Mike Portnoy – Living In A Theater Of Dreams

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 insights 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 al so 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.

Mike Haid: How long has Dream Theater been together?

Mike Portnoy: 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.

MH: What’s your overview of the band’s development to this point’)

MP: 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.

MH: 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?

MP: 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.

MH: On Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, the band sounds more relaxed. One can almost sense that you guys are having more fun than ever before.

MP: It’s a direct result of what I was just talking about. We’re feeling good about our full control. When we were making Scenes From A Memory, we had regained control but there was an uncertainty about how it was going to be received both artistically and commercially. So there was a bit of fear in the back of our minds when we made that album, whether it was going to succeed or be the final nail in our coffin. But once the fans embraced it the way that they did – commercially it did well, and it was the biggest tour we’d ever done – it was a major step forward for us.

So going in to record Six Degrees, we knew that we had succeeded, and we had that pressure off of us. The biggest pressure for us in recording the new record was figuring out how we were going to outdo the last record because of its major acceptance by the fans.

MH: The new record offers a variety of styles, like metal, prog, pop, and fusion, on the five tracks on disc one, and then unleashes the forty-two-minute epic progressive piece on disc two. Especially on ‘Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence,’ it seems as though keyboardist Jordan Rudess has added more of a classical influence into the band. How has that affected your playing?

MP: Jordan’s presence is felt most on that song. For us as a band, it was a whole new way of writing and recording. We approached the ‘Overture’ as if we were scoring a movie or writing a piece of classical music. Jordan was the instigator and motivator for most of those sections. We wrote the sections around his keyboard parts since his parts were recorded first. My drumming approach for that was not that of a rock drummer, but rather more like that of an orchestral player. I wanted to avoid playing drumset grooves and focus more on the classical orchestration by doing things like multiple marching snare drum overdubs and bass drum and tom patterns with orchestra cymbals. Once we recorded the ‘Overture,’ that laid the ground work for the rest of the piece.

MH: There’s quite a bit of the traditional prog vibe going on throughout that piece.

MP: Yeah, but when we decide to bring in the old-school element of progressive music it always gets twisted around and reshaped. That’s kind of a trademark of Dream Theater, to add the old-school elements but reshape them with a more modern metal sound. In my side project, Transatlantic, when old-school prog elements are brought in, we tap directly into that vibe without much alteration.

MH: Another of the more progressive tunes on the new record is ‘The Great Debate.’ This track brings to mind classic Rush.

MP: Yeah, that song reminds me of Rush meets Tool. It’s definitely got that vibe.

MH: Does the band still use comparisons to other bands in your writing process?

MP: Yeah! We’ll come up with a crazy idea and say, “Hey, that sounds like The Beach Boys meets Slayer.” [laughs] A lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m a walking library of music. I’m very obsessive/compulsive, and I have a collection of thousands of CDs. I have a huge list of references that I can draw from. So no matter what I play or hear, whether it’s a riff, or a melody, or a fill, it always reminds me of something I’ve heard somewhere. The important thing is that even though we incorporate elements of many bands, it never ends up sounding exactly like something that those other bands would do, because we always put our own twist to that style.

MH: The opening track, ‘The Glass Prison,’ is a lengthy, burning metal piece that jumps out with all guns blazing. You’re digging in and letting your chops fly.

MP: It’s going to either blow you away – or scare you away! It’s fourteen minutes of relentless metal mayhem.

MH: Is it true that you and Petrucci went to see Pantera the night before the first session, and that’s what inspired you to write ‘The Glass Prison’?

MP: It’s true. When we go into the studio we never know where it’s gonna go. It can really be something as simple as hearing a Radiohead song on the way to the studio that can spark the direction of that day’s work. The Pantera show inspired us to start off heavy, but we’ve always had that heavy element in our music.

MH: Your double bass chops are in full swing on that tune. Is double bass still a major part of your vocabulary?

MP: Totally. That’s my style, and I don’t think that will ever change. It’s the way I’ve always played, with two bass drums. There’s really no other way I know how to play. Even when I’m playing with one bass drum, I use a double pedal.

MH: I can remember you stating that one of the reasons you enjoyed playing in Transatlantic was so you could just groove and get into a Ringo vibe. But in listening to the recent Transatlantic CD, Live In America [InsideOut Music], you just can’t seem to resist throwing in the double bass chops when things get intense.

MP: As much as I try to be Ringo, or Nick Mason, it still turns out sounding like Lars Ulrich or Charlie Benante, no matter how hard I try to hold back. [laughs]

MH: Getting back to the new album, you put together a new drumkit for this record that you’ll be using on tour. I think your philosophy of “more is more” has finally come to a climax. This “Siamese Monster” kit is huge.

