Originally published in Mike Portnoy.com · 2001
Ask Mike questions and answers
Article58 min read
Q: What is you participation in writing songs? Do the other guys give you the demo and you make a drum part or are you involved with the song from the beginning of the idea?
MP: Not to pat myself on the back, but I am 100% involved in every aspect of the band, every step of the way....
I’m just not the type of person that would be happy being handed a demo of a complete song....
The way that 90% of DT music is written starts with the 4 instrumentalists (myself, John P, John M and then Jordan, Derek or Kevin depending on the album).
We write all of the music together and then someone will individually go off and write lyrics (and usually melodies). Then we get James down to join us and apply the vocals into the songs...
Voila...DT!
Q: Will Elektra resign DT after this Album or will the band need to shop around for a new contract?
MP: I cannot answer for Elektra what they will do in the future...
But the fact has been that they keep renewing our deal every time, so I suppose they are happy...
In fact, they let us make the entire new DT album by ourselves without hearing a single note. That is a pretty cool sign I think...
Q: What are the chances of seeing “A Change of Seasons” played, live, in its entirety?
MP: Well, we have done it in its entirety many times (however, not since 1995 I believe..)
Some of those versions are easily available through tape traders or bootlegs..
Check the “Dream Theater Trading Post”
As far as performing it in its entirety in the future, it’s not out of the question....
I am the band member who writes the set-lists, so it is a possibility as I myself would like to do it again someday...
The biggest problem is that a song that is that big eats away 25 minutes of the set, during which a wide assortment of other material could have been played ...(We usually limit our shows to about 2 and a half hours, so it is important for us to get as many songs that people want to hear into the set..)
One thing that we will be faced with on the upcoming tour is that Jordan needs to learn our whole catalog, so it will take some time to work everything back in...
I always do keep an eye on the sets to make sure the sets get mixed up throughout a tour and that everybody eventually gets to hear everything. (within reason..)
Q: What are the “official” sales numbers of past DT albums both U.S. and worldwide?
MP: I am probably the wrong member of the band to ask about sales figures..
I honestly don’t really care about that stuff...I spend more time thinking about the music and every other angle of DT...
However, I’m not going to dodge your question so I’ll give you a “guess-timate”:
(Our label only really knows for sure...)
Our biggest selling album to date in America was “Images & Words” which was certified Gold (over 500,000 copies sold in the US) largely due to success of Pull Me Under on US radio.
Since then, the radio & MTV market in America has drastically changed - which has weeded out the fans of “our new hit single” and our sales have levelled out to reflect our “real” fan-base which has been in the 200,000 US sales vicinity each time out..
Our real sales have added up from over-seas markets (Germany, Italy, Holland, Brazil, Japan, etc..) where we do very well because those markets are less dependent on radio & MTV. For instance, all of our CD’s have gone platinum in Japan (100,000 in Japan alone)
I suppose the “safe” answer is that we consistently sell somewhere around half a million Worldwide each time out...
(Which by Backstreet Boys standards is peanuts, but for a progressive band in 1999 writing 12 minutes songs is quite an achievement!)
Q: When you record the drums for a huge song like “When the Water Breaks” - is that all just one take, or do you record it each part separately?
MP: It is always different for different songs....
“WTWB” specifically, was recorded in 4 chunks...
Especially because LTE would write in the studio and the whole process needed to move quickly, it made it easier to write for the day, record the day’s progress and then continue on writing and tracking the next parts the next day..
Also, That enabled me to really focus on my performance in 5 minute chunks as
opposed to the whole 17...
Q: I love the song “To Live Forever” I was wondering if you ever plan on putting on an album?
MP: Well, it will never be on any future DT albums...but “To Live Forever” is the most-released “unreleased” DT song.
Although it never appeared on any full length DT albums, it has been “officially” released by us in many versions:
1. Live 1993 version - Images & Words Live in Tokyo video
2. Studio 1994 version - B side of the UK CD single for “Lie”
3. Live Unplugged 1998 version - 5 Years in a LIVEtime video
4. Live Unplugged 1998 version - 1998 Fan Club Xmas CD
And these are just the “official” releases.....
There are DOZENS of other versions floating around on “unofficial” releases..
A few noteworthy versions:
1. Studio 1989 version with Charlie Dominici on vocals
2. several Live 1989 versions with Charlie Dominici on vocals
3. Studio 1990 version with auditioning vocalist Jon Hendricks
4. Studio 1990 version with auditioning vocalist Steve Stone
5. Acoustic 1991 version with then-auditioning vocalist Kevin James LaBrie
6. several Live 1993 versions from the Images & Words tour
Q: I was listening to Howard this morning and during one of the breaks to commercials they played a DT song. It was “The Mirror.” I was wondering if you guys ever made it onto the show or if you’re going to try when the new album comes out? I know you’re a big fan of his and I’m sure he’d be into the music.
MP: Yes I am a tremendous Howard Stern fan!! It is very cool that he still uses “The Mirror” on the show.. I think that was Fred’s doing back in ‘94 when Awake came out...
In fact, right after Awake came out and they just started using The Mirror in & out of commercials, Howard stopped the show and was like “Woa, what was that? That was really cool...”
Fred gave him the CD and he then spent a few minutes going through each track...
Him & Robin ended up totally bashing us!! “The keyboards ruin everything” , “Do these guys even have a singer” etc, etc.. It was the most awesome bad review we ever got! I loved it so much, I had it on my answering machine for months!!
As far as going on his show... I think we’re too normal for him... We’re all married with kids! He’d be bored! Maybe Derek can go.... : )
Q: What are your tattoo? What do they mean to you? Is the tattoo on your shoulder the heart from the cover of I&W?
MP: I’ve been bitten by the ink-bug in 10 places:
1. Majesty symbol on left shoulder (first one I got back in 1988 after finishing WDADU....Charlie Dominici went and got an identical one a few days later...)
2. A bit of a design surrounding the majesty symbol consisting of a twisted musical staff, stars and a peace symbol.
3. Underneath that on my left shoulder is my tribute to John Lennon. It is an exact replica of one of his paintings of a whole bunch of people hanging off a musical staff....(It was recently used in the artwork for his Anthology Box Set)
4. My left forearm is the most meaningful tattoo I have. It says “Carpe Diem” and has the date of 11-16-84 underneath which is the date I lost my mother in a plane crash.
“Carpe Diem” means Seize the Day in Latin and was part of a lesson I was taught earlier that day in high school. A lesson that provided me with a final moment with my mom and a final hug and kiss before she left for her flight. (See ACOS)
5. Well, let’s go from the most meaningful to the least.....The “Twin Peaks” tattoo on my right calf is a tribute to one of my favorite filmmakers David Lynch. It is the same tattoo that the Log Lady had when she returned from her abduction by space aliens!
6. I have an ankle bracelet on my right ankle which I got together with my brother, so I suppose it is a symbol of our brotherly bond.
7. The Sacred Heart on my right shoulder was gotten shortly after finishing Images and Words and was a souvenir for me to represent that album and turning point in my career.
8. The Japanese writing above that is the only one I got outside of America. I did actually get it in Japan and it says “Mikey” (or at least that’s what they tell me!!)
9+10. Also VERY important tats to me, these being on my left back shoulder....these are Melody & Max’s footprints from the hospital records the days they were born. Melody is on the left 5-2-97 and Max has the bigger foot on the right 3-7-99.
Q: What kind of Piccolo snare you used on the “change of seasons” ep?
