Mike Portnoy On...

At the beginning of 2001, Mike Portnoy went into the studio with Transatlantic to record their second album. “It’s classic prog-rock,” he says of the unit that includes Neil Morse from Spock’s Beard, Pete Trewavas from Marillion, and Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings. “I put together Transatlantic to present a more retro-rock vibe, like early Genesis, Pink Floyd, and even The Beatles. With Dream Theater, I don’t get to tap into those influences much because we’re so technical and metal-oriented.”

The rest of this year will be spent making the follow-up to Dream Theater’s Scenes From A Memory, which has just been properly documented in a live setting. Toward the end of 2000, the band culminated a year on the road with a lavish production in New York of Memory played in its entirety with a choir and actors on stage. The event was filmed for an upcoming DVD, which Portnoy directed. In addition to the performance, Mike has compiled bonus tracks, behind-the-scenes footage, and an audio commentary.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Portnoy says, “because beyond music, my biggest love is film. I’m as influenced by people like Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock, and Woody Allen as I am by Frank Zappa, Ringo Starr, and all my other musical influences.”

Speaking of which, Mike took time out of his director’s mode to reflect on a list of drummers we compiled.

...Neil Peart

Neil was one of my biggest influences throughout high school in the early ‘80s. He was my first real drum hero. In fact, in the back of my high school yearbook I wrote for my future plans: “To become the next Neil Peart.” A couple of years later, Kerrang magazine reviewed the first Dream Theater album and it had a big picture of me that said, “Heir to the Neil Peart throne.” At that point, I knew I had achieved my initial goal.

Neil’s biggest influence on me was the Rush period dating from the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s. Albums like Hemispheres and Permanent Waves were tremendously influential on me in terms of learning odd time signatures and over-the-top playing. Those early Rush albums were a blueprint for the kind of music Dream Theater was going to make.

...Carl Palmer

I had the pleasure of touring with both ELP and Deep Purple two summers ago, and it was a lot of fun. I got to spend time with Carl. He’s a super nice guy. Of course, ELP was an influence on me and the rest of the band. Carl had more of a rudimental military style than I do. But he’s one of those flashy, over-the-top players, and between the way he and Keith Emerson played, they broke new ground in terms of progressive music.

...Bill Bruford

Bill, to me, is the ultimate progressive rock icon. He played with Yes, King Crimson, UK, Genesis—four of the top progressive bands of all time. He’s a huge influence on me just because he’s such a cerebral player, the way he phrases things, the way he’s innovative in terms of sounds, and what he can make come out of the drums. I have the utmost respect for him. I feel fortunate to have gotten to know him through the years and to be able to spend some time with him, which is incredibly cool.

For me, Close To The Edge by Yes is one of the most influential albums of all time. But, of course, Bill’s playing on the first UK album and all of his work with King Crimson is incredibly innovative as well.

...Terry Bozzio

Terry’s another big one for me. And again, he’s played with so many artists who’ve influenced me. He also played with UK, and of course his stuff with Frank Zappa was huge. Zappa is my number-one biggest influence, and the stuff Terry played with him was mind-blowing. “The Black Page” and everything he did was completely groundbreaking in terms of polyrhythms. Obviously a lot of that was Frank, but the fact that Terry could actually execute those things was incredible.

Like Bruford, Terry has been through so many different stages, all of which have influenced me: the Zappa stuff, his playing with UK—the Danger Money album was a huge influence, one of my favorite drumming albums—and even the more commercial music he did with Missing Persons was cool.

The stuff Terry’s doing now with his massive, drum-orchestra kit and ostinato patterns is incredible. It’s been an honor for me to have been able to hang out with him, and even in some cases play with him when we’ve done some clinics together. It’s been an amazing experience for me.

...Billy Cobham

I wasn’t so much a Mahavishnu Orchestra fan, but I liked the solo albums Cobham did. He was one of the first fusion double bass drummers who really impressed me. “Quadrant 4” [from Spectrum] was the first super-heavy double bass drumming I’d ever heard. Billy’s performance on that track was what made me want to play double bass. Since then, his use of three bass drums has been amazing. I really like his style because he plays fusion with a very aggressive approach.

...Alan White

As I mentioned, Yes was a huge influence on me, especially early on when Bruford was in the band. But I continued to listen to them throughout their career, and Alan became a big influence as well. I think Drama is one of the most overlooked Yes albums, and Alan does some incredible odd time signature work on it.

When I saw the Union tour they did with all eight members, where Bill and Alan played together, the difference in their drumming styles became incredibly obvious. Alan was so much more of a groove guy. I kind of picture my style falling somewhere in between Bill and Alan, because Bruford is very much an innovative, technical, and by-the-numbers kind of drummer. Alan is aggressive and plays with a bit more of a swing to his groove.

A lot of people forget that Alan played with John Lennon. I just watched the Give Me Some Truth DVD that was recently released, and Alan is a big part of that. There’s a lot of footage of him working with John during the making of the Imagine album. He was laying down some incredibly cool Ringo-esque grooves, and I have a great appreciation for that because The Beatles are my all-time favorite band.

