Mike's response to an open letter on his forum

[Aniland]

https://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?high=&m=2599647&mpage=3#2600050

Formed as a response to this fan's message: https://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2599647.aspx

bosk never reopened that thread like he said, and this is separate and new, so I mean... here. Feel free to merge.

[yorost]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16386.msg620846#msg620846

[Samsara]

Mike, for God's sake, you left the goddamn band. YOU LEFT. Instead of getting what you want by going on hiatus and basically making your bandmates find another avenue for income (which you had no problem with, because you knew you had A7X if you wanted it), you didn't do the one thing you should have:

ASKED THE DAMN BAND THAT YOU TAKE A HIATUS AND THEM BRING ON A FILL-IN FOR AN ALBUM CYCLE SO THAT YOU COULD CLEAR YOUR HEAD.

Had you actually done that, instead of what you did, none of this would have happened. You have some sort of need to feel wanted, and while that is human, you caused all of the backlash the way you have continually put yourself in the spotlight for attention.

How are you the "bad guy?" READ ABOVE. You need all this damn attention it seems. What you SHOULD HAVE DONE, is do what I said above, OR, OR...instead of releasing your own messages, had the BAND ANNOUNCE EVERYTHING, AND YOU JUST ANNOUNCE ABOUT THE NON-DT stuff.

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

MP - I love what you did for all the fans, I love you as a drummer, and I have complete respect for you as a musician. But dude, you have a serious need for attention, and you make really stupid comments publicly because of it. If you didn't want to fully leave DT, you didn't have to. YOU made that choice by going to one extreme or another. THAT is YOUR fault. Not anyone else's.

So for God's sake, shut up now, go play with A7X, go do the projects we'll all check out, and let Dream Theater BE Dream Theater. Because frankly, DT is a LOT bigger than just Mike Portnoy. If Pink Floyd can go on without Roger, successfully, then Dream Theater can very easily go on without Mike Portnoy. That's not a shot at ya bro, it's just reality.

Go live life and enjoy the new chapter. Let time take its course. HOPEFULLY, this post finds its way to you.

[dedSurroun]

This is just so bizarre. It's like a movie.

[yeshaberto]

all I read was MP's reply, and I appreciate what he said...turmoil in the midst of conflict is unfortunately inevitable. 

[icarus4321]

Mike, for God's sake, you left the goddamn band. YOU LEFT. Instead of getting what you want by going on hiatus and basically making your bandmates find another avenue for income (which you had no problem with, because you knew you had A7X if you wanted it), you didn't do the one thing you should have:

ASKED THE DAMN BAND THAT YOU TAKE A HIATUS AND THEM BRING ON A FILL-IN FOR AN ALBUM CYCLE SO THAT YOU COULD CLEAR YOUR HEAD.

Had you actually done that, instead of what you did, none of this would have happened. You have some sort of need to feel wanted, and while that is human, you caused all of the backlash the way you have continually put yourself in the spotlight for attention.

How are you the "bad guy?" READ ABOVE. You need all this damn attention it seems. What you SHOULD HAVE DONE, is do what I said above, OR, OR...instead of releasing your own messages, had the BAND ANNOUNCE EVERYTHING, AND YOU JUST ANNOUNCE ABOUT THE NON-DT stuff.

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

MP - I love what you did for all the fans, I love you as a drummer, and I have complete respect for you as a musician. But dude, you have a serious need for attention, and you make really stupid comments publicly because of it. If you didn't want to fully leave DT, you didn't have to. YOU made that choice by going to one extreme or another. THAT is YOUR fault. Not anyone else's.

So for God's sake, shut up now, go play with A7X, go do the projects we'll all check out, and let Dream Theater BE Dream Theater. Because frankly, DT is a LOT bigger than just Mike Portnoy. If Pink Floyd can go on without Roger, successfully, then Dream Theater can very easily go on without Mike Portnoy. That's not a shot at ya bro, it's just reality.

Go live life and enjoy the new chapter. Let time take its course. HOPEFULLY, this post finds its way to you.

I'd be careful with any statements aimed directly at MP.  I feel your frustration, but I'm not sure how open to this kind of dialogue the mods here will be.  Bosk has taken a pretty hard line on band member bashing, and I would hate to see you get hit with a ban of any sort.  I'm not trying to be confrontational, and I hear your argument loud and clear, but I would consider toning it down a bit.

[LCArenas]

This is just so bizarre. It's like a movie.