MP: Contrary to popular belief, it was not actually a true piccolo snare. It was the Mapex Maple 14x5 that I was using on the Awake tour. It was just tuned incredibly tight and poppy on top (ala Bruford or Copeland). In fact my snare was sounding that way on the whole Awake tour, it’s just that David Prater OVERcompensated to make me happy with no triggers, that it ended up sounding as tight and real as it gets.
Q: I’ve noticed that although dream theater is probably one of the more talented groups out there right now few people actually know who you are. Everybody introduced to your music thinks it’s amazing. Is the reason for the low profile because you refuse to put a video on MTV and do you believe that possibly music videos are too flashy and ignore the true purpose of creating music?
MP: Welcome to 1999!! We are most definitely square pegs in a world of circles. It is a tough time for a band like ours when MTV really is only interested in Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. (throw in Korn & Limp Bizkit for good measure which is still worlds apart from us!!!)
We always have made MTV videos in the past, and in fact Pull Me Under got a lot of play at the time....
But realistically, and we know this....we are not a “singles” or “videos” type band. I am more concerned with creating full statement “albums” and touring and developing a long term building foundation to sustain our career...
These are our focuses and we know that our style is very demanding which most people on the street are not interested in investing. But for those who do, I believe we offer a level of depth which is very artistically rewarding and luckily we have developed a large legion of fans who have come to realize and embrace and support the band on these terms...
Different Strokes for Different Folks I suppose...
Q: When are DT going to play in <insert city/country here>?
MP: Obviously, It is impossible to be in hundreds of places at the same time..... It takes time to properly cover a lot of ground on a tour... We do our best.... While we wish we could play EVERY nook & cranny in the world, our agent and local promotors book us in the markets where they suspect our exposure and draw will be best. Sometimes that is based on local sales or local radio play, etc.... The fact is that a lot of those types of decisions are OUT of our hands and left to the people who work us to make those decisions.... Like I said, we’d love to play EVERYWHERE!!!
Q: How can I get these CD’s, and will any of them ever be re-released: 96 Xmas, 97 Xmas, 98 Xmas, 1986 Demo, The InstruMENTALS, Rising Power, Inner Sanctum
MP: As far as the “official” releases you mentioned (the 3 Xmas Fan Club CD’s), they were all limited editions to members of the fan clubs as free gifts....
Always make sure your membership is up to date!!!!!!!
They are no longer available, however I have toyed with the idea of eventually re-pressing them and making them available to purchase through the fan clubs in the future...
As far as the others you mentioned, those are all “unofficial” bootlegs, which I don’t mind, however I am not in the position to be promoting or selling them....
You just have to keep searching with other boot traders....
Q: What has been the most challenging song for you to play as far as the DT and LTE albums go?
MP: In the past, we spent much time in rehearsals & pre-production before starting an album, so I had plenty of time to polish my parts and perfect them..
But both LTE albums and the latest DT, were composed & recorded in the studio - so the challenge of creating and *perfecting* my parts was quite stressful....
Specifically on LTE1, I remember the 2nd half of Universal Mind (after the piano solo) being quite challenging to nail...
On LTE2, When The Water Breaks was a monster to get through (we wrote & recorded that one in 4 sections), and Biaxident was the first time playing some “pseudo-latin” type feels which was a bit of an adjustment for me...
On the new DT, hands-down the most difficult piece was The Dance of Eternity. This has to be the most difficult drum performances I have ever created and surely the most complex piece of music in our catalog....I am DREADING doing this one live!!!!
Q: On the track ‘Biaxident’, about 4 minutes in to the song, where you have an upbeat ride pattern going and you’re doing some hi-hat swishes. There’s one part where you do some timbale and china work that seems very, very difficult to do as one drummer. Were those overdubs? or did you once again test the human standard flexibility with doing it all at once?
MP: No you are not crazy! And no - I do not have more than 2 arms! Those are indeed overdubs!
I always have incorporated the possibility of utilizing studio technology and overdubbing various percussion and extra drum parts (some other obvious examples are the high-tom overdubs towards the beginning of “A Change of Seasons”, the percussion breakdown on “Caught in a Web” and the multilayers of drum tracks on “Take Away my Pain”)
I’ve always figured that singers & guitar players always overdub layers of their instruments, why can’t I?
The better question is - how the hell do I reproduce that stuff live? That answer is something I am still trying to figure out!!!
Q: Who is the guy involved in the composition of these kind of “solos” like the one in “Take the time” (when the guitar and keyboard play almost the same notes)? Is one guy or all of you?
MP: Well usually “solos” are the department of the instrumentalist playing them...
In most cases, we’ll compose the rhythm section that goes underneath together, and then the overdubs or solos that go on top are composed later on by the players to play them (John, Jordan, Kevin or Derek)
Q: IN a [2001] interview, you talked about your frustration with FII, the direction DT wax taking musically, etc. and, you were really thinking about leaving the band. Have you ever felt *that* frustrated with DT at any other time?
MP: this band has been through MANY, MANY ups and downs through the past 15 years...(most of which are behind the scenes and you wouldn’t even notice)...and it takes a lot of perseverance to endure it all.
The making of FII in 1996 & 1997 was a very frustrating period for me because I felt a lot of my “control” over the band and “vision” for the band slipping away....There were many “Powers that be” that were sticking their noses and opinions into our music and not leaving us alone with the creative side of things.
There were also a few other people on the “inside” that were willing to go along with all of these suggestions which made my battle even more difficult because I didn’t want to have any further internal conflicts.
So at the end of the day, I rolled over and played the game as well in order to move on with our career...
Go forward another year to 1998 and we are getting close to wrapping up the world tour for FII and the record that we made *by the label’s rules* failed to break any “new” ground for our careers...not to mention that we split ways (again!) with another management company and there were a lot of ex-managers, ex-lawyers, ex-agents, etc. etc. that were making life very difficult for us.
All of this added to the day to day frustrations of juggling the band and the families, and the relationships of both.... I finally threw up my hands and had enough.
I told the guys I had enough, wanted to leave and end the band.
As stated in that interview, the guys persuaded me to stick it out for the tour and re-evaluate...which I did....
The biggest factor in me staying, keeping the band together and continuing was that I/we had to completely regain control over the music and direction of the band or else it just was no longer worth the frustration.
I did...we did...and here we are in 2001!
-----
Hello again!
I realized I may not have actually answered the specific question of: Have I ever felt that frustrated at any other times?
Well...that was the worst it ever got for me.
Like I said, being in a band for 15 years presents many obstacles to overcome and we’ve overcome them all.
Myself, JP and JM have been playing together for almost as long as we were alive before playing together....so there is a real history between us which kind of makes us stick it out through thick and thin. We’ve all worked too hard to ever walk away from it that easily...
It is very much like a marriage.
So once again, in answer to your question - yes there are often those type of thoughts - but the good stuff always outweighs the bad stuff and we always seem to persevere.
Q: Do you write your drum parts to fit into John Myung’s bass lines? or does he write according to your bass drum parts?
MP: JM and I are a very untraditional type of Rhythm section...
I actually do all of my locking in with the guitar...the bass *usually* (not always) follows afterwards.
So....I very rarely ever work around the bass lines...In fact, I don’t even put bass in my monitors live!! (mainly guitar)
I think JM mostly keys into the guitar as well...or lately with Jordan, will work along with Jordan’s left hand patterns.
Very untraditional indeed...(as is JM!!)
Q: im REALLY curious as to what James thinks of these tunes when he comes in and hears them for the first time...especially the ones like “the dance of eternity”, the nutty instrumental stuff. does he just jump out of his seat and say “oh MAN!!!” with all kinds of excitement or does he ever say “hey, try adding just another 32nd note to that 3rd bar”??
