DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[Trav]

When MP was in the band before, they had a light guy that knew all the songs and manually did the lights.  And it worked fine.  Any "upgrade" that came with that part of by timing everything to the click was essentially lost on me, because I wasn't going to see DT for lights.  But they've done it before, and other, bigger acts can do it, so there's no reason they can't do it again.

I remember in an interview before the ADTOE tour started, JP said something to the effect of "we're going to have a professional production on this tour".

[Orbert]

Good.  I'm getting so tired of all the amateur groups they've been working with.

(sarcasm in case it wasn't obvious)

[WilliamMunny]

I guess I'm just an old fogey when it comes to playing.  I don't play guitar, so I've never had to step on guitar pedals to change sounds while I play, but with keyboards it's not that different.  I got a couple dozen buttons and knobs, and the appropriate combination of them makes the keyboard sound that I want.  I consider that part of playing the instrument, just as I consider stepping on pedals part of playing the instrument if you're playing guitar.  I know Jordan has everything programmed so that all he has to do is hit a foot switch to go to the next patch, but at least he's the one doing it.  He's just taking advantage of the tech.  JP having someone offstage changing patches for him so he can wander around and "just play guitar" seems lazy to me.

I also think it's a reflection as to how complicated his rig has gotten.

About to head to practice this afternoon for a couple of shows later this month, and the thing I am going to 'work on' the most is making sure I am comfortable with the 'when/where' of it all when it comes to my rig (which has become more spartan in recent years).

Trust me, as much as I agree with the idea that stepping on my wah and navigating my patches is part of the gig, if someone said, "Hey, James, why don't you just focus on rocking out and I'll make sure that delay is there when you need it," I'd gladly take them up on it.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I guess I'm just an old fogey when it comes to playing.  I don't play guitar, so I've never had to step on guitar pedals to change sounds while I play, but with keyboards it's not that different.  I got a couple dozen buttons and knobs, and the appropriate combination of them makes the keyboard sound that I want.  I consider that part of playing the instrument, just as I consider stepping on pedals part of playing the instrument if you're playing guitar.  I know Jordan has everything programmed so that all he has to do is hit a foot switch to go to the next patch, but at least he's the one doing it.  He's just taking advantage of the tech.  JP having someone offstage changing patches for him so he can wander around and "just play guitar" seems lazy to me.

JP is one of the least lazy musicians there is.

[Schurftkut]

how else does he play so effortlessly? a good musician finds the easiest way to do what he wants ;-)

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

also, i think with choosing MP they know that the click will be out of the window, also because that's what the fans want.

You're probably right. The click has been blamed for a bunch of things allegedly wrong with the live shows. At the end of the day, they probably just want turnout to be much better than what it has been recently. If the click has to go in order to help achieve this then it probably will be.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

how else does he play so effortlessly? a good musician finds the easiest way to do what he wants ;-)

Practice practice practice!

[Schurftkut]

iknow, i learned a lot from JR's Keyboard Wizardy book ;-)

[emtee]

MP must be going stir crazy by now. The dude is used to being constantly busy with gigs and recording. Since last October, he has done very little of either. I'll wager that 2024 has been his least active since DT formed.

[crystalstars17]

When MP was in the band before, they had a light guy that knew all the songs and manually did the lights.  And it worked fine.  Any "upgrade" that came with that part of by timing everything to the click was essentially lost on me, because I wasn't going to see DT for lights.  But they've done it before, and other, bigger acts can do it, so there's no reason they can't do it again.

I don't care about the lights either (as long as they're not intrusive, which DT's typically aren't), but doesn't the click help with timing the entire show, cue-wise? As in, the musicians too?

I trust that if anyone can do it though, it's our boys.

[Max Kuehnau]

you're right, that's its job, making everyone's life easier. More people than you might think hate using clicks though, sadly. (not me, but I won't name any names)

[Jamesman42]

A church asked me to fill in for bass one time, and they used a click. I had never done so and it made me feel weird about playing as it clicked on. It didn't feel authentic to me, especially when we had a drummer to keep us together. I am glad I have never done that again.

[Max Kuehnau]

it's not about being authentic, it's about being reliable. Big difference. Although I can see why people are being put off by it all, especially when they didn't do it before. I'm used to it and have been for a long time (so much so that it (rightfully) is rare for me to recording without one, although I have done it and I'm able to.

[Schurftkut]

MP uses click in the studio, he likes the difference in live playing without one. feeling the energy more and letting that decide tempo

[Max Kuehnau]

my reply was meant to reference Jamesman's post, sorry if it seemed unclear.

[Jamesman42]

it's not about being authentic, it's about being reliable. Big difference. Although I can see why people are being put off by it all, especially when they didn't do it before. I'm used to it and have been for a long time (so much so that it (rightfully) is rare for me to recording without one, although I have done it and I'm able to.

I get that, it's obvious. But as a player, it didn't gel well with me. Then again, I wasn't used to it - it takes extra time to get used to playing to it live. I like to play with more feel than perfection. I have recorded music several times as well, and used a drum beat to keep me in time, but that's for something polished.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't care about the lights either (as long as they're not intrusive, which DT's typically aren't), but doesn't the click help with timing the entire show, cue-wise? As in, the musicians too?

I trust that if anyone can do it though, it's our boys.

The musicians don't need it.  Both Mangini and Portnoy are good enough drummers that neither of them need a click for that purpose.  And normally, Mangini was the only band member who had the click piped into his ear monitor.  He played to the click, everyone else played to him.

[Setlist Scotty]

MP must be going stir crazy by now. The dude is used to being constantly busy with gigs and recording. Since last October, he has done very little of either. I'll wager that 2024 has been his least active since DT formed.

