Mike Portnoy on wanting to rejoin Dream Theater

[ariich]

@ZB: interesting point about it being less friendly, I think it's the case in DT-side for a couple of reasons:
- an influx of new users, and
- lots of people having strong opinions on the current situation.

It'll settle down again like it always does, don't worry.

[ReaPsTA]

I don't understand why so many posters automatically want MP to return to the band after a couple years or assume it will happen.  We haven't seen how good the new guy is.  We don't know what the state of MP and the band's relationship is.  Really, I'm not sure it's more than 50% likely MP ever returns at this point.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't understand why so many posters automatically want MP to return to the band after a couple years or assume it will happen.  We haven't seen how good the new guy is.  We don't know what the state of MP and the band's relationship is.  Really, I'm not sure it's more than 50% likely MP ever returns at this point.

I don't expect him ever to return after all that's gone one, and I don't have the foggiest idea why anyone would expect him to.

[tri.ad]

I think that it's mostly wishful thinking that leads them to these "expectations".

[ZBomber]

I think that is where history and common sense should kick in.  If it is a longtime or frequent poster going over the line a bit too much, then maybe some more leeway can be shown, meaning consider their whole history instead of just dropping the hammer on them, but if you get a new poster or someone who rarely posts coming out nowhere to bash away, then act accordingly.

To me, it never makes sense to close a thread if one or two people are acting up.  That penalizes everyone in the discussion.  Fortunately, that doesn't seem to happen here, but you'd hate to see it get to that point, simply because of a handful of bad eggs.

Well said all round.

Agreed.

And ariich - I never said mods weren't doing it. In fact, I think I applauded the mods and bosk. But with situations such as Portnoy's, a little reminder on the necessity of "free" speech was something (given I take liberties with said speech, as do others who have something of value to contribute) I thought important.

While I understand the sentiment of free speech, it is something that the constitution forbids the US federal government from impeding, and there is nothing that says a random internet forum has to give their members free reign to post whatever they like. That said I think we are more than fair in what we allow to be discussed and have only taken steps against those who have crossed very clearly stated and repeated lines.

@Zbomber - Frankly, for what seems like the billionth time, I think we have allowed ANYTHING related to MP and the current situation of the band to be discussed, and in general everyone is free to discuss ANYTHING DT related they wish. All we ask is that it be free of insults and that you remain respectful to DT, former members, and other members of the forum.

I can't trim down the quote because I'm posting from my phone, but its not really that you guys aren't allowing it, I think people are just afraid to voice how they really feel, in fear of "crossing the line".sometimes its hard to make the judgement call, because even if you don't mean it to be offensive, someone else might find it to be. That's why I personally have been trying to avoid posting most of my opinions on the mp case

And rich, I think you're right. With such a huge upheaval in the band, it almost seems inevitable things would get a lot more tense... hoping that will clear up when the new drummer comes along

[volwrath]

I don't expect him ever to return after all that's gone one, and I don't have the foggiest idea why anyone would expect him to.

I agree. After his actions, it would be hard, but hey Karma's a bitch.  Its too bad too because it would be fun to see a DT with MP helD in check somewhat.

[ZirconBlue]

I surely listen to Awake the least. It´s their worst album  

I surely listen to Awake the most. It´s their best album 

[mentalny]

I don't understand why so many posters automatically want MP to return to the band after a couple years or assume it will happen.  We haven't seen how good the new guy is.  We don't know what the state of MP and the band's relationship is.  Really, I'm not sure it's more than 50% likely MP ever returns at this point.

Well, this bolded thing is pure truth.
Anyway, I am AWFULLY SORRY about Mike and all things that happened to him in this last half of the year.. But what is most sad, is that some fans are really disrespectfull towards him (not just on this forum), I think he didn't deserve that no matter how will this situation and "drama" come to the end.

[Nick]

Yeah, at the end of the day Mike has done a LOT for fans over the years, and no matter how you feel about how MP has handled things I think it's good to keep in mind how hard emotionally this has got to be for him.