MP: Usually when James comes down from Canada to hear the music we’ve written, he’s always gets very excited.
To be honest, he’s never really made any suggestions of that sort (“hey, try adding just another 32nd note to that 3rd bar”??) probably because a) he doesn’t play an instrument and b) he kinda just respects our “turf” and that we have a kinda chemistry that he doesn’t want to f*ck with...
Q: Has TA or even DT considered covering anything from RADIOHEAD ?
MP: As I’ve mentioned, I LOVE Radiohead (one of my favorite bands)...but I don’t think the rest of DT like them enough to ever want to cover one of their songs..
Funnily enough, I did have “Fake Plastic Trees” on the original set list for the Unplugged Fan Club show in Rotterdam (coincidentally before marillion covered it), but the other DT guys blew it off and never got around to learning it!
Q: Being in a band, I understand that it is all about compromise and commitment. However, I try to be a good band leader at our shows, rehearsals, etc. (Part of this is also because I have OCD too). But anyway, when should I step out of the box to lead, and when should I step back and relax? There is a fine line, and some insight would be great.
MP: I have a lot of trouble learning how to let go of the reigns...
It is definitely a good quality of mine (for productivity’s sake), but also a bad one in some ways (can cause internal resentment if not openly discussed), and I am always trying my best to balance it.
I was willing to give “letting go” a try in ‘96 and ‘97 (see the “frustrations with DT” question) and ultimately was not satisfied with the results.
DT has always been my baby and I have put way too much time, energy, blood, sweat and tears into it to let anything get in the way of my ideas and vision. (for better or worse!)
I must admit, I have taken a very different approach in TransAtlantic and it is a bit of a relief for me to “let things go” for a change of pace...
Q: Can we have [a studio diary for the next DT album]?
MP: the studio diary thing is something that I have been asked to do by a lot of people (especially Mark Bredius!! ), but I am still unsure if I want to do it...
Yes, I know the fans would love it and I know the TransAtlantic one was cool....BUT there is still an element of the unknown that I think is a very healthy thing for the fans to have over the next year...
I surely will not enforce another “veil of secrecy” this time around because it was a VERY hard thing to do last time out and although I think the payoff in the end was great, it made mine, the band’s, our label’s and our webmaster’s jobs very difficult...
I also will not give out too many specific details like song by song times, titles, lyric credits, etc like I did with FII.....there was way TOO much info and time for speculation and discussion before the CD came out which made people disappointed. (“hey, why was this song cut down?”, “what happened to that song?, etc, etc)
Maybe somewhere in the middle will be nice...
I will be passing on info onto DT.NET and MP.COM and may get the guys to contribute some messages, but I’m not sure yet to what length...
I am a firm believer of things being WAY more effective when they are a surprise (music, films, books, concerts, etc)
Q: Have you considered releasing the next DT CD in the new DVD-Audio (DVD-A) format?
MP: In cases like these, we do not control what we can and can’t release...it is up to our label.
Right now, I am grateful we were able to get the green light on the whole DVD project, so I’m not going to push our luck!!
I do know that our label (Elektra) just did a DVD-A for Metallica’s Black album, so they are now beginning to go into that technology (Metallica was also Elektra’s first DVD), so maybe we’ll have the opportunity to do one in the future as well.
Q: Who do I need to talk to get hold of background studio info on ‘Home’?
MP: Not sure exactly *what* you are looking for...
I do have all of the outtakes, writing of DAT’s, charts, notes, etc. etc. but to be honest, I do not have the time to sort through any of that stuff right now!
...and to be even more honest, I cannot just give stuff like that out to fans for the asking!!
I have compiled a “making of SFAM” CD which will someday be released as an official bootleg on our on-line store and there is some great behind the scenes studio stuff on there....hopefully I’ll get that out sometime in 2001...
Q: As a drummer it sucks not being able to write in my band. I was wondering if all the lyrics you write (or the other guys) are written after the music is complete? That being the usual way in writing a song. Is there any songs that you had the lyrics or the melody for and you worked the music in around them? Has the drum beat ever been the first part of any DT songs written and the guitar, bass and keys were written for the beat?
MP: Why can’t you write in your band because you are the drummer??? It never stopped me....(or Lars Ulrich or Neil Peart or Phil Collins or Don Henley or Vinnie Paul or Charlie Benante or Dave Grohl or Bill Bruford or Stewart Copeland, etc, etc)
In any case we ALWAYS write all of the music first and then comes the lyrics afterwards.
Yes the drums dictate the music just as much as any instrument in Dream Theater.
Start writing!
Q: In the General Forum, Weymolith mentioned that he thinks you use an “in-ear” monitor on stage. Is this true? And if so, can you tell us a bit about how it works?
MP: No, I/we do not use inner ear monitors but we’ve decided that we are going to on the next tour [in 2002] to eliminate the massive volume on stage.
Q: Was the character of Victoria Page in SFAM inspired by the movie “The Red Shoes” ?
MP: No, did not know that....
Did you notice the young kid in a coma in “The Cell”’s name is Edward Baynes? (and that came out after SFAM!)
Q: Would you ever consider doing a tour with Kings X as an opening act?
MP: Actually, we would love to have King’s X out with us...
In fact, we offered them the US tour that we did last summer [in 2000] but they declined the offer...
Oh well...we tried!
Q: How are your record sales?
MP: I’m not so sure myself....I don’t ask about those things!
(honestly! It’s not what I care about)
Luckily we sell a lot of records WORLDWIDE (key word) and that keeps the label happy.
If I’m still being too vague, the best answer I can give is: around half a million worldwide each time out...
Q: I was listening to LTE2 the other day and noticed the opening rhythm of Another Dimension sounds exactly like the rhythm of saying the words “another dimension.” Did the rhythm have a hand in the naming of the tune, the other way around, or is it just coincidence?
MP: The rhythm inspired the phrase which then became the song’s title...
(and to be honest, I think I got the phrase in my head from the Beastie Boys “Intergalactic”)
Q: Since your producing again this time around...what are YOUR goals sound-wise for this record? Do you have any intentions of changing the engineering/mixing process this time around, experimenting more, etc? Or are you guys happy with the SFAM sound and production?
MP: We are going to keep the same Production team as SFAM (me and JP Producing, Doug Oberkircher engineering and Kevin Shirley mixing - no reason to mess with a great formula!) However, we will NOT work with Terry Brown again....
What I’m looking most forward to this time around from a Production standpoint is giving each song its own sonic personality. (With SFAM we couldn’t do too much of that, because we wanted to keep the approach consistent)
We did actually do a lot of that with the recording and production of FII (although I’ve expressed some disappointment with some of the compromises we had to make from a compositional standpoint, I actually loved the way we *recorded* that album)...A lot of different instrumentation, weird recording and processing, multiple overdubs, sonic experimentation, etc.
We will have a bit more of that approach with this album...
When we did SFAM, I brought in a bunch of CD’s to provide the inspiration and blueprint for that record.
(Pink Floyd - The Wall, Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime, Marillion - Misplaced Childhood, The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper, The Who - Tommy, Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, etc...mostly concept stuff)
To give you an idea of where I want to take this record, this is the stuff I brought in this time around:
(Metallica - Master Of Puppets, Tool - Aenima, Radiohead - OK Computer, Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power, U2 - Actung Baby, Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral, Soundgarden - Superunknown......and John Petrucci brought in some Bartok and Rage Against The Machine)
Q: I heard on the forum that Mariah is there in Beartracks too with you guys doing her own recording. Is this true? If so, might we hear a James LaBrie/Mariah Carey (hey! it rhymes! ) duet? or maybe just background vocals?
