Mike Portnoy's DRUMEO Breaking Down DT's New Album: "Parasomnia" NOW

[OpenYourEyes311]

New video, this time it's Panic Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7oOdYPOSk

MP's drums sound incredible in these videos!!

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Genuine question:

How is tik tok different than any other platform in regards to date sharing/selling and other huge privacy concerns? My understanding is that they all do it to a huge degree. The only difference is their affiliation with certain governments.

And to clarify, this is in no way a defense of tiktok which I find to be highly toxic and questionable.

That is a very big difference. Don't know if there is other stuff but this is a key difference and it's not just any government or just an 'affiliation.' I could see that as reason enough for just not wanting to deal with this.

[TAC]

Not Drummeo, but I saw this. One of my favorite VH songs.

https://bravewords.com/news/dream-theater-drummer-mike-portnoy-breaks-down-and-performs-van-halen-s-i-m-the-one-in-tribute-to-alex-van-halen

[MinistroRaven]

Tomorrow Drumeo will drop a new video of MP learning and playing Pneuma by Tool. 

[emtee]

Tomorrow Drum will drop a new video of MP learning and playing Pneuma by Tool. 

Whoa! Holy crap...that is going to be amazing!

[faizoff]

I just saw that update, can't wait to watch that! The Danny Carey drum cam video of Pneuma was so fantastic to watch, curious how MP will play it.

[devieira73]

Indeed, Danny's performance on this song surely is among his best drum compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA
Really an interesting challenge for Mike!

[devieira73]

To have an idea of how complex Danny's drum parts are, I recommend this Drumeo video analysis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLn6x6jdLdc&t=627s
These other 2 are pretty cool too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEntq_ynqLY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI7BQklTzSo

[ReaperKK]

Indeed, Danny's performance on this song surely is among his best drum compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA
Really an interesting challenge for Mike!

I've watched this video so many times and it never ges old. It'll be interesting to see what MP's take is on the song. Danny has such a unique drumming style that it's hard to imagine how MP will play it.

[MinistroRaven]

Mike Portnoy Learns Impossible Danny Carey Drum Part

Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3sEdST3D9E

[emtee]

Fell in love with this song, actually the whole album but this song is amazing. It took me probably 10 spins before I figured out what DC is doing, so I knew MP was going to struggle with it.

[The Letter M]

That was a delight to watch, the whole production of it all, and Mike's reactions are hilarious and very relatable. You can tell Mike really reveres Danny, much in the way that most of us drummers do, and I'm glad Mike is, at very least, a casual fan of Tool, which I'm sure helped a little bit, but DAMN...what a bus to be throw under.

-Marc.

[Stadler]

As someone that can only count on the most rudimentary level (and on the standard of Mike and some of the people here, I CAN'T count) it's amazing and fascinating to watch him count through this and figure it out.   

For a guy like me - a novice - this is great to hear him put to words what I'm hearing ("he's coming in on the two!" kind of thing).   

Unrelated though: this makes me even more impressed by Mike's fandom.  I think it's like magic; it's hard to be impressed when you can see behind the curtain.  I will NEVER crack the code; he will (and did, in a time) and with that skill, I can't believe that it's easy after 40+ years to turn that off and just let music "wash" over you like, for example, I do. 

Question for the drummers:  Mike's counting it while playing it; is DANNY counting this while playing it?  Or is he just reacting to the other players or what came before and "feeling" it?   It looks a bit like he is counting.

[ReaperKK]

While I'm not a drummer I think he is counting it while playing, the other players are relying on Danny for most of the show, there is no click for Tool live or in studio, Danny is it.

[devieira73]

I'm watching this video as kind of a preview of how Mike will learn some MM songs. Sure, very different styles and all, but I think MM and Danny have a similar approach in technique and in building their drum parts: very mathematical and cerebral (is that the right word in english?).

[Zydar]

Fell in love with this song, actually the whole album but this song is amazing. It took me probably 10 spins before I figured out what DC is doing, so I knew MP was going to struggle with it.

This song was an instant favourite of mine from that album, it still is my favourite.

I will watch the video when I get home from work.

[Adami]

This is actually fun to watch.


"6/6/5...the neighbor of the beast"

[emtee]

Counting for the creator of a piece, transcends into feel and muscle memory in my experience. This song for instance; you could have the most gifted sight reader ever and they will still struggle with a song like this initially.  Maybe each person is different but for me (when I was still actively playing) once I broke a song down, figured out the sections and played it a few times, I tended to rely on the feel more than counting.

[The Letter M]

This is actually fun to watch.


"6/6/5...the neighbor of the beast"

That legitimately cracked me up. If nothing else, MP is witty when under pressure.

-Marc.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Only five hours to learn a song like THIS and get it pretty close? Damn, maybe Drumeo should have given him a harder one...but seriously what a fun video to watch. Let this be a reminder to people that Mike is STILL one of the best professional drummers in the world.