MP: Yeah! I had been using my last setup for the last two albums and tours, and I felt that it was time for a new kit. When I started to put it together I was faced with the decision of going bigger or smaller. I had been using smaller kits on the Transatlantic and Liquid Tension Experiment albums. Most of the clinics I had done were also on a smaller kit, and I was really starting to enjoy it. But the more I thought about it, I felt that going smaller with Dream Theater just wouldn’t be appropriate. I didn’t think the fans would accept seeing me perform on a smaller kit.

I can remember when Neil Peart scaled down to a single bass drum. As a fan, I was disappointed. So I came up with the idea of putting together the small kit with the big kit and incorporating it all into one huge kit. It’s set up so that I can play certain songs with one kit and then move over to the other kit for a different sound.

MH: What drums are featured on each side of the kit?

MP: I’m using all Tama maple Starclassic drums. The left side is pretty much the same as my older large kits, with 8”, 10”, and 12” rack toms, four Octobans, an LP steel timbalito, and two 22” kick drums. I’m using both of my Tama Melody Master Signature snare drums, one for each side of the kit. The smaller kit on the right side has 10” and 13” rack toms, two Octobans, a gong bass drum, and a 20” kick.

MH: What are the features of the Tama Melody Master Signature snare drums?

MP: They have a three-way adjustment so you can easily switch your snare sound from full-on, to half-on, to full-off without having to turn any knobs or make any other adjustments.

MH: I noticed you’re also using clear Remo Emperor heads on your toms instead of your traditional Pinstripes.

MP: I wanted to go for a different sound with the new kit, and the Emperors gave me a little more tone and sustain.

MH: What is your cymbal setup?

MP: I’ve got a million cymbals. [laughs] Sabian basically sent me their whole line to choose from. When designing my new setup, I handpicked the ones that I liked. Most of my crashes are HHX and HH models. I’ve got splashes, Chinas, ice bells, and my signature Max Stax cymbals. I’m using the 14” AAX Stage hats for my big kit and 13” Groove hats, which I really like, for my small kit. I also have a pair of 8” Max splashes combined to make a hi-hat, and the Sabian triple hi-hat set up to the right of my small kit. I’ve got my old faithful 22” HH Rock Ride in the middle of both sets so I can play it with either kit.

Tama is also making me a custom floor tom that I can mount between both kits. It’s shallow, so l can use it as a regular floor tom on the right of my big kit or as a deep tom on the left of my small kit. The reason I have to mount it is because I’ve got so many pedals on the floor that there’s no room for stands.

MH: How does the triple hi-hat setup work?

MP: It’s like a regular pair of hi-hats with a flat cymbal in between – kind of like a Big Mac with the cymbals as the buns! It gives you a real open, trashy sound – very cool.

MH: How did you decide which side of the kit to use on the new album for each song?

MP: I used the big side for the more busy, progressive tracks and the small side for the more groove-oriented or experimental tunes. The small side also has a lot of unique sounds that enhance the music.

MH: Does the massive size and drum placement of “The Siamese Monster” throw new challenges into your technique or approach to playing?

MP: I’ve always enjoyed playing on different kits. It’s one of the challenges that I’ve become accustomed to over the past few years, with all of the clinics I’ve done. You never know what you’re going to have to play at some of these clinics. The left side of “The Siamese Monster” is really more like my traditional setup in regards to the Octobans, rack toms, and two kick drums, so that wasn’t too much of an adjustment. The right side of the kit was a Little more experimental, with the toms going backwards, the Octobans, the smaller single bass drum, and the triple hi-hat.

That side of the kit took some getting used to, which is why I took it out on the G3 tour last year. I didn’t have any trouble adapting the kit to the new Dream Theater music because it was all part of the compositions. The parts of the songs were being created on each side of the kit, so I didn’t really have to adapt the music, or my technique, to the kit since it was all created at the same time. It’s probably going to be harder for me to adapt the older Dream Theater catalog to this setup. It will be challenging to decide which side of the kit to use to reproduce the original parts on the older material.

MH: In your last MD interview you stated that you had back and neck pain problems. Have you been able to correct them?

MP: Yeah, a lot of it was my lifestyle. I’m a lot healthier now, and I try to take better care of myself than I used to. I’m also sitting lower, which helps take some of the strain off my back.

MH: Do you feel like you’ve reached a point in your career with Dream Theater where you have developed your own sound as a drummer?

MP: I think so. I feel that we’ve established a certain genre, or style, that is definitely “our” sound and style, and my drumming style is a big part of that sound.

