Transcript of Chat with Mike Portnoy

Sabian in Motion Chat with Mike Portnoy, drummer and founder of Dream Theater

Moderator: Welcome, folks. marsmusic.com and Sabian Cymbals are proud to present a live chat with Mike Portnoy. Mike is taking time away from production of the upcoming Dream Theater CD and DVD. As a drummer at the top of his game, Mike is involved in several side projects including LTE and Transatlantic. He is also an active clinician, producer and director. Not to mention the drummer of the hottest progressive rock band around, Dream Theater.

Mike Portnoy: Good evening, everyone. Thanks for coming.

jonnocrap: Hey mike!!! I understand that you’re self taught. Do you think it has held you back at all? Was learning to play more difficult because of it? I’m a self taught drummer and i’ve experienced some obstacles alone the way, and im curious if you have too.

Mike Portnoy: Even though I’m primarily self-taught on the drums. I do have a lot of extensive musical background and training, which helps me get around drums musically and rhythmically. Basically I went to the Zappa school of music.

gandhy_spot: What exercises do you do every day in your practicing time?

Mike Portnoy: Changing my sons’s diapers. Actually that is the only consistent practice I get these days.

notdrummer_mikeportnoy: hey, how did u have the geniallity of make this fantastic rhythms of dream theater? 

Mike Portnoy: Dream Theater’s music is very rhythmic-oriented and progressive in style, which gives me a great outlet to try lots of different rhythmic patterns and concepts. It’s all attributed to the musical environment I work in.

carlosmatuco: Hi Mike, Matus from the forum here ;) My question is: do you have any specific conditions you need to write lyrics? I mean, do they come to you spontaneously or do you say “ok, i’m gonna write some lyrics, let’s put an adequate environment”... or something.

Mike Portnoy: For me, the hardest part of lyrics is sparking the inspiration for the subject matter. With our last album being a concept album, the subject matter is predetermined, which made my job a lot easier. Once I have that, I usually end up writing my lyrics at around 6 a.m. after tossing and turning in bed. In fact 90% of my lyrics have been written that way.

britneyfan_91362: Hi! Who are you inspirations, cause you are definitely mine.

Mike Portnoy: My inspirations are too many to list here. If you go to MikePortnoy.com, there is a very long list of all of my favorites: albums, movies, and musicians that have influenced me. The latest edition of “Modern Drummer” magazine has a cool feature that allows me to talk about my favorite drummers.

larspage2000: Hey Mike i was at your site and i saw your drums and how did you come a cross a set up like that? and when you were just starting out what did you do to get better?

Mike Portnoy: As far as my setup goes, the kit that I have been using the past 3 years or so was something that I built with the great people at Tama drums, along with my drum tech. In the coming months I will be developing a new setup.

octobanrg: What can we expect to see in your new kit?

Mike Portnoy: An overwhelming amount of drums and cymbals. Sabian Max Cymbals. Tama Melody Master snares and Pro Mark 420 sticks .. plug plug plug.

homerdrums: Are the Staxx upper cymbals easy to break?

Mike Portnoy: No, actually they are not, because we made a conscious effort to make them very durable by leaving the edges unlathed. In fact, I went through the entire world tour without even breaking a set.

mao216: When you play odd times, do you listen to how the music should sound or count it out? (sorry if this is in your video, i dont have it yet)

Mike Portnoy: Go get the video!!!!! Its a little bit of both, but some of the very complex patterns are definitely counted out. In fact, that is how they are written.

cobes530: In the upcoming album how many instrumentals will there be? (if any).

Mike Portnoy: We have no idea what will be on the next album until we begin in 2 weeks. We’ve always had instrumentals. It’s not unlikely that this album will as well.

realmindjack: I’m a bassist... spend lots of time working “rhythm section” stuff soley with the drummers in my bands. Do you and JM have any rhythm section time?

Mike Portnoy: Believe it or not, no. This was something that I just answered in the Ask Mike section of my Web site. Just to elaborate, I actually mainly work off of the guitar, which I suppose is pretty untraditional.

dimebag1982: Hi Mike. I was just wondering if you will ever use coated drum heads again. I loved the sound on AWAKE, and i seen that you were using coated heads on the Mapex kit. Just thought that it would be cool for the next album.

Mike Portnoy: I always use a coated snare. I have no objections to them. I even used them on “Falling Into Infinity” on my smaller kit.

Moderator: Hey, everyone, we have hundreds of questions and we’ll do our best to get to as many as possible.

emmetropia2001: we all know you’re very involved in the rhythmic patterns in dt, but how often do you get involved in the melodic end of things?

Mike Portnoy: Every set of lyrics I have ever written, I wrote a lot of the melodies for and it is something that I think is an incredibly important part of our music. Actually every element of the song writing is incredibly important to me. Sometimes the drumming is the least of my worries.

johnmainect: What’s up Mike? I’ve noticed that on each consecutive album, there are more and more vocal harmonies. Especially with SFAM. My question is this: Is Jordan arranging the vocal harmonies now, or what? Are you guys just deciding to sing more now, because you feel more comfortable singing? Thanks a lot. :) Your pal from CT, John

Mike Portnoy: With no disrespect to Jordan, he has nothing to do with any of the vocals with on SFAM. John P. and myself have consciously tried to increase the amount of background vocals.

entwoska: What’s happening with LTE?

