James LaBrie interview with Kyo, 2011-07-11

[TheGreatPretender]

That would be the bar fight of...'92?? A bunch of guys came in and DT was in there and they made fun of their hair (because it was long) and they got in a HUGE fight.   I have the link to where James explains in a video but I am not sure if I can post it here  

I HAVE to see this video... Is it on Youtube?

[WildeSilas]

Look, James didn't say ANYTHING in that interview that wasn't true to even the most casual observer. Mike tried very hard to be the center of attention on stage - the guy could upstage Bono for chrissakes. I love that about Mike, and it was fine for the type of band DT is. James mentioned it in the context of Mike having a big personality, something else that the other members and fans have openly joked about and admired for years. Why is it inappropriate for James to make those SAME observations now in reference to how Mike's absence has affected the band? Because MP is gone? It doesn't make those things any less true, or any less appropriate to say. They're simple observations about a fellow musician's personality, observations that have been made previously, publicly, and while both of them were sitting in the same room. IMO James didn't do a damn thing wrong, and I for one, as much as I love Mike, think he needs to quit pussy-footing around and say whatever it is he wants to say, instead of hiding behind the skirttails of douchebag ex-DT fans on FB and twitter.

[TheGreatPretender]

Look, James didn't say ANYTHING in that interview that wasn't true to even the most casual observer. Mike tried very hard to be the center of attention on stage - the guy could upstage Bono for chrissakes. I love that about Mike, and it was fine for the type of band DT is. James mentioned it in the context of Mike having a big personality, something else that the other members and fans have openly joked about and admired for years. Why is it inappropriate for James to make those SAME observations now in reference to how Mike's absence has affected the band? Because MP is gone? It doesn't make those things any less true, or any less appropriate to say. They're simple observations about a fellow musician's personality, observations that have been made previously, publicly, and while both of them were sitting in the same room. IMO James didn't do a damn thing wrong, and I for one, as much as I love Mike, think he needs to quit pussy-footing around and say whatever it is he wants to say, instead of hiding behind the skirttails of douchebag ex-DT fans on FB and twitter.

What! What!

[hefdaddy42]

That would be the bar fight of...'92?? A bunch of guys came in and DT was in there and they made fun of their hair (because it was long) and they got in a HUGE fight.   I have the link to where James explains in a video but I am not sure if I can post it here  

I HAVE to see this video... Is it on Youtube?

It is, and I've seen it, but I can't find it right now.

Look, James didn't say ANYTHING in that interview that wasn't true to even the most casual observer. Mike tried very hard to be the center of attention on stage - the guy could upstage Bono for chrissakes. I love that about Mike, and it was fine for the type of band DT is. James mentioned it in the context of Mike having a big personality, something else that the other members and fans have openly joked about and admired for years. Why is it inappropriate for James to make those SAME observations now in reference to how Mike's absence has affected the band? Because MP is gone? It doesn't make those things any less true, or any less appropriate to say. They're simple observations about a fellow musician's personality, observations that have been made previously, publicly, and while both of them were sitting in the same room. IMO James didn't do a damn thing wrong, and I for one, as much as I love Mike, think he needs to quit pussy-footing around and say whatever it is he wants to say, instead of hiding behind the skirttails of douchebag ex-DT fans on FB and twitter.

What! What!

What?

[MasterShakezula]

Anyways, I'm going to go for a walk for a couple of hours.  Please make sure to tell me how it ends.   

[KevShmev]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't smirking a bit over a lot of people finally seeing what I have seen for nearly 10 years.  I admittedly have been a vocal critic of Mike Portnoy since early 2002 (when he called the fans who didn't approve of them covering all of Master of Puppets assholes on his own forum), and since then have had countless arguments/debates with people over him (although I have toned it way down in recent years).  I was even demodded from dt.net in 2005 after a week of being a mod, with the reason given by Itchy being, "It is not appropriate to have someone who is so openly critical of one of the members of the band being a mod on the band's official forum."  Gee, wonder where that order came from?    Anyway, all of these traits and such Portnoy has shown in the last year...yeah, he has always been like that.  And many are finally starting to see it.  Not trying to sound smug or anything, but after being told how wrong I was for so long, it is kind of nice to see so many finally coming around to see what has been blatantly obvious to many (and some others) for years now.  Having said that, the guy is still talented as hell, and I still own a ton of CDs he is on (DT, LTE, TA, Neal Morse, etc.), and I'll never not enjoy them to the fullest because of his non-musical reasons.

