Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater)

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BY BILLY RAMIREZ • PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL MÅNSSON
e expected Dream Theater to pull plenty of tricks from its bottomless sleeves on the band’s
eighth album, Octavarium. But a few are so atypical of these picky progressive perfectionists that our heads spun. Such as … crammed between passages of Dream Theater’s peculiar brand of metallic complexity emerge hints of Coldplay, U2, and Muse – bands that typically outpace these east coast prog rockers on the Billboard charts by hundreds of points.
Something seemed to happen between now and the release of the band’s last CD, Train Of Thought, which
mined DT’s more aggressive side. Does Octavarium signal a midlife crisis, as key band members enter their 20th
year together? Portnoy begs to differ. “I think this album is a little bit more of a traditional Dream Theater album
because of its diversity. If anything, Train Of Thought was a trip to left field. We’d never really made an album
like that. This was more traditional turf for us, which is to have a variety of different things – short songs, long
songs, heavy songs, some lighter ones, complex ones, some simple ones. That diversity is something that’s always
been a part of our sound and style.
“Every album has its own different personality. The time we spend in the studio, how we cut the tracks, all
have been different. It’s a long tedious process and at times it’s very fun and creative. Other times it can be boring and tedious, especially for me. The other guys come and go as needed but as producer, I’m there for every
single moment that the record is being made. It’s a good, fun creative outlet for me, but it’s a time consuming
one. My drum tracks are just a small portion of my commitment.”
W
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So Let’s Talk About Drumming.
We expect emergency wards to overflow
with palpitating Portnoy disciples when
word gets out that the king of double drumset overkill ditched his second bass drum
and pedal for five of the eight songs on the
new disc. Before the metal gods squirm in
their graves, we should note that Portnoy
wailed those songs on a special John
Bonham tribute kit. “I brought in a kit that
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was built for me when I did a Led Zeppelin
tribute,” he explains. “I had so much fun
using it on the tribute that I decided to
bring it to the studio for this album, in case
I felt like jumping behind it for a track or
two. I found myself sitting behind it for
more than half the album. A lot of that dictated my playing.
“A lot of the traditional [Portnoy] fills
weren’t really appropriate or even possible
on a kit like that. It was different for me
because it was the first time I’ve used a single pedal on any album or any recording. It
had a big effect on the way I played on those
tracks. I played according to my environment. That kit inspired the drum parts, so
my parts were usually built around whatever feeling that smaller kit was giving me. I
did have to add a China for one track and a
splash for another. They weren’t normally
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part of the [small] setup.”
Hey, is this really Mike Portnoy, or did I
misdial and get my old high school drum
teacher on the line? “Really, just playing for
the song is the most important thing,” says
Portnoy – who can rip any given combination of notes within any given timeframe.
“Most people would probably think that I
am all about chops and showing off, and
accuse me of not playing to the song. But I
think if you listen to this album or any of
our others, it’s really far from the case. Some
songs on the album like ‘Panic Attack’ or the
as they’ve been a big part of my personal life
over the past five years,” he affirms. “It’s
been therapeutic to write about the steps
and deal with them from album to album.”
Portnoy indeed has a dark side to his personality, which hasn’t strictly been a byproduct of substance abuse. Take his bizarre clinic in Berlin in October of 2000, for example, when he appeared in front of the audience wearing underwear on his head, and
proceeded to roll on the floor and throw
sticks around the room. A symptom of pure
road fatigue rather than inebriation, but it
be a sideman on a temporary, part-time
basis. If anything, those situations are a
release. I just play drums and don’t worry
about anything else. I don’t think I could
ever do that in Dream Theater or as my full
time gig.
“That’s where my head is at the moment,
and it might change – I might get back to
doing clinics in the future. I feel like I’ve
done that to death. I would rather leave the
technique to be dissected and discussed by
the people that are better at it than me – the
Virgils, Manginis, and the Thomas Langs.
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title track have some all-out, over-the-top
playing. Then again, if you listen to something like ‘I Walk Beside You’ or ‘The
Answer Lies Within,’ that could be Larry
Mullen, Jr. playing drums. I’m playing no
fills and playing to the purpose of the song.
That’s always been my focus. More so than
ever, on this album, it was really what not to
play as opposed to what to play.”
