A few things of interest I learned from speaking with the guys April 6th

[KevShmev]

Well said, mikeyd23.  I saw the band Saturday night and Mangini looked like he was having fun up there all night, so while it is really hard work, it is clearly very rewarding and a lot of fun for him.  I wouldn't reach too much into these comments.

[robwebster]

Word - it's a few seconds of second-hand dialogue, it's not a big deal. Just cos it's tricky doesn't mean he's suffering, he's in agony, he's desperate to change it. When you pull out and look at it in the context of everything else he's ever said, it's clear that he's very comfortable. There are good days and bad days, but the overriding vibe is that he wouldn't change it for the world.

Then again, I suppose we wouldn't really be the internet if we didn't take a tiny comment out of all context and turn it into a crisis meeting! Panic on.

[TheGreatPretender]

Word - it's a few seconds of second-hand dialogue, it's not a big deal. Then again, it wouldn't really be the internet if we didn't take it out of all context and turn it into a crisis meeting!

Well, we have to be fair. If we put everything MP says under a microscope, then MM should get the same treatment, so MP doesn't feel bad. 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. 

[JRundquist]

If you guys want a more in depth feeling of how Mangini feels about this subject check out my interview in my thread here, or this link. It explains A LOT!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY

[TheGreatPretender]

For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. 

Hey, I've had plenty of great opportunities in my life, and some of them, while they were something I wanted, and something that I was grateful to have, it turned out that for one reason or another, they just weren't right for me, and I had no way of predicting that's how it would be. And I tried to stick to my guns and kept with it, and never let on that it was something that was making me miserable, until it reached that breaking point where I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not saying that's the case with Manjini, I'm just saying that it's possible for that to happen, so don't make it seem like it's a completely ridiculous idea.

[TAC]

If you guys want a more in depth feeling of how Mangini feels about this subject check out my interview in my thread here, or this link. It explains A LOT!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY

I was just going to point to this. He explains how challenging the whole performance is, but he also states how satisfying it is. Please let this line of discussion end. MM is 100% on board and happy in DT.

[Volante99]

This is all conjecture but this may also be a case of Mangini being really hard on himself.

We know he is all about being the best he can be, constantly working on his technique, always trying improve. He treats drumming almost like an Olympic athlete treats a sport. In other words, he takes this gig very very seriously. I can see him making a few mistakes during a concert and getting frustrated with himself really easily.

[Ravenfoul]

This is all conjecture but this may also be a case of Mangini being really hard on himself.

We know he is all about being the best he can be, constantly working on his technique, always trying improve. He treats drumming almost like an Olympic athlete treats a sport. In other words, he takes this gig very very seriously. I can see him making a few mistakes during a concert and getting frustrated with himself really easily.

I think that's spot on. He's monstrous and incredibly dedicated.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. 

Hey, I've had plenty of great opportunities in my life, and some of them, while they were something I wanted, and something that I was grateful to have, it turned out that for one reason or another, they just weren't right for me, and I had no way of predicting that's how it would be. And I tried to stick to my guns and kept with it, and never let on that it was something that was making me miserable, until it reached that breaking point where I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not saying that's the case with Manjini, I'm just saying that it's possible for that to happen, so don't make it seem like it's a completely ridiculous idea.

Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point. None of us knows what will happen in the future, and anything is possible. It's possible JP will come out and say he actually hates prog metal and that his real calling is to be Taylor Swift's electric guitarist. It's possible for JR to say after this tour he's grown tired of DT and touring and just retire. But just as with MM and this speculation, it's completely unfounded right now. In fact, all the evidence points to the contrary.

This guy is a seasoned musician who has reached a level relatively few people get to. He's toured with numerous bands and demanding players around the world for decades. One does not get to that level in his playing and career by being flaky and just quitting because it's demanding...two tours later. By every single account, this role in DT is exactly what he's been waiting for and he's doing all the work he knew this gig would require.