[ariich]

When did anyone say you were wrong? I'm pretty sure most people just said that it wasn't a big deal.

[Pinga]

It wasn't a big deal back then, but I guess it is now, given how bitterly the conflict is escalating.

[TheGreatPretender]

It wasn't a big deal back then, but I guess it is now, given how bitterly the conflict is escalating.

Yeah, but a lot of it is the fans too. MP is being the perfect example of PASSIVE aggressive right now, and it's not like the members of DT are going out of their way and blatantly attacking him. So it's simmering right now, but it may not actually escalate to anything.

[Miyazaki74]

When did anyone say you were wrong? I'm pretty sure most people just said that it wasn't a big deal.

I don't get all this criticism that Mike is getting because he is liking or is retweeting something someone said that is negative towards the band. The Eddie Trunk tweet was no big deal. Trunk didn't say anything nasty at all. He even said Mangini was a monster. The Facebook thing I can understand because James was a little harsh on Mike in the interview. Having said that though, seriously who the fuck cares about any of this? Why should we pick sides? This isn't any of our business, we don't know any of these guys on a personal level. If they want call each other out and bicker then let them. Who cares? I just want to hear some new music from both MP and DT.

[Pinga]

That's fine and dandy, but I choose to not support a 43 year old who acts like a 13 year old. 

[j]

Yeah, a LaBrie vs. Portnoy wrestling match would be awesome. It would end, of course, with The Dominator rushing out to the ring in his spandex to hit James with a low-blow from behind, but not before another intruder, Kevin Moore--probably dressed as the undertaker-- planted a steel chair in Portnoy's face.  Derek of course would be the referee, but he'd get distracted by some kind of Jordan Rudess concocted wizardry.

Yes.  And I can't help but think that Chris Jericho would be involved somehow.

I empathise with Portnoy. I think he's a good guy, but he has certain personality traits that cause him to do stuff that he really shouldn't do. He's just a person who finds it hard to control his behaviour, as evidenced by his alcohol addiction as well. I personally don't think you can blame him for having these personality traits.

Ah, that's a cop out.  We all have some negative aspects to our personalities, but adults learn to have some discipline and control what they do and say for the sake of others.

If only that were true. If it were, we wouldn't have any alcohol/drug addicts and everyone would get along perfectly fine. That's just not how it works. Some people just can't control their behaviour, no matter how much they want to. I still think it's unjust to blame people for things they can't change.

It's "unjust" not to hold individuals responsible for their actions because of a ridiculous assumption that they have no control over what they are doing.  There may be a very, very small number of people for whom that is actually true, and it obviously doesn't apply to Mike Portnoy.  The vast majority of people simply don't want to do what it takes to control their behavior.  I'm not sure what would bring one to make the leap to a literal inability to make different choices.

Even drug addiction--of whose relevance to this discussion I'm unaware--BEGINS with a person making bad decisions, and only later may become a relatively "uncontrollable" physiological matter.  What the fuck happened to personal responsibility?

-J

[Pinga]

It doesn't apply to MP, it seems.

[WildeSilas]

What?
[/quote]

What, what?  

You guys have listened to the same DVD commentaries I have, right? Read most of the same interviews? I've heard both JM and JLB mention before that Mike is a great live performer, that he enjoys being the spokesperson or "face" of the band - there's a youtube vid of MP and JM being interviewed together where the guy asks them if the other members resent Mike's control over setlists, t-shirt designs, etc. and they explain that the band works comfortably like that because it fits them blah blah blah Mike's personality blah blah blah. After JLB's comment about the limelight, he essentially said, "that's fine, that's Mike, he has a big personality, but it's more balanced now." Every member except JMX has poo poo-ed the idea of MP being a dictator, waving those accusations off with comments about him liking the limelight, enjoying his PR role, etc. I don't think JLB said anything that hasn't already been either stated outright or inferred in the past. The only reason it comes off as a dig right now is because of the split.

[VioletS16]

That would be the bar fight of...'92?? A bunch of guys came in and DT was in there and they made fun of their hair (because it was long) and they got in a HUGE fight.   I have the link to where James explains in a video but I am not sure if I can post it here  

I HAVE to see this video... Is it on Youtube?