MP: Yes, Mariah Carey recently recorded here...but Bear Tracks is a one artist at a time studio and we have the placed locked out through the summer....
...and James isn’t even here either!
Q: In case the Dream Theater-thing didn’t work out (Heaven forbid),
Did you always have a back-up plan in case you should have gotten financially stressed ?
MP: I never gave myself an option....As soon as you have a “back up plan”, you will be likely to fall back on it the minute the times are tough.
Succeeding requires 100% dedication and perseverance, which means you have no choice but to keep trying and moving forward.
And to be honest, I never “thought” about making music my career...it kinda just happened because it is what I “did”.
Q: Can we expect a DVD version of Live in Tokyo and Once In A LIVEtime ??
MP: Yes I *really* hope so!!
When I originally pitched Elektra on the SFAM DVD project, I also pitched a DVD with both of our previous releases.
They were very open to the idea, but for obvious timing reasons, we needed to focus on pursuing filming the Roseland show first and foremost....
Once the M2000 DVD comes out next month, *if the sales are satisfactory to the label*, I think they will possibly pursue this idea with me.
I would like to have both VHS programs on one DVD with some bonus footage that I had to cut from both VHS releases because of running time restrictions...(it would be worth it for the chapter stops alone)
Time will tell.....
Q: I would like to know, if your life, since u became a professional drummer (with international awards, endorsements’ contracts etc.) is harder than before, more stressful,
and how do u find time for the family when u are away for international tours and gig all over the world...
MP: Yes it is a cliché, but it really is a hard life (with many obvious benefits of course)
We all have families that we miss very much when away on the road. (I bring mine with me as much as I can). The good side to that is when we are off tour, we get to be home for a year at a time...
Sometimes I joke with the 2 Johns about how much easier it was back in the days when all we had to do was write and play music just for our own satisfaction and nothing else. Now our lives depend on it!! and we have to satisfy so many people in the process... (including and especially all of you great fans)
However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world....and it beats delivering Chinese food!
Q: Have you ever thought about teasing James about his days singing for those titans of hair metal, Winter Rose? (his voice was always the best part of that band) On a related note, since you’ve been known to do fun stuff every once in a while, why not cover a Winter Rose song at a concert one of these days?
MP: Yes I tease him about it all the time! (he just doesn’t know about it!!!)
I can *guarantee* you will never hear us play one of the songs live!
But seriously, I’m just not a fan of *that* style of music at all....(sorry James!)
Q: Have you ever messed up during a live concert? Like say drop a stick or miss a cymbal at the very last note of a song? And do mess-ups decrease with the more experience that you gain?
MP: Of course I do!
We are human as well and Nobody’s Perfekt!!
All of us in DT have our moments of Clam Chowder. (some have actually lended themselves to some very funny moments on stage - as you’ll be able to hear very soon... )
Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen less with age! (you just learn how to cover it up better!)
Q: You guys must have gone into the studio with some basic song ideas - but - how does writing and recording spontaneously fit into a record company’s budget since they don’t give you carte blanche...or do they?
MP: Well, actually....no! none at all! (I swear!!) We are creating from complete scratch....
We are lucky to be in a situation where we are at a point in our career (and in our recording contract) to “lock out” a studio like Bear Tracks for 4 or 5 months and work completely at our own pace and convenience.
We would have no problem making a great record in 10 days like we did with the LTE CD’s, but DT’s recording budget is 10X’s what Magna Carta would ever give....
We have the luxury of plenty of time to “perfect” everything in a high quality studio, but by actually writing in the studio it still provides us with a lot of spontaneity and excitement.
Q: When you finish the concert, do the encore and all of a sudden you start playing The Trooper, Killers or things like that, how do you guys decide to do it? Is it done 5 min before starting (“hey, let’s play this song!”) or do you plan it with some time? Also, you seem to do this kind of thing randomly, only in certain places. Is it due (again) to a spontaneous decision or is it some obscure selection process?
MP: 95% of the time it is spontaneous, random and usually sparked by me.
After a doing a spontaneous one several times (like Whole Lotta Love at the end of Learning To Live) the guys are on their toes and we start to incorporate it randomly when I feel like it.
We had a fun thing on the FII [tour] for a while...at one break point in Metropolis every night, one of us would start a cover riff and the others would be expected to jump in and play along...
There were some very interesting ones! (from Rush to Nirvana - a lot of times with me singing!)
Q: I read that Jordan also plays guitar, so when are Nightmare Cinema (the technically most amazing band ever!) going to return?
MP: Not likely, as Nightmare Cinema was something very much part of “the Derek era”.
Q: Would you consider filming the recording process for the next CD?
MP: I already do film and record every one of our sessions...
It’s not likely that Elektra would ever want the expense of releasing such a thing, but maybe someday if our “official bootlegs” series ever works out, then I can compile the footage for that...
I have seen bootlegs of a 2 hour version of the making of Images and Words that I compiled for some friends at the time which have since become pretty circulated...
Q: When Derek and Jordan first joined the band, how did they go about learning all your previous material? Do you make detailed keyboard charts, or did they have to do a lot of it from ear?
MP: In Derek’s case, I made him CD’s of I&W; and Awake with *just the keyboard tracks* isolated from the master tapes.
In Jordan’s case, he had somebody transcribe all of the songs I gave him for upcoming set lists and that helped him prepare. There’s still has a lot of the back catalog that he hasn’t had to learn yet...
Q: Are you ever afraid that you might run out of new drum ideas? And have you ever felt that you were repeating yourself in your drumming?
MP: Well with the writing of the *music*, we never have such a problem...in fact - quite the opposite: sometimes I wonder how we are going to fit all of our ideas in!
With my drumming, I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t feel the need to constantly overplay....there’s never any problem playing the right parts for the song...and when it’s time to really push the playing a bit, I can usually find it in myself pretty easily. If not, the other guys can usually motivate me..
Q: I was just wondering if you guys keep in touch with Kevin Moore, and if you have ever jammed with him since he left, even just for fun? What is Under a Glass Moon about? Good luck on the new album!!
MP: We stay in occasional contact via email, but have not played together since recording Awake in 1994.
I did extend an invitation to him to join us on stage at the Roseland show (I wanted to do “Space Dye Vest” and a 6 piece version of “Learning To Live”) but he declined..
I think that is not at all where his head is at these days...
Q: Any plans on Elektra blocking DT songs due to their whining of piracy? Can Elektra (or any company) restrict these songs without mentioning it to the band, or can the band have their say in their materials remaining napster-friendly?
For the most part I’m just wondering how much freedom a band is allowed with their material without the Record Gestapo making an appearance. Are the rules different once the band no longer has a contract with the company?
MP: Realistically, it is the record company that “owns” the material and can decide how strict or lenient they want to be with the use of it.
(perfect example of why I am so pissed at Magna Carta for being such a**holes)
Q: Of all the work you have done with DT, what do you consider your masterpiece so far? What song/CD defines Mike Portnoy the best and why.
MP: I really think SFAM is DT’s masterpiece to date....
I also think it is probably the best representation of *me*, as I not only played drums on it, but wrote the music (with the others of course), wrote a good chunk of the lyrics, co-produced it, directed the video, etc, etc. I think it takes more than just the drums to show what I am all about.....
Q: When you are writing songs, what is your method of madness? Does the melody come first, the groove, the lyrics, or is it a combination of all three?
MP: It always starts with Riffs and Grooves first (drums, gtr, bass & keys)....
