Mike Portnoy interview (excerpts)

Chris Jericho: What do you think, Mike? I mean, over the years, is rejoining Dream Theater something you would ever entertain? Or is it just the ship has sailed, and even five, ten years from now? I mean, do you even have a thought about it? Are you just happy doing Winery Dogs, and that’s all that matters?

Mike Portnoy: Well, I’m happier than ever with what I got going on in my life. I mean, I love The Winery Dogs. It’s an amazing band. In addition to that, I have other outlets. I still have Transatlantic as a side project. I still have Flying Colors as a side project. So I’m happier than ever, and I know the Dream Theater guys are happy, and they’re still in their honeymoon phase, and they’re all lovey-dovey and happier than ever, and one big happy family. So honestly, I never, ever close the door on anything. I never say never, and I’m a very nostalgic, very romantic guy, whatever. I would never close the door in the past, and I romanticize the past.

Even in the past, Dream Theater invited our previous singers and keyboard players up for shows and reunions and stuff like that. I love the idea of a band embracing their past and always having it be part of what they do. To be honest, I don’t think the rest of the Dream Theater guys are like that; they’re not the type to look back. I’ve seen some interviews with John Petrucci, and he was asked point blank, like that question, “Would you ever reunite with Mike?” And he wouldn’t even answer it; he would just say, “Well, we’re just looking towards the future.” I don’t think they care – they’re not those type of people that are going to be nostalgic or look backwards unless maybe the business started failing, but it seems like everything’s going fine in their world and they’re happy. And I’m happy, and I never say never, and I never closed the door on it, but I honestly, if I was a betting person, I would not put money down on that one anytime soon.

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CJ: What did you think of the Queensrÿche settlement, Mike, about the fact that Geoff has to give up the name, but he keeps the rights to doing the Mindcrimes in their entirety and the other Queensrÿche can’t?

MP: I think it’s smart. I mean, that’s what Roger Waters did with The Wall. To be honest, I wish I did it with my ’12 Step Suite’, to be honest. I didn’t think of it at the time, because I get that. Like, if Dream Theater was to go out there and perform my five-song concept thing that was completely my concept and my baby, it would break my heart to see them doing that. So I get it.

CJ: Could you still do it? Could you put together a group of killers and do that if you wanted to for a special show?

MP: Well, I mean, we didn’t work it into our settlement, so I could do it, they could do it, it’s open-ended. But I think it was smart that, like what Roger Waters did with The Wall, because I know for the first ten years of Roger Waters’ post-Pink Floyd career, it would kill him that Pink Floyd would be playing stadiums – not f***ing arenas, stadiums – and Roger was playing, like, theaters or half-filled arenas, only because they had the name. But he smartly did retain the rights to The Wall, and I think he got the last laugh, where over the last three years or so, he’s been playing stadiums and making billions of dollars.

When Geoff worked that into his settlement with Queensrÿche, I mean, if it was indeed his baby and his concept, then it makes sense. But to be honest, who the hell cares about Operation: Mindcrime at this point? It’s been so done to death over the last 20 years. Who the hell cares?

CJ: I was laughing when they did the Mindcrime 1 and 2 show. So you go see Mindcrime 1, which is the first part of the story, classic record – we know every song – and then you wait till after intermission for them to play Mindcrime 2, which nobody knows. That probably did not work out very well.

Eddie Trunk: Well, then they ended with a set of hits, so that kind of kept people on the hook.

MP: But the reality is, I think it’s right that Michael and Scott and Eddie got the name, because it’s those three guys – they’re in the band. I shouldn’t have gotten the name Dream Theater. It makes sense. I get it. They’re sticking together. They’re going to see it out. But the fact of the matter is, they’re playing the stuff that people want to hear; they’re solely doing the stuff from the first five albums. And now what is Geoff gonna do now? I guess he’s going to have to start working on a solo career.

ET: In my interpretation of that settlement, Geoff has Mindcrime 1 and 2 to play in its entirety, but I don’t think there’s any language that says Geoff still can’t go out and play Queensrÿche’s songs.

MP: No, I think he can play whatever he wants. They can’t do Mindcrime 1 or 2 without him. But like I said, it’s been done so many times, who the hell cares at this point?