MP interview (what he feels on a DT reunion)

[ReaPsTA]

I don't think MP's really begun to accept the fact that he'll probably never be a member of DT again.  On one of the early Adrenaline Mob interviews, Eddie Trunk was talking about how according to him and other people he'd talked to, it was inconceivable that MP would never rejoin Dream Theater.  If that's what one of MP's closest friends thinks, well, then...

[Ħ]

I'm glad that the possibility of a reunion is open, though.

[nikatapi]

To me the most interesting part is where MP says he "fell out of love with a couple of wives" or something.
Probably he meant JLB and JM.

So maybe there is still the possibility of a future side project with JP and JR. I mean MP worked with KM on OSI, so why not do another project with some guys from DT?
Not that i want it or expect it to happen, but it could.

[Adami]

I'm glad that the possibility of a reunion is open, though.

I'm not sure it is, it's not exactly up to Mike.

[rumborak]

I actually didn't think the interview was that bad really, or at least not much new. Does he think he is responsible for the majority of DT's success? Of course, we all know that. He is certainly megalomaniac in that aspect.

What surprises me is that he's still actively making those comments, and actively pushing himself into the corner of so many other disgruntled ex-members of bands, who start saying they were the secret to the band's success.
But, reality with catch up with him in the end. A lot of people are excited about the new DT material, not a lot about the AM material.

rumborak

[Adami]

To be fair, most of the problems in this interview were by the interviewer, Portnoy didn't really bring up DT, the guy did and pressed him on it. He also brought up the wife analogy, not Portnoy.

[Madman Shepherd]

Either Mike is so blind to how he is coming across by constantly saying I, me, and mine, or he thinks DT will fold without him and will have no choice but to come crawling back to them because they will fail so bad without him. 

I think it's the latter...which is also why I think he is in full control of what he says and how he says it knowing full well how it comes across, but he is delusional about his own legacy and power.  The small crowds/sales of Adrenaline Mob should in theory bring him back down to earth...

[tristl]

but on the other side you don't have to answer the questions, at least not like that,
and i agree with nikatapi about the wives he is not in love anymore, its the same JLB and JM bashing that he already does in many interviews for the last 2 years, he should stay with his AAmob(i listened to the EP, for me its really boring).

[BlobVanDam]

This entire thread.

[The Dark Master]

This entire thread.

..............is in to kinky S&M bestiality?






In all seriousness, yeah, there is really nothing new concerning the whole MP/DT situation in that interview.  In fact, Mike even seemed bored when the interviewer brought it up.  His whole "I built that band" line and the marriage metaphor are really starting to wear thin, but at least for the majority of the interview he stuck to a non DT topic.  It's not like he went out of his way to bring up or bash DT, he just responded to questions he was asked ( and in my opinion, the interviewer was feeding him those questions, possibly just to stir up some trouble.)

[BlobVanDam]

This entire thread.

..............is in to kinky S&M bestiality?

It's not bestiality until there's penetration.





Yep, I rejoined DTF to make such wonderful contributions as this post.

[farsight]

To be fair with Mike, he is concentrating on keeping on making babies with his other wives, it's just that the one beautiful baby was short lived, one baby he had he wasn't really sure was his to begin with, and one was so energetic but psychotic and insane.

[Psy]

That frickin' wife metaphor. STOP IT. It's reaching South Park levels of cornyness.

"I love the baby but I fell out of love with a couple of the wives..."

I just hear that in a Randy Marsh voice.

Haha. Same here.

[Millais]

Mike Portnoy:  because I just needed a refreshed enthusiasm and inspiration in my life and career.

i don't want to be one of those guys that takes little chunks of information from an interview, despite what i'm doing now... but to the quote above: really?! if i was working with these guys every week, some of the most talented and respected musicians in the world, i wouldn't see how i'd need some more "inspiration". But that's his choice, not mine, not going to blame him for that! 

This entire thread.

and agreed.. not again

[Miyazaki74]

Here we go again with the MP hating. He didn't say anything in this interview that deserves any type of bashing or criticism. He didn't say anything bad about DT. All he said was never say never on a reunion or some type of working relationship with the guys again. OH MY GOD WHAT AN ASSHOLE HE IS!! .  And so what if he feels that DT is his baby and that he built that band from the ground up. How do you know that he didn't? None of us were there, we don't how hard MP worked behind the scenes. Seriously folks take a freakin chill pill and relax.

[kartmaze2]

Loving the dialogues, guys! 

