John Petrucci Biography

John Peter Petrucci was born July 12, 1967 in King's Park, New York. He started playing guitar at age eight and by age twelve he was in his first band with friend Kevin Moore. He largely taught himself to play the guitar through attempts to emulate his idols including Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Alex Lifeson. He would practice for at least six hours every day.

He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston with childhood friend John Myung. It was here they met Mike Portnoy and founded the group Majesty, later Dream Theater. John became the primary lyricist early on in their career, penning their first song "Another Won" among others. Together, he and Portnoy have produced every Dream Theater album since 1999's Metropolis Pt. II: Scenes From a Memory.

John has also collaborated on a number of projects with other prominent musicians, including Liquid Tension Experiment, and G3 in it's various incarnations with Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, and Steve Vai among other iconic guitarists. John has toured with G3 a total of six times, more than any other of these other rock icons. He has also collaborated with Derek Sherinian and Marty Friedman on their solo albums. John has released one solo record, Suspended Animation, as well as an instructional video, Rock Discipline. In 2007, Guitar Magazine recognized him as their "Guitarist of the Year".

John currently resides on Long Island with his wife Rena and three children Samantha, Reny and Kiara. In his free time, he enjoys being with his family, watching movies, and making home improvements. He also dedicates much of his time off to weight training.