Mike Portnoy’s return came late

Lubo Šimkovič

01/6/2011

When Mike announced his departure from the band, you all said you were fine with it. But how did you really feel when Mike started to devote himself fully to Avenged Sevenfold? Were you really that at ease? Weren’t you angry that a longtime member and friend had left you?

Jordan Rudess: There were a lot of feelings in the band at that time. At first we were all cool with it, we thought Mike had some big shows planned with Avenged Sevenfold and then he’d come back to us. We all talked about it a lot and somehow didn’t admit that it was forever.

John Petrucci: To me, when Mike said he was going to play on their album, I was like OK, that’s cool. Then he came up with the idea for the gigs. That didn’t seem like a good idea to me anymore. We had some pretty intense discussions about it as well. But you know, Mike’s an adult, I can’t tell him what to do. He’s gonna do everything his own way anyway. We all have some side projects, but to be in two bands at once as a full member and not just a fill-in or understudy, that’s not possible. I knew it would jeopardize Dream Theater.

And when did he come out and say he was definitely leaving to join Avenged?

Rudess: It was a very difficult time, painful and difficult. I literally sat on the steps of my studio and cried. This is a man who is a friend of mine, who everyone loves and admires. Including us. But thankfully we all realized that we need and must move on. That this is not the end. Maybe a new beginning. We put our heads together and decided that we needed to find a new drummer.

Petrucci: It was kind of like when someone dies. But the initial pain passed and we put our heads together. We were in shock and full of emotions, but we found the strength to continue.

You found Mike Mangini...

Rudess: We had the difficult task of finding a replacement for Mike. We auditioned, made an audition DVD and found Mike Mangini. The guy is fantastic. A perfect player and a perfect person. We are very happy to have him with us.

Petrucci: Mike Mangini had to change his life dramatically because of Dream Theater. He was a professor at Berklee. He has a wife and two kids. But everybody supported him. And, of course, so did we. And then Mike Portnoy came and asked if he could come back...

It was too late....

Rudess: Mike Mangini left Berklee because of us, and he and his family had to get used to him being in the gigs, in the studio for a long time. It’s a huge change in their lives. Were we supposed to tell him we didn’t want him after all? He’s invested a lot in our future. He basically saved our asses. We got everything moving again. And that’s when Mike Portnoy marches in with a smile on his face saying hey guys, I’m back. You don’t do that. And anyway....Mike Mangini we all really liked a lot and we’re glad to have him. We had to handle all the drama. He wasn’t standing by us then. And we’re all happy with what we have right now...

Mangini just as a replacement?

John Petrucci also refuted the speculations that have been circulating lately about Dream Theater. He made a video in which he clearly confirmed that Mike Mangini is not just a temporary replacement, but an equal and permanent member of Dream Theater. “Mangini is ours and we are his. We are one band. We don’t and never have wanted to be anything temporary in Dream Theater. Mangini is a great person and musician.”

Asked if Dream Theater plans to end its career with the current members, Petrucci said: “I do hope so. I don’t plan on changing anything about it. But it’s true that I would have given you the same answer before Mike Portnoy left. You never know what’s going to happen or how things are going to turn out, but I’m really very happy with the people I’m surrounded by right now. And I believe it will have the same effect on the fans.”

Dream Theater is currently in the recording studio working on an anticipated new album, which is expected to be released in the fall via Roadrunner Records. Not taking a break is vocalist James LaBrie, who has spent the last few weeks in the studio with Canadian producer Richard Chycki, who is working with him on vocals for the new album. Richard also commented on the new drummer on his blog, “I have to say that Dream Theater’s new drummer, Mike Mangini, is a truly monstrous player. He’s really scary in a good way. But what’s really special about him is that his playing isn’t just about technique. Everything he does has real soul, depth and feeling. I’m sure people will love him.”

Dream Theater will be performing in our area this summer, on July 27 at the Gasometer in Vienna and on July 29 at the Venetian Night festival at Mala Skála in the Czech Republic.

Original text

Návrat Mikea Portnoya prišiel neskoro

Lubo Šimkovič

01/6/2011

Keď Mike ohlásil odchod s kapely, všetci ste sa vyjadrovali, že vám to nevadí. Ale ako ste sa naozaj cítili, keď sa Mike začal venovať naplno Avenged Sevefold? Naozaj ste boli tak v pohode? Nehnevali ste sa, že vás opustil dlhoročný člen a kamarát? 

Jordan Rudess: V tom období bolo v kapele veľa pocitov. Zo začiatku sme to všetci brali v pohode, mysleli sme, že Mike má v pláne pár veľkých koncertov s Avenged Sevefold a potom sa vráti k nám. Veľa sme sa o tom všetci rozprávali a nejako sme si nepripúšťali, že je to navždy.

