MIKE PORTNOY Quits DREAM THEATER

[chiefs1111]

Drummer Mike Portnoy of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has released the following statement:

"I am about to write something I never imagined I'd ever write.

"After 25 years, I have decided to leave DREAM THEATER... the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.

"To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so....

"After having had such amazing experiences playing with HAIL!, TRANSATLANTIC and AVENGED SEVENFOLD this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in DREAM THEATER.

"Please don't misinterpret me, I love the DREAM THEATER guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them... it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break.

"DREAM THEATER was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985... 24/7, 365... never taking time off from DREAM THEATER's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was 'off' between cycles)... working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band.

"But I've come to the conclusion that the DREAM THEATER machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DREAM THEATER spirit hungry and inspired.

"We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here and there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a 'hiatus' to recharge our batteries and 'save me from ourselves'...

"Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather... I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be...

"While it truly hurts for me to even think of a DREAM THEATER without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes.

"Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DREAM THEATER and I talked about 'always following your heart and being true to yourself'... Sadly, I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with DREAM THEATER...and I would simply be 'going through the motions,' and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.

"I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come... I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played....

"I'm sorry to all the disappointed DREAM THEATER fans around the world... I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work... I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)... but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within.

"You DREAM THEATER fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me.... (and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future Mike Portnoy projects!)"

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=145749

[midgetbolt]

Oh, and the one guy I think could (and possibly might) replace Portnoy:

Mike Mangini

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by midgetbolt

Oh, and the one guy I think could (and possibly might) replace Portnoy:

Mike Mangini

This post gave me the hilarious image of Mark Mangini playing drums for Dream Theater.

[Pushead2]

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

This post gave me the hilarious image of Mark Mangini playing drums for Dream Theater.

Who is Mark Mangini? Safe to assume you mean Mangino?

Oh Lord, I see a Photoshop coming. You bastard!

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by midgetbolt

I don't give a shit what a guy can do on a drumset when he's just showing off his chops, with no one else playing. To me what makes a drummer good to great is how he incorporates those chops into the songs of the band, adding to the song, making the drum parts memorable while not overplaying and taking away from the song.

Not to get into your argument with Dane, but this just reminded me of something. I remember when Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence came out. There were some guys complaining of Portnoy's use of roto tom rolls on the soft and mellow intro to the song Misunderstood. Guys on a forum (Rush fans?) were bitching because they thought it was way overkill. I just remember thinking "Do you know why he plays that? Because he ****ing can so shut up!" Sry, no offense intended. Your post just reminded me of that part.

Oh and I'm not 100% sure what Dane was meaning, but perhaps he is referring to the fact that Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung studied and Berklee College of Music in Boston(?) before starting DT. They dropped out to do the band thing. Just FYI.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Who is Mark Mangini? Safe to assume you mean Mangino?

Oh Lord, I see a Photoshop coming. You bastard!

I did mean to type an o instead of an i. Typing fail on my part.

[Over-Head]

Originally Posted by midgetbolt

I don't know who in the hell out there can replace Portnoy, I just don't see anyone else stepping in there.

Virgil Denoti (sp) maybe

[Over-Head]

Originally Posted by midgetbolt

I disagree with this.

First of all, I don't think Petrucci is replacable (or any of them for that matter). Having said that, I think there are way more great guitarists than there are great drummers.

Growing up in the '80s, it seemed like every band had at least one great guitarist that could shred some wicked guitar solo.

As a drummer, there were very few bands that had a drummer that was able to play complex rhythems and beats, play in odd time meters and signatures, and "shred" complex fills and/or drum solos within the framework of a song.

The only truly "great" rock drummers (and rock music is an important distinction here) in the last 30 years have been Peart, Portnoy, Carey, and maybe Terry Bozio. Very good drummers would include McBrain, VanHalen, Travis Smith, The Rev, Lars, Lombardo, and I can't think of many others.