I'll be honest, he could probably dick his way through these songs and most fans won't know the difference. But he DEMANDS from himself to be technically excellent every single night and it's paying off because the band sounds better than ever. His approach is totally different from that of MP; so is his place in the band. If you've listened to all his interviews about his approach to music and drumming, you know that he puts tremendous focus and work into his craft. In light of that it is easy to understand why he could sometimes feel added stress/pressure to do things the way he knows they should be done. But again, to worry or speculate that he's in over his head and might quit because of it, is just silly and probably more than anything just wishful thinking on the part of those who wish MP were still in the band.

[TheGreatPretender]

Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.

To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.

To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.

Entertain it all you want. Anyone who predicted MP's departure wasn't onto anything other than luck. Not even the band expected it. But retrospectively, even MP's getting burnout after 25 years is far more understandable than MM's quitting after 2 because 'it's too much pressure.'

It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band. It is just not in the cards right now. There will always be that 1% chance something crazy will happen I suppose. But that MM, after all this guy has done and been through in his musical journey, is somehow too stressed out from the responsibility of having to learn DT songs and play them on a tour and is thinking about quitting because of it, is implausible speculation and nothing else. That he would be so amateurish, so childish, so unprofessional, so out of character, so contradictory to all he's said so far, so out of touch with his own feelings and instincts from the very beginning, to regret joining and/or quit the band because playing DT's catalog live is too stressful is FAR too unbelievable for any rational person to seriously entertain right now.

[TheGreatPretender]

It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band.

Why not? Sounds like a fun discussion.

[Invisible]

Finally we got to speak with JM and we chatted about a number of things (family, etc.) that aren't worth mentioning, but at some point the conversation turned towards upcoming tour legs and he commented that DT will probably be hitting South America in the fall, perhaps around August or September, altho nothing is set in stone.

Yay!! You made my day sir! Something to hope for in the future .

@TisBOOLsheet
While I'm on your side of the argument, I think you're making the same mistake with the DTFers around here: taking the opinions of random hardcore DT fans(no offense, but that's what we all are after all) much too seriously. This place is basically a virtual room full of DT fans, and of course if you throw a comment like this in a room like that, people are going to talk about it. I don't see the problem, pointless discussion and speculation is one of the main reasons why we are here after all .

That being said, I think people are overanalysing one particular comment on one particular day to one particular fan and taking it to an extreme level. A lot of people have stressful jobs every day, that doesn't mean they don't enjoy them. Some days they do, others they don't. MM is just like everyone else. Even JP wrote a line "Why I chose this life, this superficial lie. Constant compromise, endless sacrifice." that doesn't mean he hates what he does, there are bad days for everyone, it's no big deal. And what MM said doesn't even imply that he had a bad day, just that it's hard, so I'm overanalysing it too.

[TheGreatPretender]

That being said, I think people are overanalysing one particular comment on one particular day to one particular fan and taking it to an extreme level. A lot of people have stressful jobs every day, that doesn't mean they don't enjoy them. Some days they do, others they don't. MM is just like everyone else. Even JP wrote a line "Why I chose this life, this superficial lie. Constant compromise, endless sacrifice." that doesn't mean he hates what he does, there are bad days for everyone, it's no big deal. And what MM said doesn't even imply that he had a bad day, just that it's hard, so I'm overanalysing it too.

To be fair it wasn't WHAT he said, but how he said it... Even though I wasn't even there to hear how he said it. 

[ytserush]

Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.

To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.

Entertain it all you want. Anyone who predicted MP's departure wasn't onto anything other than luck. Not even the band expected it. But retrospectively, even MP's getting burnout after 25 years is far more understandable than MM's quitting after 2 because 'it's too much pressure.'