Mike Portnoy: Nothing!!!! :-) Three of us are about to make another Dream Theater record.

leadman666: Mike, I’m curious as to how you write music with Dream Theater. Is it a group effort on the spot or does each member come up with their own ideas? Have there been a lot of song sections based completely around or inspired by rhythms you came up with?

Mike Portnoy: We write with the 4 instrumentalists together and 95% of the music is collaborated on by the 4 of us. Yes, there have been many parts written around drum patterns. It is a big part of the way we write. And every instrument equally influences the others.

roller_skate_skinny: what do you think of napster?

Mike Portnoy: Because I am a big music fan first and foremost, I absolutely love Napster and I spend many hours at a time on it. Just because I happen to be on the other side of the fence, I would be a hypocrite if I was to object to it.

zooey_franny: who would you most like to collaborate with – living or dead?

Mike Portnoy: Dead would be Frank Zappa. Alive would be Carmen Electra.

matheusws: mike, why did you choose to play the drums ??? 

Mike Portnoy: Because I kept breaking the keys on my piano trying to play with drum sticks.

mathavaga: hi Mike!! Just curious, how often do you change sticks? Do you use em till they get messy, break, or do you grab a fresh pair at will??

Mike Portnoy: I will usually toss a stick into the audience or miss a stick throw before I get around to breaking one first. I usually can make it through a whole show with just a couple pairs.

joshbjones: What would be your advice to new Prog Metal bands trying to get recognized?

Mike Portnoy: Form an all boy pop band.

mao216: sup mike, wed really like to see a dt studio diary ;) think you can do this for us? you’re the man.

Mike Portnoy: Maybe. I’m considering it. I don’t want a veil of secrecy like the last album, because that was very hard to maintain. But at the same time, I never like giving away too much information ahead of time.

edcarpo: Will you come to Latin America in the next tour?

Mike Portnoy: We hope so. We would love to play everywhere. It all depends on the offers the promoters send to us.

thomas_olsen2000: Just a quicky from Down under – can we expect to see Transatlantic live here?

Mike Portnoy: We’ve had a hard enough time to get Dream Theater down there.

rushaholic2112: Mike, are there any chances that you will be involved in another instrumental album/band? I know LTE is finished, but... 

Mike Portnoy: Sure, anything is possible. But right now my focus is on going back to work with Dream Theater.

soulfly2178: Is there a limit of sabians you can get?

Mike Portnoy: No.

Mike Portnoy: I just requested for them to send me a whole new pile of stuff to try out for the next set up. I love Sabian.

ou812al: how old were you when u got your 1st drum set?

Mike Portnoy: On my eleventh birthday, my grandparents bought me my first drum set.

cobes530: Mike, is it ok if I dramatize “Scenes From a Memory” into a play? I will give full credit to DT for the storyline of course.

Mike Portnoy: If it’s unprofessional, sure. If it is any sort of professional production, they would probably have to go through our manager.

thomas_olsen2000: could you drop us a clue as to where you see DT venture with the coming album?

Mike Portnoy: As I’ve said, we won’t know until we begin the journey.

dreamdvl: Hey Mike, seen any good movies lately???

Mike Portnoy: My favorite two films from last year were “Traffic” and “Requiem for a Dream.” I saw a really horrible one last night, “Saving Silverman.” I love Jack Black, but even he couldn’t rescue this one.

ytsemret: Hi Mike. This is Emre from the forum. Im working on my “Dream Theater” essay that is based on The Mirror. Can you just tell the concept shortly ?and the relation with you ?

Mike Portnoy: “The Mirror” is, in a nutshell, about addiction and self-control.

stewy4202001: Mike...What did it take to get into Berklee?

Mike Portnoy: A lot of money. Seriously, the biggest prerequisite was the desire to grow as a musician (and a lot of money).

thckstick: Will there be a cool interface for the DVD? What can you tell us about it?

Mike Portnoy: I’m not sure what you are asking about the interface, but the DVD is going to be the ultimate for all Dream Theater fans. It comes out April 24.

philipkaplan: There’s a rumor that you suffered from dehydration or something after the huge, long Roselands show in NYC. Any truth to that?

Mike Portnoy: Yeah, I was almost taken to the hospital that night. It was a combination of dehydration, exhaustion, and stress.

j_pierro123: hi myke !! i study classical music and i would like to ask you something: May DT make a album using orchestra or a string quartet?

Mike Portnoy: Of course it is always possible. Right now it is a bit of a cliche, but who knows down the road. Who needs and orchestra when we have Jordan.

edcarpo: Why do you use this little drum kit in the Transatlantic tour?

Mike Portnoy: I use the little drum set for both Transatlantic albums and Liquitention albums. It’s a very enjoyable change of scenery.

realmindjack: Mike, can you play any other musical instrument? (even just playing around?)

