Mike's response to an open letter on his forum

[rumborak]

The thing that really didn't sit well with me was

I do agree there as well....and it's probably nobody's business, but after reading that Blabbermouth headline, I emailed all 4 guys and none of them ever responded....
(and they still havent...)
I would've loved to have kept it private and hoped they would've responded when I reached out to them all, but they never did.....but then again, that's between us, so that's the last I will comment on that...

There's just so many things wrong with that passage, I don't even know where to start.

rumborak

Yeah that bit didn't sit very well with me either, seems extremely impatient of him. Unless quite a bit of time passed, but if that was the case then he surely had time to read/listen to the full interview.

For me it's not so much the impatience, but rather the passive-aggressive stuff: "I shouldn't really say this but XYZ", "I would have like to keep this private but YYZ". If he has an issue with James or the rest of the band, how exactly does this need to be dragged out onto a public forum? He really had no other choice than letting the world know what he thinks of a lack of an email reply?

EDIT: In all of this, what is excruciatingly ironic is that he never learned a lesson from the man he hates so much: Kevin Moore. Kevin never let himself be dragged into this mud-slinging, despite so many attempts by MP. And every time MP had to face the backlash by the public. It seems MP still believes that you can win every fight by just fighting harder. Whereas some battles are won best by walking away from them. KM has an almost angelical reputation attached to him, despite doing jack shit for it.

rumborak

[Tick]

The thing that really didn't sit well with me was

I do agree there as well....and it's probably nobody's business, but after reading that Blabbermouth headline, I emailed all 4 guys and none of them ever responded....
(and they still havent...)
I would've loved to have kept it private and hoped they would've responded when I reached out to them all, but they never did.....but then again, that's between us, so that's the last I will comment on that...

There's just so many things wrong with that passage, I don't even know where to start.

rumborak

Yeah that bit didn't sit very well with me either, seems extremely impatient of him. Unless quite a bit of time passed, but if that was the case then he surely had time to read/listen to the full interview.

For me it's not so much the impatience, but rather the passive-aggressive stuff: "I shouldn't really say this but XYZ", "I would have like to keep this private but YYZ". If he has an issue with James or the rest of the band, how exactly does this need to be dragged out onto a public forum? He really had no other choice than letting the world know what he thinks of a lack of an email reply?

rumborak

It really is mind blowing that he offers up so much private info just because he is hurting. I thought I acted immature sometimes.
I think the one thing he could be cementing in all of this is so much bad blood between him his ex mates, they would never take him back at any point if he begged them. Sometimes burned bridges can't be repaired.
No one likes all there private affairs made public to thousands of prospective readers.

[EPICVIEW]

Just my 2 cents here .... but...

anyone think that maybe its healthy that they get the "FIGHT" on ?.. as obviously there is a rub, and maybe its good that this all comes boiling out and "hit the fan" so the pretend stuff that "all is fine" can be put to rest and that they get the fight on..SOOOOOO, they can start the healing process, instead of having it fester under the surface for years and everyone pretend they are fine with everything....

maybe somehow this negativity can turn into a positive.. sort like "you gotta hit rock bottom, before you can rise up"...

just a thought...

[Lowdz]

Well, we did need a really good excuse for Lifting Shadows version 3, and I for one am looking forward to it!

[Perpetual Change]

The apology was directed at James...

Now you're just talking crazy,

[Chino]

Just my 2 cents here .... but...

anyone think that maybe its healthy that they get the "FIGHT" on ?.. as obviously there is a rub, and maybe its good that this all comes boiling out and "hit the fan" so the pretend stuff that "all is fine" can be put to rest and that they get the fight on..SOOOOOO, they can start the healing process, instead of having it fester under the surface for years and everyone pretend they are fine with everything....

maybe somehow this negativity can turn into a positive.. sort like "you gotta hit rock bottom, before you can rise up"...

just a thought...

I'm starting to think it's all a publicity stunt.

[Aniland]

^Nope

[Vivace]

Here's my two cents and it's better to put it here than there.

I don't agree with his actions at all, but again given the guy seems to be overly emotional about a lot of things it doesn't surprise me nor do I blame him for acting the way he does. It's his life. Bitching about isn't going to change him. Look at Never Enough or even Raise the Knife or Honor Thy Father. He has a history of taking a rather hard emotional road over events in his life. not saying this is bad or good, it's just the way he chooses to express himself. Many people are turned off by this and I'm on the side of neutrality. For me. MP is a drummer not a relative or "friend" per se. That is, I don't get involved in his private life and keep only to his art and entertainment. I don't understand how people can take something as simple as leaving a band and turn into something as if this is John Lennon getting shot again (I shit you not that was actually brought up). But just as bad it seems MP is riding this same emotional road as well and taking it very hard. I would have thought the guy would be releaved or something and there would be this cloud of fresh air. But it seems much worse than that making me wonder what exactly is going on and this is bigger than Mike wanting a break. I have a feeling this is Mike going where Kevin Moore was during Awake. Waking up at 6:00 and realizing his life isn't where he wants it to be right now. I don't know how anyone would know that two years would be enough. It seems that Mike may not ever want to return to DT just KM moved out of that world and into another one. In the end, it doesn't matter but I do wish MP would let go of "something" or the man will break apart.

