various Mike Portnoy comments

comment: Why NO “Evening With” this tour [2007-2008]

MP: We’re a bit fried on the format... Not to say we won’t do it again in the future, but it’s just time for a change.

It’s time to take some great new bands out and help give them some exposure as we have in the past with bands like Spock’s Beard, Pain Of Salvation, Fates Warning, Porcupine Tree, etc.

comment: Who may they be touring with

MP: I’ve just submitted a nice long list to our manager and agents of bands that I would love to take out at different points throughout the tour... We’ll see what materializes....

And as mentioned, the only bands I can picture us opening for at this point would be Rush or Metallica... Otherwise, we’re planning on always headlining...(and even with 1 or 2 opening bands, we’ll still usually play approx 2 hour sets)

comment: Anybody have information on Kevin Moore relationship with the band (DT) recently?

MP: I don’t know why I felt the need to chime in here, but....

I always felt that if I’m DT’s Roger Waters and JP is our David Gilmour.... then Kev was surely our Syd Barrett!!

Sorry kids....Kevin NO Moore! ;-)

comment: Considering Mike has already stated that surely next tour will not be in the “An Evening With...” format (his words IIRC were “we’ve done that format to death”), how do you think the classic album covers will fit in?

From what I reckon, what made them possible and interesting in the first place was that they were slotted in the special occasion of the second *set* of the second night in the same place.

MP: Actually I’ve already given this much thought... Indeed, the thing I am gonna miss most about the “evening with” format is the classic album cover tradition

I can say now that we will definitely *NOT* do a classic album in its entirety unless it was part of an “evening with” show and part of a 2-night stand. I could not justify the cover concept unless we were already giving the fans at least a full set of DT music as well....

What I’ve decided is: there’s still the possibility in 2007/2008 if we got asked to do a 2-night stand in a major city in which case we’d have the opening act(s) for the first night and then do an “evening with” on the second night with the classic album for the 2nd set. (which is actually what we did in Barcelona Feb 2002 - the very first time we covered a classic album - Pain Of Salvation opened on Night #1 and we did Master Of Puppets on Night #2)

MP: Do you live near New York City? Do you want to have your voice on the new Dream Theater CD?

If so, I’m looking for a group of about 30 or 40 people to do some “chants” for a section of one of the new songs...and I figured it be fun to offer the job to a few lucky fans!

Here’s the deal: At 2pm this Friday January 26th, we will let a group of you into the studio to do some yelling for us...

The place: Avatar Studios - 441 W. 53rd St (between 9th & 10th Ave)

The time: We will open the doors around 2pm. **DO NOT** arrive any earlier than 1pm which is when the line will form.... (fans arriving earlier than 1pm will not be permitted to line up outside)

Depending on the turnout, we cannot guarantee entry to everybody. It will be based on first come, first serve.

You will be needed for no more than an hour, so you will be able to leave by 3pm.

**DO NOT** bring cameras or recording equipment....any found will be held at the reception desk while the session takes place.

Also - **DO NOT** call the studio for information. This is a place of business and they are getting annoyed by the constant phone calls coming in about this!!! Everything you need to know is already in this post!!!

Alright, c-ya some of ya on Friday!

MP: Just minutes ago myself, JP and Paul Northfield signed off on the final mix of the new album! We are absolutely floored!!

I NEVER say this about a new album (as it’s so cliched for an artist to say this about their latest release), but I honestly think this may be my favorite DT album to date!!! It really has EVERYTHING!

John and I will be mastering next Tuesday and shortly after that, I’ll release some more info (song titles, etc.)

I cannot wait for y’all to hear this thing!!! It’s gonna be as torturous for me as it will be for you waiting til June!!!!

MP: Interesting tidbit that I don’t think anybody has ever noticed or asked me about:

Although most of Raise The Knife was written about our splits with Jim Pitulski and Kevin Moore, there’s a piece of one verse directed at our “fans” on the Ytsejam mailing list at that time who thought the departure of KevMo would spell the end of DT:

“...reading through all of the digests you show me,
I notice the way that you think you control me,
doubting my future you don’t even know me,
but *I* never walked out on you.....”

(this was like a mid-90’s early internet version of things to come with Never Enough!)

comment: Other than the order of the songs on the CD not matching the artwork, I think this is a pretty good disc

MP: Another example of what happens when I DON’T oversee every aspect... (the Gigantour DVD/Dimebag tribute being the other recent example...)

Don’t let it ever be questioned why I am the control freak I am with DT...

reposted by MP: VITAMIN RECORDS TO MAKE AMENDS

This one goes out to the craziest fan base on the face of the planet.

