Head To Head: Travis Smith Vs. Mike Portnoy

New school met old school recently when Rhythm pitted Mike Portnoy against Travis Smith in a battle of wits. From cows and cars to flams and football, we covered every topic under the sun in a bid to crown the first Rhythm challenge champion...

Many of you will already know much of what has been printed about Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and Trivium’s Travis Smith. The former is a legendary prog-metal drummer with numerous albums, excellent tuition material and countless accolades under his belt, the latter a double bass demon at the forefront of the new breed of metal drumming talent, and both have appeared in the pages of Rhythm many times over. Both have contributed a great deal to the drumming world whether it be ground breaking technique and mind-bending music or giving inspiration to generations of aspiring drummers.

When Rhythm was given the rare opportunity to speak to both metal drum luminaries together, in the flesh, it seemed the perfect time to pit them against each other in a battle of drumming minds, and to uncover the things you didn’t know about them.

Sitting in Trivium’s dressing room at the Hammersmith Apollo which, as Beatles fanatic Mike points out, backs onto the stairwell that was a location for the A Hard Day’s Night film, Rhythm is confronted by two apparent strangers, who immediately engage in conversation and shoot the breeze like brothers. Later in the day they will discuss warm-up techniques, swap contact details and Mike will jump behind Travis’ kit for an impromptu jam.

During the course of the day, family holidays with The Beach Boys, the perils of alcohol, and an unhealthy knowledge of Lars Ulrich are all discussed, along with the exposure of some seriously musically well-educated individuals. But, despite light-hearted discussion, this was never intended to be a friendly drummer meet-and-greet and Rhythm wasn’t leaving until there was an undisputed winner. Who was the ultimate victor of the Rhythm drum challenge? Read on to find out...

Meet the opponents

Mike Portnoy

Born: 20 April 1967, Long Island, New York.

First pet: “A German Shepherd called Shep.”

First car: “A white Zephyr. I seized the engine because I didn’t know you had to put oil in it!”

School record: “I was a decent student with decent grades. I was the kid with the denim jacket with The Ramones painted on the back. My music teacher hated me because I was the rocker kid.”

First record bought: “My dad was a DJ so I was surrounded by records from day one. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released three months after I was born. The first record I actually saved up money for was the four Kiss solo albums. They got stolen from me at school so I had to save up all over again and bought them all, except the Peter Criss record!”

Latest record bought: “The new Porcupine Tree record.”

First gig attended: “The first larger-than-life rock show that blew my mind was Kiss at Madison Square Gardens, 14 December, 1977. My mum took me and I remember some guys passing joints down the line and my mum taking hits off the joint.”

First gig played: “It was with a band called Intruder at a church in Long Island. We played Ozzy, Sabbath and Van Halen covers.”

Favourite drink: “I’ve been clean and sober for seven years now. Back in the day I used to drink everything. I probably wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t got sober. Tuesday would be a bottle of JD, Wednesday a bottle of Jager and so on. My drum tech would keep a fully stocked bar behind the kit.”

Worst habit: “I’m constantly biting my nails. My hands are constantly torn up. If I go on a long drive I have to wear gloves!”

Favourite film: “I’m a film fanatic. If you go on my MySpace page I have a list of hundreds of my favourite films.”

Travis Smith

Born: 29 April 1982, Bainbridge, Georgia.

First pet: “A black dog named Ninja.”

First car: “It was a Dodge Dynasty and a total grandma car. I didn’t want to drive people around so I ripped the two back seats out!”

School record: “I was really into marching band and doing music theory class. I didn’t do so well on the academic side. I got bored, I guess, and didn’t apply myself. I was thinking about drums most of the day.”

First record bought: “I wasn’t too familiar with buying CDs so I went to the store thinking I was going to get the Pantera Cowboys From Hell album, but I bought ‘Cemetery Gates’ the single! I got home thinking it sucked that albums only had one tune on them.”

