Regarding Mike Portnoy

[Zook]

I just wanted to emphasize that MP was not a bad asset/weakest link/whatever to the band while he was in it.  He was, in my opinion, the strongest member of the band.

Well the strongest member of the band was pushing me away as a fan.

[Mike Portnoy]

Thank you so much to smegolas, bosk1, lithium112, zeppelinDT, TisBOOLsheet, cranky, H, reneranucci, and dublagent66 for the kind (or simply understanding) words.(or anybody else that has posted similar thoughts in other theads). It's nice to see that some people still have fond memories of the 25 years I spent in DT. That will always mean alot to me. You can take me out of DT, but you'll never take DT out of me!

I still don't understand the negativity and hatred towards me around here as I never did anything to personally hurt or disrespect any of you...OK, maybe you can cite a few isolated individual posts through the years like the MOP stuff or the GT rant, but c'mon...it's time to move on!! I've never been mean or disrespectful to anybody unless they drew first blood and I needed to speak my side...Kev Shmev if you are still hurt from a post I made in 2002, I apologize...Life is waaaay too short to hold grudges!

I made some decisions over the last year or so that were very difficult to make and ones that directly effect my personal life and career. All I ever hoped for was the support of the fans that I always loved and stood by for over 2 decades...

Believe me it hurts when I read some of the downright nasty things said here and on other boards. Please remember I am a human being made of flesh and blood, just trying to be a good husband and father and trying my best to please all of the fans that have stood by me for all of these years.

For those of you that have been kind and supportive, I thank you all sincerely and I shall continue to give you 1000% in everything I do as have for all of these years....

In the meantime, can't we all just get along???

MP

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Hm. MPs on the forum now. Cool.

[73109]

Cool.

[Zook]

I don't hate you Mike. I still have your signed picture on the wall. Do you still have the KrotchRaut stickers we gave you?

[Mebert78]

Hm. MPs on the forum now. Cool.

I had an MP imposter on my forum last year, and he is very convincing.  I'm sure the mods will confirm soon whether this is truly MP or not. 

[ClairvoyantCat]

Hm. MPs on the forum now. Cool.

I had an MP imposter on my forum last year, and he is very convincing.  I'm sure the mods will confirm soon whether this is truly MP or not.

Considering his VIP status, I'm assuming this is the real deal. 

Hi Mike

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Whoa

[bosk1]

Do you still have the KrotchRaut stickers we gave you?

Hm. MPs on the forum now. Cool.

I had an MP imposter on my forum last year, and he is very convincing.  I'm sure the mods will confirm soon whether this is truly MP or not. 

Yes, he's the real deal.  (Does that mean I need to disable the 'bold' font? )  Glad to have him, too.  It's a lot easier for people to be careless about how they word things about people when they don't think the people they are talking about are actually reading. 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I don't hate you either, although I do severely disagree with your stance on various things. I won't go all super-serious and hold grudges though.

EDIT: that was @mike

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I don't hate you either, although I do severely disagree with your stance on various things. I won't go all super-serious and hold grudges though.

EDIT: that was @mike

That's what you said when Charlie posted here.





On a serious note, I've not been your greatest supporter since all of these things went down Mike. That said, I think it's classy of you to come here and post something. Cheers.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

[WildeSilas]

Mike, I'll always respect you for being a Jellyfish fan and all 4 of us have to stick together.

[FallTempest]

This made my week.   Thank you mike! Haters gonna hate.

[Party Mike]

Mike, I'm Mike on five/eight (a forum which I'm sure you've read by now).

I know it must really be frustrating to see a bunch of people criticizing your decisions or your music, but responding only makes it worse. I don't know what I'd do and the temptation to respond or defend myself would be really difficult. 

Basically people would like you a lot more if you would just  and stop making analogies about Dream Theater being your baby and your wife or something. You made the decision to leave Dream Theater and for a while it sure seemed like you were trying to make it seem like Dream Theater kicked you out. This was not so. You left then decided "I've made a huge mistake."

Just calm down, man. Stop pretending that we don't like Adrenaline Mob because it's "not prog" and maybe distance yourself from the internet for a while. Most of the people who don't support Adrenaline Mob aren't just doing it to hurt you or because of its style but because they legitimately don't enjoy it. There's no need to make it personal and say "Hmm, it must be because it's not prog enough or because it doesn't sound like DT."