We really screwed the pooch this past month when our initial shipment of “The String Quartet Tribute to Dream Theater” went out with an incorrect package and song list. We apologize to all of you who waited for months and months for the album to arrive, only to be met with a product full of glaring errors.

Your response to the situation has been great, to be fair. We know that sonically we nailed the sucker, but on the manufacturing side of things, we dropped the ball. As such, the next run of product will go out with the list of songs that you actually hear on the record. Plus, anybody who has already purchased the bunk copies can contact us and we will send out the proper artwork. You can drop us a line at [email protected]

As for the incorrect package, well, we’ll call it a collector’s item and leave it at that!

Thanks for all the kind words we’ve heard so far and for omitting all the truly harsh things we know we deserve for our foul-up.

- James Curtiss, Project Coordinator, Vitamin Records

MP: Please note that we have respectfully offered to swap positions on the bill and give our closing slot to Heaven and Hell for the Gods Of Metal festival.....

We will both play equal set lengths, but out of our respect for the Black Sabbath legacy, Heaven and Hell will close the show.

MP: It’s funny (well actually, not really ) that all of the idiots at Blabbermouth are insisting that we were forced into doing this swap...when it couldn’t be further from the truth!!

What happened is *EXACTLY* as I stated....I picked up the phone and called our manager and asked for him to respectfully offer the swap to H&H...and of course, they accepted.

It’s so annoying how some of these people twist the truth....

These blabbermouth idiots are the same people who insist that we were “dropped” by Elektra/Atlantic/Warner - which also couldn’t be further from the truth, as THEY kept US all these years when we would’ve been VERY HAPPY to have been dropped and cut free.....

comment: I am a little concerned about Mr. Northfield. For my taste, when he took over the duties from Terry Brown for Rush their music went downhill. Not far downhill but enough to notice.

MP: Paul did not Produce the new DT...he engineered and mixed it.

Therefore, he had *NO* impact on the writing...just the sonic presentation of it...(of which he did an AWESOME job and we really loved working with him...)

comment: [Regarding the North American leg of the 2007 tour] First opener gets 30 mins. Second opener gets 45 mins. DT plays 120 mins. and that includes encore.

MP: Actually, that was the plan if we got a bigger name in the middle slot as we were originally planning (it was almost going to be Trivium or a few other choices)

Being Redemption and Into Eternity are both relatively new “up & coming” acts, they will share equal billing and each play 35 minutes (Redemption getting the middle spot - helps when the singer is an old friend of mine!)

Either way, DT will be playing (roughly) a 2 hour set each night....

MP: OK...I usually try not to toot my own horn....BUT....

I just finished watching through the “check disc” for the upcoming SC DVD...and the “making of” documentary is the SCHINIZZLE!

Although I’ve directed all of the DT DVD’s, I always worked with an outside editor (I would make the calls on the cuts and they would do the technical, physical editing)... But on this project, I took it all in my hands - editing every single frame with my own hands... I seriously worked my ASS off on it Sorting through 5 months of footage and editing it down to 90 minutes...(while somehow still doing the G3 tour and juggling and overseeing 87 other things for the band to set up the album...)

In any case, the point of this ramble is NOT to pat myself on the back...or start an appreciation thread (really!!), but more to just get you all excited and encourage you to pick up the special edition as I am really pumped and proud of the doc on it.

For the first time ever, you can really see the DT creative and recording process with a detailed look at the whole album...song by song, instrument by instrument. It will really give you a whole new insight and perspective on the album.

comment: When are we gonna see the Constant Motion video?

MP: Here’s the skinny.... We (band and label) weren’t happy with the first version, so it was scrapped... We did a re-shoot a few weeks ago and it should be ready any day now... Stay tuned to wherever you normally would see any Roadrunner videos (Megadeth, Stone Sour, Nickelback, etc.) and we’ll be with you shortly!

MP: Patience everybody...as has already been pointed out, it takes a while to “warm up” and add everything to the setlist...(history has always shown this pattern...look at previous tours)

The reality is that this leg is very much a festival / warm up leg...(we’re not even carrying our full production yet)..and we will indeed be back in a lot of these markets in the fall (Germany, UK, Holland, France, Italy, etc.) with the “full-on” DT show...

MP: Myself and JP as the CD’s Producers (like any great film director such as Park Chan Woo as you used as an example) were sitting side by side with Paul Northfield for the entire mix and with Vlado Meller for the mastering. The final CD would not be in your stereo yet if we weren’t happy with it... We think it sounds kick-ass, but I guess it’s all purely subjective isn’t it?

PS - for the record, we were NOT present for the 5.1 mix (how I wish I was...) but it was impossible as we were doing the G3 tour at that time...