I don't have any inside info, but who's to say he hasn't been busy doing other things in the meantime? I mean, he's not touring with anyone or else we'd know about it, but that doesn't mean that he's not working with Neal Morse, doing session work or something else. I doubt he's just kicking it at home for months on end, although I'm sure he'll have a few weeks here and there where he is. For all we know, he could still be involved in working on the new album beyond just the songwriting and recording of his drums. Hard to say.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

The musicians don't need it.  Both Mangini and Portnoy are good enough drummers that neither of them need a click for that purpose.  And normally, Mangini was the only band member who had the click piped into his ear monitor.  He played to the click, everyone else played to him.

Hef, and Max,

I know you both play drums. I do not for the record. Serious question: how often does it tend to matter in a song and how much time difference do you think is actually at stake with a drummer like MP or MM when we are talking about the click? Are we talking about being at risk of speeding up a milisecond, or a second, more?

[Max Kuehnau]

with music as intricate as DT's, to me it crucially matters (and I almost always notice it, even minutely) and to me there is a lot that is at stake Of course, I'm sure not everyone will notice all (or any) fluctuations (or I unintentionally misunderstood the question, which is possible) and of course I respect if there is less at stake for (most other) people. Then again, keep in mind that the level of precision in the drum parts rose significantly during MM era DT. (so this is why I think there is a lot at stake, then again, I grew up around music that is known to be precise (think Toto, Sade, Kraftwerk, Zappa, Vai and anything where precision is the key element), so it might be a personal thing to me only, this isn't intended to be mean towards anyone and all that)

[Jamesman42]

And only MM had the click, right? So it didn't directly affect the other members, just indirectly through MM.

[emtee]

I don't have any inside info, but who's to say he hasn't been busy doing other things in the meantime? I mean, he's not touring with anyone or else we'd know about it, but that doesn't mean that he's not working with Neal Morse, doing session work or something else. I doubt he's just kicking it at home for months on end, although I'm sure he'll have a few weeks here and there where he is. For all we know, he could still be involved in working on the new album beyond just the songwriting and recording of his drums. Hard to say.

Yes, he could be but he did say in an interview that aside from a couple things on his schedule that DT was going to be the focus. Who knows...

[Mladen]

He might be rehearsing songs for the upcoming tour. Those Mangini-era songs aren't gonna learn themselves. 

[hefdaddy42]

Hef, and Max,

I know you both play drums. I do not for the record. Serious question: how often does it tend to matter in a song and how much time difference do you think is actually at stake with a drummer like MP or MM when we are talking about the click? Are we talking about being at risk of speeding up a milisecond, or a second, more?

You're coming at it from a different standpoint than I would, I think.  There's nothing at stake, if the point is for 5 guys to go out there and perform together, for that night, in that place, to that crowd.  They are all pros of the highest caliber.

If the point is for5 guys to go out and reproduce the recording down to the millisecond, yes, there will be noticeable differences.  Uptempo songs will be slightly faster, especially if the crowd is really into it, because they are human beings.  Also, that's the way that virtually all of the great rock drummers of the past have been, so this isn't particular to MP or a knock on him.  MM would have been the same most likely if not playing to a click all these years.  It's part of live performance.  The same thing happens in jazz, classical, and any other genre you'd like, if a click isn't being implemented.  The songs LIVE and BREATHE, and that's beautiful.  It also has an element of risk, not gonna lie, but that is also beautiful, IMO.

[ReaperKK]

The musicians don't need it.  Both Mangini and Portnoy are good enough drummers that neither of them need a click for that purpose.  And normally, Mangini was the only band member who had the click piped into his ear monitor.  He played to the click, everyone else played to him.

Oh wow I didn't know this, I assumed the all were listening to the click.

[Stadler]

I actually post to a click track now.

[Dream Team]

I actually post to a click track now.

   Typewriter keys clicking in time to a click!

[Lonk]

I actually post to a click track now.

Not going to lie, when I am typing repetitive things at work, I often time create a rhythm for it in my head  it helps entertain me while doing a mundane task.

[Zydar]

Not going to lie, when I am typing repetitive things at work, I often time create a rhythm for it in my head  it helps entertain me while doing a mundane task.

Is it in 4/4 or some crazy 19/8? 

[emtee]

I actually post to a click track now.

So you have a triggered sample for all caps

[hefdaddy42]

I actually post to a click track now.

[Adami]

Oh wow I didn't know this, I assumed the all were listening to the click.

I'm not 100% on this though. For one, lots of moments with no drums. So they'd need to be hearing it at least for those moments.

Also looking back at moments like the end of Finally Free when the John, John, and Jordan are all perfectly in sync with the riff while MM was doing very very odd time stuff. I would imagine, though don't know for sure, that they had a click in those moments since they didn't seem to be caring much about staying in time.

Thing about a click, theoretically, is that no one needs to pay attention to anyone else. The click takes care of it. Without a click, they need to be very locked into each other, watching each other, and listening to each other. I prefer that if possible.

[Adami]

I actually post to a click track now.

See, what I love about you posting to a click is that you can post in 19/8 but it reads like 4/4 while some other posters are typing in 4/4 and it reads like 19/8.

[Schurftkut]

it's not just a click, there's also hints or count-in shouting in MM's ear. MP used to have the "secret" pad he'd hit that all the other members heard but not the audience to count-in. it's not that complicated really

[crystalstars17]

He might be rehearsing songs for the upcoming tour. Those Mangini-era songs aren't gonna learn themselves. 

I actually would love to hear what he can do with Outcry, Breaking All Illusions, and Answering the Call...