Latest record bought: “I was just given a whole arsenal of CDs from Portnoy!”

First show attended: “Megadeth in 1998, then I started going to shows all the time. I saw Metallica the next year.”

First gig: “My first gigs were at a bunch of churches with a band called Mindless Thought.”

Favourite drink: “I’ve been doing a lot of wine. I went through a stage where I’d drink anything and everything, but on wine I don’t wake up hungover. As a gift a promoter from France got me a bottle of 1982 Merlot. I’m going to get that out when something special happens like I have a kid or something.”

Worst habit: “My worst habit was smoking, but I just quit that a month ago. My energy has gone through the roof and unfortunately for my drums they had to take a huge beating. I was breaking at least one or two lug casings a night!”

Favourite film: “Alien and Predator, man.”

Drum theory

Mike and Travis are both schooled drummers so how better to kick off the Rhythm challenge than with a little drum theory?

1. What is the rudiment the pata-fla-fla made up of?

Travis: “It’s flams and something? I don’t know. Two flams and two quarter notes?”

Rhythm: “It’s the other way round.”

Travis: “So it’s a fla-fla-pata-pata then!”

2. What do the top and bottom numbers in a time signature denote?

Travis: “The top one is beats per measure...”

Mike: “...and the bottom one is the value of the beat. We answered that together man! We tag-teamed that mother***er!”

Rhythm: “One point each!”

3. What does the abbreviation sfz< mean, and how would you play it?

Mike: “Is it a song by Rush?”

Rhythm: “Ahem.”

Travis: “Isn’t it when you go from soft to loud?”

Rhythm: “It’s the other way round again! It means hard attack with a sudden drop in volume, and it stands for ‘Sfortzando’.”

4. If the drums are instructed to ‘tacet’ for four bars would you

a) Play a solo?

b) Play quieter?

c) Stop playing?

Mike: “The answer to every question is ‘play a solo’. You must always play a solo!”

Travis: “That’s a good answer. I’m backing Mike up on that one.”

Rhythm: “The actual answer is c) Stop playing...”

Mike: “Like I said, the answer is play a solo!”

5. If on a chart the last note of an ensemble figure is shown with a dot above the note head, what does the dot mean and how would you approach it?

Travis: “It means staccato and you’d approach it hard and fast.”

Mike: “Very good man! Travis is closer to his school days. I can’t remember all this crap!”

Score: Mike 1, Travis 3

Verdict: Despite Mike having attended the revered Berklee College Of Music it seems as though Travis spent a little less time sleeping in class...

Drum gear

Both guys play bigger than your average kits, but how do they fare in Gear History 101?

1. You are both Sabian endorsees, but in which year was the company founded?

Mike: “Was it 1981? I remember last year doing a thing for their 25th anniversary video.”

Rhythm: “Correct.”

Mike: “Woohoo!”

2. Where is Sabian’s famous Vault located?

Mike: “Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada.”

3. Which of these drummers does not have their own signature snare drum: Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Paul or John Otto?

Mike: “I guess Vinnie Paul.”

Travis: “Hold on, do you mean does or doesn’t?”

Rhythm: “Doesn’t.”

Travis: “Vinnie has his...”

Mike: “...so I guess it’s John Otto.”

Rhythm: “We’re impressed with your methods of deduction. Have a point each!”

4. Which drum company does Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler endorse?

Mike/Travis: “Mapex.”

Travis: “We both got it!”

5. Which make of drum kit did Keith Moon famously blow up during The Who’s appearance on the Smothers Brothers TV show?

Travis: “I learned this one from Mike so I can’t answer it.”

Mike: “It was a Premier Pictures Of Lily kit.”

6. Which company manufactures the Speed King pedal?

Travis: “The Speed King?”

Mike: “Ludwig.”

Score: Mike 6, Travis 2

Verdict: Mike is the clear winner on this round. His huge kit must give him the leading edge in the gear knowledge stakes!