Then usually Melody, and then Lyrics (sometimes in the opposite order)
and then finally the vocals...
Q: how do you practice songs like that & when recording do use punch-ins and break the sound down? what about the click programming?
MP: We used to punch in the different clicks as we needed them....
then we got a “Jordan” in the band!
Now, we program the entire song on his computer system (odd times, meter changes, tempo changes, etc). It is an *incredibly* long and tedious process, but really helps with overdubs and synching up parts, etc.
Q: do all of you chart the songs or you just have general charts for all? are they detailed?
MP: Yes, all 4 of us have extensive charts for everything we write...
And yes, I do keep them all! (DT, LTE and TA)
Q: Who has the final say when it comes to opening bands - the headlining band or the label?
MP: It might be different for different bands, but in our case the label has nothing to do with this department.
In the early days, before we “carried” an opening band - the club owners would just put local bands on the bill (we had nothing to do with them)
From 1993 on, we decided what opening bands we would carry on tour with us (the Galactic Cowboys was the first time we did that)
Although it obviously something I discuss with the other band members, management and our booking agent - usually it happens to be *me* who ultimately picks our opening acts.
I take pride in the great bands we have taken out through the years and helped expose to our audience: (Galactic Cowboys, Fates Warning, I Mother Earth, Echolyn, Rudess/Morgenstein, Einstein, Vanden Plas, Enchant, Threshold, The Dixie Dregs, Spock’s Beard, Watchtower, Porcupine Tree, Tiles, Damn the Machine....did I forget anybody?)
There were only 3 cases where we were kinda *forced* into carrying a particular opening act by our management or agents at the time: (every once in a while there are politics that are unavoidable!)
Big Wreck, Full On The Mouth & Star People
(all of whom were nice guys, but were not *my* picks)
And before this starts another thread of: “How can my band open for you?”...I will say that we only ever take “signed” bands. And that there are *many* variables necessary for an opening band to be able to pick up and go out on a major tour...(mainly tour support from their label)
Q: Have you ever considered releasing a remastered version of When Dream And Day Unite?
MP: For many years around the I&W; period, that was a serious goal of ours....
Ultimately, we were unable to do *anything* with that CD because it was owned by another record company.
Eventually, they sold the rights to it to another independent label who then re-released it without any input (or permission for that matter!) from us...
It is so dated at this point, that none of us really care to investigate the matter any further..(not that there is anything we can do about it anyway!)..at least it got *some* sort of re-release so it’s not out of print anymore...
Q: After so many years, would you care to “critic” [WDaDU]? Or talk about the experience of recording your first album ever?
MP: It was mainly a learning experience for all of us...(largely learning all of the things *not* to do!!)
We signed a crummy deal with a crummy label who did nothing with the release and ultimately, we ended up having to BUY our way out of the contract in order to sign our current deal! (how’s that for backwards!)
The making of the record was fun, but too quick on too small of a budget...(roughly 3 weeks work)
I think the mix was not up to the level of Terry Date’s capabilities and Charlie’s vocals were a bit of a weak link.....
OTHER THAN THAT.....I LOVE THE CD!!!!
I do think some of the musical passages were very good (parts of the Killing Hand, YtseJam, TOWHTSTS and Only A Matter Of Time) and I’m glad we got to re-do a lot of the songs throughout our career with James, Derek and Jordan...
Q: What Happened To Your Wife’s Band “Meanstreak”?
MP: Long story short, they eventually broke up around ‘94 or so...
A quick history for those of you that don’t know: (FAQ???)
Meanstreak was an awesome all-girl thrash metal band around the late 80’s/early 90’s.
I had seen them play around the New York area many times opening for bands like Anthrax, Motorhead and Overkill.
I was blown away by how f*cking HEAVY they were!! AND they could play!!
Around ‘88/’89 or so, I became very good friends with their drummer Yael and their bass player Lisa.
During Sept of ‘89, John Petrucci and myself went out to LA for the Foundations Forum Music Convention. While there, I was hanging out with Yael a lot who eventually brought her 2 guitar players (Marlene & Rena) around to hang out with us. After a few days of this, John & Rena hooked up....and then Marlene & I hooked up shortly afterwards back in NY. (Cut 12 years later to 2001: Marlene & I are married with 2 kids and John & Rena are married with 3 kids)
In the meantime - back in NY in the early 90’s, Meanstreak decided to make a bass player change and let Lisa go. (who years later married John Myung!!)
They never quite regained the momentum after that....they went through several different female bass players (Irene & Jennifer) and several other male stand-ins live (Petey Martinez from Murphy’s Law, Nick Douglas now in Doro, and even our very own John Petrucci for one gig!!)
Eventually, Marlene decided to fill in the spot and switch over to bass making the band a 4 piece....this is around the time that I funded their ‘92 demo. They also opened for Dream Theater on several occasions. (Sundance on Long Island in 1990, a show in Connecticut in 1992 and The Chance in Poughkeepsie in 1993)
Yes, I agree that they should have been signed and very successful.....but bad management, loss of momentum with the bass player changes and a serious shift of the musical climate (from Thrash to Grunge) eventually ruined the band.
Yael then left the band which I think was the final straw.
They continued with a new drummer (Zoe) and even added a keyboard player (Sylvia) towards the end.
Their final gig was as the house band on the Lifetime Network’s cable TV comedy show “Girl’s Night Out” which lasted one season (sometimes still in re-runs!)...They were no longer a metal band at this point and were doing TV house band kind of bits in and out of the commercials.
Shortly after, they called it quits.
Obviously - Marlene, Rena and Lisa are all still friends (being our wives!), but none of them are really playing anymore these days because of the crazy responsibilities of being Mommies!!
They do still keep in close touch with Yael (who is still playing - currently in a great metal band called “My Ruin”) and occasionally with Bettina (the vocalist).
One day when all of kids are old enough to be the road crew, there will be the long awaited Meanstreak reunion (with their husbands as the opening act!)
Q: Just curious if this would be a future concept album or epic song venture for DT as I know you’re a David Lynch fan. Any thoughts ?
MP: No interest in doing it lyrically (Anthrax already did it with the Black Lodge)
Musically, we kind of already have.....”Eve” was definitely inspired by Angelo Badalamenti’s score.
Q: What’s the story on the drums for Speak to Me?
MP: The story on the Speak To Me demo is:
I was in one room of our studio mixing the “New Millennium” demo and the other guys were in the other room gathered around the keyboard working on some arrangement ideas for “Speak To Me”.
When I finished the mix and re-joined them, I thought the subtle drum machine added a really nice atmosphere to the mood of the song (very The Cure or U2-ish) and suggested we leave it as part of the song. (and I eventually joined in for the Bridge)
I ended up having the same opinion while we were writing “Through Her Eyes”....
(see.....I don’t always HAVE to play for the sake of playing!!)
Q: I recently came up with an interview of Kevin Moore (link posted to your forum also) where he told that he hates the mix on Awake!? Have you talked about this with him?
Was it because of the producer(s) or what?
Do you like them yourself?
MP: Yes I do like the mixes on Awake for the most part.
I think Kevin may have some resentments towards them because for the writing and recording of that whole album, he was “part of the band”....then towards the very end of the recording, he informed us of his decision to leave the band.
Once that was out in the open, we did not include him on any of the decision making throughout the mix because we knew he was no longer going to be in the band.
So I suppose there are elements on the CD that he would have liked to have seen or heard differently, but he had to relinquish his vote as a result of leaving...
Q: What would you change about FII?