Mike Portnoy: Yes, I could fiddle around on guitar, bass, and keyboards enough to be able to communicate ideas to the other guys. I guess you are unaware that I am the all-mighty bass player for Nightmare Cinema.

finalex: I heard by DaveH (i think) that you’re gonna change your setup for the next album. Will they have the same finish as your Melody Master, and will you change the positions of the drums (like adding a tom to the left for instance), or just change the drums themselves ?

Mike Portnoy: Still in development, but I plan on an entire new facelift. Similar to one of the previous questions, I enjoy the change of scenery every now and then.

metalbros:: How many instructional videos did you make?

Mike Portnoy: Two. Progressive “Drum Concepts” in 1995 and “Liquid Drum Theater” in 1999.

MoonMan9_9: What’s the latest on the DVD?

Mike Portnoy: As stated on our Web site, there were some manufacturing defects, which caused a delay in its release. Just today I finally approved the corrected disk, and it is now in production for an April 24 release.

matheusws: hellow portnoy, here is toninho and matheus from Brasil, Dream theater is our most influence, my question is when Dream theater will come to Brasil ??? thanks ? 

Mike Portnoy: If I have a dollar for every time that question was asked, we would be able to afford to come play there anytime and not have to wait for the promoters to invite us.

matheusws: Hey Portnoy, in DT’s first album what kind of drums did you use?

Mike Portnoy: My Tama Imperial Star kit.

grapow_page: How was Dream Theater’s tour over Europe together with Deep Purple? Do you like Ian Paice’s style of playing?

Mike Portnoy: The tour we did with Deep Purple was in America back in 1998. It was a nice change of pace for us to be the opening act. Yes, I love Ian’s playing. I just recently listened to “Machine Head,” which is a great album.

jsvit: mike just wanted to say you guys rock. if you could change one thing in dt, what would it be?

Mike Portnoy: The drummer :)

pixielte3: do you exercise regularly or do you recommend it for a musician?

Mike Portnoy: Surely exercise every day is good for everybody, musician or not. I am not an example of walking good fitness.

lakini10: whats your favourite venue to play (in europe?)

Mike Portnoy: It’s hard to pick a venue, but I will say Italy and Holland.

realmindjack: Mike, what’s the last CD you purchased?

Mike Portnoy: I’ll get back to that one...

Moderator: We understand some people are having difficulty accessing the chat. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please go to www.marsmusic.com

thckstick: Was it hard to learn to sing and play at the same time? How did you practice?

Mike Portnoy: I kind of just did it, really. It wasn’t any conscious thing. I always sang when working with the band. It was a matter of doing it with the microphone.

drumanica99: I noticed that Mars is sponsoring the chat. Do you shop at their stores or do clinics at their stores?

Mike Portnoy: I’ve done many clinics for Mars Music.

gonzo117: :) I’m thinking of buying your stack cymbals. do you recommend the meduim or small set?

Mike Portnoy: The mediums are my favorite.

Elliot00: Mike, is your left foot as fast as your right foot (seriously)?

Mike Portnoy: When playing single strokes in double bass patterns, probably yes. But if I were to play separate patterns with my left foot, probably not. It’s been different for different songs.

philipkaplan: How old is your daughter? Do you take her on tour?

Mike Portnoy: My daughter will be 4 and my son is 2, and they both come on tour with me whenever possible, and they love it.

notdrummer_mikeportnoy: why did you choose the marched grip? what makes you refuse the traditional grip? (or adhere to marched grip)

Mike Portnoy: I’m a rock drummer, damn it!

jonnocrap: mike, do you think of yourself as one of the best drummers in the world?? You are considered to be, and im wondering if its sunk in.

Mike Portnoy: Absolutely not. I am my worst critic. But the recognition and the compliments are nice, thank you very much.

Moderator: We have 5 minutes left.

olchascoine: HEY MIKE.......WHAT IS “NIGHTMARE CINEMA”?????????????????IT’S A BAND????????PLEASE ANSWER ME.

Mike Portnoy: Buy the “Five Years and a Live Time” video.

metalbros: Do you look at some instructional video of other drummers to help you to be more original?

Mike Portnoy: Yeah, I love watching other drummer videos. I get very inspired and usually very depressed as well.

Moderator: Mike, we appreciate your time, and thanks for a great chat. Do you have any advice to give aspiring musicians or any particular closing comments?

Mike Portnoy: My advice is always keep an open mind. Get out there and play with other musicians, because interaction is the key to musical growth. Thank all of you for coming to the chat. Keep a look out for the Dream Theater DVD in April, a live and a new studio Transatlantic CD. For any other info. go check out www.MikePortnoy.com and www.DreamTheater.net.

Moderator: Thanks Mike! Make sure to check out marsmusic.com for our Sabian in Motion event, which includes great deals on Sabian Cymbals and tons of great Sabian content. You can also see a full length feature interview with Mike from PAS. Marsmusic.com will post the transcripts at www.marsmusic.com/community/chat in the next couple of days. Thanks Mike and thanks to all of our guests for a great round of questions. Good night!