Originally published in The National Student.com · July 2016
Mike Portnoy interview (excerpt)
InterviewMike Portnoy2 min read
After his startling exit from progressive metal titans Dream Theater in late 2010, the drummer created a plethora of new projects, exploring the realms of pop music, hard rock, thrash metal and more with his newfound artistic freedom.
“My sole purpose of leaving Dream Theater and going onto do these other bands was to do different things musically,” Portnoy explains.
“I had already been doing the progressive metal thing for 25 years and had done it to death. I needed different musical outlets and different musicians and people to surround myself with.
“My goal was to do what I did: I did the heavy, groove metal stuff with Adrenaline Mob, I did more alternative pop stuff with Flying Colors, I went and played with Twisted Sister and Stone Sour, I formed Metal Allegiance and did thrash metal stuff with them and I did more straight-ahead rock with the Winery Dogs.
“My goal all along was to spread my wings; just because I made progressive metal for 25 years doesn’t mean I go home and listen to Symphony X in my free time. I’d go home and listen to Jellyfish, Sepultura, Slayer or the Beatles. My musical taste is so broad and I wanted to have outlets for all those tastes I do have.”
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But being the intense multitasker that he is, Mike Portnoy doesn’t just have the rest of his 2016 mapped out with his many bands, he’s also laying out plans for 2017: primarily, his 50th birthday party.
The event will take place aboard the Cruise to the Edge in February, and will see Mike performing his “12-Step Suite” live for the first time.
The “12-Step Suite” is a collection of five songs that Mike wrote for Dream Theater between 2002 and 2009, intending to one day perform them live back-to-back. However, his 2010 exit from the band made that impossible, until now.
“I would love nothing more than to perform it with [Dream Theater]. But they’ve made it clear that they have no intention in reuniting at any point. So, life is short; this is going to be my fiftieth birthday and it just felt like the right time and place to finally play this music. I write all five of these songs with the intention of them being performed from start to finish and I would have loved nothing more than to be doing it with Dream Theater. But it’s obviously not on the cards for them. I can’t sit around waiting for a reunion that may not happen.
“That being said, all four Dream Theater guys have an open invitation to join me on the cruise. I would love nothing more than for them to be there with me.”