MP: Well without too many details, If *I* had total control from the label in the making of that particular album, the biggest differences would have been:
1. It would have been a 2 CD set with *all* of the songs we wrote throughout ‘96/’97 (including the original Metropolis Pt.2)
2. I would not have changed any of the arrangements from the demo versions...
Most obviously being: “Burning My Soul”, “Take Away My Pain”, “Lines In The Sand” and “You Or Me”. (therefore eliminating Desmond Child as well!)
Someday soon, you all will be able to get a taste of what *my* version of FII would have been like (however, in demo form - and WITHOUT M2) when we begin the DT line of official Bootlegs..
Q: Besides ACoS, have you or the other guys ever write any other song lyrics which pulled from personal experiences?
MP: Yes, there are several lyrics written from direct real life experiences of the lyricist...
A few that immediately come to mind for me are:
From me: ACOS (obviously), Raise The Knife, The Mirror
From John Petrucci: Take Away My Pain, Another Day, A Fortune In Lies
From Kevin Moore: Space Dye Vest, Light Fuse and Get Away
From James: Erotomania, Ytse Jam, The Dance Of Eternity
Q: Who is playing acoustic guitar on OiaLT?
MP: Both the Acoustic Guitar and Piano are part of a Pre-recorded intro tape....
We’ve done the same throughout our career with Metropolis, Pull Me Under and even Regression.
The reason is to help build the anticipation and excitement at the start of the show (or encore) and to have a more exciting entrance when we arrive on the stage.
It has nothing to do with “not being able” to play those intros....as we have played each one of these songs both ways throughout our career.
Q: Why won’t DT work with Terry Brown again?
MP: Well, a long story short - Terry is another person who has recently burned his bridges with us in the DT camp.
Basically, half way through the M2000 tour, we received word from his lawyer that he expected __ amount of $ from us for using his voice when we perform SFAM live.
Now Terry knew DAMN well when he recorded his voice as the hypnotherapist during the SFAM sessions, that it was a concept album that we would be performing every night on tour....OF COURSE we would be using a sample of his voice in the performance being HE OPENS THE FREAKING CD and SHOW!!!!!!!!
Our **speculation** is that he may have been sore with us for not choosing him to mix SFAM which he expressed wanting to do (it was never an option as far as me and JP were concerned)...
he also bitched about not being credited as the hypnotherapist on the CD sleeve (we *purposely* wanted it to be an unbilled cameo)
Basically, he’s a big bad cry baby who was looking to cash in on his voice being used on the CD & tour anyway he could....
(David Botrill’s voice was on the CD and tour as the voice of Edward in Finally Free and he never complained....Theresa Thomason’s voice was all over the CD and tour, never heard a peep from her...)
We eventually had to pay to Terry off to avoid a lawsuit and were forced to have somebody else come in for the Roseland show to play the hypnotherapist.
The guy is on the top of my s*it list and only succeeded to shoot himself in the foot because he now will never work with DT again, nor will we ever have anything nice to say about the guy who we thought was cool until this ridiculous incident!
Q: What are your thoughts on the band’s ideas about jazz and fusion? Did you get into it at Berklee much?
MP: We are definitely into a lot of fusion stuff...a lot of time at Berklee was spent getting into that stuff...
We aren’t so much into old school swing Jazz, etc...but more of the electric jazz fusion stuff. (Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Chick Corea, etc..)
Those influences have surely crept into our music throughout the years...(especially some of the LTE stuff being instrumental music)
Q: Why was Voices cut in 5YILAT?
MP: Very keen observation!! You are the first person to point out having noticed that to me!
Essentially, it was a time problem...
The label instructed me to deliver a video not a *second* over 120 minutes.
My initial cut was around 150 minutes, so I needed to trim that....(FAQ - take notes Scotty!)...what I chopped onto the cutting room floor from that first cut was:
1. Caught in a Web/ Drum Solo (WOWOW Broadcast - Japan 1995)
2. Guitar Solo/ Paradigm Shift (OIALT version - Paris 1998)
3. The Silent Man (Electric Version - Rotterdam FC Show 1998)
4. New Millennium (From the DP/ELP/DT Tour - Summer 1998)
After those cuts, I ended up with roughly 123 minutes...which meant I needed to be *very* specific about where I was going to lose those few extra minutes...
That is where I made the decision to lose:
1. The intro to “To Live Forever” (after all, it was already on the “Live in Tokyo” video...and I knew this version would end up in its entirety on the ‘98 FC Xmas CD)
2. The intro to “Voices” and
3. The 3rd Verse to “Voices” (I figured that this was one of the songs that was doubling over onto the OIALT CD and the 5YIALT video - even though different versions - so at least the CD version would be un-cut.......and to be brutally honest, I thought James sang that verse like sh*t anyways!)
and I may be wrong here, because I’m doing this off the top of my head - but I may have edited the middle section of 6:00 as well (?)..
I figured the Japan WOWOW footage was the first to be trimmed because most hardcore DT fans would have had it anyways...
Anyways, as already mentioned elsewhere - I’m hoping some day to get our first 2 videos re-released on DVD and then maybe I’ll be able to re-insert this footage for a “Director’s Cut”
(BTW - I did screen this version as our opening act for the ‘98 Unplugged Xmas shows)
Q: Have you guys been recording the tracks before you write the lyrics at all?
MP: Yes that is the way our music is always written and recorded....
When the 4 of us write and record the music, we write it with the arrangement and placement of the lyrics already worked out. (and usually JP or myself will already have some melodies and possible lyrics mapped out)
We then record the whole song and the lyrics and vocals come later in the process...
In the case of the music for SFAM, the entire album was written, recorded and finished before we even started the lyrics...
Q: Did you ever consider having former Marillion singer Fish join DT when Charlie was let go?
MP: Actually a bit of trivia, our *last* show with Charlie was opening for Marillion’s *first* US show with Steve Hogarth...
By time we began looking for another new singer, Fish was already into his solo career and we never considered that he would be interested in anything but that...
Not to mention that we weren’t that well known yet at that point and we never thought that he would consider a young, upcoming band from America to be his next career move!
Even if he did, I don’t think a 6’6” Scottish poet was what we were looking for at the time!
As much as Fish was/is one of my favorites, we wanted a more “metal” type singer...
PS - I did invite him to join us at both the Ronnie Scott’s Fan Club show in 1995 (to sing “In The Flesh”) and the Rotterdam Fan Club show in 1998 (to sing “Sugar Mice”) and in both cases, he was all set to join us and had to back out at the last minute because of other obligations....
Q: How did LTE get its name?
MP: Actually, throughout the entire preparations and the first half of the recording, I was planning on calling it “The Millennium Project”...
JP ended up asking if we could think of a different name because in the coming years *everything* was going to be Millennium related (which was correct)...so we searched together for a new name...
I wanted it to be _____ _____ Experiment, so that was the starting point...then we were looking through a book in the studio that was providing us with different words and phrases for the songs (Universal Mind, Kindred Spirits, Freedom of Speech, etc) and that’s where the 2 words Liquid & Tension popped out from.
Q: Any plans to have Jordan play any guitar on DT albums?
MP: Jordan is very good on guitar...but JP would never have a guitar-playing keyboardist on the same stage!!
(and I quote: “f*ck that gay Winger sh*t”)
Actually, we had this issue with Derek as well....Derek REALLY wanted to play rhythm guitar on some sections of “Lie”...we even rehearsed it as well...but the Winger factor eventually squashed the whole idea!!
I guess DT will always be a 1 guitar band!
Q: Do you like Megadeth?
MP: Yes, I dig Megadeth...
I especially like the first 3 CD’s best...
We played with them at the Monsters Of Rock in Brazil back in 1998...was very cool.