MP: For the record, IMHO (and the rest of DT as well - coincidentally, we happened to be talking about it today as we were in Istanbul) - both Kevin Moore and Space Dye Vest are both very overrated and get waaaay more acclaim, attention and credit than they deserve....

We’ve been friendly, polite, open-minded and nostalgic by inviting him 3 times to perform with us (as well as contribute to the Score documentary and the upcoming DT biography) and we’ve been turned down time and time again. We can only be rejected so many times before becoming insulted...

If he insists on turning his back on his past, then I guess so will we.... It’s been almost 15 years already since he quit...it’s time to get over it!

In any case, the invite no longer stands....Kevin No Moore...

We’re way happier now anyways...(and I assume he is as well as he wants nothing to do with us), so there’s your happy ending!! We ALL win in the end!!!

comment: Saying it’s [Space-Dye Vest] overrated and gets waaaay too much acclaim would mean the band doesn’t think it’s that good, right? If that is the case why was it put on the album?

MP: We put it on Awake because at the time of recording the album, we didn’t know Kev was gonna leave the band....once he announced he was leaving, we had already recorded the track and figured WTF, we’ll just keep it on...but realistically, none of us had any attachment to it creatively or artistically and in retrospect, I wish we left it off the album...(the whole story and my further thoughts can be read in the “Awake Demos” liner notes)

It’s a decent song, but it’s NOT “DT” at all....and if I had to make a list of the best DT songs in DT history, SDV would surely be at the bottom of my list (IMHO)

I think a big part of its mystique is the fact that we’ve never played it live, otherwise - I stand by my statement that we all really feel it’s incredibly overrated...

Hate to stir the pot, but I calls em as I sees em...

comment: I’m really upset that the vid focuses on Mike so damn much, even during JP and JR’s solos.

MP: For the record, *I* did NOT direct or edit the video....so if you think there are too many shots of me, it was NOT me making those calls....

MP: [In response to an interview published in a Dutch drum magazine where MP supposedly stated that “SC was first album I recorded/mixed COMPLETELY clean & sober”] Obviously something got “Lost in Translation”......

I’ve been COMPLETELY clean and sober now for over 7 years.... Obviously this interviewer misunderstood something...

Six Degrees was the first DT album we made after I got sober (thus the start of my 12 step lyrics) and I’ve been clean and sober for every one ever since...

So don’t believe everything you read....(unless it comes from me of course!!)

MP: [In response to a post speaking about persistent sound and technical problems at the Dallas show] For the record, it was indeed a tough night technically...

Our sound board completely crashed before we went on, so what is normally already “dialed in” - had to be mixed from scratch once we hit the stage...(not to mention the video audio wasn’t properly wired in time for the start of the show....)

Yes, it was indeed a rough one....but these things do happen from time to time...

MP: [Posted on August 12] OK...I’ll say it before somebody else does....

O MY GOD! I used the same setlist for 3 shows in a row!!! I thought MP always wrote a different set for every show????? What is this world coming to???? I’ll defend myself before I even have the need to:

--- when we are doing the 3 hour “evening with” format, I’m able to REALLY mix it up from night to night...but in the 2 hour format, there are certain songs I want EVERYBODY to hear throughout the course of a tour (ITPOE and the Medley are two recent examples), so I have less time in the set to mix things up in order to get “the staples” in each night...

--- I still look at the previous year’s setlists in each city and write according to giving each city the most diversity from previous tour - but in the case of this same set I used for the last 3 shows (Minneapolis, Chicago and Cleveland), that particular setlist TOTALLY worked with each city in not having much (if any) repeats from recent tours....so there was no reason to NOT use the same set as it fulfilled my criteria...

So there ya have it.... I’m still doing my best to mix it up, but I know that everybody wants to hear certain songs, so I’m trying to keep those in for everybody to experience...

I think while we’re doing the 2 hour sets (as opposed to “Evening with” shows), the sets are more likely to REALLY vary from “leg to leg” as opposed to from “show to show”....in other words, when we come back to do another US leg in the spring, expect the sets to be completely different from this leg...

comment: The guys in Redemption dressed as Ants invading the stage during TDEN.

MP: [responding to another post by Nick Van Dyk, Redemption’s bandleader] Hey Nick,

I never got to say goodbye or comment on how funny this prank was... BUT..... You guys picked the WORST POSSIBLE moment of the show to come out!!! During the middle section of TDEN, the stage is purposely VERY dark to really make sure the cartoon video is popping....

So you guys came out during the only part of the night when the stage was not lit up!! I barely saw what was happening!!! (make a note Symphony X!)