[chrisgazpacho]

Here we go again with the MP hating. He didn't say anything in this interview that deserves any type of bashing or criticism. He didn't say anything bad about DT. All he said was never say never on a reunion or some type of working relationship with the guys again. OH MY GOD WHAT AN ASSHOLE HE IS!! .  And so what if he feels that DT is his baby and that he built that band from the ground up. How do you know that he didn't? None of us were there, we don't how hard MP worked behind the scenes. Seriously folks take a freakin chill pill and relax.

Exactly. I'm really starting to dislike the attitude on this board.  Every thread it seems there is a underlining dig at MP (this is great, ya  cause MP is gone.)  The reason he is saying the band "I" built is because, that's what he did!  He lived and breathed DT 24/7.  He was always in DT mode, what's next, what can do I here that will further us along, Ytse Jam stuff, DT dvd's etc.  Most of the other guys, it's a gig for them.  If there not playing or recording, they shut DT off.  The marriage analogy is 100% accurate.  Try touring with the same guys day in and day out and see what happens.  It wears on you after awhile.

You can sit here and bitch and moan all you want and say things like if he comes back I'm done with DT, but the simple fact is, this new album your so excited for wouldn't be here if it wasn't for MP. 

Carry on with your MP bashing, he clearly deserves it for bending over backwards for all you fans for the past 25 years.

Chris

[Dekost]

I thought I'd never say this, but I really hope MP never returns to Dream Theater.

This.

[hefdaddy42]

Here we go again with the MP hating. He didn't say anything in this interview that deserves any type of bashing or criticism. He didn't say anything bad about DT. All he said was never say never on a reunion or some type of working relationship with the guys again. OH MY GOD WHAT AN ASSHOLE HE IS!! .  And so what if he feels that DT is his baby and that he built that band from the ground up. How do you know that he didn't? None of us were there, we don't how hard MP worked behind the scenes. Seriously folks take a freakin chill pill and relax.

Exactly. I'm really starting to dislike the attitude on this board.  Every thread it seems there is a underlining dig at MP (this is great, ya  cause MP is gone.)  The reason he is saying the band "I" built is because, that's what he did!  He lived and breathed DT 24/7.  He was always in DT mode, what's next, what can do I here that will further us along, Ytse Jam stuff, DT dvd's etc.  Most of the other guys, it's a gig for them.  If there not playing or recording, they shut DT off.  The marriage analogy is 100% accurate.  Try touring with the same guys day in and day out and see what happens.  It wears on you after awhile.

You can sit here and bitch and moan all you want and say things like if he comes back I'm done with DT, but the simple fact is, this new album your so excited for wouldn't be here if it wasn't for MP. 

Carry on with your MP bashing, he clearly deserves it for bending over backwards for all you fans for the past 25 years.

Chris

I don't see a tremendous amount of "bashing" here.  Not like the pro-MP anti-DT crap that is going on over at MP.com right now.  And to say that for most of the other guys, DT is "a gig" - give me a break.  If that were true, they wouldn't have continued the band when MP wanted an extended break.

People are free to feel however they feel.  And frankly, MP brings a lot of this criticism on himself with references to what HE did with DT and that it was HIS baby.  I know he did a lot with the band, but it wasn't because no one else was capable of doing it - we've seen that with this new album.  He was just OCD (by his own admission), and wouldn't have been happy being anything other than a complete control freak about everything else.

[Perpetual Change]

Exactly. I'm really starting to dislike the attitude on this board.  Every thread it seems there is a underlining dig at MP (this is great, ya  cause MP is gone.)  

Though I disagree with this, I was taking you seriously at this point.

The reason he is saying the band "I" built is because, that's what he did!  He lived and breathed DT 24/7.  He was always in DT mode, what's next, what can do I here that will further us along, Ytse Jam stuff, DT dvd's etc.

After reading this, I was just like "lol, OK, Sounds a little fanboyish, but whatever."

Most of the other guys, it's a gig for them.

And that's where I stopped. What a ridiculous thing to say  

I'm sorry, but I was just afraid your post was going to end with "you people are why Mike wrote 'Never Enough' to begin with!" or something like that. No hard feelings!  

[jimgolf]

I imagine that mike portnoy's opinion of the new album will be that it is a pretty decent forgery of a dream theater album. As always, great interview. He is clearly the best drummer for adrenaline mob.

[ariich]

I don't think MP's really begun to accept the fact that he'll probably never be a member of DT again.  On one of the early Adrenaline Mob interviews, Eddie Trunk was talking about how according to him and other people he'd talked to, it was inconceivable that MP would never rejoin Dream Theater.  If that's what one of MP's closest friends thinks, well, then...