[ReaPsTA]

[post]

How is what MP's doing a cry for attention?

[YtseBitsySpider]

bosk is gone
its' a fookin free fer all!

LOL

[Mebert78]

I've been waiting for Samsara's comments on the recent MP developments.  I always like reading what he has to say.

[Samsara]

I'd be careful with any statements aimed directly at MP.  I feel your frustration, but I'm not sure how open to this kind of dialogue the mods here will be.  Bosk has taken a pretty hard line on band member bashing, and I would hate to see you get hit with a ban of any sort.  I'm not trying to be confrontational, and I hear your argument loud and clear, but I would consider toning it down a bit.

Nothing I have posted violates the rules. There is no bashing. MP is not God. The mods know how I post. I carefully worded all I said (there might be one or two things borderline, but it's borderline).

Whoever asked about the cry for attention part:

He keeps saying he is "hurting." If the guy is hurting so bad, again, why did he do what he did. Why did he go to extremes? See, the problem is, neither he or the band have been fully honest. And that is their right, they don't have to be. But unlike the members of Dream Theater, who are basically moving forward (James' comments aside, which were, in my opinion, fine), Portnoy seems to have this intrinsic need to lash out.

If the dude is SO upset, he could have avoided it had he made different choices. All of this posting he has done, responding to individuals, doing interviews, all of this, just enough already.

You don't see the rest of the band doing interviews on the subject of Mike leaving (edit - at least I don't think so, I haven't seen anything from the other four that was specifically centered on the lineup change, although I may be wrong). They are promoting their new releases (James), and are forced to answer MP-related stuff (which is also unfair). But aside from that, they are just keeping positive and moving forward. THAT is what Mike Portnoy should be doing. Not crying out for attention, and wanting to be the "good guy." For God's sake, he actually asked why he was the "bad guy."

He keeps yappin' when he says he's done and keeps going. Hopefully Marlene puts her foot down or something (which he alluded to), because someone needs to clamp his mouth shut and move on.

[rumborak]

I think one of the issues is that MP has nothing going for him (i.e. he's kinda twiddling his thumbs), whereas all the other guys  are going full steam ahead with their solo stuff and DT.
I think Mike would be well advised to drop some progress into the round that people can focus on. Right now all he has left to him is beating a dead horse. And he's clubbing that poor mofo, fo sho.

rumborak

[Nick]

Samsara, you know I love you but if you know where the line is you frankly shouldn't be playing a game of trying to snuggle up to it as close as you can, you should be trying to remain as respectful as possible and frankly your post does cross a line in a few spots in my opinion. Please keep this in mind in future posts.

[Mebert78]

It's really surprising that MP commented on JLB's interview solely from the Blabbermouth headline.  He didn't read the piece in-depth or seek out the full interview.  He just impulsively responded without thinking it out.  You can't do that.  You gotta be smarter.  I haven't read the whole interview either, but people said JLB was very complimentary of MP.  If MP is gonna create a so-called "shitstorm" and delete posts, he's need to be 100% sure of what was said and what's going on.

Also, you just can't sit and read what people are saying on forums about you.  Nothing good will come of it.  If I were him and people were talking about me and my thoughts and actions, I would feel inclined to "correct" them too.  And then, before you know it, you're in knee-deep in debate and discussions.  It's a downward spiral.  I really hope he does stay offline, like he said.  It's for the best.

[Samsara]

Samsara, you know I love you but if you know where the line is you frankly shouldn't be playing a game of trying to snuggle up to it as close as you can, you should be trying to remain as respectful as possible and frankly your post does cross a line in a few spots in my opinion. Please keep this in mind in future posts.

Nick, if you knew me at all, you know I don't play the game like that. I knew that my heated TONE was borderline in a few spots, but decided it was fair. Give me a little more credit. What I said I mean every word. If I felt it violated a rule, I would not post it. On occasion, like anyone, I screw up. This wasn't one of those times.

So give me a little more credit. What bosk wants is no direct bashing. There is no direct bashing. Just fair criticism.

[Aniland]

This person said nothing wrong; as said, Mike is not god, and criticisms are allowed.

[Ħ]

This person said nothing wrong; as said, Mike is not god, and criticisms are allowed.

Wait, what?

[Nick]

On occasion, like anyone, I screw up. This wasn't one of those times.

Hey now, this isn't your forum, we make the final call on that here!