I know you're not a bad guy (I've heard several stories about you kicking out assholes at your concerts, which is awesome) but the more you make these ceremonial longwinded posts (whether here or at that Drummers forum) the worse you look. Just leave well enough alone and stop taking shots at DT (through liking facebook comments or insinuating that they are re-writing the past).

Love,
Party Dick
(I beat you to the new nickname)

Hope you get a chance to read this before I am banned with no explanation.

[bosk1]

Hope you get a chance to read this before I am banned with no explanation.

I don't do that here.  When you've been banned in the past, I made sure you got an explanation. 

But seriously, while I may disagree with some of what you wrote, you went out of your way to word it respectfully, so I'm fine with it.  I wish more people who have "negative" opinions would use as much tact as you did in your post.

[Party Mike]

Cool. I did sneak a few snarky jabs in.
I swear I've never been banned from here (unless memory is failing me).

[hefdaddy42]

In the meantime, can't we all just get along???

Well, I certainly hope so.

Any updates on the Steve Morse/Neal Morse/everyone else involved project?

[Jamesman42]

I know it must really be frustrating to see a bunch of people criticizing your decisions or your music, but responding only makes it worse. I don't know what I'd do and the temptation to respond or defend myself would be really difficult. 

Basically people would like you a lot more if you would just  and stop making analogies about Dream Theater being your baby and your wife or something. You made the decision to leave Dream Theater and for a while it sure seemed like you were trying to make it seem like Dream Theater kicked you out. This was not so. You left then decided "I've made a huge mistake."

Just calm down, man. Stop pretending that we don't like Adrenaline Mob because it's "not prog" and maybe distance yourself from the internet for a while. Most of the people who don't support Adrenaline Mob aren't just doing it to hurt you or because of its style but because they legitimately don't enjoy it. There's no need to make it personal and say "Hmm, it must be because it's not prog enough or because it doesn't sound like DT."

I know you're not a bad guy (I've heard several stories about you kicking out assholes at your concerts, which is awesome) but the more you make these ceremonial longwinded posts (whether here or at that Drummers forum) the worse you look. Just leave well enough alone and stop taking shots at DT (through liking facebook comments or insinuating that they are re-writing the past).

Love,
Party Dick
(I beat you to the new nickname)

Hope you get a chance to read this before I am banned with no explanation.

Quality post. I share the sentiment.

[Mebert78]

I like Mike.  I think everybody here likes Mike and respects what he did in making the DT empire what it is.  But I'll admit I was among fans that were not MP uber-fans in recent years for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, while he had some great lyrical moments, I personally felt his lyrics were not consistently as strong as other DT members -- and being a big lyric reader I want the strongest lyrics possible.  Secondly, I'm a KM fan and there's been times when MP didn't speak well of him and it turned me off -- particularly in the OSI chapter of "Lifting Shadows."  I think if people can't say something nice about someone, they shouldn't say anything.  I was happy KM didn't respond.

Other than that, Mike seems to be a decent dude and he forever lives in DT history.  He was our captain and steered the DT ship for many years.  I sincerely thank him for all the great times and music.  I have an autographed MP drumhead on display on my bedroom dresser.  And I've continued to support him by going to the first Adrenaline Mob show in May as well as a recent meet-and-greet on Long Island.  I'm looking forward to seeing what music he makes next, and I wish him all the luck.  He's a really fun musician and person to follow.

On a related note, I think DT is very lucky that Mike Mangini has a big personality.  The other DT guys are kinda blah personality wise, so adding a similar blah personality would've really hurt them.  Thankfully, MM fills the outgoing personality role that MP did, to an extent. 

[yeshaberto]

really glad to see you here, Mike.
I can't imagine how difficult it would be to read some of the stuff posted.
You are a great fan for the fans.
thanks for all you do and have done.  It does not go unnoticed.

[rush-signals]

Yes we can Mike. There's just a lot of confusion and sadness with us older fans. Personally I love the new DT, but at the same time I wish all the best and hope you make music we all can look forward to with the joy that we have with DT for 25 years! Thanks for posting here in the forum, it means a lot to us fans. 

In the meantime, can't we all just get along???

MP

[Unimatrix]

Mike!!

[ResultsMayVary]

double post fail. My apologies.

[ResultsMayVary]

I know it must really be frustrating to see a bunch of people criticizing your decisions or your music, but responding only makes it worse. I don't know what I'd do and the temptation to respond or defend myself would be really difficult. 