MP: Tomorrow’s Dream Theater show in Hannover Germany has been moved to a bigger venue:

AWD HALLFerdinand-Wilheim-Fricke -Weg 830169 Hannover

comment: I’m sure it IS a mammoth task, but bigger venue = bigger crowd

MP: Actually it has nothing to do with the size of the audience. It has to do with the size of *US*

We were stupidly originally booked into a venue with a stage that won’t come close to holding our show (much less an opening band)...so the option was cancel the show or move it.

Luckily the promoter did the right thing...

comment: but haven’t you played at the capitol on the last tour?

German fan club representative: yes, but without a support act...

MP: And half of our sound, lights and video production sat in the truck in the parking lot.... We vowed to never play there again and somehow this slipped through the cracks until we noticed it a few days ago...

MP: Little known MP factoid:

After leaving Berklee in 1986 and returning to Long Island, I attended Five Towns College for two semesters throughout 1986/1987. (This was to pacify my family from dropping out of Berklee and to continue my music education...)

I can’t say I learned much there as it was a pretty lax atmosphere coming off of Berklee’s hi-speed intense music program, but I did meet a lot of friends there that helped shape my future:

--- I met and became great friends with Chuck Lenihan from the Crumbsuckers that ultimately led to DT’s first record deal with Mechanic/MCA

--- I met and became friends with Yael who was the drummer for Meanstreak that ultimately led to my marriage to Marlene (and JP’s to Rena and JM’s to Lisa)

So it turned out to be a pretty meaningful and important stop in my college experiences! (which ultimately had NOTHING to do with the school itself!!)

Showing that every decision and choice you make can completely shape your destiny in one way or another...

comment: for those among you, who own the 6-track “hollow years” single (Japanese edition), what does James mean with “mike do you wanna do this?” in the beginning of “the killing hand”?

MP: A few nights earlier (at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT) James was taking a piss backstage and missed his cue for the first verse of The Killing Hand at which point I grabbed my mic and sang it (jokingly)...so that’s what he’s referring to!

MP: [Regarding upcoming tour of Australia and concerns] I haven’t read through all 9 pages in this thread, so I will not be addressing whatever comments, complaints, concerns, etc. that have been made about dates, venues, ticket prices (nor will I, so don’t start directing questions at me...)

All I’ll say about any of that is: As you all know, it is DT’s first time in Australia....so we do not necessarily know what to expect in terms of those things. We are trusting our manager, our agent and the promoter to make the best decisions on these things. After we play the shows, we will be able to make better assessments for ourselves and future visits...

I do however want to comment on the so-called “official” press release stating:

Not only do we finally get Dream Theater, the band have promised to make up for lost time by bringing their greatest show and a bigger production than they have used anywhere in the world. Australian fans will finally get their moment in the sun after 22 long, agonizing years. The 3 ½ hour epic show will encompass the finest moments from the entire Dream Theater catalogue along with a stunning visual experience that will leave you breathless.

I have no idea who wrote this press release but this is NOT an “official” word from DT.

a) I haven’t even written the setlists yet, so I don’t know who on earth claimed the shows will be 3 and a half hours long. I can safely say the shows will likely be roughly 3 hours, but probably slightly under that....

As much as we do want to make up for lost time down under, playing past the 3 hour mark is usually just tooo much for us these days (and for the typical fan as well)...

So I wanted to make sure fans know this in advance and are NOT expecting a 3 and a half hour show which somebody ELSE is promising...and walk away disappointed with only 3 hours!

b) It states that our production will be bigger than anywhere else in the world. That is NOT true. Yes we will have all our gear, instruments, backline, lights, sound and video...but it will be the SAME show we carried through the US and through Europe.

Don’t get me wrong, we ARE PUMPED to finally make it down there....but somebody else is making promises on our behalf that are simply not true....

comment: So, I just want to say thank you, David Prater, for being your lovable, snobbishly degrading self, and to Rich for asking the right questions to bring out this personality, and devoting a number of pages to the madness that is Prater.

Does anyone else agree with me?

MP: I’m sure Prater would absolutely agree with you... In fact, I bet he’d say that this very book wouldn’t exist without him! (and as you can see from his interviews, I think he thinks that Dream Theater wouldn’t exist without him either!)

My feelings on him (as well as the rest of the band’s toward him) are self-explanatory within the context of the book, so I won’t get into it here...you can read it there.... But I will agree his interviews are indeed the most “colorful” (although that color happens to be that of a brownish nature)

If we were to continue to let his antics get to us, we’d be in an asylum by now...(where he should probably be) So all we can do is laugh it off....

At the end of the day, I believe his career over the past 15 years compared to our career over the past 15 years speaks for itself....