MH: I think it’s safe to say that Dream Theater has spawned a new generation of progressive metal bands that are emulating the Dream Theater style and sound.

MP: Yeah, for better or worse. [laughs]

MH: It sounds as though you’re the type of player who will feed off of the other players and listen to the melodies of your fill ideas instead of sitting down and working out technical fill ideas to fill in the cracks.

MP: We do feed off each other, and it’s not a formula in which you can say it’s always this or that way. It changes from section to section and song to song. We’re very drum- and guitar-based in most of our sections. John [Petrucci] and I tap into each other for ideas that would traditionally be created by the drummer and bass player. Now with Jordan in the band, he is also very in sync with the complex rhythmic ideas, and he adds to that madness.

MH: What did Liquid Tension Experiment do for you musically, and did it help change the direction of Dream Theater by adding Jordan Rudess?

MP: The importance of LTE to Dream Theater’s history is obvious in the fact that it brought Jordan into the band. John and I felt a really strong writing chemistry with Jordan and decided that it would really benefit Dream Theater to be utilizing that chemistry full time. I really liked Derek Sherinian, our former keyboardist, and I think he’s a great player. But I think Jordan was leaning more in our direction, both musically and personally.

Liquid Tension Experiment allowed me the opportunity to do something outside of Dream Theater, and it was the first side project for me. It gave me the opportunity to experiment in more improvisational music. I love jamming and improvising, and at least fifty percent of the LTE music was totally improvised. It was really fun to do that project and especially to work in that environment with bass legend Tony Levin.

MH: Then came your old-school prog project, Transatlantic. Were you the mastermind behind that group?

MP: Yes, Transatlantic was my idea. It came about as a direct result of wanting to work with Neal Morse of Spock’s Beard. I’m a big fan of Spock’s Beard, and I’ve always admired Neal as a writer and a player. So I approached Neal with the idea of putting together an all-star prog band made up of the leaders of various prog bands. So we recruited Roine Stolt, who is the main writer of The Flower Kings, and Pete Trewavas of Marillion, who I was a big fan of for many years. It was really interesting for me to have a meeting of the minds with all of these real prog guys and see what we could come up with.

MH: What is the status of Transatlantic at this point?

MP: We released a second studio album, Bridge Across Forever, and Live In America recently came out. We just finished up a European tour, which went really well. The response was amazing. The four of us really enjoy making this music together, and we feel a special chemistry between us. As a listener and fan of prog music, I really enjoy listening to what we have created. I consider it more than just a side project. It’s more like a part-time band. But it’s still not a full-time thing and can only exist when each of us is available and not busy with our real bands. Dream Theater will be keeping me busy for the next couple years, so we’ll see what happens after that.

MH: Has working in Transatlantic helped strengthen your groove?

MP: I don’t know. I know it’s definitely strengthening my interest in groove-oriented playing. I have really enjoyed touring with Transatlantic, mainly because, as a drummer, it’s much more relaxing than Dream Theater. When I play with Dream Theater it’s very high-octane, and demands technique, power, and heavy drumming. It’s a real adrenaline experience. Touring with Transatlantic was enjoyable because I could relax and play in a more subtle way.

For instance, we covered side two of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album, and when it came to the Ringo drum solo section, the guys wanted me to go crazy and do what the Mike Portnoy fans would want to hear. I told them that I would really rather do the Ringo thing because, to me, the whole purpose of this project was so I didn’t have to do the “Mike Portnoy over-the-top solos.” Even in the studio, the guys were pushing me to do more, but I really wanted to just lay back and groove.

MH: Let’s talk about your other talents beyond drumming. You directed the Dream Theater DVD, Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York. What did that entail?

MP: It was a big job, and it took a lot of time and energy. But at the same time it was one of the most satisfying projects I’ve ever worked on. I’m a huge film fanatic, and my love for film – and directors in particular – is something that’s a big part of my artistic drive. I get as much influence and inspiration when I watch a film by David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, or Paul Thomas Anderson as I do by listening to great music.

Whether it’s the acting, the way the camera is utilized, the screen writing, or the sound effects, when I watch a film I’m watching from all of those angles. It’s the same for me when I’m listening to or making music. I’m concentrating on all the angles.

When it came time to direct the DVD, I had to put all of the elements of music and film together. The director of a film is very similar to the producer of a record. You’re overseeing every element of the project. I had a vision for the project. I knew how I wanted it to look and how every shot would be shown. In terms of which bandmember would be shown on screen at a certain time, who’s going to know better than one of the bandmembers who wrote and played the music? I know exactly which instrument needed to be highlighted at what point, and I used a lot of split screens to highlight doubling and unison lines and harmonies.