John Petrucci: Mne keď Mike povedal, že bude hrať na ich albume, povedal som si že OK, to je v pohode. Potom prišiel s nápadom na koncerty. To už sa mi nezdalo ako dobrý nápad. Mali sme aj dosť intenzívne diskusie na túto tému. Ale viete, Mike je dospelý, ja mu nemôžem hovoriť, čo má robiť. Aj tak si všetko spraví po svojom. Všetci máme nejaké bočné projekty, ale vystupovať naraz v dvoch kapelách ako plnohodnotný člen a nie len ako výpomoc alebo záskok, to sa nedá. Vedel som, že to ohrozí Dream Theater.

A keď už prišiel s tým, že definitívne odchádza k Avenged? 

Rudess: Bolo to veľmi náročné obdobie, bolestivé a ťažké. Doslova som sedel na schodoch môjho ateliéru a plakal som. Ide o človeka, ktorý je môj priateľ, ktorého všetci milujú a obdivujú. Vrátane nás. Ale našťastie sme si všetci uvedomili, že potrebujeme a musíme ísť ďalej. Že to nie je koniec. Možno nový začiatok. Dali sme hlavy dokopy a rozhodli sme sa, že musíme nájsť nového bubeníka.

Petrucci: Bolo to niečo podobné, ako keď niekto umrie. Ale prvotná bolesť pominula a dali sme hlavy dokopy. Boli sme síce v šoku a plní emócií, ale našli sme silu pokračovať.

Našli ste Mikea Manginiho...

Rudess: Mali sme ťažkú úlohu, nájsť náhradníka za Mikea. Urobili sme konkurz, natočili sme DVD z konkurzu a našli Mikea Manginiho. Ten chlap je fantastický. Dokonalý hráč a perfektný človek. 
Sme veľmi radi, že ho máme medzi nami.

Petrucci: Mike Mangini musel kvôli Dream Theater dramaticky zmeniť svoj život. Bol totiž profesor na Berklee. Má ženu a dve deti. Ale všetci ho podporovali. A samozrejme aj my. A potom prišiel Mike Portnoy a opýtal sa, či sa môže vrátiť...

To bolo už príliš neskoro....

Rudess:  Mike Mangini odišiel kvôli nám z Berklee, on aj jeho rodina si museli zvykať na to, že bude dlho na koncertoch, v štúdiu. Je to obrovská zmena v ich životoch. To sme mu mali povedať, že ho nakoniec nechceme?  Veľa investoval do našej budúcnosti. V podstate nám zachránil zadky. Všetko sme dali opäť do pohybu. A v tom si napochoduje Mike Portnoy s úsmevom na tvári že hej chlapi, som späť. To sa nerobí. A vôbec....Mikea Manginiho sme si všetci naozaj veľmi obľúbili a sme radi, že ho máme. My sme museli zvládnuť celú tú drámu. On vtedy pri nás nestál. A všetci sme spokojní s tým, čo máme práve teraz...

Mangini len ako náhrada?

John Petrucci vyvrátil aj špekulácie, ktoré v poslednej dobe kolujú ohľadom Dream Theater. Natočil video, v ktorom jednoznačne potvrdil, že Mike Mangini nie je iba dočasná náhrada, ale rovnoprávny a stály člen kapely Dream Theater. "Mangini je náš a my sme jeho. Sme jedna kapela. Nechceme a ani sme nikdy nechceli byť nič dočasné v Dream Theater. Mangini je skvelý človek aj hudobník.“ 

Na otázku, či Dream Theater plánuje ukončenie svojej kariéry so súčasnými členmi, Petrucci povedal: "Ja dúfam, že to tak bude. Nemám v pláne na tom nič meniť. Ale je pravda, že rovnako by som vám odpovedal aj pred odchodom Mikea Portnoya. Nikdy nevieme, čo sa stane alebo ako sa veci vyvinú, ale ja som naozaj veľmi spokojný s ľuďmi, ktorými som momentálne obklopený.  A verím tomu, že to bude pôsobiť rovnako aj na fanúšikov.“

Dream Theater je v súčasnej dobe v nahrávacom štúdiu a pracujú na očakávanom novom albume, ktoré by malo vyjsť na jeseň prostredníctvom Roadrunner Records.  Pauzu si nedopraje ani spevák James LaBrie, ktorý strávil posledných niekoľko týždňov v štúdiu s kanadským producentom Richardom Chyckim, ktorý s ním pracuje na vokáloch pre nový album. Richard sa na svojom blogu vyjadil aj na adresu nového bubeníka: "Musím povedať, že nový bubeník Dream Theater, Mike Mangini je naozaj monštruózny hráč. Je naozaj desivý v dobrom slova zmysle. Ale čo je na ňom naozaj zvláštne, že jeho hra nie je iba o technike. Všetko čo robí má skutočnú dušu, hĺbku a cit. Som si istý, že si ho ľudia zamilujú."

Dream Theater budú v našich končinách vystupovať v lete, 27.7. vo viedenskom Gasometri a 29.7. na festivale Benátská Noc na Malej Skále v Čechách.