Basically people would like you a lot more if you would just  and stop making analogies about Dream Theater being your baby and your wife or something. You made the decision to leave Dream Theater and for a while it sure seemed like you were trying to make it seem like Dream Theater kicked you out. This was not so. You left then decided "I've made a huge mistake."

Just calm down, man. Stop pretending that we don't like Adrenaline Mob because it's "not prog" and maybe distance yourself from the internet for a while. Most of the people who don't support Adrenaline Mob aren't just doing it to hurt you or because of its style but because they legitimately don't enjoy it. There's no need to make it personal and say "Hmm, it must be because it's not prog enough or because it doesn't sound like DT."

I know you're not a bad guy (I've heard several stories about you kicking out assholes at your concerts, which is awesome) but the more you make these ceremonial longwinded posts (whether here or at that Drummers forum) the worse you look. Just leave well enough alone and stop taking shots at DT (through liking facebook comments or insinuating that they are re-writing the past).

Love,
Party Dick
(I beat you to the new nickname)

Hope you get a chance to read this before I am banned with no explanation.

Quality post. I share the sentiment.

As do I. I agree with everything that Party Mike has said above.

[russellmania]

Hey Mike, how do you like the new album (not being a smartass)?

[SystematicThought]

I don't hate MP as person, but man can he be passive aggressive. I lost a lot of respect when he liked a comment on Facebook saying that Mike Mangini puts a shitty touch on Dream Theater's songs. That's when I got upset.

[millahh]

In the meantime, can't we all just get along???

MP

I think we can, but there are couple of things that would really help with getting along (if I may be so presumptuous):

-There's always been a "you're with me or you're against me" thing you've had going with the fans...it's really divisive, and I think it fuels as much (if not more) negativity among fans as it does loyalty.  And really, there's no need for it...the quality of your work should stand on it's own, and we should all be able to discuss it without this polarizing filter of allegiance over it.

-It's great how much you've done for fans over the last 25 or so years, but don't put fans opinions or wants above your own happiness or sanity; they shouldn't have as much power as they seem to for you.  To quote Neil Peart, "Yet it was for me, not you, that I came to write this song".

-It's obvious that your emotions are very close to the surface, and that you're very impulsive...not judging, just stating.  That has made you a very prolific and successful artist.   But a lot of the kneejerk reactions over the last year (esp. liking some pretty nasty FB posts, and the "re-writing the past" thing) illustrate the down side of that.  We all know you can exercise restraint and impulse control...how else would you have beaten alcoholism?...and I would think applying some in this area would go a long way towards everyone "getting along".

Sorry if I'm being presumptive, but it's what I see.

Oh...sorry for being awkward and mealy-mouthed when I met you at a music store appearance in 2000 


So when do we find out the bass player for the Sykes project?

[skydivingninja]

Mike, I'm Mike on five/eight (a forum which I'm sure you've read by now).

I know it must really be frustrating to see a bunch of people criticizing your decisions or your music, but responding only makes it worse. I don't know what I'd do and the temptation to respond or defend myself would be really difficult. 

Basically people would like you a lot more if you would just  and stop making analogies about Dream Theater being your baby and your wife or something. You made the decision to leave Dream Theater and for a while it sure seemed like you were trying to make it seem like Dream Theater kicked you out. This was not so. You left then decided "I've made a huge mistake."

Just calm down, man. Stop pretending that we don't like Adrenaline Mob because it's "not prog" and maybe distance yourself from the internet for a while. Most of the people who don't support Adrenaline Mob aren't just doing it to hurt you or because of its style but because they legitimately don't enjoy it. There's no need to make it personal and say "Hmm, it must be because it's not prog enough or because it doesn't sound like DT."

I know you're not a bad guy (I've heard several stories about you kicking out assholes at your concerts, which is awesome) but the more you make these ceremonial longwinded posts (whether here or at that Drummers forum) the worse you look. Just leave well enough alone and stop taking shots at DT (through liking facebook comments or insinuating that they are re-writing the past).

Love,
Party Dick
(I beat you to the new nickname)

Hope you get a chance to read this before I am banned with no explanation.

This is a very tactful way of saying what I've said a lot (probably moreso, if I'm honest).  I love MP's drumming on the old DT albums and I'll always remember them, but I do think an actual break from the Internet might be necessary, and just stay away from alienating the DT fans who want to support you as well by insinuating that they're trying to rewrite the past or liking comments that say "DT sucks now" or things to that effect. 

Also, sorry about the whole blowup about the lawsuit that didn't actually end up happening. 

Also, when are we getting more info about the Double Morse/LaRue/Stevenson group?