Well since hefdaddy didn't seem to say anything about not posting it I guess I'll link it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=25CagZansVA

It's in my favourites.

[Mladen]

there's a youtube vid of MP and JM being interviewed together

Maybe a link, please?

[krands85]

That would be the bar fight of...'92?? A bunch of guys came in and DT was in there and they made fun of their hair (because it was long) and they got in a HUGE fight.  I have the link to where James explains in a video but I am not sure if I can post it here 

I just messaged him the link a couple of minutes ago, now it'll look like I just copied it from in this thread
I HAVE to see this video... Is it on Youtube?

Well since hefdaddy didn't seem to say anything about not posting it I guess I'll link it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=25CagZansVA

It's in my favourites.

I just messaged him the link a few minutes ago too  Now it'll look like I just copied it out of this thread and sent it to him 

[Vajra]

Mike Portnoy in regards to the interview on his facebook: There's a HUGE difference about trying to "grab the limelight" and being an entertaining "performer" on stage...
EDIT: Looks like he's hurting from this interview too as he's liking the status' about James being out of tune and him being the heart of DT....Oh well!
From someone on facebook:    Labrie's mouth is only exceeded by his ego and both eclipse his talent as a vocalist by a longshot. Has he seen some of that early live footage? Can you say pitchy? He's always been the weakest link in the band and correct me if I'm wrong, he wasn't there at the bands inception. So how is he all of a sudden the spokesperson? Oh yes, the dreaded lead-singer syndrome. Public perception makes him the leader? HA! Mike's role in Dream Theater is at the core. Labrie's role in the band is pure luck..yes, he was lucky to be on stage with such stellar talent. He wasn't ever in their league of talent and never will be, he's lucky to be along for the ride. He should keep his mouth shut and preferrably while the band is on stage also...
Mike Portnoy likes this.

Makes me rather sad that Mike thinks this.

Wow, he actually "liked" that comment? He's basicly agreeing with what the guy said, and that seems very uncalled for. DT has never made a remark like that towards MP.

[emtee]

It was a dig by Labrie and here's why. He's free to say whatever he wants but the BIG implication from what he said is
Mike should be back there 'grooving or whatever' and not trying to attract all the attention. So what he's saying is that
Mike sucked at grooving aka keeping good time when he was back there entertaining all of us. I don't think that is a cool
thing to imply, especially if we looked back at all the youtube vids and listened to all the boots...what person in the band
fucked up more than anyone else?

That's all I'll say about it.

[WildeSilas]

I think you've got to make a pretty long stretch to get JLB implying MP wasn't "grooving" - he's just referring to the traditional role of the drummer, which is to stay in the background and hold everything together, rather than focus on entertaining the crowd, which is traditionally the vocalist's job. Out of context, it sounds like a jab, but he said right in the same interview that MP has a big personality and it was fine, just that it was more balanced now. I don't see how that implies that MP wasn't doing his job or that JLB disapproved of it - just that it was different now.

[nikatapi]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies... 
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

[Super Dude]

Okay but he still "Liked" them, and whether or not he actually said anything, his choice of "Likes" speaks just as loudly.

[Vajra]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies...  
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

Mike, you're one of my influences, but c'mon. If you are agreeing with those nasty comments that your fans are making, it's the same as saying them yourself. Agreeing with something implies you feel the same way, hence, showing a form of agreement is expressing your own thoughts, just not directly. I think that's kind of lame that he's using the fans to express himself, and then acting like they arent his thoughts when they clearly are.

[Jaffa]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies...  
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

In other words:

Person A: "Person C is an idiot!  Person B rules!"
Person B: "I like that."
Person C: *glares at Person B*
Person B: "Hey, he said it, not me!"

[Vajra]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies...  
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

In other words:

Person A: "Person C is an idiot!  Person B rules!"
Person B: "I agree with that."
Person C: *glares at Person B*
Person B: "Hey, he said it, not me!"

Fixed. But yeah, the irony is pretty sad.

