Editing Dream Theater (section)

=== ''When Dream and Day Unite'' (1988–1990) ===
With their new name and band stability, Dream Theater concentrated on writing more material while playing more concerts in New York and in neighboring states. This eventually attracted the attention of Mechanic Records, a division of [[MCA Inc.|MCA]]. Dream Theater signed their first record contract with Mechanic on June 23, 1988,<ref name="WDADU Demos">Portnoy, Mike (2004). Nathan Edmonds help produce "When Dream and Day Unite Demos" 1987–1989 [CD Liner Notes]. New York: YtseJam Records.</ref> and set out to record its debut album. The band recorded the album at Kajem Victory Studios in [[Gladwyne, Pennsylvania]]. Recording the basic tracks took about ten days, and the entire album was completed in about three weeks.<ref name="Charlie Dominici">Dominici, Charlie. When Dream And Day Unite liner notes (2004 re-release).</ref>

''[[When Dream and Day Unite]]'' was released in 1989 to far less fanfare than the band had anticipated. Mechanic ended up breaking the majority of the financial promises they had made to Dream Theater before signing their contract, so the band was restricted to playing around New York City. The promotional tour for the album consisted of just five concerts, all of which were relatively local. The first show was at Sundance in [[Bay Shore, New York]] opening for the classic rock power trio [[Zebra (American band)|Zebra]].<ref name="topography">{{cite web|url=http://www.mikeportnoy.com/dates/tourography/?tour=4 |title=Mike Portnoy.com The Official Website |website=Mikeportnoy.com |access-date=January 30, 2016}}</ref>

After the fourth show, [[Charlie Dominici]] was let go because the band was starting to feel the limitations of his voice based upon the vocal style they wanted. The band was looking for a singer with a style more like [[Bruce Dickinson]] or [[Geoff Tate]], and Dominici's stage presence was not what they wanted for a frontman. Shortly after, however, the band [[Marillion]] asked Dream Theater to open for them at a gig at [[The Ritz (rock club)|the Ritz]] in New York, so Dominici was allowed to perform one last time.<ref name="topography" /> It would be nearly two years before Dream Theater had a replacement vocalist.