MH: You have also produced the last several Dream Theater releases. What does it mean to “produce” a musical recording?

MP: It’s basically the same as what a film director does – oversee every element in the production of that project, especially in the creative aspects.

John Petrucci and I have really always directed the band, even when we had producers. John and I have always had the final say. We’ve always had a great relationship in terms of direction and vision for the band. It’s kind of like the James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich relationship of Metallica.

MH: How involved were you in the making of your Liquid Drum Theater video and DVD instructional drum packages?

MP: Not as involved, but still quite involved. They were produced and directed by Rob Wallis and Paul Siegel of Hudson Music. But Rob and Paul were very open to my direction. They allowed me to come in and oversee every area, from content to sequence to editing. They were great to work with and were totally open-minded and easy to get along with.

MH: One of the cool features of the Liquid Drum Theater DVD is the “after the fact” commentary, where you offer in-depth info on the making of the package along with deeper insight into your technique.

MP: I feel that DVD is such a natural format for drum instructional videos, and I feel proud to be one of the first to include optional commentary and multi-camera angles in this package. Typically the format is for the drummer to talk about what he’s going to play and then play it after the fact. With this commentary option you can listen to the drummer talk about what he’s playing while he’s playing it in real time. The other cool option is the various camera angles that you can move between and also the chapter search, so that you can jump to whatever section you want to check out at any given time.

MH: Are you still doing clinics?

MP: Yes, but I’ve slowed down a little in the past year because I’ve been busy with so many other projects. I did a few in Europe and Southeast Asia. I’ll continue to do about forty a year, which is still a lot for me.

MH: What do you enjoy about doing clinics, and what have you learned that helps keep them fresh and enjoyable?

MP: Clinics have become a big part of my life. They’ve also become a big part of my identity in the drum world. Eight years ago I did an interview with MD regarding clinics, and at that time I hadn’t done any. I was petrified back then. Since then I’ve done hundreds of them all over the world. The ironic thing is that I even won “best clinician” the year that award was introduced to the poll. So it was a strange twist of fate for me to end up on the clinic path when I had no intention of going there.

I think the largest benefit for me in doing clinics is that it’s helped me establish an identity as an individual outside of Dream Theater. I love going to the drum festivals and seeing and hearing all the great drummers. When I see all the drummers that you read about in the pages of Modern Drummer, people like Virgil Donati, Mike Mangini, and Marco Minnemann, they just blow my mind. These guys aren’t in bands that are topping the charts, and they’re virtually unknown by the general public. But within the drum community they are gods.

When I watch these guys perform, I just walk away with my tail between my legs. But being in the clinic world has opened my eyes to so many great drummers who I’ve become friends with, learned so much from, and been inspired by.

MH: Have you spent much time furthering your technique?

MP: I spend a lot of time behind the drumset, because this is what I do for a living. When you play drums for a living, and you find yourself constantly having to play drums, you find that you have less free time. So after spending so much time recording with all of the various projects and doing videos and clinics and touring all year ‘round, when I finally come home at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is play drums.

I’m thirty-five years old, and my priorities are much different now. If I have the choice of spending four hours in the basement working on double bass chops and fine-tuning my technique, or spending some time with my kids – which I don’t get to do very often because I’ve been touring all year – I’m going to choose my kids. They are my priority. But maybe someday I’ll be able to focus on advancing my technique, when my life slows down a little bit – ha, ha, ha!

Box

Mike’s Inspiration

The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Woody Allen, Pink Floyd, John Bonham and Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Oliver Stone, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, Pantera, Metallica, Anthrax, Mike Patton and Mr. Bungle, Tool, Seinfeld, Twin Peaks, South Park, Kevin Smith, Genesis, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Yes, Neil Peart and Rush, Terry Bozzio, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Queen, Ben Folds Five, King Crimson, King Diamond, King's X, The Sopranos, The Simpsons, Spinal Tap, Tenacious D, Jellyfish, The Beastie Boys, Spock's Beard, Kevin Gilbert, Brian DePalma, Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh, Howard Stern, Larry David, Andy Dick, Tom Green, Meshuggah, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Keith Moon and The Who, Simon Phillips, Stewart Copeland and The Police, Bill Bruford, UK, U2, Lars Von Trier, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Darren Aronofsky, Phish, Jane's Addiction, Weezer, Joel and Ethan Coen, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, System Of A Down, Elton John, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Vinnie Colaiuta, Carter Beauford, Steve Morse and The Dixie Dregs – and that's just for starters!