[Infinite Cactus]

The thing that has always really irritated me, is how on dvd commentaries, interviews, etc Mike would always criticize James. I even remember him referring to the second verse of Voices on 5/years as thinking "That James sung it like shit(I think this was an interview or a YTSEJAM Records booklet."  Thing is, even if James sung it like shit, wouldn't the smart thing to do be to not acknowledge it instead of saying to the fans, "Oh hey James wasn't very good guys, to bad he's our singer AMIRTE?" It just always seemed really funny that Mike has always pretty much been the one to criticize James and his style of singing. And the whole thing about songs like TDEN and Constant Motion where he stated that James' voice had enough balls to make the song work so he took some vocals. Enough balls to it? Ha, he sang The Mirror and Lie just fine. It's like nobody's allowed to say anything negative about Mike AT ALL, but he can say whatever he wants about James, JMX, Kevin, or JP etc. It's like he doesn't register that it's the same thing he used to do to his bandmates publicly at times. The worst part though, is this weird group of people who feel like they have to white knight for Mike to keep him safe from the harsh criticism. Seriously, it's like Mike's going to come play for your shitty band or hang out with you just because you protected him from big bad James and the terrible Dream Theater. He may like your status, but it's not like there's any real pay off.

[Miyazaki74]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies...  
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

What a cop out. I've been an MP supporter but what he just wrote is bullshit. We know he didn't write those harsh words towards JLB but agreeing with them is just as bad as you saying them yourself. He needs to own up to his actions not make poor excuses for em.

[Infinite Cactus]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies... 
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

And you know what, we are allowed to DISAGREE WITH THE COMMENTS AND ACTIONS OF ANYONE WE CHOOSE.lol. MIKE MAD

[KevShmev]

emtee, let's assume for the sake of argument that what JLB said WAS a dig at Portnoy.  The score would still be like 20-1!  In fact, if it were a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight rounds ago, or the commentators would be excitedly talking about the shot JLB connected with after round after round of body blows he had taken from Portnoy (over the years, not necessarily recently).

[MarkFitDT]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies...  
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

what a lame post from Portnoy. He has been a big part of my musical life since 1989 but my respect for him has gone down yet another notch.

[Miyazaki74]

erase this

[robwebster]

Let's make one thing perfectly clear:
These are NOT "MP's Comments" as the thread title implies... 
These are FAN'S comments on Facebook....NOT MINE !!!!
*I* have purposely NOT personally commented on anything that has transpired in months...
I am merely observing what THE FAN'S are saying...
So do NOT put words in MY mouth!
They are allowed to have their opinions....(and I am allowed to agree with them if I do...)
But these are not MY comments!!

Spent a couple of minutes tracking down that comment - and dear me, his little mates are pretty zealous.

It's really hard to say this without making it sound like a loaded comment... but if there was a "like" equivalent on MP.com, and a bunch of people "liked" the OP in that thread, can't help but wonder if he'd have something to say about it?

Ack. I'm starting to fall into the trap of mudslinging. Like I said - I like Portnoy, he's an ace bloke, but if I'm pushed into choosing sides it's not going to be that one. And I can't pretend the facebook "likes" aren't kind of exacerbating the entire us & them thing.

I also can't pretend that I don't find this completely fascinating, and so there's a part of me that sort of hopes he carries on "liking."

[Bacong]

lol

[Jaffa]

The worst part though, is this weird group of people who feel like they have to white knight for Mike to keep him safe from the harsh criticism.

For my part, I just think it's irritating when people overanalyze every single thing a celebrity says and take it the worst way possible. So in threads where people are posting all of his Tweets and explaining why they're evil, I do sometimes feel like saying, "Dude, shut up."

Not that this applies in every case, of course.  I don't see any defense for him when he basically says, "I didn't say those things, I only agreed with them!"   

[Infinite Cactus]

For my part, I just think it's irritating when people overanalyze every single thing a celebrity says and take it the worst way possible. So in threads where people are posting all of his Tweets and explaining why they're evil, I do sometimes feel like saying, "Dude, shut up."

I usually tend to agree. I don't try to over analyze or point out things that aren't there. I don't usually contribute to these discussions. I just found this one to be exceptionally lolworthy. Especially given two things.
1:He's allowed to agree with those comments but obviously we are allowed to think that's lame
2:The white knighting was almost so immediate it makes my head spin. And in this case, a lot of the white knighting is worse than James' comments by a good mile.