The music round

We played Travis and Mike 10 tracks from the Rhythm Jukebox to see who could guess the band, the track and the drummer...

Track 1

Artist: Iron Maiden

Track: ‘Run To The Hills’

Drummer: Clive Burr

Mike: “That would be Iron Maiden, ‘Run To The Hills’, with Clive Burr on drums.”

Travis: “I think Maiden are sick. Touring with them was huge for us. We played in front of so many people. It was an honour to do it and we had a lot of fun. We got to become friends with some more of our heroes.”

Mike: “We’ve played with Maiden many times through the years. Nicko is a good friend of mine. Bruce (Dickinson, Maiden frontman) has sung with Dream Theater on different occasions and Dream Theater performed live and recorded our own version of The Number Of The Beast.”

Track 2

Artist: The Beach Boys

Track: ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’

Drummer: Hal Blaine

Mike: “I know this one straight away. The Beach Boys, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. Pet Sounds is actually one of my top albums of all time. I wasn’t so much a fan of the musicianship as I was a fan of Brian Wilson’s production, the sounds, the orchestration and the arrangement. This song brings back a lot of memories from when I was a kid.”

Travis: “This brings back memories for me too. I’m on a trip with my parents, in the backseat of the car and we’re on our way to Nashville, Tennessee. My dad was definitely the ruler of the stereo when I was younger.”

Track 3

Artist: Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Track: ‘Evans’

Drummer: Art Blakey

Mike: “Not a clue.”

Travis: “Me neither. Some sort of jazz?”

Rhythm: “It’s Art Blakey.”

Mike: “I’m not much of an old school jazz guy. My interest in jazz is more in contemporary jazz-fusion. Stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever and Allan Holdsworth.”

Travis: “I don’t listen to jazz either. The furthest I got was playing in jazz band in high school.”

Track 4

Artist: Rush

Track: ‘The Spirit Of Radio’

Drummer: Neil Peart

Mike: “Rush, ‘The Spirit Of Radio’, Neil Peart. Rush was my first huge influence of any kind of progressive band. Before that it was mainly classic rock stuff – The Who, Zeppelin, The Beatles. Neil turned my world upside-down. It was my first time seeing a drummer with such a huge kit and a band playing odd time signatures.”

Travis: “I got into Rush through my pops playing the records and getting into Neil’s set-up. It was a complete shock and awe over the whole thing.”

Track 5

Artist: Soundgarden

Track: ‘Spoonman”

Drummer: Matt Cameron

Travis: “Soundgarden, ‘Spoonman’, Matt Cameron on drums. I’m a huge Soundgarden fan. I grew up listening to them and bands from the grunge scene that came through in the ‘90s. That’s when I started developing my drumming skills, starting bands and trying to find my own style.”

Mike: “I remember when Soundgarden first came out. Their second album (Louder Than Love) was produced by Terry Date who had just produced our album When Dream And Day Unite. I saw them on tour opening for Faith No More and Voivod. Chris Cornell is so highly regarded as a singer but I remember back then his voice was the weak part of the band. People were walking out of that show saying they needed a new singer! Matt Cameron is a great drummer. Soundgarden was always playing odd time signatures but he would always swing it.”

Track 6

Artist: Mastodon

Track: ‘Capillarian Crest’

Drummer: Brann Dailor

Mike: “It’s Mastodon, Brann Dailor on drums. I love those guys. Brann is a crazy drummer, man. He has these crazy chops with his hands. He’s a cool guy too, although Mastodon said some bad s*** about Dream Theater in the press. We get slammed a lot. The first time I heard about Trivium is because Travis and Matt (Heafy, Trivium vocalist) were saying good things about us. I don’t see the point in saying bad things about bands. To me good music is good music.”

Travis: “Totally. I never understand bands talking s***, or hecklers at shows. Bands talking crap can really burn bridges especially when it comes to picking bands for tours.”