It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band. It is just not in the cards right now. There will always be that 1% chance something crazy will happen I suppose. But that MM, after all this guy has done and been through in his musical journey, is somehow too stressed out from the responsibility of having to learn DT songs and play them on a tour and is thinking about quitting because of it, is implausible speculation and nothing else. That he would be so amateurish, so childish, so unprofessional, so out of character, so contradictory to all he's said so far, so out of touch with his own feelings and instincts from the very beginning, to regret joining and/or quit the band because playing DT's catalog live is too stressful is FAR too unbelievable for any rational person to seriously entertain right now.

The guy is his own worst critic. That's really all I got out of it.

[dongringo]

All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.

[Setlist Scotty]

All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.

Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.

[Super Dude]

So I'm pretty new to the forums. How in the world do you have an 'in' with the band? That's so awesome!!

It's been so long that I could be wrong, but I believe Scotty used to be manager for something for MP.

[dongringo]

All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.

Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.

Could be to an extent, but I'm sure he can still have fun performing a show that's so hard to play. No doubt he's going to feel more comfortable some nights than others.

[mikeyd23]

All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.

Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.

I understand what you are saying but going back to the whole idea that the things you truly have to work hardest for in life usually are the most rewarding, don't you think that the enjoyment shown on his face could merely be a result of experiencing that reward?

He puts in the hard work during the show and that hard work creates moments in which the band sounds absolutely, incredibly tight, I know because I saw the them on this tour and its magical.  I feel like his smiles and excitement are completely genuine because bit by bit, piece by piece throughout each show he is experiencing the rewards of his hard work.  Sure, the ultimate reward for every show is when its done and the sense of accomplishment is complete, but little by little throughout the show I feel like that rewarding feeling is shining through MM right out to the audience.

That's just my take though, I could be way off base! Haha 

[Setlist Scotty]

So I'm pretty new to the forums. How in the world do you have an 'in' with the band? That's so awesome!!

It's been so long that I could be wrong, but I believe Scotty used to be manager for something for MP.

Never been a manager of his, but I started doing things for him (to begin with the tourography) and my friendship with him (and by extension, the rest of the band) grew from there.
 
 

I understand what you are saying but going back to the whole idea that the things you truly have to work hardest for in life usually are the most rewarding, don't you think that the enjoyment shown on his face could merely be a result of experiencing that reward?

He puts in the hard work during the show and that hard work creates moments in which the band sounds absolutely, incredibly tight, I know because I saw the them on this tour and its magical.  I feel like his smiles and excitement are completely genuine because bit by bit, piece by piece throughout each show he is experiencing the rewards of his hard work.  Sure, the ultimate reward for every show is when its done and the sense of accomplishment is complete, but little by little throughout the show I feel like that rewarding feeling is shining through MM right out to the audience.

And I get what you're saying, but considering how he emphasized to me how hard he has to work at each show, I'm gonna say no. That's not to say that the man doesn't enjoy playing, nor that he doesn't find it rewarding both in his performance, as well as to see the expressions on fans faces. I'm sure there are occasions throughout each show where the smiles are 100% genuine. But keep in mind that he, along with the rest of the band, are putting on a show for the entertainment of the audience. So he has to be a showman. And let's not forget that he's filling in the shoes of a drummer who was known for his showmanship. So while he may not be beckoning the crowd the way MP did, I'm sure he feels some pressure to give some extra entertainment value because of his predecessor.

[KevShmev]

Eh, I don't buy that.  I saw them twice last week and everything Mangini did looked very natural, including the frequent joy on his face when playing.  You can't fake something like that, especially when you are as an emotional person as Mangini is.  Trust me, I know.  For emotional people, looking really happy when you are not is extremely difficult to do, even if it is supposedly part of your job. 

I just think it's strange that nearly everyone reports of how happy he looks playing at every concert, but because of one offhand remark backstage, we are now supposed to believe that a lot of it is faked and that he is actually having a rough time up there.  Seems very strange to me.

[Setlist Scotty]

I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.

[mikeyd23]

I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.