[Ben_Jamin]

yup. I'd feel the same way. This is the hardest time for him. And we should give MP that respect, but yet at the same time, he needs to stay put of what he does. He has no say what the band thinks and feels now he's out. Its up to them and all his words have the same value as ours.

[wolfking]

mustb be hard for mike, i cant imagine what he is foing through, but bhe forfgets that there is 4 other guys whose opeinoon matters.

[orcus116]

Yeah, at the end of the day Mike has done a LOT for fans over the years, and no matter how you feel about how MP has handled things I think it's good to keep in mind how hard emotionally this has got to be for him.

In the beginning I'd totally agree but as the months roll on it's hard to try to accept that as a justification. There's a point where you have to not let your emotions get the best of you.

[Major Thirteenth]

We don't know what the state of MP and the band's relationship is.  Really, I'm not sure it's more than 50% likely MP ever returns at this point.

Well, this bolded thing is pure truth.
Anyway, I am AWFULLY SORRY about Mike and all things that happened to him in this last half of the year.. But what is most sad, is that some fans are really disrespectfull towards him (not just on this forum), I think he didn't deserve that no matter how will this situation and "drama" come to the end.

It appears to be terrible and getting worse. If Mike had actually gotten the A7X gig, I feel that it would be quite expected that the final disposition could have gone a lot more smoothly. But now one would expect an extended struggle. Hopefully another good gig comes down the line for Mike, and SOON.

[Vivace]

Yeah, at the end of the day Mike has done a LOT for fans over the years, and no matter how you feel about how MP has handled things I think it's good to keep in mind how hard emotionally this has got to be for him.

That's how I see things. Mike has a very "open" personality to him. At times I find myself at odds with his antics, the way he handles certain things, etc, but at the end of the day, he's still a "huge" fan of ... his fans and that is a rare breed in the music world. His gifts on his forum, his constant updates, etc. They are all for the fans because he loves his fans and that simply cannot go unnoticed or forgotten. Mike might have a personally that rubs me the wrong way at certain times and I may find myself shaking my head a lot with the current events, yet after everything he has for "me", the fan, I won't discard him like some used soda can.

[webpoet73]

I guess I have been out of it since the announcement that he was leaving DT... what exactly has he done to "ruin his reputation?"

- webpoet73

PS: And is the forum in any trouble?  Do I need to start posting stupid news stories again?  I should have some time since I am unemployed now.

[ariich]

YES WE NEED AWESOME WEBPOET NEWS STORIES AGAIN!

[Dream Team]

Yeah, at the end of the day Mike has done a LOT for fans over the years, and no matter how you feel about how MP has handled things I think it's good to keep in mind how hard emotionally this has got to be for him.

That's how I see things. Mike has a very "open" personality to him. At times I find myself at odds with his antics, the way he handles certain things, etc, but at the end of the day, he's still a "huge" fan of ... his fans and that is a rare breed in the music world. His gifts on his forum, his constant updates, etc. They are all for the fans because he loves his fans and that simply cannot go unnoticed or forgotten. Mike might have a personally that rubs me the wrong way at certain times and I may find myself shaking my head a lot with the current events, yet after everything he has for "me", the fan, I won't discard him like some used soda can.

Yeah, my opinion is that bottom line: MP is a good guy and has a good heart. According to his wife he is a great husband and dad. I for one am never going to act like he killed Lindbergh's baby or something just because of some occasional ill-chosen words on his part. He recorded many of my all-time favorite drum parts between 1991-2001 and I will always have appreciation for him.

[Faustusmedea]

Mike takes a lot of grief because he ended up with a life/career trajectory many people would kill for (or at least cut off a body part) and yet he spends a little too much time reminding folks of everything he does for the fans. When it reached the point of actually writing a song about ungrateful fans, MP jumped the shark. MPs worst day at work is better than 92.445% of the fans best day at work.