Mike: “Children Of Bodom had said some stuff about John Petrucci (Dream Theater guitarist). They were being considered for the Gigantour. Me and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) were talking back and forth and as soon as Dave heard that they had been talking s*** about us, they were scratched right off the list.”

Track 7

Artist: Metallica

Track: ‘Motorbreath’

Drummer: Lars Ulrich

Travis: “Is this Megadeth, ‘Countdown To Extinction’ or something like that?”

Mike: “it’s... [long pause] Metallica... ‘Motorbreath’. I first heard of Metallica right before Kill ‘Em All first came out. I heard that record and at the time it was the fastest most brutal thing I’d ever heard. A friend of mine was working as a DJ for a college radio station. He got a promo of Kill ‘Em All but he hated it! I traded AC/DC’s Back In Black for his copy of Kill ‘Em All. I remember the day I got my driver’s license, the first place I drove was to the record store the day Ride The Lightning came out.”

Travis: “Metallica to me has been a huge influence. I guess it got me into double bass. The first album I heard was ...And Justice For All, then The Black Album, then I found Kill ‘Em All. It became one of my favourite albums. It was really ahead of its time. Lars is awesome, he’s one of my favourite drummers in the whole world.”

Track 8

Artist: Muse

Track: ‘Stockholm Syndrome’

Drummer: Dominic Howard

Mike: “Muse, ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ with Dominic Howard on drums. These guys are probably my favourite band to come out in the past five years. The Absolution album (that Stockholm Syndrome is taken from) is absolutely my favourite of the decade so far. I think Dominic Howard has got such power and groove. He reminds me of Dave Grohl in some respects. Their influence on me and some of the other Dream Theater guys has definitely shown through on our last couple of albums.”

Travis: “I never really got into them. Matt has been telling me about them but I haven’t checked them out yet. From what Mike has just said about the drumming, it just raised an eyebrow.”

Mike: “If you check out my new DVD, there’s a duet on there with me and Charlie Benante and we do a bit of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.”

Track 9

Artist: The Beatles

Track: ‘Rain’

Drummer: Ringo Starr

Mike: “The Beatles, ‘Rain’, Ringo Starr. They are my all-time favourite band. I was introduced to them the minute I was born. Ringo gets a lot of criticism. One of my favourite jokes is that somebody once asked John Lennon, ‘Is Ringo the best drummer in the world?’ and Lennon replies, ‘Ringo isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles’. It shows the lack of respect that Ringo has got in the drum industry. I think he is responsible for so many drummers picking up sticks today. He wasn’t technically that good, but for his time he was. Back then he had a really fast right hand for hi-hat patterns.”

Travis: “We’re on that trip again my friend. Back seat of the car.”

Mike: “Travis would put on his Walkman and listen to Metallica at this point!”

Track 10

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Track: ‘Rock And Roll’

Drummer: John Bonham

Travis: “It’s Led Zeppelin, I know that.”

Mike: “It’s ‘Rock And Roll’ with Bonham on drums. They’re another one of my favourites and another one that I’ve done a tribute to. John Bonham was the anchorman. He had the fattest drum grooves in the world. He gets a lot of credit and he deserves it. He was the first metal drummer when you think about it. He played with that power and attitude.”

Travis: “Listening back on it, and me being from a different era, it’s really out-of-the-box playing.”

Mike: “So Led Zeppelin was acceptable when you were in the back seat?”

Travis: “That’s when my pops would crank it up and I’d be happy!”

Mike: “You listen to something like ‘Black Dog’ and it was cool s*** man. I don’t think Bonzo knew about odd time signatures and technique but he was able to play some weird s***. Some tasty stuff too. If you listen to that shuffle groove on ‘Fool In The Rain’, it was super tasty and showed it wasn’t all about power.”

Travis: “I wouldn’t say I appreciated his style until about six years ago but then I really started paying attention. I love drummers with an identity to their sound.”