Even Truer Confessions. Dream
Theater lyrics have traditionally revealed
deeply intimate experiences, and as one of
the band’s principle lyricists, Portnoy has
examined his ongoing recovery from alcoholism in songs like “The Glass Prison” on
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, “This
Dying Soul” on Train Of Thought, and now,
“Root Of All Evil” on Octavarium. “I’ve
been writing about the 12 steps of recovery
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Mike Portnoy also uses Tama hardware and pedals, Pro-Mark 420 Mike Portnoy Signature sticks,
Slick Nut cymbal fasteners, and Remo heads.
was disturbing nonetheless, and appears to
have soured his taste for doing clinic tours.
“It’s been a while,” he admits. “About
two years. I’ve been on an indefinite hiatus
from clinics. I’ve done hundreds throughout
the world for many, many, many years and I
just decided to take a break from them. A lot
of that has to do with what I’m saying – I’m
less concerned with technique, and drum
soloing, and dissecting that aspect. I would
rather concentrate on making music and
being creative.
“I’ve kind of put my focus on doing sessions for different people like Neal Morse
and John Arch, or when I filled in with Fates
Warning and Overkill – doing the sideman
stuff. I would rather be making music and
working with other musicians than doing
drum solos and talking about techniques.
Those are fun outlets, to jump on board and
Those are the guys that scare the crap out of
me. Let them talk about that stuff, because
that’s their thing.”
But it was once Portnoy’s domain. He
draws a distinction: “Of all those guys, none
of them are really in bands, per se. They will
moonlight in different bands part time or
on the side. I think the difference between
the impact I’ve had on the drum community and they have is that I’m part of a band. I
think that means a lot to kids.
“When I was younger, I loved Neil Peart,
not only because he was a great influential
drummer, but his career was based on being
in a band that I loved. I think that’s one of
the things that gave me a lot of acclaim and
separation from the people that do the drum
festivals and drum clinics. I am able to do
that as well, but first and foremost, it’s most
important for me to be [known as] a mem-
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GROOVE ANALYSIS
PORTNOY BREAKS DOWN “THESE WALLS”
ome drummers claim that Mike Portnoy
is the second coming of Neil Peart. And
while Rush’s influence had an undeniable effect on Dream Theater, they are
more than just the cube root of that
Canadian prog-rock trio. Dream Theater has a wide
range of influences – from bands like the technical
metal masters Meshuggah, and lyrically thematic
hard rock bands like Queensryche, to the melodic
and complex music of progressive outfits like Yes.
Now Dream Theater has taken it further, broadening its sound on Octavarium, apparently to appeal
to a younger audience, while still giving the shredders who usually populate their shows plenty to
chew on. So while Portnoy brandishes the kind of
über-chops he’s known for on many tracks, he also
approached other tunes in a simple and very straightforward manner – playing for the song, and nothing
more.
Portnoy fans needn’t worry. We chose to transcribe one of his trickier drum parts from “These
Walls” – a song that starts in 12/8 (you’ll find a couple measures here), with a syncopated bass drum
pattern playing thirty-second-note ruffs at the end of
beats 2 and 4 and a quick thirty-second-note flurry of
double bass and snare notes as a fill at the end.
A sloshy hi-hat vamp follows the intro, with a
simpler foot pattern underneath busy stickings. Here
Portnoy embellishes the hi-hat pattern with rolls, and
varies the note density from eighth-, to sixteenth-, to
thirty-second-notes. An oddball measure of 11/8
repeats every other measure, which is really not
quite as hard as it looks. The following section features a tom groove, with flams on beats 2 and 4, and
a constant hi-hat underneath everything, played with
the foot.
– Brad Schlueter
S
Intro
Vamp
Verse
Pre Chorus
ber of a band. Dream Theater’s an impor- write set lists because I enjoy torturing my
tant part of my identity and my story.”
bandmates. I do it for the fans – and when
they just complain and bitch and moan
He Wouldn’t Have It Any Other instead of being appreciative, it can be very
Way – but as the band’s spokesman, disheartening. That’s unfortunate, but true.”
Portnoy has faced his share of criticism on
subjects as wide-ranging as set lists (over Feeling Down(loaded), Mike?
which he can exert control) and tour routing Octavarium was leaked on the Internet
(which he can’t). Portnoy parries on weeks before its release, prompting Portnoy
Octavarium with “Never Enough,” a track to quickly shut down his own forum as well
as the band’s to keep people from discussing
where he vents about unappreciative fans.