[Stadler]

Only five hours to learn a song like THIS and get it pretty close? Damn, maybe Drumeo should have given him a harder one...but seriously what a fun video to watch. Let this be a reminder to people that Mike is STILL one of the best professional drummers in the world.

I was thinking something like that.  I think the "fears" about Mike playing the Mangini material credibly are unfounded. 

[Chino]

This is actually fun to watch.


"6/6/5...the neighbor of the beast"

We've got a brewery in Connecticut that makes a beer like that.

[axeman90210]

We've got a brewery in Connecticut that makes a beer like that.

Love that brewery/beer.

[nobloodyname]

I was thinking something like that.  I think the "fears" about Mike playing the Mangini material credibly are unfounded.

Yeah. It just needs to go away. As I said before, some here talk as if Lars* is coming in for Mangini. It's just absurd.

What a fabulously entertaining video though, eh?

(* that's lazy of me, Lars really isn't a bad drummer)

[faizoff]

That video was awesome lol I loved the MP fills during the middle part of the song and his improvs worked with the theme of the song. I wasn't expecting it to be a beat for beat repeat and MP did the song incredible justice. That was such a joy to watch.

[gmillerdrake]

That video was awesome lol I loved the MP fills during the middle part of the song and his improvs worked with the theme of the song. I wasn't expecting it to be a beat for beat repeat and MP did the song incredible justice. That was such a joy to watch.

Like he said at one point.....it's one thing to write these songs.....it's another to have to try and learn songs like that from scratch. Everyone knows MP's pedigree and that he is a phenomenal talent and writer. So, for him to lavish that type of praise and to have such a challenge to learn that song says a lot. And lets be honest.....5 hours to then play that song through is pretty remarkable.

It'd be awesome if they did indeed get Dana Carey on the channel and hit him with Dance of Eternity as MP suggested.

[Ben_Jamin]

Great video. Loved him trying to math it out.

"This isn't a song, it's a math problem."

Tool has made a song based on the Fibonacci Sequence. So he is right. 

[The Realm]

Great video and just a phenomenal song. Well done to Mike. He was so great and I give him huge props for actually doing this.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Great video. Loved him trying to math it out.

"This isn't a song, it's a math problem."

Tool has made a song based on the Fibonacci Sequence. So he is right. 

And compared to Pneuma, that song is easy. I mean, by no means is Lateralus an easy song to learn or play. I did learn it and covered it a few times with my band years ago after many weeks of practice, but I still haven't figured out Pneuma entirely. What Mike did here was quite remarkable.

I was thinking something like that.  I think the "fears" about Mike playing the Mangini material credibly are unfounded. 

Yeah, I never doubted for a moment that Mike could play any of the Mangini material. Pneuma is a harder song to learn and play on drums than anything Mangini did in DT.

[Ben_Jamin]

And compared to Pneuma, that song is easy. I mean, by no means is Lateralus an easy song to learn or play. I did learn it and covered it a few times with my band years ago after many weeks of practice, but I still haven't figured out Pneuma entirely. What Mike did here was quite remarkable.
Yeah, I never doubted for a moment that Mike could play any of the Mangini material. Pneuma is a harder song to learn and play on drums than anything Mangini did in DT.

Since it is Tool, Danny Carey did have a substantial amount of time to write out those drum parts. 

[gzarruk]

Yeah, I never doubted for a moment that Mike could play any of the Mangini material. Pneuma is a harder song to learn and play on drums than anything Mangini did in DT.

In terms of the composed varying time signatures, patterns and sections, sure, but in terms of ambidexterity, coordination and technique, i'd say no way (I'm talking exclusively about Pneuma, not Carey's overall skill level).

[evilasiojr]

Yeah, being a drummer I can also say that Danny Carey and Mangini are different types of genius. Danny is an absolute master and I've seen that Pneuma drum cam I don't know how many times, and can't avoid seeing it whenever it pops, too perfect. What Mangini normally displays as default technic is quite different from what Danny does.

That said, I would say Mangini would figure out Pneuma verses faster than Portnoy. He even said it either on the video or comments on posts that he IS NOT a stellar writer of music sheet, like academically, which Mangini is! And that's okay, Portnoy is also another different kind of genius, he can play anything, displaying amazing technic, great personality and groove. What he did to Danny parts is exactly what I expect him to do with MM songs, not necessarily replicate the amount of singles Mangini can play with one hand at the intro of Pale Blue Dot, but playing the song in a creative and musical way that only he can do.

[TAC]

That was a cool video. I enjoy watching MP work.

Side note...I'm no prude, but the amount of F-bombs was...distracting..

[Trav]

That was a cool video. I enjoy watching MP work.

Side note...I'm no prude, but the amount of F-bombs was...distracting..

I felt the same. Maybe it's something about being a dad, I would cringe every time he did it.


In a side note, nothing tops the greatest drumming video of all time....

https://youtu.be/VSoZUzMJ7DY?feature=shared

[faizoff]

This cover popped in my feed of teens playing Pneuma and have to say they do a pretty good job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK8WxxzreDg&ab_channel=Family_Band_Practice