Score: Mike 8, Travis 2

Verdict: Mike proves himself to be the music oracle with a special place for the Brits – just check out the tattoos on his leg in the picture on the left! Travis appeared to get the shivers when we played him the likes of The Beach Boys and The Beatles!

General knowledge

Drummers are real people too, and just to make sure Rhythm asked some questions about the real world...

1. What is the capital of Australia?

Travis: “Oh God...”

Mike: “It’s Canberra! I was just there on the G3 tour.”

2. Which fruit is dried to make raisins?

Travis: “To make raisins?”

Mike: “Is it grapes?”

Rhythm: [gives the thumbs up]

3. In which film did Johnny Depp star as Captain Jack Sparrow?

Travis: “Pirates Of The Caribbean One, Two and Three.”

4. When did the first Monsters Of Rock festival take place at Donington Park?

Travis: “1983?”

Rhythm: “No.”

Mike: “I guess 1981?”

Rhythm: “No it was 1980!”

For a bonus point, can you name a band that played?

Mike: “Was it Whitesnake who headlined? Or Maiden, they headline Donington every year don’t they?”

Rhythm: “Not quite.”

Mike: “Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Motorhead?”

Rhythm: “Nope!”

Mike: “Judas Priest?”

Rhythm: “That’s the one!”

Mike: “Are you sure it wasn’t Trivium?”

Rhythm: “The other bands included Rainbow, Scorpions, Saxon, Riot and Touch.”

Travis: “I’ve been jamming Rainbow a lot recently, and Corey’s (Beaulieu, Trivium guitarist) really into Saxon!”

5. How many stomachs does a cow have?

Travis: “Four?”

Mike: “I wouldn’t have known that in a million years.”

6. Who won the 2006 World Cup?

Travis: “Manchester?”

Mike: “Italy?”

Rhythm: “Yes!”

Mike: “That was a total guess because I don’t know s*** about football!”

7. Who wrote the book To Kill A Mockingbird?

Mike: “I don’t know the book but didn’t Gregory Peck star in the movie?”

Rhythm: [That’s correct – random facts Ed]

Travis: “I had to do a book report on it at school, but I never did it.”

Rhythm: “The correct answer is Harper Lee.”

8. Which song contains the lyrics: ‘Into the flood again/Same old trip it was back then...’?

Mike: “That’s Alice In Chains, ‘Would?’.”

Travis: “Oh man, I should have known that.”

9. In which year did John Bonham die?

Mike: “1980, September 25th, I believe?”

Rhythm: “That is correct on both counts!”

10. When did John F Kennedy begin his time in office?

Travis: “I don’t know, 1980-something?”

Mike: “Wasn’t it 1961?”

Rhythm: “Spot on.”

Score: Mike 7, Travis 2

Verdict: Judging by the score, Mike paid more attention in history, science and geography classes than Travis. Surely you’ve played Canberra by now, Travis?

Lars Ulrich

Mike interviewed him as a hero back in January’s Rhythm and he’s one of Travis’ drum idols too, but who knows the most about the Metallica man?...

1. Where was Lars born?

Travis: “Denmark.”

2. Which sport did he excel at during his youth?”

Travis: “Tennis.”

3. Which band did Lars see in concert in 1973 at the age of nine?

Travis: “Deep Purple.”

4. How old was Lars when he got his first drum kit?

Travis: “He must have been 13 years old?”

Rhythm: “That’s correct.”

Now, for a bonus point, what make was his first kit?

Travis: “It was a Ludwig.”

5. What drum company does Lars endorse?

Travis: “Tama, same as Mike.”

Mike: “Same as us, oh no, not anymore!”

6. Which online music company did Lars take legal action against in 2000?

Travis: “Napster.”

7. How much did Lars win when he appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2001?

Travis: “I didn’t know he was on that show.”

Mike: “Me neither.”

Travis: “I’m going to guess and say $12,000.”

Mike: “I have no idea.”

Rhythm: “It was $32,000.”

