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Mike Portnoy
(October 2005 Issue)
 Mike Portnoy is no longer
the new kid on the progressive-rock
block. The once proclaimed "next
Neil Peart" has proven himself many times over to be worthy of
acknowledgement. This
isn't so much for the commercial success of his
band Dream Theater. Rather, it's for his consistent progression of
new
and exciting ideas in sights and sounds throughout his musical
adventures and drumming innovations. As an international
clinician,
Portnoy has also gained a wider acceptance for his talents and
achievements.
Mike's
high-profile career has not been without its setbacks and downfalls. Amidst his many MD
awards and accolades, Mighty
Mike has spent time reassessing his
priorities and has come to a new juncture in his busy life. He is
healthy, clean, and
sober, and his priorities are family first, then
music and film. His skills as a producer and director have proven
successful with
the last couple of self-produced Dream Theater
recordings, as well as their videos and the recent Metropolis 2000: Scenes
From New York DVD, which Mike directed.
In keeping with his "more is more" philosophy, Portnoy's new
touring
kit (which he also used on the new Dream Theater double CD, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence)
is practically
the size of a small drum shop. What Portnoy calls "The
Siamese Monster" is a combination of his large traditional kit
coupled
with a smaller setup that he has grown accustomed to in many of his
clinics and the other side projects he has done.
Some of those projects
include the instrumental fusion group Liquid Tension Experiment, his
old-school prog band
Transatlantic, and a short trio tour with the G3
guitar show.
The current Dream Theater lineup finds Portnoy in a
happy place as
well. He has a deep appreciation for his newfound musical and creative
freedom. With his Liquid Drum
Theater
video and DVD instructional packages, successful side project
Transatlantic, drum clinic tours, Tama Melody
Master Signature snare
drums, Sabian signature Max Stax cymbals, and his wonderful family
life, it's easy to see that
the star drummer has accomplished a lot in
relatively little time. And now Mike is fully energized and ready to
hit the road
again to tour the world with Dream Theater. Persistence
has certainly paid off for Mike Portnoy.
MD:
How long has Dream Theater been together?
Mike: The three core members, which include myself,
John
Petrucci, and John Myung, have been together for over sixteen years. We
formed the band at Berklee during our first
month of school. We met
when we were all about seventeen years old, so it's pretty amazing to
think that the three of us
have been together nearly half of our lives.
MD: What's your overview of the band's
development to this point?
Mike: I couldn't have dreamt of a better scenario for the path
that
we've traveled. When we put the band together at Berklee, we just
wanted to make music for the fun of it. We weren't
thinking about
record contracts, tours, videos, marketing, or radio airplay. We were
just three college kids who were into Iron
Maiden and Rush and who
wanted to make some cool, heavy progressive music.
We became so immersed in the
music that it became our lifeblood, and we
decided to pursue it as a career. Between then and now it's been a
dream
come true. And although we're not as commercial as Metallica or
U2, in the world that we exist in, we pretty much sit on
top of the
hill. It's a great feeling to know that all the hard work has paid off.
We're very proud of what we've
accomplished.
MD: There have been a lot of ups and downs in the band's
history, and at one point
it was rumored that you were even thinking of
leaving the band. Are you satisfied with all aspects of the band, and
do you feel
that the "Behind The Music" years have come and gone?
Mike: I think so. The mistakes we've made
and the lessons we've
learned have taught us how to be a stronger unit, and what not to do in
the future. The period that
was the roughest for me was shortly after
my last cover story with Modern Drummer [December '97]. We had just
released the Falling Into Infinity
record, and we were feeling a lot of pressure from the powers that be.
I felt that a lot of
control was slipping out of our hands - not only my
control within the band, but also control of the band by management
and
the record company.
So we played their game for a little while, because you start to
wonder, Maybe they do
know better. I tried to have an open mind and be
as objective as possible, because at a certain point in your
career
you've got to open up and trust other people. But when no new ground
was broken, and we felt that we were
compromising our integrity, it
became very frustrating. It got to a point where, if the band was going
to continue, we would
have to completely gain back our own control.
So when faced with that ultimatum, everything started to turn
around.
The ball went back into our court - and back into my corner - and it's been
an uphill ride ever since. John
Petrucci and I have been able to
self-produce our last couple of records, and we've also gone on to do
several side
projects, which has been a healthy thing for us as well.
We now have the freedom with the record company that we wanted. If I
go
to them with the idea of doing a live album or a DVD or letting them
know that the new Dream Theater record is a double
CD, they're
supporting us and letting us do our thing. They know that the only way
the band will survive is on our own
terms.
Mike
Haid
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