Originally published in Click Music.com · May 2009
Interview: Dream Theater
InterviewMike Portnoy4 min read
Not content with being one of the world’s top drummers, Mike Portnoy is also leading his band Dream Theater into a new realm of popularity despite having a career that spans nearly 24 years. The American progressive metal giants graced the cavernous Wembley Arena in 2007 as part of their last UK tour, confirming that their distinct brand of infectious instrument-heavy songs are gaining a bunch of new fans as well as maintaining their old ones too. We caught up with Portnoy ahead of their upcoming release ’Black Clouds And Silver Linings’ to find out more.
Why the name ‘Black Clouds And Silver Linings’?
It basically means that in every situation, you can come out with something that’s a little positive or a little optimistic. All the lyrics are like that – they’re all heavy subject matter but all with a positive twist. I think it applies to the music too, it’s heavy and dark at times, but there’s also progressive, melodic stuff to balance it out too.
Looking at the track list, there are some pretty long songs on there [four out of the six songs are over 10 minutes long]. Is this a conscious decision or do they just come out like that?
The long songs are very natural for us. Usually it’s the shorter ones that have to be a conscious decision, otherwise the songs will naturally be 15-20 minutes long. It’s the five minute songs that are the challenge!
For someone who hasn’t heard Dream Theater, how would you describe your music?
I would say we are like putting Yes and Rush in a blender with Metallica and Iron Maiden.
You seem to be getting more popular as you grow older, so to speak. Is that the case?
I think we’re definitely still growing and still progressing and developing. There are very few bands 24 years into their career that are still going up; most bands are kinda on the downslide and their peak is behind them.
Ever get scared your creative juices will run out in a few years?
They haven’t yet! In fact we have quite the opposite problem, we have way too many ideas in this band.
You’re an extremely busy guy – you always seem to have a project on the go. How does this affect your family life?
It affects it a lot, but luckily my wife and my children are very understanding of this lifestyle. I keep much busier than the rest of the guys in the band – they’re all sitting with their families right now whilst I travel to Europe to do a press tour – so it takes a lot of patience and understanding from my family to support it, and thank God that they do.
And as you grow older, will it affect your health?
Possibly! I’m definitely a workaholic. I don’t know how to rest, I don’t know how to stop. I’ve been hospitalised with pneumonia and I’ve had all kinds of other problems but it’s just who I am. I can’t change that part of me.
You have curated your own package tour the past couple of years, Progressive Nation. Is prog music still relevant today?
Oh my God, it’s bigger than ever. Right now I think that music is going through the biggest progressive period that it has since in early 70s. It ranges from everything from Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, all the way to Opeth and Mastodon, and everything in between, so I think right now progressive is at an all-time high in terms of exposure and acceptance. Even critics that used to criticise progressive elements in music – I mean Dream Theater has been a target of that criticism for the past 15 years – now they’re complimenting bands like Mars Volta and Mastodon for their progressive nature.
On the opposite side of the music scene, are there any mainstream bands getting your attention right now?
My taste is pretty broad. I can listen to Coldplay and Keane, and listen to Lamb Of God and Bloodbath, so I like all kinds of music, as long as it’s good.
What do you think of the whole Miley Cyrus/Jonas Brothers Disney-pop movement at the moment?
Obviously it’s not my cup of tea, but I’ve got a 12-year-old daughter who likes it and I’ve taken her along to meet Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. So as long they keep letting me backstage with my daughter I’m happy.
Were the Jonas Brothers nice guys?
Yeah, they were cool. Once of them totally knew who Dream Theater were and was totally excited to meet me, so you never know with these guys regarding what they know and what they listen to in their own time.
You’re going to be playing the Download Festival at Donington again this year. Excited?
It’s gonna be awesome. I love playing summer festivals and playing Download, especially on the main stage. It’s something I’m looking forward to.
You’re playing quite high up are you not?
Yeah, about 10 feet high!
Funny. So what does the future entail for Dream Theater?
More of the same! We’ve been doing this a long time now and will continue to do it a long time as long as we have an audience for it. So far our fans have stuck by us through thick and thin and we keep growing and making new fans along the way, so we’ll keep doing it.
Finally, you’ve been on the go for a while now. What’s the secret?
To not break up! Not breaking up isn’t always easy though. We’ve persevered a lot, with many twists and turns and a lot of ups and downs. But we always believed in what we did and we stuck by it, even if it was completely out of fashion and unpopular.