He didn't say anything about being a member. He was asked (by an interviewer, he didn't just bring it up) about doing something with them again, and he said he'd be completely open to it.

[IronEarthTheater]

To me the most interesting part is where MP says he "fell out of love with a couple of wives" or something.
Probably he meant JLB and JM.

So maybe there is still the possibility of a future side project with JP and JR. I mean MP worked with KM on OSI, so why not do another project with some guys from DT?
Not that i want it or expect it to happen, but it could.

I totally agree - that's what stood out to me as well.  I wonder how much of this was a simple personality conflict between him and JLB and JM...  Maybe it wasn't so much about the band itself, but the personality conflict kind of grew to affect and hurt the  band.  Agreed, maybe we'll see another LTE down the road...

[Elaitch]

I just don't like the way he weighs his words, like for example when he said that if the DT guys wanted to do some kind of reunion "a couple of years" from now and such... I mean, like they're of course going to come crawling back when they realize what a huge mistake they made when they replaced him with Mike Mangini. He seems to be utterly unwilling to accept that Mangini is here to stay. I bet Portnoy will be the one begging for a reunion in a few years time.

[senecadawg2]

i'm sick of these interviews with MP. I didn't even watch this one. What an arrogant control-freak

[chrisbDTM]

Exactly. I'm really starting to dislike the attitude on this board.  Every thread it seems there is a underlining dig at MP (this is great, ya  cause MP is gone.)  The reason he is saying the band "I" built is because, that's what he did!  He lived and breathed DT 24/7.  He was always in DT mode, what's next, what can do I here that will further us along, Ytse Jam stuff, DT dvd's etc.  Most of the other guys, it's a gig for them.  If there not playing or recording, they shut DT off.  The marriage analogy is 100% accurate.  Try touring with the same guys day in and day out and see what happens.  It wears on you after awhile.

umm no. *they* built it. he's not hitting the F#, playing the under a glass moon solo etc. just cause he oversaw more things doesnt make him master control of the band itself. they all contributed to the main element, then the side things that MP did were created from that

[ariich]

I just don't like the way he weighs his words, like for example when he said that if the DT guys wanted to do some kind of reunion "a couple of years" from now and such... I mean, like they're of course going to come crawling back when they realize what a huge mistake they made when they replaced him with Mike Mangini. He seems to be utterly unwilling to accept that Mangini is here to stay. I bet Portnoy will be the one begging for a reunion in a few years time.

Dude, he was asked how he would feel about it IF it happened. How can you possibly construe that to mean that he assumes that they will?

i'm sick of these interviews with MP. I didn't even watch this one. What an arrogant control-freak

This kind of attack is not acceptable, consider this your warning and please read this thread: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=24371.0

[wolven74]

I don't know why we're talking about MP again. He was an integral part of making this band what it is today. He has made his bed, now he must lie in it. It wasn't really his choice to leave the band all together. His leaving was the only agreeable course. Can you imagine what the new album would sound like if MP was on drums? I can't. I think the band is better off now, and I think MP is better off now.

I don't think Mike wanting to take an extended break was the only reason for the split. I believe Mike's persistence in side projects, his inability to focus helped a lot. He says he's focused on AM right now, but he goes on to talk about his NM project and his project with Sykes. That doesn't sound like a focus to me.

To sum up: MP = AM and god knows how many other projects. He's happy.   MM is the new heartbeat of DT. They have a great sound that's been missing for years. The band is happy.  

Win/Win

End of story.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

We probably talk about him again because, as you say, he was such an integral part of the band that it's disappointing to see him saying such things in his interviews. There negative aspects about his personality that tickled for a while among fans, and those aspects kind of exploded since the split, so it's only natural there's a lot of discussion going on.

And yeah, I agree. DT is better than ever and Portnoy is happy with his projects and everything, but you know what could ease the whole situation a bit? Instead of recurring to stupíd wife analogies and saying "*I* built this band... " in every single interview he touches DT ground, he should say something like "I wish Mangini and the rest of DT the best and success with the new music". That's humility (INVERTORY), and that way I assure you lots of people would leave him alone and the heavy criticism the guy's got lately should ease a bit.

[ElliottTamer]

Here we go again with the MP hating. He didn't say anything in this interview that deserves any type of bashing or criticism. He didn't say anything bad about DT. All he said was never say never on a reunion or some type of working relationship with the guys again. OH MY GOD WHAT AN ASSHOLE HE IS!! .  And so what if he feels that DT is his baby and that he built that band from the ground up. How do you know that he didn't? None of us were there, we don't how hard MP worked behind the scenes. Seriously folks take a freakin chill pill and relax.

