Mike Mangini interview (excerpts)

Eddie Trunk: There’s a lot of people that jumped to the conclusion that you being out of Dream Theater had something to do with you making this [solo] record, but I doubt that was the case, right?

Mike Mangini: That is exactly right. I mean, because everyone in Dream Theater makes solo albums. In fact, I’m late off the draw. I’m like, “Gosh, these guys are having so much fun. Why? I should have some fun, too!” So I thought I would make a record that wasn’t like the band because nobody does that. So I went to the rock realm because I’m the guy that puts on the ‘Mob Rules’ and just cranks out big beats when nobody’s looking. I just love that. And so I wanted to have a rock record, and that’s what I did.

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ET: 12 years in Dream Theater. I guess it was last week that it got announced that Portnoy’s coming back and that you were out of the band. What can you tell the audience about that? Was that your decision? Was that their decision? Was it a mutual decision? Did you feel it coming? What can you say about that?

MM: All I know is the decision was made, and when I heard it, all I pictured was, “Oh, this is an original guy going back to his band. OK, all right, let’s go to the next thing.” There was nothing more, nothing I asked, nothing I was told. There was just nothing more than it seemed so simple to me, and maybe intuitively it’s like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, I get it.” And that was that. That’s literally it. I don’t mean to make it sound like it was, [casually] “OK, OK”. One way it was and another way it’s not.

Did you see the outpouring of support, love, and care that all of those fans gave me? I had to sit down for a number of hours and not do anything because I wasn’t watching everything at first. It’s like, I don’t want to see this. I just don’t want to know. I have some team people that go in and check my Facebook page or check messages here – you just gotta keep it clean for me. But anyway, I did start to pay attention. Once I saw what people were saying, I was like, “These are the nicest people on this earth. There’s no reason that they need to be this nice to me.” So that’s really the crux of it all, is it was an easy thing for me to understand. And then once the news hit and it became real, which is when it set in, because once I knew about it, I just got busy. I was like, “OK, I’ve got all these videos to finish. I’m actually doing like a lot of stuff for my album. I’ll do some drum playthroughs,” not to yap and yap and yap about it, but I have a lot on my cork board and my lists and things to do and things to accomplish and things to complete. There’s so much there I haven’t been able to do. But once it hit and it became real, it was real quick for me. I’m like, “OK, I get it. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how nice these people are.” Did you see any of that?

ET: Yeah, well I’m remembering the whole process. As you know, Portnoy and I are very, very good friends, and I was actually with Mike when he decided to leave the gig – we were physically driving somewhere together. And so I remember when it all happened. I remember Dream Theater going through that online thing where they had stuff, videos and people coming in. And the fan base has always been incredibly passionate about that band. So the way they welcomed you coming in [and] supported you throughout the time you were there was amazing. And then this transition back to Portnoy with you out, I mean, you don’t see stuff like that happen often. Even right down to the press release that you were out and Mike was coming back, there was quotes from you in there! You never see that when somebody’s leaving a band! So I thought the whole thing from the fans to the way it was handled to everything to your attitude about it is about as good as it could be.

MM: It is as good as it could be. I think people are where they need to be. There’s stuff to do, there’s places to be, there’s people to see. There are things to accomplish and roles to fulfill and tasks to do and that’s really what it is. I love that you notice that – how lucky am I? How fortunate am I to be just a part of that history to have all this amazing stuff happen? It’s like positive, positive, positive. It’s almost like, you know what it is? I know I’ve accomplished some things with my career and I’ve had a lot of struggles and a lot of things that didn’t work or whatever, but for my parents to be in their 90s to see this happen – and I’m not talking about career stuff – I’m talking about how I’ve treated people and how they treat me. I mean, that’s what I want for my kids. I want to feel well about how they are with people and how people treat them at the end of the day. I think that’s just awesome.

ET: And you were a big part of the band because you did four studio records with Dream Theater. You won a Grammy with Dream Theater. I mean, you made a big contribution there. But I’m curious because your demeanor about this change is so leveled and grateful and appreciative and all of that. When you came into the gig, knowing you were replacing a guy that was as loved as Portnoy and also not just the drummer but very much the mouthpiece of the band and all of that, was there a part of you back in your mind, no matter what, that you were kind of saying to yourself, “OK, I’m here and I’m going to kill this gig for as long as I have it.” But when you go into a situation like that and you’re replacing somebody like that, is it always kind of in the back of your mind that that guy’s looming out there and could come back?

MM: In two ways, no. Because in one of those two ways, it doesn’t matter to me, and then if it is, it is. It’s like I’m very emotionless about it. And here’s the reason: when I was brought up, I was taught never to go in someone’s house and open the refrigerator, if that makes any sense. My father was like, “Don’t ever do that to somebody.” And so that’s how I am going into bands. That’s why I’m still in touch with everybody. It’s like, “Hey, what’s up?” I mean, Dream Theater was at Wacken, and Jeff Waters said, “Do you want to come up and play ‘Set The World On Fire’? And I was like, “Yes, I wanna play! Yes!” So I went on the stage, and it was so much fun getting the double kick. I mean, you couldn’t get the smile off my face with a sandblasting gun. So it’s like, don’t open someone else’s refrigerator, man. So when I was in Dream Theater, it was like, “What am I here to do? What’s my role? OK, these guys have been there a lot longer than me. They’re taking on some of these roles. Who am I? Who am I to come in and just like, ‘hey, you got any ham?’” [laughs]

So it’s like I didn’t do it. Then the other side of the fence, which you might find really interesting if you say like some of the Dream Theater stuff goes over your head, I lived life in three second increments in that band, like I did before, like I’m about to, meaning there’s too much for me to do in three seconds on stage. There’s just too much to do. So if I think about a mistake that I made in the previous song or something good that I played, not only was that moment corrupt and ruined if I made a mistake, but now because I’m thinking of it, I’m going to corrupt the current moment. And I also don’t go too far into the future. I can’t because then I’ll screw up that three seconds and then I go another three seconds and another three seconds. And trust me, to keep that kind of discipline for two to three hours in three second chunks is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. But my passion and my response – my sense of responsibility – is so strong that my love of it carries me through. And that’s how I got through this. That’s why I was happy in the band. That’s why I’m happy for them now. And that’s why I’m the way that I am. I am not going to open the refrigerator in someone else’s house ever. There you go.

ET: That’s great. That’s great. Last thing on this, and then I’ll let you go. When Mike came to see Dream Theater with you in the band at the Beacon Theatre, was that a weird thing for you?

MP: Nope. And you can ask him. It was like nothing ever changed. In other words, I was post-show getting dressed and Mike, he walked up the stairs, right? And of course my door’s open. Of course, I’m just like basically pants-less in a way. And he sees me, he comes up and I really just clothed myself. And the first thing I said to him was, I think something like, “Dude, your timing’s off. I just have no pants on for a second.” I just laugh. I don’t remember what I said. You know, it was like my underwear, whatever it was. But it was like nothing ever changed from the phone calls that we made from the time he brought me on stage with Dream Theater. From the time I’m at a Dream Theater show, we were watching Zappa Does Zappa and talking about Vinnie Colaiuta and Terry Bozzio. I mean, what other way is there to live? I don’t know anything different. So that’s the truth. That’s the vibe. That’s the answer to your question.