LOS ANGELES - As the frontman for a progressive metal band, Dream Theater's James LaBrie just assumed that Grammy glory would never be in his future.

Aside from the annual awards gala's brittle relationship with metal fans -- which dates back to Jethro Tull's, um, surprising win in the inaugural best hard rock/metal performance category -- the Grammys are typically pegged as strictly swimming in the mainstream.

And while Dream Theater's latest opus, "A Dramatic Turn of Events," has proven one of the most successful -- and accessible -- discs in the group's long career, it's also still a Dream Theater album, which means overwrought emotional bombast, enough jams to fill a booth at a farmer's market and a handful of songs that stretch out beyond the 10-minute mark.

Which is all to say that Dream Theater's recent Grammy nod for best hard rock/metal performance caught LaBrie off-guard.

"I was a little speechless there for a bit," the personable singer said in a recent telephone interview.

"I remember at first, I was just kind of like: 'What? A Grammy nomination? Hmm.'

"I just always thought that would elude us."

Yet it was merely the latest pleasant surprise in LaBrie's rather unlikely career.

The first fortunate twist of fate occurred a little over 21 years ago, when LaBrie -- living in Toronto and fronting the glam metal band Winter Rose -- was scouted by a label exec in New York who thought the husky-voiced Canadian would be a perfect fit to replace Dream Theater's outgoing frontman Charlie Dominici.

LaBrie was hesitant because he was committed to Winter Rose, but after listening to Dream Theater, he was struck by the band's deft instrumental touch, the intelligence of their music and a point of comparison that struck particularly deep for LaBrie: they reminded him of Rush.

He agreed to audition, and found himself flying down to New York on the very day in January 1991 that the U.S. initiated Desert Storm. It was a strange day, to say the least.

"I remember going: 'Holy smokes man, I'm going to the States for this audition, the States is just engaged in war. Wow. This is a bizarre day."'

The audition was a success, and Dream Theater wanted LaBrie to join the band. He was game, on one condition.

"I said absolutely, I'd love to be part of this -- but guys, I'm not moving down here. I'm going to stay where I am," LaBrie recalled. "They completely understood."

LaBrie knew that being in a touring metal band would mean long spells away from home, and he didn't want to make life even harder on his wife, Karen, by moving her far away from family and friends.

"That was my major concern," he said.

A year later, LaBrie and his wife decided to move back to where they grew up in Midland, Ont., a town of just over 15,000 people located a two-hour drive from Toronto.

It's even farther off the well-trod industry track than Toronto, but LaBrie has made it work. His bandmates grew up in New York and mostly still live somewhere in the vicinity, so LaBrie has often collaborated remotely. Any complications resulting from that were worth it to LaBrie to keep his family together.

Now, they will be by his side to take in the full Grammy experience in Los Angeles.

His kids -- 15-year-old daughter Chloe and 14-year-old son Chance -- were particularly excited, especially at the prospect of potential after-party brushes with Grammy-nominated stars (Chloe's a fan of OneRepublic, while Chance wants to meet dubstep producer Skrillex).

"Oh, they're freaking," LaBrie said with a laugh. "I think they'll be just pretty much up on a cloud that night, for sure."

Well, they'll have company. Sizing up the competition -- which includes Foo Fighters, Mastodon and Canadian rockers Sum 41 -- LaBrie feels the biggest threat to take the prize is the venerable thrash metal outfit Megadeth.

Still, he thinks Dream Theater has an "excellent shot." It might seem like wishful thinking given the high-profile nature of some of the other contenders, but with LaBrie's history, it's easy to understand why he's hopeful.

"We're very grateful even to be in that category -- but yeah, if we won? I think I'd be numb," he said.

"But I think at the same time too, there'd be a big part of me going: 'Yeah, right on!' This says a lot for our music and the kind of band we are. And I think it'd be a fantastic feeling and an admission to the fact that all kinds of music are being noticed and being honoured."

The Grammy Awards will air Sunday night on CBS and Global.