I definitely would not ask about Mike Portnoy, it’s the 4th album since the split now so we should be past the Portnoy questions at this stage, he is long gone. I admit that it was nice to see that he still sees JP socially and remains friends but never got the impression Portnoy and LaBrie were ever great friends anyway. I know the question comes from a good place, wanting everyone to mend bridges and be cool with each other but it would piss me off in their position if interviewers were still bringing up Mike Portnoy.
My questions would be largely about the new album, favourite songs, any long epic song? Did he record the vocals while they were together in the studio or go away and record separately as he has on recent albums? If he did record in the studio with the band, how was it different? How was it different all living and writing together, was it more collaborative or pretty similar to the other records (The Astonishing aside as we know that was a completely different process than the other records)? Will they continue to do SFAM on the other legs of the tour or just this first North American leg?