[TAC]

Bosk..you playing with us again? Shouldn't you be updating JM's twitter or something?

I've kind of ignored the negativity over this past year. Everytime MP posts something, I read it as it all gives a little more insight than previous. Obviously it's HIS point of view. I've never held that against him.
DT has been my favorite band since I saw them take the stage at The Ritz in 1992. MP has been responsible for giving this fan a musical ride of a lifetime. Whatever happened between him and the band is just that. Between them.
I just watched Terry Francona get wacked/ walk away this past week.

No matter how it's spun, we'll never know. And I'm OK with that. It was GREAT while it lasted.
DT certainly seems to be doing more than fine right now. I'll continue to follow MP, hoping he does a project that may catch my ear (N. Morse doesn't do it..)
I said before, about the drum cam videos, if I could bought a DVD of Neil peart recording Moving Pictures, it'd be a no brainer. I'm thankful that that kind of thing was made available. It was clear that MP acted as if looking through a fan's eyes. That, he was very in touch with. Perhaps a little too close, but we can't have it both way. We can't desire the access if we're not willing to really get it. MP comments since the split are enlightening, in as much as they are honest. WE demand honesty, he gives it, and we're upset? WTF?

[reneranucci]

We cannot deny the fact that DT fans usually blow MP's words out of proportion (applying that "passive-aggressive" overused crap to even the most candid comments), never giving him the benefit of the doubt, and apparently get offended for no reason. Therefore, it would also help to get along if people weren't so sensitive to whatever MP says.

[Mike Portnoy]

I know it must really be frustrating to see a bunch of people criticizing your decisions or your music, but responding only makes it worse. I don't know what I'd do and the temptation to respond or defend myself would be really difficult. 

You have no idea how hard it is!!! See....here I am responding!! 

Basically people would like you a lot more if you would just  and stop making analogies about Dream Theater being your baby and your wife or something.

I just want to forewarn you that you'll need to endure that analogy one more time as it comes up on this weekend's That Metal Show (taped almost 3 months ago)
I also have seen JP recently use that same anology in a recent interview as well, so it's not just me that has pointed out the similarities...(and it's not just to THIS situation, but any long term band that goes through a split...it's a sad but realistic analogy)

In any case, TRUST ME, I try my best to NOT discuss this stuff AT ALL, but inevitably it comes up in every interview I do...and from there, things get taken out of context and blown up into sensational, instigating headlines...

and also BELIEVE ME, I want nothing more than for ALL OF US (myself, DT and all of the fans) to move on and enjoy where we are all at TODAY, while still looking fondly back on the past 25 years....

Let's please enjoy the memories and the great music and look forward to making alot more of each in the future!

MP

[Zook]

You ate the stickers didn't you?! Just admit it!

[ResultsMayVary]

In any case, TRUST ME, I try my best to NOT discuss this stuff AT ALL, but inevitably it comes up in every interview I do...and from there, things get taken out of context and blown up into sensational, instigating headlines...

I can pretty much say that the majority of things you've done/said were things either you posted on your forum ("rewriting the past") or you've liked some nasty comments on facebook, etc. Yes, interviews have brought up the issue time and time again (and you must have assumed this with the popularity of DT).

And i'll give you credit, you've stayed away from the DT stuff on your forum and the liking comments over the past few weeks (to a certain degree), but you should have done this way back when you quit Dream Theater. You could have had a lot more support now if you made that decision then. And as a result of your comments, you've alienated fans.

[TheGreatPretender]

We love you, Mike!

Look, the simple fact is that this thread says, "Regarding Mike Portnoy"... I mean, I'm sure if there was a thread called, "Regarding John Petrucci," and it talked about how people may complain about certain decisions or things that he may have done (if that happened to be a hot topic), we'd see our share of people who might say, "Oh, well, he's done this and that and I don't appreciate it."
But as it stands, this thread is specifically referring to Mike Portnoy.
And even though this thread was created to defend him, surely the OP knew that such a topic will bring all the critics back and give them an excuse to rant. And I'm not excluded either. But the simple fact is, if it was never brought up, I'm sure many of the people on the offensive wouldn't have said anything.
It COULD have been the Mike Portnoy appreciation thread. Instead it became, "Hey all you guys who criticized MP! Here's what I have to say about your statements!" And obviously, that's only gonna stir things up again.

Frankly, I don't really care anymore. The past is past, and I'm well over it. Which means, yes, I can get along.