There were so many bands in the late '70s, '80s, and early '90s that had exceptional guitarists and average to poor drummers. The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Motley Crue, Alice in Chains, G n R, and on and on. Not to mention guys like Steve Vai and Satriani that could absolutely shred.

From personal experience, I've never played with a guitarist that didn't have outstanding chops, but I've had a lot of them tell me they've never played with a drummer as good as me.

I think it's way harder to replace a great bassist. There are very few rock bassists that I would consider great.

And as far as DT is concerned, Rudess would probably be the hardest to replace. He is truly other-worldly.

OH dear god!
his 7th post and he's talkng music and disagreeing with Dane.
This is NOT gonna go well


*Editors note, kid held his own i'll give him that.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Over-Head

OH dear god!
his 7th post and he's talkng music and disagreeing with Dane.
This is NOT gonna go well


*Editors note, kid held his own i'll give him that.

I'm not even done. I just haven't had time to respond.

Hopefully, later tonight but this guy is on the bottom on the totem pole.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Over-Head

Virgil Denoti (sp) maybe

He did audition. So that was a good suggestion.

Originally Posted by midgetbolt

Oh, and the one guy I think could (and possibly might) replace Portnoy:

Mike Mangini

Good call.

[Lzen]

Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has revealed that he made a recent attempt to rejoin his former bandmates but was rebuffed by the group he formed and led for 25 years. Writing on his official forum, Portnoy states, "Just for the record, this is indeed true.. "Fairly recently, I reached out to the guys to try and make amends and offered to reconcile for the sake of having peace back in our lives… (plus I know how much it meant to a lot of the fans…) "I figured it was still possible to try and save us, because they hadn't made any announcements yet or begun any public activity with another drummer… but sadly, they declined my offer (well, actually their lawyer did… they didn't even tell me themselves….) "Sorry, gang, I honestly gave it my all… "So now the fans on my Twitter and Facebook can please stop asking me to go back to DREAM THEATER… I tried, and the door is now shut… The ball is now in their court, not mine… "I'm not crying or looking for mercy by posting this… I am merely trying to set the record straight as that is always the most important thing about my relationship with you guys… No BS, no spins, nothing to hide… and for better or for worse, I tell it like it is… I've also recently seen some people accuse my online activity of 'looking for attention or media coverage,' or 'looking for sympathy,' but it's honestly none of the above… I merely value having an open and active communication with my fans… Always have, always will… It is the cornerstone of everything I've done since day #1 with DREAM THEATER… "This was posted here FOR YOU GUYS to know about... here on MY message board on MY website... If it ends up on Blabbermouth or wherever else, that is THEIR choice to spread, I did not request it or send out a 'press release'... "Anyways, onward and upward... "I've got a lot of great music and ideas waiting to come out of me and alot of exciting collaborations in the works....so goodbye 2010...bring on 2011!" AVENGED SEVENFOLD issued a statement late on Friday (December 17) regarding the dismissal of Portnoy, who played on the band's latest album, "Nightmare", and toured with them during the past year following the death last December of original drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. The band's statement read in part, "For the past few months, we've been blessed with Mike Portnoy's talent and humanity. When Mike agreed to tour with us, it was only through the end of 2010. We always knew we'd need to find another solution for 2011 and beyond. And it's time for us to take that next step." As for why Portnoy himself was not their man, the statement said, "[Portnoy] is a brilliant writer, producer and, of course, drummer. Because of that, the world and we would always see it as AVENGED SEVENFOLD with Mike Portnoy. We take a lot of pride in AVENGED SEVENFOLD being about something greater then any individuals." Portnoy himself broke the news via his Facebook page on Thursday, following several days of rumors about his status. AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows told The Pulse Of Radio that the band was not happy about the public way in which Portnoy's split with DREAM THEATER was played out, which may have soured Portnoy's relationship with AVENGED. "We were actually a little more shocked," M. Shadows said. "We felt that maybe both parties could have handled it a little more internally without being so press release-happy about what had happened between them. Because we're a band that, really, when it comes to news all over web sites or this or that about bands, you know, we don't tweet much, we don't try to put ourselves out that much, and all the drama and controversy wasn't something that we wanted at all." In an interview over the weekend with LA Weekly, AVENGED manager Larry Jacobson said, "The plan had always been for Mike Portnoy to play with the band through 2010. Nothing changed there but it was confusing (because) Mike gave interviews suggesting he may be touring with the band beyond 2010."

