MP has filed a lawsuit against Dream Theater

[reneranucci]

I don't understand most people's reaction to this DT's-MP drama. I cannot seriously relate to any of this or get personally involved, I don't give a damn and I don't know why I think people should do the same. You know, it's about people I don't really care for, and whatever their relationships are, it won't affect me or my life in the slightest. I recently bought MP's instructional videos and I enjoy watching them, as I enjoy listening to the good songs on the new DT album, and will enjoy most of the music they or Mike make in the future. I don't see an artist as someone I have respect for, but just someone who I admire, but not necessarily like on a personal level, and therefore their personal actions leave me completely indifferent. But this thread reaching 10+ pages so quickly tells me that people love internet drama a little bit too much.

It doesn't matter at the end of the day, does it? Or am I wrong? I don't know.

Your overall point is valid, but a lawsuit actually could affect our lives in minor ways, in that it could affect Dream Theater's ability to move forward as a band.

Ok, but people are not pointing out any of that, but taking everything at a very personal level. They're showing a great deal of disappointment and lost of respect ("there goes the last bit of my respect towards him"...like anybody would give a damn)towards MP, and they seem so affected to the point of making fun of him with offensive jokes (like the ones related to his drinking problem). I don't know, I just can't feel any of that. To me, he's just a guy who makes music I like, not some sort of idol or role model. Otherwise, if I cared for the artist's I like personal lives, my own life would be a hell 

[Vajra]

I always blew off those comments of people saying "Oh look, MP really thinks he is DT" But after reading this, maybe it is true... In Portnoy's mind, does he think "MP = DT"?

[Metabog]

I don't understand most people's reaction to this DT's-MP drama. I cannot seriously relate to any of this or get personally involved, I don't give a damn and I don't know why I think people should do the same. You know, it's about people I don't really care for, and whatever their relationships are, it won't affect me or my life in the slightest. I recently bought MP's instructional videos and I enjoy watching them, as I enjoy listening to the good songs on the new DT album, and will enjoy most of the music they or Mike make in the future. I don't see an artist as someone I have respect for, but just someone who I admire, but not necessarily like on a personal level, and therefore their personal actions leave me completely indifferent. But this thread reaching 10+ pages so quickly tells me that people love internet drama a little bit too much.

It doesn't matter at the end of the day, does it? Or am I wrong? I don't know.

Your overall point is valid, but a lawsuit actually could affect our lives in minor ways, in that it could affect Dream Theater's ability to move forward as a band.

Ok, but people are not pointing out any of that, but taking everything at a very personal level. They're showing a great deal of disappointment and lost of respect ("there goes the last bit of my respect towards him"...like anybody would give a damn)towards MP, and they seem so affected to the point of making fun of him with offensive jokes (like the ones related to his drinking problem). I don't know, I just can't feel any of that. To me, he's just a guy who makes music I like, not some sort of idol or role model. Otherwise, if I cared for the artist's I like personal life, my own life would be a hell 

I don't know about you, but for a lot of us Mike Portnoy and Dream Theater were idols. I went into my current career because of this music, and it defined a lot of my habits and interests around high school and college. It's part of what made me who I am right now. It's like seeing your greatest idol turn from a kind of perfect god to this embarrassment, and then finding out it was like that for a long time before, only you just didn't know (although I started kind of not liking him around SC). So yes, it DOES personally affect me.

And hearing that he kicks his drum techs in the face doesn't help very much, but that probably affects the drum techs personally more than it does me.

[Slain]

"In Smirnoff words, very short version. Mike was acting like a jackass all day with a huge (e)go. When his drum tech wasn't going fast enough for him, and when he wasn't getting his attention the second he asked for it, he kicked him in the face casuing injury. His tech is one of Smirnoff's good friends. When he reported that on the forum. Mike sent him a giant email berating Smirnoff for letting that story go public saying it would ruin his career."

"This is COMPLETE BS....I have no idea where this came from....
I am VERY GOOD FRIENDS w Victor Salazar who ran that show and was my drum tech that night...I just saw him about 2 weeks ago and we are VERY CLOSE and he'd be the first person to say so...

Everybody needs to stop this witch hunt immediately....the negativity is absolutely maddening and downright cruel...
I am human being w feelings!!
The internet can be poison and this kind of stuff ruins people's lives...

Go outside and smell the fresh air!
Life is good....let's keep it that way...

I'll still be here giving you 110% if you want it.... "

[WildeSilas]

"Some of us choose to live gracefully, some can get caught in the maze, and lose their way home..."