That said, I think DT with MP is better than without. I also think the band carries on at their own peril without recognizing MP's instinct about a break is valid. The band needs to breath new life into things. I also hope LTE is a vehicle which finds new life in coming years.

[hefdaddy42]

That said, I think DT with MP is better than without.

This is an impossible judgement to make, since no one has yet heard DT without MP.

[orcus116]

I also hope LTE is a vehicle which finds new life in coming years.

I have no idea why people are promoting this idea. If Petrucci and Rudess were peachy with the idea of working with Portnoy again they'd have him back in Dream Theater instead of another LTE.

[Major Thirteenth]

I also hope LTE is a vehicle which finds new life in coming years.

I have no idea why people are promoting this idea. If Petrucci and Rudess were peachy with the idea of working with Portnoy again they'd have him back in Dream Theater instead of another LTE.

A collaboration of this type remains possible as long as they end up settling the present legal situation without litigation. A collaboration such as LTE has economic value and the Jordan and John will probably be happy to play with Mike in furtherance of this mini-franchise. Plus, dealing with Mike's personality for a short term project would not be the same negative challenge as "day-to-day everyday" as a bandmate. So I think LTE has a future if they settle soon.

[orcus116]

I don't think legal matters have anything to do with it. I'm just getting the hunch that maybe the guys aren't really itching to play with Mike at all.

[TAC]

A collaboration of this type remains possible as long as they end up settling the present legal situation without litigation. A collaboration such as LTE has economic value and the Jordan and John will probably be happy to play with Mike in furtherance of this mini-franchise. Plus, dealing with Mike's personality for a short term project would not be the same negative challenge as "day-to-day everyday" as a bandmate. So I think LTE has a future if they settle soon.

As you say, if this can come to a casualty free resolution, I definitely see some LTE in the future, but I'd say it's at least 5 years away.

[bosk1]

I don't think legal matters have anything to do with it. I'm just getting the hunch that maybe the guys aren't really itching to play with Mike at all.

They might or they might not.  We really don't know whether there really are any major legal issues at this point (other than the fact that, from a legal standpoint, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes legal hoops to jump through in getting Mike out and someone else in).  We can speculate all we want about it, but there really isn't any evidence that things have become heated or difficult from a legal standpoint.  Unless and until we hear something more concrete, I have to side with Orcus.

[TAC]

No, nothing's come out that it's heated or difficult, unless you believe aniamotore (which I do), but the lack of official announcement at this point tells me that the "settlement" is at least proven very encompassing and lengthy.

[Orbert]

That said, I think DT with MP is better than without.

This is an impossible judgement to make, since no one has yet heard DT without MP.

That's just what I was thinking.  We don't know yet.

[KevShmev]

That said, I think DT with MP is better than without.

This is an impossible judgement to make, since no one has yet heard DT without MP.

Yep.

Also, I seriously doubt that current DT, regardless of who the new drummer is, can be as good or better than DT was in the 90s, but they can still be better than they have been in recent years. 

[bosk1]

...but the lack of official announcement at this point tells me that the "settlement" is at least proven very encompassing and lengthy.

Eh, maybe and maybe not.  And even if that is the case, that may have nothing whatsoever to do with the wait in making an announcement.  We're an abnormally freakish fanbase in that we're constantly online and have become accustomed to getting information quickly.  But despite a lot of Reap's recent postings on the issue, and despite what people in this online community may or may not feel, things just don't generally move that quickly in real time.  TAC, as the longtime music fan that you are, you know this is the case.  Think back to the days in the '80s when you'd have no idea whether a band was in the studio, had lost a member, or whatever unless and until the Circus or Hit Parader magazine at the 7-11 on the corner said so.  Yeah, media is different now, and information tends to get disseminated much, MUCH faster nowadays once it is available.  But the point is, just because the means to get info out quicker is there doesn't mean that bands can, do, or should release information as quickly as fans want.  