“For better or for worse, I try to be acces- the yet-to-be-released album.
“I understand fans’ enthusiasm because
sible and I try to have that contact with the
fans – but sometimes it’s easy to be taken I’m a fan myself,” he confides. “If there’s a
advantage of,” he complains. “It’s a little dis- new album coming out that I’m looking forcouraging when people start expecting ward to, I want to hear it as soon as possible.
things from me. I have to keep myself at a I think it’s one thing to download it, enjoy
little bit more of a distance than I used to, to it, and keep it to yourself. To be honest, I
keep myself from being taken advantage of. don’t blame our fans for wanting to down“That’s a lot of what my lyrics on ‘Never load it ahead of time and enjoy it, because I
Enough’ are about. I live, breathe, and eat can relate to that. I just wish everybody
Dream Theater. I do everything I do for the would not spread it all over the ’net and post
fans. I don’t stay up ’til 5:00 A.M. trying to links.
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“To me, it’s not about sales, it’s not
downloading; it’s about people being able to
experience the music and the album the way
that we intended. That goes from the sonic
presentation of it, to the sound quality of it,
all the way to the artwork, the booklet, and
the lyrics. We wanted people to experience it
on the release date, like when a new movie
comes out. We don’t want people spoiling
the party before everybody really gets a
chance to hear it. That’s my biggest concern.
I’m not really concerned about downloading. Once it’s out, fans will buy our albums
and I have no issue with that. To me it’s all
about the artistic presentation and the
excitement, and not being ruined for other
people.”
There’s a reason why Portnoy doesn’t
seem at all agitated. In fact, the Internet has
been good for Dream Theater, a band that
doesn’t exactly write radio-friendly tunes.
“We can’t rely on Rolling Stone or MTV to
let people know about our albums and
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JOHN PETRUCCI BANDMATE CONFIDENTIAL
ike Portnoy once said jokingly that he is the walking definition of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Bandmate and close friend, guitarist John Petrucci isn’t laughing. “I don’t think that’s a joke,” Petrucci smiles. “We call him the ‘archivist.’ He
is totally obsessed with organizing and compiling data. The place that comes in
handy and what he really obsesses about are two different arenas. One is the
live shows and creating the sets. Mike is so well organized and is so well versed about all the albums
and where we’ve played, what and how many times we’ve been through a particular city. He has it all
documented and worked out and I know he has sleepless nights about the set. His OCD really comes
in handy, and thank god he does it, because it’s a big job.”
Portnoy’s meticulous organizational skills also come in handy when the band writes an album.
“He’s totally obsessed with recording everything and organizing and compiling. He really stays on top
[of everything] while we record – keeping everything organized and labeled. Even when it comes to
writing the album, and we start talking about the order of songs, he goes through these formulas and
things. When we’re writing music, there are so many different ways to interpret a piece of music as
a drummer, and he’s really into approaching it from several different angles. A lot of times, within the
course of a few bars he’ll be subdividing and changing the way that he drums. He’ll keep it creative
and expressive as possible.”
Playing together for 20 years, Petrucci and Portnoy have developed chemistry that allows them to
communicate almost invisibly. “When we play, it’s almost like we know what the other guy is thinking, and what he’s going to do next,” Petrucci says. “I think that of anybody else in the band, Mike and
I are the most locked in and connected when we’re playing live. I think the flow of the show or a particular song is determined by that a lot of the times. If you can read somebody most of the time without looking at them, you can tell whether they’re on, having a good or a bad night, if they’re overexcited or tired. Whatever it is, you feel and help each other and you pull the whole thing along. Nobody
really notices because it’s on a whole different level.”
– BR
M
Yes as they will be seeing us play with
Megadeth. That’s the way my tastes are. As a
music fan, I listen to everything from Yes to
Megadeth. I assume a lot of our audience is
probably the same and they fit in as much as
we do into either of those scenarios. That’s
what we’ve always been about and that’s
probably why a lot of our fans have stuck by
And So Has The Road. In this year’s us.”
installment of Dream Theater’s summer ritual, the band is touring the States on Dave The Monster Awakes. Obsessive?
