Mike Portnoy interview (excerpts)

Josh Rundquist: How did it come about being able to be a part of Prog Power next year?

Mike Portnoy: Well, the whole Shattered Fortress thing started with my 50th birthday bash which is gonna happen on Cruise to the Edge in February. I had this idea of putting together this career retrospective concert to cover the last 30 years of my career, and inevitably, Dream Theater music has to be a big part of that concert because obviously that music was such a huge part of my life. So when thinking about what Dream Theater songs to play, it was pretty obvious that this was the right time and place to finally do the ‘12 Step Suite.’ I’ve been wanting to play it live in its entirety ever since I came up with the idea – that was always the intention. So it seemed like this was the right time in place to finally do that, and once word got out that I was doing it at my 50th birthday concert, suddenly these invites started coming in from these other prog festivals: Night of the Prog in Lorelei, Germany, and Be Prog My Friend in Spain. The first one to come out and approached me with the offer was Prog Power in Atlanta. I guess as soon as they heard about it, they asked if I’d be willing to do it, and I figured, “Yeah, it’s not like I want to do this 12-step thing for a career move, but being it’s up and running and it’s rehearsed and not everybody’s gonna be able to make the cruise, why not? Maybe I’ll just do it at some select places,” and Prog Power was the first to announce they’re freestanding Shattered Fortress show.

JR: That just made me so happy because when I was there watching the lineup my jaw dropped when I saw you in the video and I never was expecting something like Shattered Fortress to happen. I was just assuming it was gonna be a pipe dream to be able to see the whole ‘12 Step Suite,’ but next year I finally get to see it.

MP: Yeah I’m glad I’m gonna be able to do it in a few places and not just the cruise because it is something that I do want to share with people. I know there’s a lot the fans around the world that have wanted to see that, and for me it’s a lot of unfinished business personally that I really wanna finally do. So yeah, I’m glad I’m gonna be able to share it at a few different places and not just on the cruise; it’s gonna be cool.

JR: I’m sure this is a little far in advance, but have you thought about what kind of setup you’re gonna be using for the Shattered Fortress set?

MP: Oh yeah, but a lot of the things I’m leaving for surprise obviously. I was even hesitant to announce that I was doing it at all on Cruise to the Edge. Once we did announce it all these other opportunities arose, so I guess in a way I’m kind of glad I did. But otherwise I’m keeping everything having to do with Shattered Fortress pretty much a secret and it will be unveiled on my 50th birthday party, and then from there, the word will be out [on] who’s in the band, what we’re playing, the gear and all that kind of stuff.

JR: One thing – you don’t have to go into details, but I kind of remember hearing something about this where for other select shows you’re going to be doing more than just the ‘12 Step Suite;’ is Prog Power one of those shows?

MP: It depends on the set length time that I’m giving, so I’m not sure. I don’t recall how much time I’m being given it for Prog Power, but the ‘12 Step Suite’ is about an hour, so any shows where I’m given more than an hour then I’ll be able to play additional songs. So it’s all gonna depend on the set length I’m given.

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JR: Ever since I first discovered Dream Theater where you were doing an interview in a magazine talking about Train of Thought, I learned all about what you did in the band before I discovered the band, everything that you can do when it comes to producing and arrangements and so many other aspects as well. I mean Dream Theater is so different [from] Flying Colors and Transatlantic and Metal Allegiance. It shows that you have such a great variety for what you can do.

MP: I appreciate that. Honestly it bothers the hell out of me when I see people talk about my old band these days saying, “It’s so different!” It’s like, “Well yeah, I should hope it’s so different because I wasn’t just the drummer there.” And I see people like when I announced the ‘12 Step Suite,’ they’re like, “Well it’s those guys [that] wrote the music, Mike only wrote the lyrics and the melodies.” No! Look at the credits there; it says, “Music by Portnoy, Petrucci, Myung, Rudess” and that could not be underestimated. It’s unfair because people really forget that. I mean yeah, I wrote the setlist and did the merchandise and the fan clubs and all that stuff as well, but I think people are forgetting that I co-produced those albums and co-wrote the music and wrote the lyrics and the melodies. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but I’m just trying to say it bothers me that that is so quickly forgotten by a lot of the Dream Theater fans.

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JR: It doesn’t sound like you’re running thin at all. I can tell you’re putting your heart and soul into every project that you’re a part of and I can tell that the rest of the guys that you get the jam with are doing the same thing.

