Portnoy invites the DT guys to play the 12 step with him

[The Trooper]

https://loudwire.com/mike-portnoy-invites-dream-theater-join-onstage-birthday-bash/

[Kotowboy]

THEY have made it clear THEY have no intention of reuniting....

[Mosh]

Well he's probably right. He clearly wants to reunite, they clearly don't.

[Prog Snob]

I'm sure it won't happen but it would be really awesome for them to put aside their differences and support their friend/former friend/ex-bandmate/whatever on this special occasion. It's a pipe dream but would it be so terrible for it to happen just to play that song? Nope.

[Kotowboy]

If i was in DT and had to put up with everything MP said in the press in the 2 years after he quit i'd be reticent too.

[Mosh]

I've been thinking about this and I'm starting to think that the reason DT isn't doing this isn't so much because of any animosity as much as it is their schedules don't allow it. At least not for all of them to show up. It's not the sort of thing they can do off the cuff, there'd have to be rehearsals and they would need to be able to make the cruise and stay on it for however long it lasts. DT has one of the tightest schedules in the prog/metal world today. It's so tight that even after losing a key member they still managed to get an album out on schedule. Their album/tour cycle has been consistent for so long and when DT isn't active I imagine the last thing they want to do is work on more DT related stuff. They probably want to work on other projects and spend time with their families.

[Prog Snob]

If i was in DT and had to put up with everything MP said in the press in the 2 years after he quit i'd be reticent too.

I get it, but stranger things have happened. I think out of all of them Jordan would be the most likely to join and James would be the least likely to join.

[DragonAttack]

“That being said, all four Dream Theater guys have an open invitation to join me on the cruise. I would love nothing more than for them to be there with me.”

Four members?!?!?!?

[ChuckSteak]

Even if they reunited and played all the 12-Step-Suite songs, I don't think it is so special. They have performed the songs live countless times. It may not have been all of them and in order, but it doesn't matter. I understand that it is Portnoy's 50th birthday and that he struggled with substance abuse and that the songs are special for him, but still... there are better songs to play or watch live.

Anyway, it would be nice if they reunited even if only for a concert or a couple of songs.

[cramx3]

“That being said, all four Dream Theater guys have an open invitation to join me on the cruise. I would love nothing more than for them to be there with me.”

Four members?!?!?!?

Honestly, if he didn't invite Mangini as well then I don't think anyone from DT should join.  That just doesn't seem right to me.  Being that it's unlikely to happen anyway, he should have extended that invite as well.

[KevShmev]

Even if they reunited and played all the 12-Step-Suite songs, I don't think it is so special.

To current members of Dream Theater, I agree.  It is special to Portnoy for obvious reasons, and it should be, but I doubt it is special to Petrucci, Rudess, LaBrie or Myung, thus I doubt they would look at it as a special can't-miss opportunity.

And that is not even factoring in their schedules, some of them probably having no interest after all of the shots he has taken at them over the years, etc.

[RoeDent]

"All four DT guys"

So no drum duel with Mangini then...?

[Mosh]

I think the somewhat non-ceremonious premiere of The Shattered Fortress shows that, for better or worse, the 12 step suite is just "another set of DT songs" for them. Especially for Jordan and Mangini who don't seem to pay much attention to lyrics.

[Bill]

“That being said, all four Dream Theater guys have an open invitation to join me on the cruise. I would love nothing more than for them to be there with me.”

Four members?!?!?!?

Either a Freudian slip or non acceptance of DT with anyone but MP on the drum stool!

[XB0BX]

“That being said, all four Dream Theater guys have an open invitation to join me on the cruise. I would love nothing more than for them to be there with me.”

Four members?!?!?!?

I was so into this happening until I read this line. MP will never change. I hope "all 4 DT guys" never give him what he so desperately wants. He clearly knows he made a terrible mistake in leaving the most important musical project of his life, but he's made his mistake and he's never getting it back.

That sounded a lot more dramatic than I wanted it to be, honest.

[noxon]

Eh, I don't react to that at all. It makes total sense - the four members that helped created and record the songs are also the four members MP wants to perform them live with. Had it been "DT extends an invitation for MP to perform 12 steps" I would've found it natural that MM also appears in that setting - but here it's MPs concert...

[Progmetty]

But he didn't say all four DT guys are invited to play, he said they're invited to join the cruise, in which case I find saying "four" a bit distasteful on his behalf but it doesn't matter cause I don't think they'll do it anyway.

[KevShmev]

Eh, as much as I think Portnoy often sticks his foot in his (virtual) mouth, I don't think him inviting just the four DT guys, but not Mangini, is a big deal.  The five songs from the suite were recorded with the four, plus he has no musical connection to Mangini.  And they are both drummers, so Mangini wouldn't be needed.  Sure, it would be a nice gesture to extend the invite to him as well, but I don't think not doing so is a big deal. 

[fischermasamune]

I think that if the current DT reunites with MP, it should be a reunion about DT and not about MP. It's not DT that played with MP; it was MP who played in DT.

[Zook]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's already gotten shit for the "4 members" line, and will be addressing it soon, but as much as I've despised his rhetoric since the split in regards to bashing and passive aggressive behavior, I'm gonna have to side with his eventual "I didn't mean it like that" response. I didn't take it that way, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to have Mangini on the cruise, but he was referring to the 4 members to which he wrote the songs with. Mangini had no involvement.

[Prog Snob]

People are going to give him shit for anything he says. I don't think he meant anything personal by it. Like Kev said, it was written by the 5 guys in DT at the time so it's natural that the invitation would be to the four members with whom he recorded the music.

[Darkstarshades]

No guys, he clearly didn't mean anything against MM.

He's obviously leaving JLB out.