Eh, I get what you are saying to a degree but you want to talk about hamming it up?! What performer doesn't ham it up more in front of a paying crowd of fans than he/she does rehearsing by themselves.  Do you think MP stands up, jumps around, spits everywhere, points out to an imaginary audience, etc... when he is rehearsing for a tour? No, of course not, he hams it up in front of the fans, just like pretty much all musicians do. So of course MM is hamming it up in front of fans!

[Tis BOOLsheet]

I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.

Yes.

[Laughingplace56]

I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.

Yes.

I mean I do when I drum by myself because it just comes naturally 

I think he's enjoying himself plenty. There's definitely pressure, but they're 60+ shows into the tour now, so I'd imagine it's MUCH easier on him now since they're way more used to the groove now.

[MoraWintersoul]

This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.

[King Postwhore]

This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.

Amen.  Folks cut it out.  That's just silly nonsense I'm reading here. 

[Madman Shepherd]

This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.

Amen.  Folks cut it out.  That's just silly nonsense I'm reading here.

This.

I can't imagine it was anything more than MM may have had a slightly bad night.  Maybe there were technical problems and he didn't want to seem like he was throwing someone under the bus.  All I know is the three times I have seen him (four if you include the clinic he did), he was so incredibly happy, joking around with the guys, making faces, hamming up the the one handed snare roll, which says a lot more that he does that night after night rather than it does getting pissy one time. 

He even fucked up at the Chicago show (which I didn't notice but my friend sitting elsewhere did) which caused all the guys to laugh and MM to make a face like, "Fuck man, they caught me" before laughing himself. 

[cramx3]

For anyone who has seen the show, its quite obvious that its an extremely difficult task for every member and probably most so for MM.  There's no reason not to think the job is very challenging, difficult, and stressful.  However, that doesnt mean he isnt finding some fun in doing it.  I would bet when the songs are going well and he sees the positive reaction from the fans that he would smile and be able to enjoy what he is doing.  I am also sure that when the show is over that he feels very rewarded for the completion (anyone who has ever worked hard on something and finished has probably had that feeling of accomplishment and it is a great feeling) so for anyone to think that just because he says how hard it is that it would mean he is unhappy is probably incorrect.

[Invisible]

This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.

(Not just musicians) Yes, sadly... It reminds me of some of those sports/celebrities show where the celebrity in question makes one comment and everyone starts overanalysing, most of the time to shred the person to pieces.

I'm not saying it's what's happening here though, but dammit, he just said it's hard to play the whole show! Something all the other guys in the band could've said and it wouldn't be a big deal, but that doesn't automatically mean he doesn't like it, he's going to quit or he's faking the faces! If it is hard, you can't focus on the songs AND the faking, and you can clearly see that it flows naturally for him. He's the most geniune member of the band, always very upfront and direct even on interviews, why would he fake faces? It's complete nonsense. And like I said before, just because something is stressful doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. It's actually the opposite, there's no satifaction in achieving something easy.

[Setlist Scotty]

*sigh*

I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything.

[Milzinga]

All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.

Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.

Could be to an extent, but I'm sure he can still have fun performing a show that's so hard to play. No doubt he's going to feel more comfortable some nights than others.

Yeah I've seen them a few times on this tour and when I saw them in Seattle MM was mostly smiles and looked like he was having a great time, but a few times he looked super concentrated, very stoic. Every show is different and some are gonna be tougher than others.

[KevShmev]

Something else to keep in mind is that on this tour Mangini is playing almost an entire set of songs that are new to him.  Without giving spoilers, 11 of the 18 songs are pre-ADTOE, and none of them were played on the ADTOE tour, so they are all new to Mangini as far as playing them in a live environment, and when you throw in the five new songs as well, 16 of the 18 songs on the tour are songs he has never played live before prior to this tour.  When you combine that with the fact that he is now a 51-year old man who is touring now more than he ever has, it's no surprise that the tour might be taking a toll on him, physically and mentally.