Richie Kotzen interview (excerpt)

Richie Kotzen: I was of mind to follow course with The Winery Dogs as we were. We made the [III] album, we did 95 shows and I was of mind to just keep going. And then, obviously, Mike [Portnoy, The Winery Dogs drummer] had the opportunity to go back to Dream Theater. And so we had a conversation and, obviously, Billy [Sheehan, The Winery Dogs bassist] and I were very supportive because we love Mike. The attitude is we love having the band, but as people, the people are more important. So if Mike has something that is dear to him and important that he is excited and motivated to do, then, obviously, that’s what he needs to do. So we had the conversation that [he had our] full support, we think it’s great. It’s exciting, actually, as a music fan. Forget about The Winery Dogs for a second and me, but as a music fan, it’s exciting. So, that’s why the touring, we put a period on it.