Mike, I think the reason everyone is so disappointed is because we've had a great deal of love and respect for you and you just can't see that you're going down a dark path here. It just seems that there's no objectivity. Doesn't mean you're a bad person, just that you're hurt and confused and how will you know if no one says anything to you?

So sad for everyone involved. 

[ResultsMayVary]

I can't believe anything MP says anymore. I've lost all respect for the man and the trust has been obliterated. There is nothing left.

"Nothing but ashes."

[ZBomber]

Hey. Remember back when people assumed this was going to happen/was happening and they got shot down for saying that? Yeah. People were like, "MP quit DT to join A7X!" and "MP is probably suing DT about the band name!" And everyone was like, "You're crazy. Stop jumping to conclusions. You're dumb."

And look where we are now.

My first thought as well.  In DT land, never say never I guess.

And this isn't really a big surprise to me at all. Nor does it really affect me in any way, shape or form.

[Metabog]

I can't believe anything MP says anymore. I've lost all respect for the man and the trust has been obliterated. There is nothing left.

"Nothing but ashes."

I'm pretty sure he could pull out a perfectly reasonable explanation that exonerates him, at this point it's too late, the wheels are kind of 'a turnin'.

[Super Dude]

"In Smirnoff words, very short version. Mike was acting like a jackass all day with a huge (e)go. When his drum tech wasn't going fast enough for him, and when he wasn't getting his attention the second he asked for it, he kicked him in the face casuing injury. His tech is one of Smirnoff's good friends. When he reported that on the forum. Mike sent him a giant email berating Smirnoff for letting that story go public saying it would ruin his career."

"This is COMPLETE BS....I have no idea where this came from....
I am VERY GOOD FRIENDS w Victor Salazar who ran that show and was my drum tech that night...I just saw him about 2 weeks ago and we are VERY CLOSE and he'd be the first person to say so...

Everybody needs to stop this witch hunt immediately....the negativity is absolutely maddening and downright cruel...
I am human being w feelings!!
The internet can be poison and this kind of stuff ruins people's lives...

Go outside and smell the fresh air!
Life is good....let's keep it that way...

I'll still be here giving you 110% if you want it.... "

Y'know actually, this is the point at which I begin to feel bad for him.

[farsight]

MP is so lucky to have a great dude like JP as a friend. Seriously, all of that and not even saying anything remotely bad against MP? JP, you're one classy man. 

[WildeSilas]

Geez, mp.com has gone batshit. This is surreal.

[Kotowboy]

MP is so lucky to have a great dude like JP as a friend. Seriously, all of that and not even saying anything remotely bad against MP? JP, you're one classy man. 

JP is so lucky to be in a band that no longer includes MP 

[CrimsonSunrise]

Ok, but people are not pointing out any of that, but taking everything at a very personal level. They're showing a great deal of disappointment and lost of respect ("there goes the last bit of my respect towards him"...like anybody would give a damn)towards MP, and they seem so affected to the point of making fun of him with offensive jokes (like the ones related to his drinking problem). I don't know, I just can't feel any of that. To me, he's just a guy who makes music I like, not some sort of idol or role model. Otherwise, if I cared for the artist's I like personal lives, my own life would be a hell 

The problem for me is, I NEED to respect the musician's I listen to.  Maybe that's just me.  Examples for me are Neil Young and Eddie Vedder. I used to love them till they got ultra political with the music.  At that point I lost respect and all interest in their music.  It doesn't matter whether they're ultra talented or not to me.  Another example, yet not music related, is Vick.  So I guess it works with more than just music for me. 

[Nekov]

At some point I asked myself how it was possible for a guy to fuck things up so much. After thinking through it a lot, I just feel the guy went through a lot and was not able to handle it properly. Let's start by the fact that he lost his dad recently. I know it's been two years but I don't think that is something you get over easily speacially when you adore your dad the way we know Mike did. After that, he decides to leave DT which is not an easy decission for him no matter what the circumstances behind that decission were. This makes him lose some of his best friends. Shortly after, the guys he was probably relaying on (A7X) tell him that they are not touring with him anymore. When all this shit comes up on you and the people you trust will help you are no longer there you just crack and I think this is exactly what happened to him.
I won't defend what he's done so far because I don't think it's right, but I'm not gonna judge his poor reaction to all of this because i'm sure that if I was in his shoes I would have done a lot of things wrong too.

[Vajra]

I didn't read all ten or so pages so far...but I went over to MP's forum to see what Mike had to say about all this, and Wey bouncing on him tells me more than anything anyone in the band could ever say.  And I feel like I've given him the benefit of the doubt on every thread I've ever posted in here or there.  Wey...I think...and it's purely my opinion here...over-policed that forum, and went above and beyond to support and shelter Mike.  Him walking...that right there is the point where I figure something isn't cool on a whole other level.  I saw what he posted...and I'm more shocked he quit Mike than Mike quitting DT.