[Marvellous G]

I agree with Samsara for the most part, and, this is NOT A BASH, I really think Mike should just let it be now, he's made his choice, and move on without any more statements from either party that could potentially be misconstrued.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Mike, for God's sake, you left the goddamn band. YOU LEFT. Instead of getting what you want by going on hiatus and basically making your bandmates find another avenue for income (which you had no problem with, because you knew you had A7X if you wanted it), you didn't do the one thing you should have:

ASKED THE DAMN BAND THAT YOU TAKE A HIATUS AND THEM BRING ON A FILL-IN FOR AN ALBUM CYCLE SO THAT YOU COULD CLEAR YOUR HEAD.

Had you actually done that, instead of what you did, none of this would have happened. You have some sort of need to feel wanted, and while that is human, you caused all of the backlash the way you have continually put yourself in the spotlight for attention.

How are you the "bad guy?" READ ABOVE. You need all this damn attention it seems. What you SHOULD HAVE DONE, is do what I said above, OR, OR...instead of releasing your own messages, had the BAND ANNOUNCE EVERYTHING, AND YOU JUST ANNOUNCE ABOUT THE NON-DT stuff.

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

MP - I love what you did for all the fans, I love you as a drummer, and I have complete respect for you as a musician. But dude, you have a serious need for attention, and you make really stupid comments publicly because of it. If you didn't want to fully leave DT, you didn't have to. YOU made that choice by going to one extreme or another. THAT is YOUR fault. Not anyone else's.

So for God's sake, shut up now, go play with A7X, go do the projects we'll all check out, and let Dream Theater BE Dream Theater. Because frankly, DT is a LOT bigger than just Mike Portnoy. If Pink Floyd can go on without Roger, successfully, then Dream Theater can very easily go on without Mike Portnoy. That's not a shot at ya bro, it's just reality.

Go live life and enjoy the new chapter. Let time take its course. HOPEFULLY, this post finds its way to you.

Well said.

[Nick]

Bashing is not simply, MIKE IS A FUCKING RETARD HUR HUR. You can either be respectful in your posts or you can not. When the entire tone of the post is quite aggressive I'm going to err on the side of bashing when I read the contents of something, that's just natural. It amazes me to no end that a lot of people can't just sit back and write things in a calm and respectful manner, that so many posts are filled with angst and aggression.

[Gadough]

bosk is gone
its' a fookin free fer all!

LOL

This is sigworthy.

[Samsara]

Bashing is not simply, MIKE IS A FUCKING RETARD HUR HUR. You can either be respectful in your posts or you can not. When the entire tone of the post is quite aggressive I'm going to err on the side of bashing when I read the contents of something, that's just natural. It amazes me to no end that a lot of people can't just sit back and write things in a calm and respectful manner, that so many posts are filled with angst and aggression.

There is nothing wrong with a post filled with angst and aggression, as long as it is worded properly. People have a right to put out there how they feel, honestly. As long as it isn't a senseless tirade of cussing and direct bashing, it should be allowed.

[Gadough]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

[Samsara]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

[Marvellous G]

I think Gadough was raising a fair point to be honest, although I can also see your defence that it was an observation to make a point rather than a flat out insult. Still, I see how it might be taken the wrong way completely.

[Gadough]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

You're quite wrong. I'm at work right now for the next two hours and I've finished everything I need to do for the day - therefore, in actuality, I have nothing better to do. Chill.

[Nick]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

Samsara, you're stepping out of line. First of all it's not truth, there is no certainty in the manner, it is simply your opinion and one in this instance I tend to agree with. I also have a problem with you calling out a member for simply trying to help us uphold the rules. Frankly him doing that is better than you continuing this and showing you have just as much to do as him.

[Nick]

Also, every member here is not only encouraged to read and follow the rules, but also to assist the mods in any way possible about a possible rule break by reporting a post/thread to a moderator or by messaging an online mod. While you can point out a rule break in a thread in order to try and get a user to change something, realize that is ultimately not the primary step you should be taking.

[EPICVIEW]

it seem to me that MP is struggling with his decision and thats NORMAL.

who knows why he is writing what he posts, maybe it helps him deal with the angst of his decision.

to me MP is acting like a regular person and his emotions are very real.. I dont think he wants attention, he is a rock star he gets lots of attention!!!! who really knows what his reasons are..and I LIKE THAT ABOUT MIKE!!! he always seems to let us know what he thinks..and he is free to vent and to even change his mind.

how would anyone really know his motivations? I dont think MP even really knows from the Trunk interview he was candid as always about his emotions and struggle with the decision.

