Originally published in Asbury Park Press newspaper · November 1997
Rock Never Sleeps
InterviewMike Portnoy2 min read
Dream Theater brings its progressive sounds to Tradewinds in Sea Bright
By Ed Condran
Dream Theater is in the middle of a grueling tour, but drummer Mike Portnoy isn’t complaining. “I just woke up and I’m tired and drained, but that’s life on the road,” Portnoy said while calling from Portland, Ore. “It takes a lot out of you but it’s so satisfying. We’re thrilled to be back out here.”
It’s been two years since the Long Island band has been on a jaunt. The group, which plays tonight at Tradewinds in Sea Bright, is showcasing its fourth album, Falling Into Infinity. Dream Theater has been crafting progressive rock since it formed seven years ago, which sets it apart from its Gen-X peers. “Not many people our age are playing this type of music, but we love it,” Portnoy said. “We grew up on Yes, early Genesis, Rush and Frank Zappa.”
Those acts aren’t the only players who have influenced Dream Theater. A number of the band’s tunes are built out of solid rock riffs, a la Metallica. “It was hard to avoid Metallica during the mid-’80s,” Portnoy said. “They definitely left a mark on us. They’re great musicians and we admire that.”
Much like the aforementioned recording artists, each member of Dream Theater is technically sound. “We’re musicians and we all grew up with the same mentality, which is if you’re going to play an instrument you should try to be as good as possible, unlike most of today’s musicians. It’s not that deep a concept.”
On the surface, Dream Theater, which includes guitarist John Petrucci, vocalist James LaBrie, bassist John Myung and keyboardist Derek Sherinian, seems to have emerged in the wrong era. It’s the age of singles and videos. Dream Theater stands out like a dinosaur since it’s an album-oriented band that frowns on promotional clips.
“We’re definitely not the flavor of the month, but there’s a big audience out there for a group like us,” Portnoy said. “That’s based on the people who come out to our shows and buy our records. They’re not as narrow-minded as the record industry would like you to believe. Progressive rock still has a following. We love this type of music and we want to push it forward.”
Dream Theater’s hard rock is still baroque; but it isn’t as polished as it has been. Producer Kevin Shirley encouraged the band to make Falling Into Infinity a relatively raw record with few overdubs. “This is the direction we needed to go toward,” Portnoy said. “Infinity isn’t as sterile as some of the past albums. This is the first time we recorded live as a band. In the past we recorded tracks instrument by instrument. It was the equivalent of working on a big conveyor belt. We’ve never had a collection of songs translate as well as these do live. That’s one big reason this tour has been so great.”