Mullmuzzler

Sometimes a project operates like a full band and sometimes it functions more as a solo endeavor. MullMuzzler falls into both categories at once. Although the endeavor is essentially James LaBrie of Dream Theater working on his own, it also operates as an entirely new group with the vocalist simply serving as its frontman. LaBrie launched the effort in 1998 by enlisting Trent Gardner of Magellan and Explorer's Club, Matt Guillory of Dali's Dilemma, Gary Sloyer, and Shadow Gallery members Carl Cadden-James, Brendt Allman, and Gary Wehrkamp to handle songwriting duties. Additional players were later brought in to realize the desired sound, among them Mike Keneally, whose past associations include Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, and Beer for Dolphins, Mike Mangini, formerly of Extreme and Steve Vai, and Bryan Beller, who has worked with Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai, and Beer for Dolphins. The debut album was assembled with minimal face-to-face interaction, relying instead on exchanges conducted through email and conventional post. The experience prompted LaBrie to reflect on circumstances that block personal expression, leading him to invent the word MullMuzzler as a label for the act of silencing "an individual's thought before it can be expressed in any manner," as he put it. He formed the term by merging "mull," which signifies the consideration of an idea, with "muzzle," which denotes the act of gagging. Once the name was settled, the group completed its first record, Keep It to Yourself, issued in 1999. LaBrie soon turned to a second collection, resulting in MullMuzzler 2, which appeared in 2001 and again featured the central lineup of LaBrie, Keneally, Mangini, Guillory, and Beller alongside several guest contributors.