Mustaine’s Gigantour, with Megadeth and a You bet! Portnoy was compelled to integrate
handful of other acts. “We’ve done a lot of his new, scaled-down studio rig into his
festivals in Europe, but it’s going to be the stage setup – the already famously indulgent
first time that we’ve been involved like that Siamese Monster. “I’m building a new
in America,” Portnoy says. “It’s going to be Siamese Monster that will utilize the
a lot of fun, but it’s also going to be very dif- Bonham configuration,” he explains. “The
left side will be what it’s been for the past
ferent for us.
“Last summer we toured with Yes and several years, but the right side will be this
this summer we’re touring with Megadeth, Bonham configuration.
“Tama made that original Bonham kit
so we really have to wear two completely different hats and play for two very different just for that one-off [Zeppelin tribute] gig,
types of audiences. With the Yes set list, I but they don’t normally make acrylic shells,
had to write something that appealed to so they obviously don’t want me playing a
their audience and stayed away from the kit that they don’t actually offer. It will be a
heavy stuff. Now, it will be the polar oppo- white-based Starclassic – like the opposite of
site, where we stay away from the light and the previous kit. We’re calling this The
proggy stuff and just go all out and shred Albino Monster. It will have silver Dream
and try to fit in with this festival. I think Theater logos all throughout. They’re redothat says a lot about Dream Theater. We can ing my signature snares, the Melody
be a chameleon and fit into either one of Masters, in white.”
Other drummers get a four-piece kit, a
those situations.
“I think it also says a lot about our audi- few cymbals, and happily bash away. But
ence and their taste – the fact that our audi- why must Portnoy alter his kit as often as
ence will be just as happy seeing us play with Madonna changes her corset? “The key to
tours,” he complains. “Really, our growth
and development has been based on [the
fact] that our fans go online and get the tour
dates and album info and whatever else they
can communicate with other fans. The
Internet has been a big, big part of our
growth and progress over the past ten years.”
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being inspired when I sit behind the kit is to
constantly change it up,” he explains.
“That’s why I’ve always played different
setups for different gigs. The Siamese
Monster is really only for Dream Theater. I
will say that the Siamese Monster – it’s a
drum village. That kit has gone through a
whole new level of extremes.”
Having three bass drums and four hi-hats
in one setup might be extreme for anybody
else, but Portnoy writes his own rules. “It’s
not supposed to be perceived as a single kit.
It’s really two kits, and it’s meant for two
people to play, or for one person to jump
back and forth between setups. Anybody is
welcome to jump up at any time. I’ve done
a couple of drum duets on the Monster.
Scott Rockenfield played it, Alan White’s
played it with me, Mike Mangini has played
it with me. Whenever there’s another drummer friend that’s at the show or on the tour,
I try to persuade them to come up and play
on the kit. There’s room for two. [laughs]
Everything Changes. Back in 1983,
Portnoy earned a living by delivering
Chinese food. After 22 years, eight Dream
Theater albums, and a truckload of awards,
he hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to be a
delivery boy. “It’s hard for me to be objective,” he says. “It’s unbelievable to look at
my history and see that I achieved all those
things. I know that we have a lot of great
fans and I have so much gratitude for that,
but it’s still hard for me to separate me from
… me. My goal is to make music – hopefully people will enjoy it. I guess somehow it’s
reaching and touching drummers around
the world, which is flattering for me.
“One the cool things now, with DT
being around 20 years, we’re actually starting to see some of the younger generation of
drummers that we influenced coming into
their own and being in successful bands.
That’s really cool, seeing younger drummers
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like Jason Bittner or Jeremy Colson, who listened to Dream Theater and are getting
their own recognition. It’s cool to see that
the musicians that were listening to us in the
early ’90s are now becoming the generation
of today’s influential musicians.”
Portnoy has temporarily abandoned clinic tours, and has no plans to make another
instructional DVD (“I don’t have time or
the interest,” he states). But he takes men-
1995
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toring very seriously – especially when it
comes to his son, Max. Right before conducting this interview with DRUM!, he
spent the day at Max’s kindergarten class
talking about drumming and working in the
biz. That’s right – it was “career day.”
