You've got to go faster than that to get to the top." The mountain is described as "Dirty old mountain, All covered in smoke, she can turn you to stone, So you better start doing it right" warning of the dangers of the mountain. The second verse alludes to the sacrifices one has to make to reach the top, "Your friends didn't make it through" and the heat is emphasized by the lyrics "Blazing hot, the molten rock, Spills out over the land, And the lava's the lover who licks your boots away." The singer entreats the listener to start dancing as an alternative to boiling in the lava, emphasizing throughout that one must be careful and doing it right.
The chorus is a call to action, reminding the listener that the music is playing and the notes are right, and it's time to start doing it right, the dance that will take one to the top, that is, to overcome life's adversity whatever it may be. The metaphor of climbing a volcano remains throughout the rest of the song, with the chorus repeated three more times to emphasize the importance of focusing and doing it right to reach the summit of the volcano alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Holy Mother of God
A mild exclamation of surprise and awe
You've got to go faster than that to get to the top
You need to speed up your progress if you want to achieve success
Dirty old mountain
A mountain that is old and covered in dirt and grime
All covered in smoke, she can turn you to stone
The mountain is fiercely dangerous and can kill if you aren't careful
So you better start doing it right
Start taking appropriate steps and precautions quickly to avoid harm
You're halfway up and you're halfway down
You're in a precarious position, neither here nor there
And the pack on your back is turning you around
The baggage you're carrying is holding you back
Throw it away, you won't need it up there, and remember
Leave behind what is holding you back as they are of no use on this journey
You don't look back whatever you do
Don't dwell in the past, keep moving forward
On your left and on your right
There are dangers on both sides
Crosses are green and crosses are blue
The signs of danger are everywhere, and some are subtle
Your friends didn't make it through
Others were not able to survive the journey
Out of the night and out of the dark
Emerging from danger
Into the fire and into the fight
Fighting through hardship
Well that's the way the heroes go, Ho! Ho! Ho!
That's how those who are successful make it through, with bravery and strength
Through a crack in Mother Earth
A crevice in the ground
Blazing hot, the molten rock
The ground is heated by lava underneath
Spills out over the land
The lava flows over everything
And the lava's the lover who licks your boots away
The lava is all-consuming and dangerous
Hey! Hey! Hey!
An expression of excitement
If you don't want to boil as well
If you don't want to suffer the same fate
B-B-Better start the dance
Better start taking action now
D-D-Do you want to dance with me
Do you want to take this dangerous journey with me?
Let the dance begin
Let's start our journey
The music's playing, the notes are right
The journey is set, everything is in place
Put your left foot first and move into the light
Take the first step in the right direction, and move towards safety
The edge of this hill is the edge of the world
This may be the end of the road
And if you're going to cross you better start doing it
If you plan to cross the hill, do it quickly
Right
Do it correctly and safely
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Anthony George Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Steven Richard Hackett
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind