JP Talks About Pink Floyd

[Dillster22]

https://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2011/09/what_would_david_gilmour_do.html

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Great interview.

[hefdaddy42]

Fantastic.  Much respect.

[obscure]

this interview has special significance for me as DT and PF are my all time favorite bands....  Petrucci!

[Orbert]

Very cool.  JP gets it.

[YtseCullen]

MP's Latest Tweet: MikePortnoy: "@PhantomLordNYC: Petrucci asked in an interview "What Would David Gilmour Do" Does this mean you're DT's Roger Waters?" IT'S A GOOD ANALOGY.

Whatya think? I'm hoping this doesn't spark to much controversy, but then again, anything seems to spark controversy with MP and DT these days....

[hefdaddy42]

Well, it's not a good analogy.

[SystematicThought]

If MP is Roger Waters, I can't wait for MP to go out and tour Scenes From A Memory 

[YtseCullen]

People have said its a good analogy, but thats only because an influential member has quit a really famous prog band, other then that I don't see the similarities. and +1 to that thought there ST

[rumborak]

He would like it to be a good analogy, because Waters, for quite a good stretch of PF's history, was Pink Floyd.
But, MP never "was" Dream Theater. Otherwise ADTOE would have been like A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

Great interview by JP. Nice to see that he appreciates the breathing of PF songs; I wish they would incorporate that into their songs too more, they have a tendency to be cluttered at times.

rumborak

[SystematicThought]

and +1 to that thought there ST

Hey, if he owned the rights to the album, which he doesn't, and put together a quality (I mean quality!) band and perform it, I think it'd be really cool

[YtseCullen]

and +1 to that thought there ST

Hey, if he owned the rights to the album, which he doesn't, and put together a quality (I mean quality!) band and perform it, I think it'd be really cool

With you on that one. It'd be worth it for sure, but then again, I think it's probably just as likely to see that happen as it is to actually find a time machine and go back to see DT perform the whole album live.

[Progmetty]

"There's a song on our new album called Breaking All Illusions where the guitar solo is totally influenced by those hypnotic Pink Floyd breakdowns. And I admit that what's going through my head is, What would David Gilmour do? You think of the most memorable, melodic solos by him and people can literally sing them. That's the level you're looking to achieve as a guitar player."

Almost a month earlier:

I love it. There was certainly a lava lamp in the room when they wrote that part.
Felt a Gilmour and Waters kinda jam moment there.

[Orbert]

He would like it to be a good analogy, because Waters, for quite a good stretch of PF's history, was Pink Floyd.
But, MP never "was" Dream Theater. Otherwise ADTOE would have been like A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

I can't agree that Waters was Pink Floyd at any time.  He was their self-appointed primary lyricist, and probably the driving force behind their better concept albums, and those are definitely important.  But he didn't play the drums, keys, or guitars, and he certainly was not reponsible for their overall sound.

On the other hand, to many people Mike was Dream Theater in that he was the driving force and at least co-primary lyricist.  He also didn't play guitars, keys, etc.

I don't agree with that, either.  But if you were to say that either individual was the band in question, you pretty much have to say the other was as well, because their roles were definitely more parallel than not.

[ResultsMayVary]

MP's Latest Tweet: MikePortnoy: "@PhantomLordNYC: Petrucci asked in an interview "What Would David Gilmour Do" Does this mean you're DT's Roger Waters?" IT'S A GOOD ANALOGY.

Whatya think? I'm hoping this doesn't spark to much controversy, but then again, anything seems to spark controversy with MP and DT these days....

Not a good analogy. JP and JR write the majority of the music, if not all of it. The order in which something is played or not played is what MP usually took part in. Bad analogy is bad.

[Perpetual Change]

On the other hand, to many people Mike was Dream Theater in that he was the driving force and at least co-primary lyricist.  He also didn't play guitars, keys, etc.

I know this opinion is out there, but I don't understand it. If you think about, it didn't seem like one member of Dream Theater was suddenly more important than all the others until like Systematic Chaos. That's around the time when Mike started taking almost all the interviews in addition to his normal increasingly responsibilities. Honestly, DT have always seemed like a band where everyone is of equal importance. That only changed a couple years ago, when it started becoming increasingly about Mike and John, especially Mike.

[SystematicThought]

He has a new tweet saying that Kevin Moore is Syd Barrett

[Orbert]

On the other hand, to many people Mike was Dream Theater in that he was the driving force and at least co-primary lyricist.  He also didn't play guitars, keys, etc.

I know this opinion is out there, but I don't understand it. If you think about, it didn't seem like one member of Dream Theater was suddenly more important than all the others until like Systematic Chaos. That's around the time when Mike started taking almost all the interviews in addition to his normal increasingly responsibilities. Honestly, DT have always seemed like a band where everyone is of equal importance. That only changed a couple years ago, when it started becoming increasingly about Mike and John, especially Mike.

Exactly, just as no one member of Pink Floyd was suddenly the most important, as so many seem to think Roger Waters was.  But if there was a "most important" or "leader" it would definitely be Water for PF and Mike for DT.

To be clear, I don't agree with either of these, but I can see why some people do.  But if it applies to one, it applies to the other because they're pretty much the same.  Mike didn't write the majority of DT's music; Waters didn't write the majority of PF's music.  Both were seen as the leader because of the direction they gave to the band both behind the scenes and onstage.

[Progmetty]

MP's leadership role in DT is not comparable to that of Waters in PF. The closest thing I can compare MP's leadership role to is Lars Ulrich's. Manager within the band, the band can do without him but his management stylized the band's behavior when it comes to touring, recording and writing.
With the major talent different between LU & MP of course.
So no I never saw MP as Dream Theater or the driving force behind it. I always felt and knew Petrucci was. Just like I knew JP can manage DT without MP. Again with all due respect to the effort MP put into managing when he was there.

[WildeSilas]

I also don't think it's appropriate because neither Ulrich or Waters was unconsciously or consciously suppressing creative input from other band members, as was obviously the case from about SDOIT on with JMX and JLB. I may be reading too much into their renewed input, but JLB basically said he was doing solo albums because he had diminished input on DT albums, and there was the comment from someone about JMX not feeling invited into the creative process. With MP gone, so is that restraint. Other than Jason Newstead (arguably), I don't think any members of the aforementioned bands had that issue due directly to the "band leader."

[Orbert]

How is that different from Roger Waters squashing any input from Rick Wright or David Gilmour that didn't fit his grand concept for the album?  He eventually kicked Wright out of the band.  How can one of four supposedly equal band members kick another one out?  The Wall was basically a Waters solo album that he allowed the other members of Floyd to play on, when he liked what they did.  When he didn't, he pulled parts and replaced them with tracks by session musicians.

[Progmetty]

There are lengths that MP couldn't have went even if he wanted to. JP maintained strong leadership over the musical creativity aspect. At least JP and JM were never in jeopardy of being replaced or kicked out the band. JR neither on some level imo due to his musical status.

[Perpetual Change]

It's kinda like arguing who's the real driving force between Iron Maiden. On the surface, it looks like it's Bruce Dickinson. But every real fan knows that it's Steve Harris, and has always been that way.

Same for Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, imo. Mike may be in the spotlight more, but John is the creative driving force of the band, and has been since the early days.

[Vajra]

JP sounds so pretentious when he talks about the technical side of music. I say that with absolute sarcasm, btw. Seriously though, great interview, I really love when musicians actually talk about music, rather than the drama surrounding it.

[rumborak]

The closest thing I can compare MP's leadership role to is Lars Ulrich's. Manager within the band, the band can do without him but his management stylized the band's behavior when it comes to touring, recording and writing.

Now THAT is a good comparison.

rumborak

[rumborak]

He has a new tweet saying that Kevin Moore is Syd Barrett

Eh. Unnecessary jab, as usual.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

He has a new tweet saying that Kevin Moore is Syd Barrett

Eh. Unnecessary jab, as usual.

rumborak

Or you're reading too far into a surface comparison that was nothing more than a passing comment.

[rumborak]

Probably, but damn, he should really know that this stuff doesn't belong on Twitter. It's the stuff you say to your buddy over a beer, not on an online media.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

Oh for sure. He should know by now this stuff will be analyzed and overanalyzed, but I don't get the impression this was anything more than a throwaway joke in response to the conversation.

[hefdaddy42]

How is that different from Roger Waters squashing any input from Rick Wright or David Gilmour that didn't fit his grand concept for the album?  He eventually kicked Wright out of the band.  How can one of four supposedly equal band members kick another one out?  The Wall was basically a Waters solo album that he allowed the other members of Floyd to play on, when he liked what they did.  When he didn't, he pulled parts and replaced them with tracks by session musicians.

Aren't you undercutting your own argument by showing how different MP is from Waters?

[Orbert]

Okay, MP never replaced any bona fide DT parts with session tracks, but both JM and JLB have "hinted quite strongly" that their performances were often directed, their own ideas pushed aside about how to do their own parts, and we have some footage of it.  Everything in context, I know, but couple what they've said with what we can see, and it adds up.  I misread JM's comment about playing on solo albums at first, but it got me thinking in that direction.  Most bands have either a pretty equal gave and take between all members, or there's the one guy, sometimes two, who really calls the shots and the others are just "the rest of the band".  I'm not the only one who feels like DT shifted from the first type to more the second type over time.

And Derek was hired, then fired.  His tenure in DT is so brief now compared to the length of their career that it been be practically seen as a temporary fill-in, but at the time, that's not what it was.  He was in, then dumped.  That's okay though, like Wright, he was "only the keyboard player".  But it was another parallel that struck me.

[Peter Griffin]

omg, MP, get off the internet already. 

[Jamariquay]

I like how this was a thread about John Petrucci and now it's a thread about Mike Portnoy.

(Yes, yes, I get why the discussion went down that road. It's still funny).

[AngelBack]

I don't think there is any drama here, seems like the kind of joke/post that MP would make and has made for years now.  To me, the fact that MP made a post ackknowledging JP's comments indicates (knock on wood) that maybe things are starting to simmer down to the point where they are not so volatile that a casual comment could be made in fun.

[Mebert78]

He has a new tweet saying that Kevin Moore is Syd Barrett

Eh. Unnecessary jab, as usual.

rumborak

Sadly, I don't know enough about Syd Barrett or the PF history, I'm ashamed to say.  What is the connection?  Just that Barrett left the band early on?