“I brought a couple pictures of drum sets
and a couple of magazines I’ve been on the
covers of,” he says. “It was more fun for
them to jam. Latin Percussion sent me a
PORTNOY’S WEBsurfing
DOMAIN
mikeportnoy.com
ike Portnoy’s self-proclaimed obsessive compulsiveness
disorder is very evident on his extensive and detailed web
site. In his online abode, Portnoy reveals himself to the
world and offers detailed sections on his drums, videos, CDs, and tour
dates. You can also find an extensive FAQ section in which he answers
those questions that Dream Theater fans always ask and his article
archives date back to 1997. Need more? The 40 video clips pale in comparison to the amount of sound clips and interviews you can listen to,
and there are 16 photo albums to browse. Perhaps “extensive” is an
M
understatement.
Portnoy fans will love the “MP Store” where they can find exclusive memorabilia, like three exclusive drumming
DVDs, and an official Yellow Matter Custard bootleg DVD capturing his Beatles tribute concert.
Chances are you will never get to actually play Portnoy’s drums, so instead head over the “Play Mike’s Drums” section where you can fiddle around on an interactive flash animation featuring his previous Purple Monster kit. Just click
on the instruments and create your own jam. Unfortunately, there are no current plans to create an interactive Siamese
Monster.
The active Forum boasts over 10,000 members (although not all of them are active), and is truly a community in
itself. You can contribute to a variety of discussions ranging from the obvious Dream Theater and Portnoy subjects to
sports and even humorous threads where members write captions about interesting pictures. Occasionally, Portnoy will
open the “Ask Mike” section, where he will answer some of the members’ newest and most interesting questions. He
also regularly posts in his “Hero Of The Day” thread, where he gives props to whatever is tickling his fancy at the
moment. A word to the wise: make sure to search the forum before you start a discussion, which results in you being
“suaved,” and don’t tick off the Wookie.
– BR
1999
wife, kids, and a dog in tow – the metal family
man claims to only be getting started. “Longterm plans are to keep doing what we’re doing.
Dream Theater keeps a very busy schedule and a
very steady pace. Even on the down time, I fill
up my time with other musical adventures. I
can’t picture slowing down. I can’t picture stopping. It’s not a forced motivation. I want to keep
playing and moving at all times.
“Some people are just born leaders and some
are not. For me, it’s a built-in personality trait.
You can’t make yourself become a person like
that. You either are or your aren’t. It’s built into
my system.” 1998
1998
1997
whole bunch of shakers to hand out to the kids.
I just brought in a snare drum and cymbals and
some shakers and let them all come up and play.
I explained to them how I got into the business
and how I got into music and drumming.”
Besides probably being the coolest kids at
their school, Max and daughter Melody have
joined their dad on tour for the past several
years. “They love the drums and love the
lifestyle. They get to go on tour with me in the
summertime and they’re very accustomed to it at
this point in their life. They think it’s very normal for kids to spend their summers on tour.”
After two decades of making music – with a
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DREAM THEATER ON TOUR
Aug 17 Pittsburgh, PA (Chevrolet Amphitheater)
Aug 19 Portland, ME (Civic Center)
Aug 20 Manchester, NH (Verizon Wireless Amp)
Aug 21 Poughkeepsie, NY (Mid Hudson Civic Center)
Aug 23 Wantagh, NY (Jones Beach Amphitheater)
Aug 24 Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Aug 26 Boston, MA (Bank Of America Pavilion)
Aug 27 Reading, PA (Sovereign Center)
Aug 28 Atlantic City, NJ (House Of Blues)
Aug 30 Buffalo, NY (Darien Lakes Amphitheater)
Sep 2 Montreal, Quebec (Bell Center)
Sep 3 Toronto, Ontario (Molson Amphitheater)
Sep 27 Helsinki, Finland (Ice Hall)
Sep 29 Stockholm, Sweden (Hovet)
Sep 30 Oslo, Norway (Spektrum)
Oct 2 Hamburg, Germany (Docks)
Oct 3 Berlin, Germany (Columbia Halle)
Oct 4 Poznan, Poland (Halle Arena)
Oct 7 Düsseldorf, Germany (Philippshalle)
Oct 8 Hanover, Germany (Capitol)
Oct 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands
(Heineken Music Hall)
Oct 11 Amsterdam, Netherlands
(Heineken Music Hall)
Oct 13 Lille, France (Aeronef)
Oct 24 London, England (Hammersmith Apollo)
Oct 25 London, England (Hammersmith Apollo)
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