Mike Portnoy

Since his shock decision to leave Dream Theater, the band he co-founded and had led for 25 years, the prog metal superstar has kept himself busy with plenty of new projects

Words: Chuck Parker/Jordan McLachlan

The last couple of years have certainly had their ups and downs for the prog-metal drum star. After taking on a gruelling touring schedule in 2010 with a number of bands, Mike shocked the drumming community when he announced he was leaving Dream Theater, the band he had co-founded and led since the ’80s.

Mike worked with Avenged Sevenfold on their Nightmare album, tracking the parts written by their late drummer Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan, for whom Mike was a hero. A tour followed, but then Avenged thanked him for his services and sought a permanent replacement for their drum seat. Mike came off the road and spent some much-needed time at home with his family while pondering what his next musical move would be. His notorious work ethic did not slow down or change though, and he spent the better part of 2011 recording and performing with a variety of different projects that were stylistically very different from each other, including Flying Colors and Adrenaline Mob.

What did you think of Mike Mangini replacing you in Dream Theater?

“If there’s anybody that’s going to be in that seat, I think Mike is the right guy. He’s an old friend of mine and I know he was very concerned about respecting my legacy. Everything I’ve seen him say about me and my role for all those years in Dream Theater has been incredibly respectful and I thank him for that. I don’t hold against him that he took the gig. It’s an amazing opportunity. How could he not? I find my days are much happier when I just concentrate on my future and let my past with Dream Theater be the past. It’s something I’m very proud of and something that will always be a part of me, but it’s time for me to move on and write the next few chapters of my career.”

Did your time with Avenged Sevenfold encourage you to move to a harder rock sound with Adrenaline Mob?

“Absolutely! When I was out with Avenged, especially on the American tour in the summer of 2010, we were out with Disturbed, Stone Sour and Hellyeah, I was surrounded by more aggressive, groove-oriented metal and I realised not only how much it’s a part of me, but how much I enjoy playing that kind of stuff. Even though through the years, bands I’ve been a part of have had heavy elements, I’ve never been in a band that was strictly heavy without a million progressive elements thrown in as well. So, my time with Avenged showed me a side that I would like to further dig into.”

Did you set out to be different in your drum sound with these projects?

“I think it’s all still me. I think the most important thing for me when I do an album, no matter who it’s with, any kind of band, I want it to sound like Mike Portnoy. I think it’s important for drummers to have personality in their playing and that’s a very important thing for me. So whether I’m playing in a metal, prog or pop band, I still want to retain my identity. Of course, I always play what’s called for in the song. When I’m playing with Flying Colors, I’m trying to be more subtle, song-oriented and straight-ahead. In Adrenaline Mob, I’m trying to be more aggressive and have that balance to the grooves.”

It seems you have your pick of the litter when it comes to supergroups and side projects. Has there ever been anything that you pursued that didn’t happen or offers you didn’t accept?

“I’ve been very fortunate. Almost anything my imagination can dream up I’ve been able to make come true. I’m very blessed to have been able to play with so many great musicians. I’ve been very fortunate in that respect that I’ve been able to be so compatible and musical with so many great musicians around me. I’m absolutely a team player. Whether it be Transatlantic or Flying Colors or Adrenaline Mob, I’m not looking to be the leader, I’m not looking to run the show. I enjoy collaborating and working with other players and musicians. To take it a step further, I often enjoy just playing drums. Like with Avenged Sevenfold, I was just a hired gun to play drums. With Neal Morse’s solo tours, I just play drums. When I did G3 with John Petrucci, I just played drums. I’m able to have different levels of control, input and leadership in all these different situations and I have no problem turning it on or turning it down depending on the situation.”

If you could pick one musician, alive or deceased, to play with, who would it be?

“My three biggest heroes that are alive are Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and Pete Townshend. If I could give you a dream gig, to play drums with any one of those three would be absolutely incredible. Obviously, I don’t think that’s very realistic. Those are the three living musicians I think that I would do anything to be able to play drums for. Deceased, the list is huge. Frank Zappa is my all-time biggest hero, so obviously to have ever worked with him would have been a dream come true and absolutely terrifying as well! I’ve developed a great relationship with Dweezil and I took Zappa Plays Zappa out with Dream Theater a couple of years ago so I guess that was as close as I got to being able to be part of the Zappa world for a while.”

Could you pick a couple of highlights from your quarter-century in Dream Theater?

“I think the crowning moment for me was Scenes From A Memory. We really needed to prove ourselves with that record and it was the album where John and I took over production duties. We were coming out of a tough period. I’ve spoken about it a million times – we were on the verge of breaking up. We needed to regain our independence. And we came out firing on all cylinders. There was a lot at stake, so we had to pull it out of the bag. That was one defining moment for me. I was very proud of achieving that creative goal.”

Do you ever feel pigeon-holed as a player?

“Sometimes it’s frustrating because I feel there’s a preconceived idea of me that people have. I’m not complaining – the recognition and acclaim that I’ve achieved I’m very grateful for. It’s a dream come true. But sometimes I go to drum festivals and think that guys like Dave Weckl or Steve Smith, who are always really cool to me, probably see me as this little heavy metal kid with a giant drumset. They don’t realise that I love Ringo as much as anything else.

“I’ve seen some online forums where the guys are complete drumming fans, into Dave, Vinnie [Colaiuta] and all those great guys and write Mike Portnoy off as a prog metal ham. They don’t realise that to me it’s not all about technique. It’s not about showing off. To me, it’s all about passion. I just love drumming. I have just as much enthusiasm for Larry Mullen Jr as I do for Thomas Lang. To me it’s all about listening to lots of different things and trying to encourage kids to do the same. I don’t want to just push kids to play a triple bass kit – young drummers need to have a balance.

“A lot of people probably think that what I do is all drumming from the mind, that it’s all numbers. But I put just as much emphasis on drumming from the heart. It’s great having this trained musical background, going to Berklee and whatever, but that’s just one aspect of being a player as far as I’m concerned. I like having the tools, but it’s just as important to play from a gut level. Some of my favourite ever players don’t read or write or have incredible chops.”

But there’s no escaping the fact that you’re renowned for your way with odd time. Are you saying that your approach is just feel-based?

“Actually no, it’s not just feel. You can just feel it, sure, and I know that there are guys that play odd time and when they’re asked about it will say that it’s all just groove. In my case, though, I do pay a lot of attention to the numbers, simply because I was always interested in them. You can play by groove or feel, but I’m into the maths of it.”

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Essentials

Related Artists: Dream Theater, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold

Classic Cuts: Dream Theater Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory (1999), Dream Theater Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)