I’ve stayed in touch with Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson ever since...
Also have known Jimmy DeGrasso and Al Pitrelli for years before they were in Megadeth....
Another interesting tidbit: Nick Menza was almost thrown out of a DT show in Chicago for videotaping!
I gave him VIP passes to watch the show from a private booth, but he didn’t have a photo pass so security started to hassle him when he took out his camera!!
Q: I just downloaded metropolis pt.1, live in phoenix 2000, from napster and noticed a few abrupt stops in the middle of the instrumental section, after some goofing around you picked it up again in the same part. Was that on purpose or just one of those days?
MP: Definitely NOT on purpose!
Yep, even we f*ck up!! The challenge is somehow getting everybody back in when it happens...
There’s a nice train wreck during Learning To Live sampled on the latest Fan Club CD as well!!
Q: What happened with Magna Carta?
MP: I have no plans to work with Magna Carta again.
They have soured our relationship by trying to prevent me from using my own music in my drum video without a financial payment to them. (which Elektra did not ask for with DT’s music)
They have further damaged the relationship by (so far) preventing the release of that video on DVD....which would have been a great promotional vehicle for their label.
These actions, along with the way they have taken advantage of milking the DT members for every project they can get, have led me to believe that they are more interested in the $ they can make off of our names as opposed to the music we can create for them.
I was nothing but supportive of them a few years ago when I did the 2 LTE CDs and I tried to help them as much as I could to establish them in the Prog community....and I believe my involvement in those projects early on gave them a lot of exposure and credibility within the DT/Prog world which they have since taken advantage of, only to turn their backs on me.
Jordan has recently asked me to play on his solo CD and unfortunately because of this situation, I will not be...
Your only hope is if they ever wake up and release the Liquid Trio Experiment tapes. (which they someday will be desperate enough for once they finish up with this year’s crop of DT $)
Q: Just curious as to why you decided to do the first US tour leg in an “Evening With” style.
MP: We’ve done “Evening With” shows several times throughout our career in the past (Roseland when we recorded LSFNY, Paris when we recorded OIALT, and a few others dating all the way back to the Limelight in NYC back in 1993....) and it seems a very natural format for a band like ours.
Most of my favorite classic bands have toured with the whole “2-set and intermission” format....(Pink Floyd/Roger Waters, Phish, Frank Zappa, even Rush has now recently done it...as well as any good Broadway or Theater show)
Because our songs are so long, and in order to satisfy a balance of our catalog, our shows end up being upward of 2.5 or 3 hours a night....so with that in mind, the “Evening With” format allows us to play a long show and have an intermission to give your ears, feet (and bladder) a break. (that is also why we are taking the show into seated Theaters as well....for the comfort of the audience)
As much as I love having an opening act and getting to support the newer wave of progressive acts, it is just too much for an audience to endure another band on top of a 3 hour DT set.
The length of the songs and the growth of the past catalog is also why we are rotating setlists every night throughout the tour. It is impossible to please everybody with the set selection, so we will switch it up from night to night and you just have to cross your fingers and roll the dice that you get to hear some of your “favorites” at the show you attend...(or travel to multiple shows)
Q: What was the inspiration for the Siamese Monster? What exactly made you want two kits in one like that? Was it a spur-of-the-moment idea, or something you’d been working on for a while?
MP: I knew I wanted to create a new kit for the SDOIT sessions and tour.
I had really enjoyed using a smaller kit for LTE and TA, but knew I still needed a big kit for DT....
so I decided, “what the hell - I’ll have both!!!”
There are 2 things you can know for sure about me when looking at the Siamese Monster:
a) I don’t have to pay for my gear
b) I don’t have to set it up!
Q: What do you remember about the early ‘92 dates? The reason I ask this question is because I noticed DT played Hammerhedz in Elmont (one of the first shows with James), and I literally live like down the block from it.
MP: Actually, the DT show at Hammerheadz was indeed James’ VERY FIRST show with us ever!
We were asked to open for Iron Maiden at the Ritz in NYC, and we wanted to get a few “warm-up” gigs under our belt with James in the band before doing such a high profile show, so that show was the very first one!
I remember eating at the Diner across the street with Rod Smallwood (Maiden’s manager) after the show that night....
Well, while we are being nostalgic - my history with that club goes WAY back before that.....
Back in the early 80’s, it was called “February’s” and one of my old high school bands “Rising Power” used to play there every month!
I was still in high school...11th or 12th grade...and I used to show my fake ID in order to play, hang out and drink there!! It was my first Metal Club hangout! (then I started going to L’Amour Brooklyn and Sundance in Bay Shore)
If you have the Rising Power bootleg, you can even see some pictures of us hanging out at “Feb’s” in the inside booklet....
(In fact, they may even be here at MP.COM in the photo gallery...)
Keep a lookout in the future for some Rising Power - Live at February’s footage on the Portnoy Archives!!
Q: When you were first starting out in the business, back in the WDADU/early Images period, I’m sure you guys were probably grinning in disbelief like kids that all your hard work was finally paying off and all your dreams were starting to become reality. At what point did you wake up and see your job as a daily routine and real business? When did you and JP stop looking at each other smiling at every new breka like kids in a candy store? Or HAVE you?
MP: Hmmmm...not sure how to answer this one...
Well, it wasn’t until well after Images came out that we felt that things were beginning to pay off...up until that point were a lot of false starts, mistakes and disappointments.
With that 1st taste of success, came the immense pressures and responsibilities that come along with this business when you do it for a living.
Although we have been in a cycle of write/record/tour for about 10 years now, it still offers many new and exciting rewards and surprises along the way and it’s never boring!
Sometimes you do take some of it for granted and stop smiling at each other with childlike excitement at the daily events, but usually at the end of the night when I’m lying in my bunk on the tour bus, I do have a smile on my face!
Q: Since [the new album, Six Degrees is] a very ambitious project (mostly musically) wasn´t any plans in releasing a promotional video??? That would be great, since this cd is so cool I think it deserves some promotional help. And since the label seems not to care too much in putting any effort for supporting this album, I think they definitely should place a couple of singles in the radio and give you guys green flag for doing a video, at least. I really would like to hear your opinion about this subject.
MP: I agree that Elektra should put a stronger effort into getting DT more mainstream radio play...
I think a song like “Solitary Shell” has huge radio potential...
As far as shooting a video for MTV or VH1, *We* have actually been the ones to discourage doing them any longer....it is a *tremendous* waste of time and especially money for a band like ours that will inevitably be ignored by those stations...
For instance, we didn’t even want to do a video for “Hollow Years”, but the label and our old management twisted our arms and insisted....ultimately, *we* wasted $100,000 and more importantly, our last weekend at homes with our families before kicking off the tour in order to do this video that MTV didn’t show a single time.
I personally would rather utilize a video budget for long-form home video or DVD purposes....
That being said, if radio ever did actually pick up on a song like “Solitary Shell” and there was a guarantee that we would get video play because of demand (which is exactly what happened with “Pull Me Under”), then I believe it would make sense to do another video....
Q: I was checking out the MTV Euro headbangers ball the other day, and you were talking about you were the big metal guy in DT. Did you listen to non metal stuff back then (Radiohead, Flower kings etc)? Do you still listen to metal as much as you used to? Sorry bout all my bitching [about DT not playing in the southern US]
MP: Yes, I’ve always been “the Metal Guy” in DT!
Myself, JP and JM grew up on classic Metal like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath....
And once in a while JP (and in the old days, JM) will occasionally listen to some basic Metal stuff (Metallica, Pantera, Anthrax, Megadeth)...but for the most part, I am the only member to really follow the whole Metal scene.