I mean...I didn't like it over there.  And I certainly didn't care for how I had to be ultra-careful, but I figured Wey was a stand-up guy for who he needed to be a stand-up guy for...and I joined over here.  I really feel for the guy.  He put in a ton of time.  I'm not completely sure what set it off.  If it was that he wasn't aware before the news dropped ONLY...or if this was the culmination of several factors, but as I said, Wey bolting speaks volumes to me.

Sorry about this Wey...if you see this.  Really.

What did Wey say to Mike?

[OsMosis2259]

After MP left, I was still supporting him on all of the projects that he was involved in (A7X, Neal Morse, and even AMob). My respect was going down hill when I saw his comment about the new DT album ("desperate attempt of rewriting the past"). The little respect I had now is officially over.

[Madman Shepherd]

Wey is a really nice guy. A little harsh at times, but the guy went through a TON of shit. I don't know if I agree with how fast he made the decision, but he is also employed by Dream Theater. Can't blame him.

A guy from the metal sludge message board I used to frequent was banned from MP.com, for what I later learned was referencing a site that has illegal downloads...but he didn't understand why.  I messaged Wey to ask him about that and got a very bitchy response back saying he doesn't have time to be bothered by people like me when he should be having a good time getting dinner with MP and had to explain the problems on the forum.  (I guess MP was in town and their conversation turned into business crap).  I kinda felt bad for him because it was such an unreasonable response and I was careful not to be accusatory in my initial message.  I kinda let him know in a way that was strongly worded but wouldn't get me banned and then he asked me to tell the people at metal sludge to stop flooding the message board with fake account activation requests.  I just sorta said, "haha, dude...you expect me to try to put an end to that?  that place is like the wild west and I'm not putting my neck out in a gun fight"

Anyway, about a month later I had a stupid technical question about computers (I am freakin' dumb when it comes to these things) and he was the first to answer my question.  I guess at that point I considered it water under the bridge and tried to tread lightly. 

I hope he's doing well.  This whole thing has to be about as much of a headache for him as MP considering Wey doesn't have all the resources and money to back him up.

[Evo]

Meanwhile, in MM land:

"The new production and kit adjustments are coming along very well Me happy !! We're working very long days on just gear stuff and the crew made time to drop my riser a bit so I'm closer to the guys now with more level eye contact. I hope all of your coming to see us can feel the vibe and are into this fantastic production that is planned."

[Kotowboy]

   Awesome news Mr  Man Genie

[Metabog]

I haven't been on the MP forum in a long time, but that place feels like it's just been liberated from totalitarian rule or something. Powerful stuff.

[raygun47]

I didn't read all ten or so pages so far...but I went over to MP's forum to see what Mike had to say about all this, and Wey bouncing on him tells me more than anything anyone in the band could ever say.  And I feel like I've given him the benefit of the doubt on every thread I've ever posted in here or there.  Wey...I think...and it's purely my opinion here...over-policed that forum, and went above and beyond to support and shelter Mike.  Him walking...that right there is the point where I figure something isn't cool on a whole other level.  I saw what he posted...and I'm more shocked he quit Mike than Mike quitting DT.

I mean...I didn't like it over there.  And I certainly didn't care for how I had to be ultra-careful, but I figured Wey was a stand-up guy for who he needed to be a stand-up guy for...and I joined over here.  I really feel for the guy.  He put in a ton of time.  I'm not completely sure what set it off.  If it was that he wasn't aware before the news dropped ONLY...or if this was the culmination of several factors, but as I said, Wey bolting speaks volumes to me.

Sorry about this Wey...if you see this.  Really.

What did Wey say to Mike?

https://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2710450.aspx

Unless I'm mistaken...and if so I apologize...this is his post as re-posted.  If I'm wrong...the general talk over there is that Wey quit.  And that's the point behind my post.  It's not so much what he said...but if he left...that says a lot.

[Mebert78]

   Awesome news Mr  Man Genie

Half man, half genie.  All awesome.

So happy to have such a loveable replacement in dark times like these.

[Perpetual Change]

I've officially lost all respect for Mike Portnoy.

That means I pretty much can't really post in this thread beyond that initial reaction, because a good bashing is honestly what Mike deserves but I'm not going to put my membership on the line for it.

