Mike Portnoy interview (excerpt)

Asked if he has heard the new, self-titled album from his former bandmates in Dream Theater and what he thought of it, Portnoy replied: “I haven’t heard the album. I know it’s out there and I know they’ve been promoting it and I’ve seen a lot of the interviews. And, you know… It seems like there’s a lot of excitement about it, but I really can’t comment beyond that.”

He continued: “I actually got a really nice text today from Jordan, and got a nice text a few weeks ago from John Petrucci, so it seems like the air is clearing and the dust is settling. Which I would love nothing more than for us to all be one happy family and friends again, so… We’ll see. But I’m doing this ‘Progressive Nation’ cruise next year and Jordan e-mailed me to congratulate me on that, and they also heard about The Winery Dogs album, and they were congratulating me on that. So it’s nice to be in good spirits with at least a couple of the guys.”