[Lzen]

I know its a few months old, but I just recently learned of this. What do others think of DT telling MP "no thanks"?

[Huffmeister]

Originally Posted by Lzen

I know its a few months old, but I just recently learned of this. What do others think of DT telling MP "no thanks"?

Here's a timeline of what I think happened (100% speculation):

MP is with Dream Theater for 25 years.
Relationships start to get strained in the last few years.
MP gets a part time gig as A7x touring drummer.
MP thinks "Hey, I could do this for a few years."
MP asks the DT guys to take a 5 year break.
DT says, "Uh, no. How about a year or so?"
MP says, "Nope, not long enough. I'm out of here."
MP releases a public statement announcing his leaving the band.
The statement contains some veiled shots at members of DT and MP basically takes credit for all of Dream Theater's work.
DT guys get ticked off and start looking for a new drummer.
MP goes to A7x and says, "Hey guys, I'm available to be your full time drummer!"
A7x (seeing what MP has done with his press release) says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."
MP thinks, "Uh oh, now what do I do?"
MP asks DT to take him back.
DT says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."


It's kind of like a guy that cheats on his wife with another woman. Then he leaves his wife for the other woman, only to find out that the other woman wasn't really in love with him. Now he's standing there with his ass in the wind.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Huffmeister

Here's a timeline of what I think happened (100% speculation):

MP is with Dream Theater for 25 years.
Relationships start to get strained in the last few years.
MP gets a part time gig as A7x touring drummer.
MP thinks "Hey, I could do this for a few years."
MP asks the DT guys to take a 5 year break.
DT says, "Uh, no. How about a year or so?"
MP says, "Nope, not long enough. I'm out of here."
MP releases a public statement announcing his leaving the band.
The statement contains some veiled shots at members of DT and MP basically takes credit for all of Dream Theater's work.
DT guys get ticked off and start looking for a new drummer.
MP goes to A7x and says, "Hey guys, I'm available to be your full time drummer!"
A7x (seeing what MP has done with his press release) says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."
MP thinks, "Uh oh, now what do I do?"
MP asks DT to take him back.
DT says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."


It's kind of like a guy that cheats on his wife with another woman. Then he leaves his wife for the other woman, only to find out that the other woman wasn't really in love with him. Now he's standing there with his ass in the wind.

Pretty much.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Huffmeister

Here's a timeline of what I think happened (100% speculation):

MP is with Dream Theater for 25 years.
Relationships start to get strained in the last few years.
MP gets a part time gig as A7x touring drummer.
MP thinks "Hey, I could do this for a few years."
MP asks the DT guys to take a 5 year break.
DT says, "Uh, no. How about a year or so?"
MP says, "Nope, not long enough. I'm out of here."
MP releases a public statement announcing his leaving the band.
The statement contains some veiled shots at members of DT and MP basically takes credit for all of Dream Theater's work.
DT guys get ticked off and start looking for a new drummer.
MP goes to A7x and says, "Hey guys, I'm available to be your full time drummer!"
A7x (seeing what MP has done with his press release) says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."
MP thinks, "Uh oh, now what do I do?"
MP asks DT to take him back.
DT says, "Uh, no thank you. We're already looking for a new drummer."


It's kind of like a guy that cheats on his wife with another woman. Then he leaves his wife for the other woman, only to find out that the other woman wasn't really in love with him. Now he's standing there with his ass in the wind.

Yeah, it's not exactly surprising to see that Portnoy's overinflated ego came back to haunt him on this occasion.