[Major Thirteenth]

Well, he filed back in April, so a lot has happened since then.  Who knows what has happened since then?  Since the band released the album and is touring, he obviously wasn't able to get a preliminary injunction (which is about what I would have expected the result to be).  But in the mean time, he may have dropped the suit, settled, whatever.  There's no way of knowing at the time being (the N.Y.S.C.'s online docket has been acting screwy for awhile now, so can't tell if there are other documents on file from any of the parties).

I believe this is correct. I believe that negotiations are ongoing, but are very difficult because the demands by Mike are patently ridiculous and completely overstatement his contributions.

[Priest of Syrinx]

Ok, but people are not pointing out any of that, but taking everything at a very personal level. They're showing a great deal of disappointment and lost of respect ("there goes the last bit of my respect towards him"...like anybody would give a damn)towards MP, and they seem so affected to the point of making fun of him with offensive jokes (like the ones related to his drinking problem). I don't know, I just can't feel any of that. To me, he's just a guy who makes music I like, not some sort of idol or role model. Otherwise, if I cared for the artist's I like personal lives, my own life would be a hell 

The problem for me is, I NEED to respect the musician's I listen to.  Maybe that's just me.  Examples for me are Neil Young and Eddie Vedder. I used to love them till they got ultra political with the music.  At that point I lost respect and all interest in their music.  It doesn't matter whether they're ultra talented or not to me.  Another example, yet not music related, is Vick.  So I guess it works with more than just music for me.

Huge difference: Neil Young and Eddie Vedder are guys whose music is influenced by their political leanings; Michael Vick tortured and murdered dogs.

I don't know how long you've been listening to music, but a lot of guys have done a lot of bad things.

"Trust the tale, not the teller".

[Mebert78]

I have a feeling Portnoy was probably waiting for months to file the lawsuit, but had to wait until DT officially launched their first promotion for the new album or tourdates using the DT name.  I could be wrong obviously, but that's what I thought when I first read this.  I mean, why wait until April otherwise.

[TAC]

Well, he filed back in April, so a lot has happened since then.  Who knows what has happened since then?  Since the band released the album and is touring, he obviously wasn't able to get a preliminary injunction (which is about what I would have expected the result to be).  But in the mean time, he may have dropped the suit, settled, whatever.  There's no way of knowing at the time being (the N.Y.S.C.'s online docket has been acting screwy for awhile now, so can't tell if there are other documents on file from any of the parties).

I believe this is correct. I believe that negotiations are ongoing, but are very difficult because the demands by Mike are patently ridiculous and completely overstatement his contributions.

M13..Thought of your comments last fall when I heard today's news.
Where you been, man?

[chrisgazpacho]

Must have been a crazy day at Stone Sour rehearsals! 

[skydivingninja]

When Wey quits the MP forum you know MP crossed a line.

[jammindude]

I haven't been on the MP forum in a long time, but that place feels like it's just been liberated from totalitarian rule or something. Powerful stuff.

More like the inmates running the asylum....seriously...

I've been a part of the DT community since the Cyber Moon days (was that even the name? It's been so long I've dumped the cache file), so I've known alot of you for a very long time...but I've NEVER seen ANYTHING like this. 

I didn't always agree with the way Wey handled things...but I really respected him at every single turn.  He did what he felt he had to do to keep the peace, and he never compromised his principles.  For that, he has my respectful "bromance" forever.    But with him gone...it's just a freakin MESS. 

Looks like you guys might be seeing alot more of me here.

[Kotowboy]

I haven't been on the MP forum in a long time, but that place feels like it's just been liberated from totalitarian rule or something. Powerful stuff.

More like the inmates running the asylum....seriously...

I've been a part of the DT community since the Cyber Moon days (was that even the name? It's been so long I've dumped the cache file), so I've known alot of you for a very long time...but I've NEVER seen ANYTHING like this. 

I didn't always agree with the way Wey handled things...but I really respected him at every single turn.  He did what he felt he had to do to keep the peace, and he never compromised his principles.  For that, he has my respectful "bromance" forever.    But with him gone...it's just a freakin MESS. 

Looks like you guys might be seeing alot more of me here.

Welcome

[ReaPsTA]

If the lawsuit was closed, wouldn't that closure be a matter of public record?  Not the actual terms of the settlement necessarily, but the fact that it's over.

[Ħ]

Mike Portnoy raises a child.

Mike Portnoy gives the child away to a new mommy.

Mike Portnoy sues the child.

What.

[emtee]

When Wey quits the MP forum you know MP crossed a line.

That's exactly right. Powerful stuff. Like him or not (I did) he was ALWAYS 100% in support of Mike but he tried very
hard IMO to treat everyone equally over there...unless you were a troll. He had integrity.

[Spiderman_00]

Yeah...lol just wow.