Monstrous Influences

Interview with Mike Portnoy On His Huge New Albino Monster Starclassic Kit

TAMA: So tell us about your new set-up. Does this one also have a name?

MP: I call it the Albino Monster kit—it gets the name from the special white finish—which features the same two-kits-in-one concept of my previous Siamese Monster kit. I kept the big, busy, double-bass “Dream Theater” left side of kit. But I changed the right side to a more traditional John Bonham/Dave Grohl 5pc kit with a big 26” bass drum.

TAMA: And the next question is “What inspired you to make the change?”

MP: I did a Led Zeppelin tribute back in 2003, and TAMA built me a custom John Bonham replica kit, replicating John Bonham’s exact sizes and shells and everything. And I just totally dug playing that kit so much that I didn’t want to restrict it to this one-off Zeppelin gig.

I decided to bring it into the studio when we were making the latest Dream Theater album. I put it in the opposite corner of the Siamese monster, just hoping that I would find an opportunity to jump behind it—I ended up using it for more than half the album.

Once that happened I knew it was time to incorporate that configuration into the Siamese Monster so I could play the album songs live.

TAMA: Now the right side of your kit, the John Bonham side, is that the same dimensions as the kit that was made for you?

MP: Yep! Same exact dimensions, just different finish. When I did the Zeppelin tribute, we used acrylic shells, something TAMA doesn't normally work with. For the Albino Monster, of course, we used Starclassic Maple shells.

TAMA: On the left side, the Dream Theater side of the kit, you’re still using 22’ bass drums?

MP: Yes, along with both of my Melody Master snares.

TAMA: Did you do any changes to the “Dream Theater”-side kit.

MP: Just little changes. I increased the size of the tymp-toms because I no longer had this world of a million pedals on the right side so I was able to clear up some of the space and have a bigger tymp-tom. I took the 12” Melody Master and put it to my left as it’s no longer part of the right side of the kit. Subtle changes like that, but for the most part it’s what I’ve been using for the past few years on that side.

TAMA: Is there anything else that you can tell us about your new kit?

MP: The only thing I would add is that my drumming environment—my drum set—has a direct influence on not only the way I play, but the way I write. So when I recorded the latest Dream Theater album utilizing that smaller kit, that kit really had a big effect on my playing and on the songs that we’re written. So it was important for me to get that part of the kit into the Albino Monster to properly play these songs live. In other words, my environment, my kit, whatever drum kit I put together is in complete control of how I play. When I’m on the left side of the kit, I could be Mike Portnoy meets Lars Ulrich meets Neil Peart. Soon as I go to the right side, I’m suddenly Mike Portnoy meets John Bonham meets Dave Grohl. It directly influences how I play the drums.