...Stewart Copeland

You’re listing all my big ones. Stewart was the first drummer to really get me interested in splash cymbals. When I think of Stewart, I think of incredible hi-hat and splash work. Those Police albums were huge influences on me in terms of groove. His style was somewhere in between reggae, ska, and punk—a strange combination of styles—and at the same time he had a bit of a progressive edge to his playing as well. I miss Stewart's playing. I would love to hear him still playing stuff like that because he had such a cool style.

...Phil Collins

He is the only person on this list who has been as big an influence on my three-year-old daughter as he has been on me. I grew up listening to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and Phil was one of the big progressive influences on me. And here we are, almost three decades later, and my daughter loves listening to his Tarzan soundtrack.

Obviously Phil’s talents go far beyond the drums. In the ‘70s he was a great, great drummer, which a lot of this generation doesn't realize. Those early Genesis albums—particularly Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway—had some amazing drumming on them. Phil was playing really progressive patterns. His becoming a pop singer, songwriter, and superstar has overshadowed his drumming.

The one reunion I am dying for is a Genesis reunion with him back behind the drums playing some of those classic songs. That's something I hope to see in my lifetime.

...Chester Thompson

Obviously Chester is most associated with Genesis and Phil Collins. But when I think of him, I think of Frank Zappa. Chester played some amazing stuff when he was with Zappa, and he was doing some of the real crazy stuff along with Ruth Underwood, who was the percussionist in the band at that time. That's the stuff I think best represents Chester's versatility.

...Simon Phillips

Simon was another big one for me. He's another one of the reasons I started playing double bass. His versatility is unbelievable. He's played with so many different artists, including some of my favorites like Pete Townshend and The Who, Judas Priest, and The Michael Schenker Group.

I get compared to Neil Peart, but I feel in terms of fills and application of double bass, I'm closer to Simon. Obviously he comes from a much jazzier background then I do, but I always loved his style and wanted to model my playing after his. He plays with such a great feel and he also has such incredible technical ability. And Simon plays the coolest fills.

One of my favorite live shows was seeing Tommy with The Who at Radio City Music Hall with Simon on drums. Keith Moon is one of my big favorites, but seeing Simon play Tommy was unbelievable. I also love his playing on “Give Blood” from Pete Townshend’s White City album, as well as his tracks on Jeff Beck’s There And Back.

...Nick D’Virgilio

Nick is one of my favorite drummers playing today, as well as one of my best friends. Spock’s Beard opened for us for the majority of last year, and that band is one of my favorites. Nick is such a big part of their sound and style. I love his playing. I would watch him every night and was envious because he plays with such an incredible sense of groove. He can play progressive patterns, but at the same time everything that comes out of him sounds so perfect. I really admire him, not only as a drummer, but as a musician. He can play guitar, bass, and keyboards, and he has a great voice.

...Andy Sturmer

Talk about missing someone, I miss the hell out of Andy Sturmer. I haven’t heard anything from him in years. The last Jellyfish album, Spilt Milk, is one of my all-time favorite albums. It’s such a travesty that they broke up after that. They were so underappreciated.

The first time I heard of Jellyfish, they just seemed to me like a Saturday morning cartoon band. I didn’t take them seriously at all. Then I was on tour with The Galactic Cowboys in ‘93, and they put on Spilt Milk one day in the tour bus. I was like, “Who is this? This is awesome.” I had no idea they were so cool. They had all of my more pop influences, like The Beatles, Queen, and The Beach Boys. Their albums really do sound like a cross between Pet Sounds, The White Album, and A Night At The Opera.

I never got to see them live, but I’ve collected a lot of bootleg videos. It blows me away the way Andy would play. His drumset configuration was incredibly original. He would play standing up, using just a kick drum, snare, hi-hat, and ride. But even though he didn’t have a huge kit, he played so much—and while singing lead! He stood at the front of the stage because he was the lead singer. It was an incredibly unique approach. He’s another one of those people who is an all-around musician that I totally respect.

...Dave Lombardo

Dave was one of my biggest influences in terms of aggressive double bass drumming. Slayer’s Reign In Blood and South Of Heaven are two of my favorite thrash-metal records. I can’t comprehend how a human being can play that fast. Dave’s feet are incredible, and he has an unbelievably aggressive style, which I admire.

...Jon Fishman

Believe it or not, Phish is one of my bigger influences of the past couple years. I think their playing abilities are completely overlooked and overshadowed by the whole Grateful Dead phenomenon. A lot of people don’t spend the time to sit down and listen to what Phish is actually doing. There’s some playing going on there that is incredible. One song, “You Enjoy Myself,” has some of the coolest drumming I’ve heard.

I often ask myself the hypothetical question, “If I could play with any band, who would I play with?” Back in the day, it used to be Zappa. But now without him around, I end up thinking about Phish because of their improvisational style. To have that kind of artistic freedom is something I would absolutely love.