[Progmetty]

What James should've said in response to Portnoy's reaction:

Now wait a minute man!
That's not how it is!
You must be confused..
This isn't who I am.

Would've lightened the mood right away 

[Bertielee]

The apology was directed at James...

Now you're just talking crazy,

I love it how ariich always stands up to defend MP.I didn't see him react when MP went spiralling down with his unfair comment on JLB's reaction. I may be wrong though...

B.Lee

[ariich]

The apology was directed at James...

Now you're just talking crazy,

Now wait a minute man.

"I'd like to publically apologize to him for apparently misunderstanding his quote out of context and deleting those threads..."

I love it how ariich always stands up to defend MP.I didn't see him react when MP went spiralling down with his unfair comment on JLB's reaction. I may be wrong though...

B.Lee

Wtf? I've made plenty of criticisms of MP's actions, particularly with regard to his reaction to JLB.

[Perpetual Change]

"I'd like to publically apologize to him for apparently misunderstanding his quote out of context and deleting those threads..."

Oh, you mean this part?

I would've loved to have kept it private and hoped they would've responded when I reached out to them all, but they never did.....but then again, that's between us, so that's the last I will comment on that...

So being James never responded to me personally and chose to do it "publically", I'd like to publically apologize to him for apparently misunderstanding his quote out of context and deleting those threads...

(although I still cant understand why it's OK for DT.net to delete MP stuff, but not vise-versa....but it's OK....it's also the last I will comment on that as well!)

Honestly, I hadn't even seen that part in the middle, but I'm glad Mike was able to find it within is heart get at least 'something' for James in there.

[ariich]

Yeah, we've already discussed the first of those three lines, the middle one is where he publicly apologises, and the last one is him still with a bee in his bonnet about his stuff being removed from the DT.net site (which I don't know anything about so can't comment on).

Seriously, he apologised, let it go already.

[Bertielee]

Yeah, we've already discussed the first of those three lines, the middle one is where he publicly apologises, and the last one is him still with a bee in his bonnet about his stuff being removed from the DT.net site (which I don't know anything about so can't comment on).

Seriously, he apologised, let it go already.

You're right, he did apologize and it surely cost him a lot to do so. BTW, don't take my comment concerning you too seriously....

B.Lee

[ariich]

Yeah, we've already discussed the first of those three lines, the middle one is where he publicly apologises, and the last one is him still with a bee in his bonnet about his stuff being removed from the DT.net site (which I don't know anything about so can't comment on).

Seriously, he apologised, let it go already.

You're right, he did apologize and it surely cost him a lot to do so. BTW, don't take my comment concerning you too seriously....

B.Lee

Sure thing. I guess it just gets frustrating when most people seem determined to take a negative view towards events, and when I try to take a balanced view people try and shout me down.

I'm not saying you guys shouldn't have negative views, everyone responds to things in their own way. But it feels like some people are determined to force their views on other people, to the point where everyone other than me who wants to take a more middle-of-the-road approach seems to have stopped posting in these threads, presumably because they can't be bothered anymore. In fairness, I'd probably do the same if I wasn't a mod.

[Bertielee]

Yeah, we've already discussed the first of those three lines, the middle one is where he publicly apologises, and the last one is him still with a bee in his bonnet about his stuff being removed from the DT.net site (which I don't know anything about so can't comment on).

Seriously, he apologised, let it go already.

You're right, he did apologize and it surely cost him a lot to do so. BTW, don't take my comment concerning you too seriously....

B.Lee

Sure thing. I guess it just gets frustrating when most people seem determined to take a negative view towards events, and when I try to take a balanced view people try and shout me down.

I'm not saying you guys shouldn't have negative views, everyone responds to things in their own way. But it feels like some people are determined to force their views on other people, to the point where everyone other than me who wants to take a more middle-of-the-road approach seems to have stopped posting in these threads, presumably because they can't be bothered anymore. In fairness, I'd probably do the same if I wasn't a mod.

I know you would and that's what's funny indeed. Hey, you know what, ariich, what if you called us, the negative guys, the IMmoderators? What d'ya think?

B.Lee

[Chino]

He's still lurking....

[Tick]

He's still lurking....

Of course he is, he's a junkie just like we are.

[ack44]

Just my 2 cents here .... but...

anyone think that maybe its healthy that they get the "FIGHT" on ?.. as obviously there is a rub, and maybe its good that this all comes boiling out and "hit the fan" so the pretend stuff that "all is fine" can be put to rest and that they get the fight on..SOOOOOO, they can start the healing process, instead of having it fester under the surface for years and everyone pretend they are fine with everything....

maybe somehow this negativity can turn into a positive.. sort like "you gotta hit rock bottom, before you can rise up"...

just a thought...