Hey, the Internet was alive and well back when Queensryche replaced Chris Degarmo with Kelly Gray, and they had a pretty active online community back then that regularly checked their website and posted on their forums at that time (I know because I was a member).  But they still chose to wait a long while before actually revealing who the new member was.  If we think about when the auditions were (earlier this month), it has been LESS THAN A MONTH since the decision was made.  Really, that isn't long at all and we shouldn't necessarily think anything is wrong with the band not announcing anything by now.  

Yes, there may be legal issues in the way.  But then again, there may not.  And even if the legal issues are completely straightforward and there really isn't much of anything contentious being in the way, it still takes a while to get things all ironed out.  There are so many people involved (individual band members and former bandmembers, the label, management, the lawyers, staff) that even the simplest things can take a long time.  And factor in the holidays, which means that even if only a couple of people involved in the process were on hiatus, it still creates a log jam in the process and the paperwork.  It's easy to imagine controversy, especially given the small glimpses we've been given of Mike's reactions to a myriad of issues.  But that doesn't necessarily mean that there is any actual controversy at the end of the day.  Even if everything is "business as usual," this isn't really a very long time to have to wait for the announcement we all want to hear.

[Nick]

Bosk, auditions were held in the middle of October.

[bosk1]

Bosk, auditions were held in the middle of October.

Well, (1) I'm just coming out of being loopy on painkillers for a week after my surgery, and (2) you haven't updated your thread with a proper chronology of events, so why don't you get on that ASAP, Sparky?    So forgive my mis-step in the chronology.  I'm still in a bit of a haze.  But the point still stands--it hasn't been very long at all in real-time since the band made its decision on who the replacement will be.  The fact that we don't know yet doesn't necessarily imply bigger problems.

[KevShmev]

Yes, but didn't Jordan Rudess tweet or write on facebook that as soon as they made a decision on a new drummer, they would let us know?

WE HAVE BEEN WRONGED!!!

[bosk1]

Yes, but didn't Jordan Rudess tweet or write on facebook that as soon as they made a decision on a new drummer, they would let us know?

WE HAVE BEEN WRONGED!!!

And my unconfirmed speculation is that shortly after that, the back of his otherwise smooth, unmarred shininess of his bald head was temporarily imprinted with a Petrucci-sized handprint for making premature promises that the band might not necessarily want to or be able to keep.  

[TAC]

...but the lack of official announcement at this point tells me that the "settlement" is at least proven very encompassing and lengthy.

What Bosk said..

I hear you, Bosk..It's not a lot of time that has passed. And I'm not implying that it means that the legalities are contentious, but there's probably a lot of "T crossing" and "I dotting" that have to occur in this "short" window.

[ariich]

I don't think legal matters have anything to do with it. I'm just getting the hunch that maybe the guys aren't really itching to play with Mike at all.

I can't see that at all; the way it appears to me is that the band have gone through auditioning and choosing a drummer, and so to scrap all that and have Mike back in would be silly. For DT, they have got into the mindset of going on and doing something new and exciting, and allowing Mike back in would completely go against that. I agree that I don't think it has anything to do with legal matters, but I also don't think it's because they don't want to play with Mike.

And for that reason, once things calm down and (hopefully) the relationships get back on good terms, I could see another LTE happening.

[Major Thirteenth]

It is my opinion that a settlement offer was made and rejected, and that there is now a big logjam. I also feel that when Mike called to rejoin, the conversation could no longer be open and frank because anything said would now have legal and financial implications. Hence any personal conversations would only be short and inconclusive. This is supported by the fact that Mike then received the rejection from the lawyers rather than the band (as he reported on his website). I also feel that it is probable that one party asked for an excessive amount of money, which was rejected. I also read somewhere that new representatives have entered the picture (not sure where I read this).

All this may or may not have anything to do with the delay in announcing the new guy, although it seems likely that it does.

I don't see how the announcement can be delayed past the studio entry date in early January. Once they are in the studio, a studio guy will likely leak it I would think. So I would expect an announcement this week or next. But of course that is only a logical inference.