[Samsara]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

Samsara, you're stepping out of line. First of all it's not truth, there is no certainty in the manner, it is simply your opinion and one in this instance I tend to agree with. I also have a problem with you calling out a member for simply trying to help us uphold the rules. Frankly him doing that is better than you continuing this and showing you have just as much to do as him.

Truth in regard to my opinion. I should have phrased it better.

Continuing what? You are the one, Nick, who publicly started questioning my post. If you want to point a finger, point it at yourself for not PMing me about it, instead of doing it publicly my friend.  

I'll drop it, and return to discussion, but next time, PM me, and then we would have avoided it entirely.

B

[Nick]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

Samsara, you're stepping out of line. First of all it's not truth, there is no certainty in the manner, it is simply your opinion and one in this instance I tend to agree with. I also have a problem with you calling out a member for simply trying to help us uphold the rules. Frankly him doing that is better than you continuing this and showing you have just as much to do as him.

Truth in regard to my opinion. I should have phrased it better.

Continuing what? You are the one, Nick, who publicly started questioning my post. If you want to point a finger, point it at yourself for not PMing me about it, instead of doing it publicly my friend. 

I'll drop it, and return to discussion, but next time, PM me, and then we would have avoided it entirely.

B

I just don't understand this at all. It's my job to comment on something outside the rules so that you know you were out of line and so others also know what is out of line.

The problem here was you confusing the enforcement of the rules with some sort of discussion.

[Samsara]

it seem to me that MP is struggling with his decision and thats NORMAL.

who knows why he is writing what he posts, maybe it helps him deal with the angst of his decision.

to me MP is acting like a regular person and his emotions are very real.. I dont think he wants attention, he is a rock star he gets lots of attention!!!! who really knows what his reasons are..and I LIKE THAT ABOUT MIKE!!! he always seems to let us know what he thinks..and he is free to vent and to even change his mind.

It IS raw emotion, and I think we all would struggle in our own way with it. But there has bee a decent amount of time from the decision until now, and I think the point is, Mike keeps making himself look worse. In a nutshell, I think that's basically everyone who is criticizing how Mike is handling this is saying.

[Samsara]

As long as it isn't....direct bashing

Instead, you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

Truth is truth. Anyone who says mike doesn't pine for attention, isn't observing him. If the mods wish me to re-word that phrase to "a guy who pines for everyone's attention," I'd gladly do it. But I think YOU, Gadough, and anyone else who isn't a mod, has better things to do then helping out the mods.

Samsara, you're stepping out of line. First of all it's not truth, there is no certainty in the manner, it is simply your opinion and one in this instance I tend to agree with. I also have a problem with you calling out a member for simply trying to help us uphold the rules. Frankly him doing that is better than you continuing this and showing you have just as much to do as him.

Truth in regard to my opinion. I should have phrased it better.

Continuing what? You are the one, Nick, who publicly started questioning my post. If you want to point a finger, point it at yourself for not PMing me about it, instead of doing it publicly my friend. 

I'll drop it, and return to discussion, but next time, PM me, and then we would have avoided it entirely.

B

I just don't understand this at all. It's my job to comment on something outside the rules so that you know you were out of line and so others also know what is out of line.

The problem here was you confusing the enforcement of the rules with some sort of discussion.

Nick, check your PMs in a second. No need to further derail this.

[Nick]

it seem to me that MP is struggling with his decision and thats NORMAL.

who knows why he is writing what he posts, maybe it helps him deal with the angst of his decision.

to me MP is acting like a regular person and his emotions are very real.. I dont think he wants attention, he is a rock star he gets lots of attention!!!! who really knows what his reasons are..and I LIKE THAT ABOUT MIKE!!! he always seems to let us know what he thinks..and he is free to vent and to even change his mind.

It IS raw emotion, and I think we all would struggle in our own way with it. But there has bee a decent amount of time from the decision until now, and I think the point is, Mike keeps making himself look worse. In a nutshell, I think that's basically everyone who is criticizing how Mike is handling this is saying.

I agree that MP is handling this poorly, but I'm having a lot of personal issues myself right now that makes me understand. It took me over two months till the full emotional issues of a break with someone came and hit me full force, and frankly everyone takes differently to a situation like this. Some will be calm throughout, others emotional throughout, and others will flare up at certain times.