(Some of the latest heavy stuff I’m digging is Mudvayne, Slipknot, Opeth, System of a Down, Tool)
But I’ve *always* loved non-metal stuff too....(back then and still today)
I have always had a very open mind and can dig something regardless of the genre as long as it offers something interesting and original.
PS - DT is not “too good” for the south....we love playing there!
How many times must I explain the variables involved with booking and doing a tour?
Sometimes these decisions are out of our hands.
If anything, it is “the south’s promoters that think they’re too good for DT!
Q: When you were first starting out, did your close family members or friends ever doubt that you would make it in the music industry or ever put you down, telling you that it was only a dream?
MP: Of course, those kind of doubts by other family members are natural.
Sometimes it’s hard for other people to feel the passion or belief that is so obvious to yourself.
However, I believe the only way to really succeed is to follow your heart and your dreams and you cannot give yourself any alternatives.
It was hard for me to convince certain members of my family that going to a music college (as opposed to a “traditional” school) was the best decision for me....and then only a year later, convince them that dropping out of Berklee and pursuing my career with my 2 new friends was then the right decision...
But perseverance and passion are the keys to success!
Q: Who came up with [this cool idea to cover all of Master of Puppets], and how long did you guys rehearse the songs before you played them live at the Barcelona show?
MP: I can’t say that I invented the idea of covering an entire album from start to finish, as I actually got the idea from Phish who would cover entire albums for their Halloween shows every year. (They’ve done The Beatles’ White Album, The Who’s Quadrophenia, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, Talking Head’s Remain In Light and Velvet Underground’s Loaded)
As a fan, I thought that this idea was brilliant and being I’ve always enjoyed doing the occasional cover with DT and TA, thought it would be great fun for DT (and the fans) to start the same tradition at the 2nd night’s show anytime we do a 2-night stand in the same city/venue.
The first classic album I chose was of course Metallica’s Master of Puppets. (Look for more in the future...I already have the first 5 picked out, so please - don’t start posting suggestions!!)
We had to rehearse for 2 hours everyday at soundcheck throughout the whole European tour in order to learn MoP (in addition to the 6 hours of DT music that is in rotation for the changing setlists every night).
All of our friends, press and fan club reps were not let into our soundchecks in order to secure our privacy (as well as the surprise) and we would even turn off the PA system and rehearse through our inner ear monitors in order to not give away the surprise to the fans already waiting outside the venue on line!
And to think some people actually complained about it all!
Hopefully these few unappreciative bad-apples wont ruin it for the others in the future who do like this idea and we can continue this cool tradition without having to take a beating from the close-minded fans every time!!
Q: I was wondering if you are going to have to alter some of your drumming patterns on this tour in order to do back-up vocals? Such as Glass Prison?
MP: So far it hasn’t presented to be too much of a problem physically.
If anything, I enjoy the challenge....
I think it’s harder for Jose to remember all the mic swinging cues!
Q: I have noticed that your cymbals and seat height are much lower on your Siamese Monster than on your previous kits. Was this a conscious decision on your part? Can you see better, or hit (the many many) things more easily? Did lowering your seat height change your playing technique?
MP: Yes, I’ve been trying to sit lower now for years, but with my previous set-ups it was hard.
So when designing the Siamese Monster, one of the first decisions I made was to switch to 22” kick drums (as opposed to the 24”s I’ve always used) and one of the main reasons for that was to get me 2” closer to the floor!
Also...yes, I was conscious of setting up the cymbals (mainly the crashes) lower as well.
I just have to get used to be a little more obstructed from the audience as a result of the lowered height as well as the busy design of the center cymbals of the Monster....
Q: You tour the world, but do you get to see it? How much of the day is spent sightseeing, if any? How does that work? Are you in a hotel until showtime or does your management let you and the guys live it up?
MP: I am probably the biggest waste of a world-traveler you will ever meet!!
I have been almost everywhere in the world and all I can tell you about is either the venue’s dressing rooms or my hotel room’s room service menu!
I soooo rarely get time to myself (even at home) that when I do, I take total advantage of it. Which means that for me, the ultimate day-off on tour consists of 2 room service meals, a movie or two and time to catch up on my email....
Q: At the very end of “The Spirit Carries On”, there’s a moment (“I’ll be alright, because I believe...”) when you play a [drum fill] the same as in Led Zeppelin’s “Since you’ve been loving me”, at the very end as well. Did you do it on purpose, as a little tribute to them, or it was just what came out from you on that moment?
MP: VERY keen observation there....you are absolutely correct!!!
I didn’t think of it or realize it at the time when I recorded it, but I have in fact realized it since while playing it live...
That drum fill is indeed the same exact fill John Bonham (one of my heroes) does at the end of “Since I’ve Been Loving You”.
DT covered that song at our “special” Xmas shows back in 1998 (keep an eye on the archives...hint, hint), so I guess that fill was still buried somewhere in my subconscious!
Good ears!
Q: Are you really going to get 8”(!) signature hi-hats? I think I’ve heard them about 3 seconds in Misunderstood, right?
MP: Basically, I took the bottoms of two 8” Sabian High MAX Stax sets to make myself a set of 8” hi-hats...
They are not going to be released or sold by Sabian that way...
And yes, you are correct: they are used in Misunderstood during the section after the first chorus.
Q: After seeing all the webisodes, everyone is wondering if there will be a ‘making of’ DVD. Any comment?
MP: Well, I do indeed have enough footage to do one....
Realistically, I cannot picture Elektra being interested in funding and releasing it, so it wouldn’t likely be an “official” release.
However, we are still hoping one of these days to get our “official bootleg” series off the ground (really, I swear!! )....and surely, a video of this this would be on the list of possibilities.
In the meantime, there is a TransAtlantic “making of” video in the works for the last CD.....(Look for it coming to www.radiantrecords.com soon)
Q: What needs to be done in order to have DT share the bill with Rush? Have you guys tried to approach the Rush clan for some booking info? What is your and the bands vision concerning this issue?
MP: THERE IS NO GREATER GOAL FOR ME IN 2002....(seriously!)
We would do it in a heartbeat!
Q: Did you listen to the remastered WDADU? I suppose they sent you a copy. Is the remaster worth anything? Would you have done it different?
MP: We had *nothing* to do with this re-release.
Unfortunately, neither Dream Theater or Elektra Records own the rights to WDADU.
It was bought out by this unknown label called One Way Records without any notice or regard given to us.
As far as I am concerned, this latest Re-issue is simply a blatant attempt at “cashing in” on the DT name...
If it were up to me, I would have re-mixed it (ala the first Megadeth CD which was just re-released), and added bonus tracks (the Terry Brown re-mixes, assorted demos, etc)....
I will say that they did contact our management to see if I would contribute some extra tracks and write the liner notes, but they refused to actually pay us *anything* for our involvement....
....and frankly, I barely have enough time in my life for the *real* DT products that I need to oversee...so I wasn’t going to give any of my little available time to a label that simply wanted to “cash-in” on our fanbase.....
So there’s the story on this re-release....
PS - and no....they haven’t even sent me a copy!
Q: On the live from new york dvd, there’s a little movie playing on the jumbo tron right before change of seasons plays. looks like a bunch of guys in an elevator. what is that?
MP: That is a scene from “Dead Poet’s Society” that we were using as a live video intro, and is one of the scenes that I took some of the ACOS samples from (all the “Carpe Diem” stuff)...
Obviously for copyright reasons, we couldn’t show that scene on our DVD.