God, yes. One of the reasons I was glad this happened was because the claim that "we get along better than ever" was proven wrong. Things obviously weren't fine.

[rumborak]

Never thought I'd see the "Guys, I'm leaving the forum" post by him though

rumborak

[SovereignDream]

This whole scenario is simply too painful to bear...

[hefdaddy42]

This whole scenario is simply too painful to bear...

Having one of your children die is too painful to bear.

This is just rock band stuff.

[Dream Team]

Just want to chime in and say that this type of behavior is all too typical of addicts . . . drug addiction has been proven time and again to stunt emotional growth, so despite the triumphs he has had over addiction, this aspect of it probably isn't reversible. I know a person like this in real life, a mother of 4 into her 50s, but emotionally still very child-like.

[EPICVIEW]

Just my 2 cents here .... but...

anyone think that maybe its healthy that they get the "FIGHT" on ?.. as obviously there is a rub, and maybe its good that this all comes boiling out and "hit the fan" so the pretend stuff that "all is fine" can be put to rest and that they get the fight on..SOOOOOO, they can start the healing process, instead of having it fester under the surface for years and everyone pretend they are fine with everything....

maybe somehow this negativity can turn into a positive.. sort like "you gotta hit rock bottom, before you can rise up"...

just a thought...

God, yes. One of the reasons I was glad this happened was because the claim that "we get along better than ever" was proven wrong. Things obviously weren't fine.

exactly!

[Aramatheis]

As long as it isn't...cussing and direct bashing, it should be allowed.

Let's see..

you caused all of the backlash the way you have continually put yourself in the spotlight for attention.

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.

THAT is YOUR fault. .

So for God's sake, shut up now.

Bashing, Bashing, Bashing. Or at least a fair amount of disrespect towards a band-member.

If Pink Floyd can go on without Roger, successfully, then Dream Theater can very easily go on without Mike Portnoy. 

Basically just stated that he was in no way vital/important to the band. I may be wrong, but is that not bashing?

you had to be an attention whore regarding it.

More bashing. And cussing! Thought you said there wasn't any?

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

Re-run time 

[rumborak]

This thread really needed to be resurrected?

rumborak

[emtee]

The guy who posted that open letter used many opportunities over the years to call out
mike. I lost all respect for the guy. A huge number of his posts had a negative vibe to
them and were condescending in nature. I'm glad the guy is gone from MP's forum. I don't
miss him.

[rumborak]

But ... this is neither MP's forum, nor is it October. I kinda fail to see the reason to bring this up again.

rumborak

[Plasmastrike]

Cool post, Aramatheis.

[Aramatheis]

"...start only one thread about any given subject."

Well its against the rules not to resurrect it...
Plus, you must admit, it's a fairly entertaining thread.

After reading it, I came to this conclusion about the whole ordeal.

Let MP do what he wishes. If he thought that it was in his best interest to take a break, then he should take a break. If that means leaving the band, so be it. And really, this isn't the loudest, nor the worst case of a band-member quitting a band.
Now he can move on, create even more music with a host of other musicians, and still be the best drummer around.

Plus, if you look at the whole issue from a family perspective, he can spend a lot more time with his wife and kids, which I think all DT members can appreciate (don't they have a song about that? Or am I just nuts?).

And while it may not seem (or even be) all that necessary to share my opinion on this matter, that's exactly what I signed up for. And since I signed up in early February, I've got some catching up to do.
So there's my spin on things, thanks for reading.

[emtee]

But ... this is neither MP's forum, nor is it October. I kinda fail to see the reason to bring this up again.

rumborak

Agreed 100%.

[Dublagent66]

Well technically, if a thread is more than 120 days old, you're encouraged to start a new thread.  But I don't know why you'd even want to do that because this topic is ancient history.

[Aramatheis]

this topic is ancient history.

I've got some catching up to do. 

[King Postwhore]

I don't agree with you.  Sam it a class act on these forums. 

[bosk1]

Aramatheis, you are welcome to your opionions.  But as far as the post you quoted, doing so at this late date and calling the original poster out over it is ridiculous.  There are maybe two lines out of that post that I would consider crossing the line.  However, it was a very emotional time for EVERYBODY, and rightly or wrongly, I gave people a little more latitude than I otherwise would in stating their opinions during that timeframe (again, doing so with the understanding that a LOT of people were overreacting to a lot of things).  So if it's an explanation you are looking for, that's it in a nutshell.  The gist of the post was that Mike was saying a lot of things he shouldn't have online--which Mike himself acknowledged, if I am not mistaken--and in doing so, he created a lot of problems for himself.  The two lines or so that might be borderline bashing are simply an emotional response to an emotional situation by a Mike Portnoy fan.  And there was no cussing in the post.  So if you've come here to defend Mike, you don't need to.  There's nothing to defend him from (and I am still a fan of his, so I'll take care of defending both past and present bandmembers on my forum, thank you very much--to the extent they even need to be defended in the first place).  But there is no need to call someone out for something that, by Internet standards, is ancient history unless you are looking to stir up trouble.