MP: To me that’s the greatest gift of everything that I’ve been a part of the last six years is the people I’m working with. I’m blessed to have been surrounded by so many amazing musicians. If you look at just the guitar players I’ve worked with in the last six years – Richie Kotzen, John Sykes, Alex Skolnick, Steve Morse, Eric Gillette... The list goes on and on and on. It’s just every one of these guys are so great. Tony MacAlpine, Paul Gilbert... It’s such an honor to work with so many great musicians. And then of course you have Billy Sheehan and Neal Morse. It’s really been an amazing journey and in the last six years in particular; it’s been a who’s who of everybody I could have ever wanted to play with or jam with. And beyond just the playing, to be able to write with these people; to sit there and write with Steve Morse or write with Richie Kotzen and put your heads together with these people, and see not only how they play, but how they think and how they write, to me that’s been the greatest reward of all.

JR: Yeah and if you had to focus on just one band like Dream Theater, you might not have been able to explore all these different territories that you are able to with some of the best musicians out there and put out such amazing music in the process.

MP: There’s no doubt that if I hadn’t made that decision six years ago, the list I just rambled off, I wouldn’t have been able to do a third of it, if even that much. I’m not even counting the one-off things, doing like the Eddie Trunk 30th anniversary show where I got to play with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, or the Chris Squire tribute last year on Cruise to the Edge, or to do the Tony MacAlpine benefit show where I played with Zakk Wylde and Steve Vai and Nuno and Tom Morello. I mean the list goes on and on. I could sit here all day and talk about it, and the fact is, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that stuff if I had just stayed in one band for the rest of my life. I always knew that I was more than just one band. I didn’t want to go to my grave being just the Dream Theater guy; I knew that there was just so much more to give and so much more to live. I’m such a music fan. I want to be able to spread my wings, and it’s for fun and you only live once. I want to be able to play as much music as I can with as many people as I can, and I don’t know why that’s a hard concept for people to understand, because I know when I left Dream Theater, everybody was like, “Why is he in three different bands? I thought he wanted to slow down.” It’s like, “No. It’s just the opposite!” I wanted to spread my wings and explore it all – the total opposite of what people were thinking I wanted to do. People were having trouble understanding the concept of being in multiple bands, but I think now as time has gone on, I see people writing on the Internet now, “I get it. I understand. I was hurt six years ago, but now, you made the right decision.” It’s nice to finally see people kind of understand where I’m coming from and what it’s all about for me.

JR: Being a long time Dream Theater fan, it was an initial shock that took me a bit to understand what was going on, but once I finally started to see everything you had going on, I was so very happy for you. Knowing my experiences of being in a band for X number of years and not being able to do everything that you want to in a band, making a tough decision like that, sometimes it can go horribly wrong, but in this case you’ve gotten to experience so much more that you might not have been able to had it not happened.

MP: I needed to do what I did because I couldn’t have lived with myself wondering, “Well, what if...?” I didn’t wanna wonder what could have happened because I was too scared to take that leap of faith, so I had to. And believe me, everyone was shocked and hurt, but nobody was more hurt than me! That was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but it was 25 years of blood, sweat and tears, 24/7. I lived and breathed every moment of my 25 years for that band and the fans. So it wasn’t like I jumped ship after five weeks; it was 25 years – three times the length of The Beatles’ or Led Zeppelin’s careers. So there was plenty of time there, and there’s still a legacy of what I created in Dream Theater that will be there forever for the fans to like. But I needed to explore other things in my life in order to be happy and fulfilled.

JR: I think that’s something that a lot of people outside of the music business may not understand: whether it’s the whole band or just one member of the band that’s not feeling inspired, when they have to write a new album, that’s going to show through in the music unless you could really cover that up. I can always tell where a band just feels like, “Oh, they just had to make this to fill out their label,” or “They’re just making this one to try to capture a more mainstream audience than the music they want to make.” And I wouldn’t have wanted that to be your next album.

MP: I always follow my heart. I’m not gonna follow my wallet or even follow my mind. My mind probably would have said, “The rational thing is to ride this out into the sunset the rest of your life and be financially set and have your audience, and you can play the same venues for the rest of your life.” That’s the safer way, but I needed to follow my heart. And it’s not just that move six years ago – every decision I make, I’m following my heart. I follow with what’s gonna make me happy; not just that decision, but every decision I make is based on that. If you’re not gonna be happy, then it’s not worth doing anything.

JR: That’s why I’m glad that you’re taking the time to do Shattered Fortress and finally be able to get that unfinished business with Dream Theater, be able to showcase those songs live and other songs that you’ve made [with] Dream Theater as well. Just to be able to give that a proper send-off and then be able to continue with the music that you want to make.

MP: As you said, it’s unfinished business. I mean that pretty much sums it up perfectly. It was always my intention when writing those songs was for them to be played in their entirety from start to finish. Not only did I not get to do that, but the fans didn’t get to hear it that way, so yeah, I’m looking forward to finally closing that chapter and having done that.