Exactly. I'm really starting to dislike the attitude on this board.  Every thread it seems there is a underlining dig at MP (this is great, ya  cause MP is gone.)  The reason he is saying the band "I" built is because, that's what he did!  He lived and breathed DT 24/7.  He was always in DT mode, what's next, what can do I here that will further us along, Ytse Jam stuff, DT dvd's etc.  Most of the other guys, it's a gig for them.  If there not playing or recording, they shut DT off.  The marriage analogy is 100% accurate.  Try touring with the same guys day in and day out and see what happens.  It wears on you after awhile.

You can sit here and bitch and moan all you want and say things like if he comes back I'm done with DT, but the simple fact is, this new album your so excited for wouldn't be here if it wasn't for MP. 

Carry on with your MP bashing, he clearly deserves it for bending over backwards for all you fans for the past 25 years.

Chris

First of all: I love Portnoy for all he's done for DT. And because of that and how he seemed to be such an important member of the group (set-lists, production of the CDs and so on...) I was a little heartbroken when he decided to leave DT and quite scared that my favourite band would turn to ashes (as in start making bad music, or at least not as good music). I was very sad to see how Portnoy wanted back in but the other members said no and didn't even do that personally. As his leaving started to sink in and the documentary about the new drummer started coming out, I guess I (and many other fans, I should think) started to make my peace with Portnoy's absence. I rooted for Mangini and was very glad he got the job. I listened to On the Backs of Angels and loved it. Each snippet has been getting me more and more hyped about the new release.
But the reason I think people are so often criticizing Portnoy is because those months of uncertainty, of the fear of losing DT, turned into anger at the man who started it all. The fact that most the current members of DT have been behaving quite nicely in interviews (I clearly remember Petrucci refusing to badmouth Portnoy in an interview) doesn't help Portnoy's position. So people might be exaggerating, but they're not simply being ungrateful. Imagine (yay, father/child analogy!) if your father raised you for 25 years and then left you. Your mom (or moms in this case) found a new husband and he's awesome, your life is still pretty cool (except for living with your parents at 25...). All that remains when the crisis is averted is anger at the cause of it. I'm not saying it's right (it's not), but these feelings make sense given the situation.
That being said, let's hope Portnoy is happy with his life as it is, that AM succeeds for him and that he, regardless of interviewer's baiting, behaves in a manner more becoming the man who was DT's drummer for 25 years.

[ReaPsTA]

I don't think MP's really begun to accept the fact that he'll probably never be a member of DT again.  On one of the early Adrenaline Mob interviews, Eddie Trunk was talking about how according to him and other people he'd talked to, it was inconceivable that MP would never rejoin Dream Theater.  If that's what one of MP's closest friends thinks, well, then...

He didn't say anything about being a member. He was asked (by an interviewer, he didn't just bring it up) about doing something with them again, and he said he'd be completely open to it.

It seems vaguely implied though.  Right after he left he did the Trunk interview where he talked about the possibility of joining the band again with some degree of enthusiasm.  I see no reason to believe he ever stopped thinking that way.

[KevShmev]

If nothing else, he sounded, by the tone of his voice, reflective (about his time with the band) and hopeful (about some day playing with them again), as opposed to angry and spiteful, so hopefully he is mellowing out about this a little.

However, he is still saying things like, "Dream Theater was MY baby," and "I took care of that baby for 25 years," which just makes him sound conceited and arrogant, like he did it all.  If he read this thread, he'd probably play the victim again and pull out the "No matter what I say, I get criticized for it" card again.  I think he still doesn't understand that comments like that belittle the importance and contributions of his former band members.  Whether he means is that way or not, that is how it comes off.

[chrisbDTM]

also kudos to JP for not saying anything through all of this. no ego whatsoever. i would ever do this but if you had to say 'I am dream theater' it would be him. certainly not MP

[Knguro]

also kudos to JP for not saying anything through all of this. no ego whatsoever. i would ever do this but if you had to say 'I am dream theater' it would be him. certainly not MP

[chrisbDTM]

also kudos to JP for not saying anything through all of this. no ego whatsoever. i would ever do this but if you had to say 'I am dream theater' it would be him. certainly not MP

typo *never


also a nice gem from an interview in the adrenaline mob thread
"It was my sperm and then I raised it. Now handed it off to a new step father"