Travis: “Well, hey that’s pretty good!”

8. Which drum did Lars forget to turn on during the St. Anger sessions?

Mike: [laughs]

Travis: “His snare drum.”

Rhythm: “A great round for you, Travis!”

Travis: “What can I say, he’s one of my top five drummers!”

Score: Mike 0, Travis 9

Verdict: Mike could barely get a word in with fanboy Travis reeling off the answers with ease (or did he have all the answers written up his arm?). Travis is a true Lars fan if ever we saw one!

And the winner is...

Final score: Mike 22, Travis 17

It’s a close one but Mike just beats Travis to the post. Mike’s musical and general knowledge were his ace cards, but Travis was able to claw points back during the Lars Ulrich round. For schooled musicians, their theory knowledge was hardly up to scratch, never mind – these guys certainly know how to play! Mike may have more experience and more hours behind the kit than Travis but, who knows, with a mentor like Mike, maybe Travis will win next time...

Side panel

Reader Questions: Travis Smith

Rather than write all the questions ourselves, we decided to get you involved too. Here’s what you wanted to ask Travis...

You were pictured with your laptop in Rhythm recently – is that for emails and internet or are you a gamer? Tom, Brentwood

“That’s for paying bills on the road and checking my email. I don’t really play games on the computer. If I’m on the computer it’s mainly business and stuff.”

I’ve never been able to find the right ear protection. What do you use? Frank, Liverpool

“When we were rehearsing I used to use these headphones that you buy from gun stores for target practicing. I found they made the kit sound really good; it almost gave it a miked sound, but now I don’t use ear protection, I use in-ears. If it’s too loud, I just turn it down.”

I’m a huge fan and I want tattoos like you. I’ve just turned 18 and my mum is saying no. What should I do? The Kraken, via email

“My mom said no too, but she ended up being cool about it. Saying that, I’m not you and you’re not me. I don’t want to get you kicked out of your house or nothing!”

What’s the best drum kit you’ve ever played on? Adam, via MySpace

“I’ve played on a lot of kits! Ever? I guess Nicko McBrain’s. That was pretty cool to be able to get behind that monstrosity of a kit. Even I thought it was massive! Maybe I can have a go on Mike’s one day – I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

Travis, I saw a photo of you playing Guitar Hero in Total Guitar recently – you’re not turning over to the dark side, are you?! Tom, via MySpace

“No way! Guitars are for wimps! It was just one of those nights, just having fun playing on a video game. I’m not very good. My finger co-ordination is not very good, especially the pinky. My pinky always lets me down.”

Side panel

Reader Questions: Mike Portnoy

And now check out the weird and wonderful questions we ended up asking Mike on your behalf...

Do you have any plans to tour the UK with any of your side-projects? Pete, via email

“Not with any of my side projects, although I have played the UK with Transatlantic and Neal Morse before, which was fun. I’ll be on the road with Dream Theater for the next year.”

Did you ever practice your rudiments? My teacher says I should but I find them so boring. Chris, Milton Keynes

“I’m afraid I found them boring as well and I kind of regret not having pursued them better. I believe that at this point it would be an asset and would strengthen some of my hand co-ordination. All I wanted to do was put Zeppelin records on and play.”

What’s the worse drumming injury you have ever sustained? Scott, Bury

“I’ve had two big ones. One was dislocating my wrist on stage in Munich in 1997. It was towards the end of the show and I bit off more than I could chew with a fill and the next thing I knew, my wrist was twisted completely backwards. I had to bang it back into place and play with one hand. The other one was in Toronto back in 1994. I threw my back out after my drum solo. I couldn’t move. Our singer had to ask if there was a chiropractor in the audience. There was, so the guys did a 10-minute blues jam while I was getting my back worked on by this chiropractor!”

Do you have any tips for dying your beard? JB, Burton

“I prefer the blue. I tried purple last year and it wouldn’t hold for more than a couple of days but the blue can hold for at least a month.”