[bosk1]

Honestly, you have to be pretty obtuse and deliberately looking for reasons to hate Portnoy to be put off by the "all four Dream Theater guys" comment.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

[Adami]

Honestly, you have to be pretty obtuse and deliberately looking for reasons to hate Portnoy to be put off by the "all four Dream Theater guys" comment.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

Personally, I'm more offended by him calling them "guys". Seems a bit presumptuous to impose gender roles on all of them without their consent.

[bosk1]

Honestly, you have to be pretty obtuse and deliberately looking for reasons to hate Portnoy to be put off by the "all four Dream Theater guys" comment.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

Personally, I'm more offended by him calling them "guys". Seems a bit presumptuous to impose gender roles on all of them without their consent.

1 week P/R ban! 

Wait...

[Mosh]

Honestly, you have to be pretty obtuse and deliberately looking for reasons to hate Portnoy to be put off by the "all four Dream Theater guys" comment.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

Come on Bosk, you run this site. What else did you expect? 

[jsbru]

I think that if the current DT reunites with MP, it should be a reunion about DT and not about MP. It's not DT that played with MP; it was MP who played in DT.

This was my main takeaway from it.  "Hey guys, do you want to lock yourselves on a boat in the middle of the ocean with me and play some songs because it would be special for me?"

This seems like a really self-centered request to me, and it shows me that it's still all about MP.

[KevShmev]

I don't think the request itself is self-centered - nothing wrong with asking; all they can do is say no - but his reaction to it is.  Looking at FB, consider this exchange:

Mark La Vendemmia Cool interview, man...I think everyone would love to see you perform the 12-step with James Labrie, John Petrucci, John Myung and Jordan Rudess just for one night....I really hope that this will happen...you have done so much together...even if your roads are already so far away, as a fan, it would be nice to see that you still love each other...

Mike Portnoy The invite is open to all 4 of them and their families...I'd love nothing more than to perform these songs w THEM and have them with me to celebrate my 50th...they were all such a huge part of my life!
But I wouldn't hold my breath... : (

Thiago Polisel This is not just an invitation issue. There are contractual and legal provisions that you all have to deal with. It is not so simple. We all know they would never refuse.

Mike Portnoy Thiago Polisel - you are 1000% wrong
Our "contractual and legal provisions" were resolved 5 years ago...
There's no reason we can't all be friends at this stage of our lives...
I hold a big place in my heart for all 4 guys as they were an ENORMOUS part of most of my life...
If they choose to not celebrate my 50th birthday with me, that is their choice...no "legal" reasons whatsoever...sad but true!
Life is too waaaay to short to hold onto grudges and resentments..

--------

The implication there being that the Dream Theater fellas are holding a grudge, while taking the moral high ground.  It's just both funny and sad at this point.  And just when it appeared as if he was past being a knucklehead about it...

[BlobVanDam]

Honestly, you have to be pretty obtuse and deliberately looking for reasons to hate Portnoy to be put off by the "all four Dream Theater guys" comment.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

This is DTF. We know (manufacturing) drama.

[Darkstarshades]

I agree, behind that musician with a huge career behind him, he's still just a human being who happens to miss the DT guys. If I was MM I would go and wouldn't feel bad about this at all, let's face it, I had little to nothing to do with DT during Portnoy's time, aside from one show.
But before you say anything about his reaction, don't forget something very important: You just don't know if he has talked about it with them.
There's photographic evidence that he has spent time with JR, I'm certain that he has brought this up to him, so it has been discussed.
I hope they can just hang around like old pals, as simple people who love music, without these business things involved.
Don't mind me, but DT not caring much about the 12 step suite is senseless. Sure, they proved they could play it without MP, but I fail to see why would they be so cold as to say "meh" to MP's request.

[KevShmev]

It's not cold at all, and I cannot fathom how anyone can possibly think it is.  It's cold for four of them to not want to just drop what they are doing for close to a week to play homage to their ex-drummer who left the band and then has taken many digs at them since?

Also, them apparently saying no has nothing to do with them proving they could play it without Portnoy.

[Darkstarshades]

LARGE EDIT: So they did say just No?  Jeez I tho he was probably just overreacting to silence or idk... Well he is on his right to feel bad. But who knows...

Them not wanting to colaborate anytime soon sounds like an isolated comment made a time ago, and not something fresh.

Btw comments on BM are so funny lol

[Madman Shepherd]

Regardless of what anyone thinks, a one off reunion concert would create a huge buzz about a possible full reunion which anybody with a reasonable business sense would want to avoid, unless of course they are actually considering a "reunion" which we know they aren't. 

So if Dream Theater was going to put themselves in that position, I'm sure they would rather not do it at a Mike Portnoy tribute concert. 

[Fiery Winds]

I'm not sure what the logistics look like with 7 months notice, but I'm turned off by the implication that if DT doesn't show up it validates his position. Disregarding for a moment whether DT has any interest in this, there's a huge difference (financial and logistic) between flying to a venue for a one-off performance and dedicating an entire week on a cruise. While I wouldn't go so far as to say it was intentional on MP's part, I can't help but think that he gave them an offer that he knew they would decline.

[MirrorMask]

I'm also one of those who basically got what he meant with the "four guys" thing, I just don't see him publicy denying that DT has ever made three albums with another member since he left.

I think he's genuine in his desire to play with them, but puts too much importance on the AA saga... of couse it means a lot to him since he's written it about his personal struggles, but the first comparison that comes into my mind is if Bruce Dickinson when he was out of Iron Maiden invited the rest of the band minus Blaze on a cruise to play along to Revelations, Flash of the Blade, Powerslave and Bring your Daughter to the Slaughter (his songs).  Nothing wrong with it but why go all the lenght for it?

Anyway, I wonder if the guys he must have already chosen to play the suite know they have a "firing clause" if one of the original members indeed does show up