My theory is that mainly due to family obligations, DT started to transform from a band to a business after the problems they had during the FII era. The music got more formulaic and the changing music industry environment meant that they had to rely more on touring income than the album royalties but they could only be on the road for 4 weeks at a time because they are family men now. (Which is totally understandable.) At the same time, their fame within the musician circles led to additional income such as the ability to attach their names to gear, with the most successful one being the JP line of guitars. So much so that Petrucci now writes songs because there's a new piece of equipment coming out: Awaken the Master is promotional material for the 8-string JP guitar.
My experience in the music industry has taught me that if you achieve fame through your ability with any given instrument, there's an unwritten obligation to push the boundaries of what is possible with that instrument. The 2000's is when MP became the weakest instrumental member of Dream Theater, he stopped doing clinics and solos, and started referring to himself as a groove and feel drummer and given how he started his career, this could be considered a regression. I think/know some of his endorsement deals came very close to a termination within the last decade.
Very interesting insights Kocak - thanks for sharing. I can't say that I fully agree with DT becoming more of a business around the time JR joined - I think the business aspect probably started at least around the writing period of FII or maybe even earlier. Nonetheless, I'd imagine that over time as they continued the write-record-tour cycle repeatedly, some more of that business aspect crept in.
Regarding the potential for MP to have lost some of his endorsement deals, why do you think this was? Was it because MP was no longer in a big name band? I find this info surprising regardless because he has continued to be a big name among drummers despite not having been in DT for so long. Some of that might be because of the numerous other bands he was involved with, but I think also because he's a very sociable person in the music industry (far more so than the other guys) and knows how to market himself so that he stays visible.
As for all your comments about how he went about choosing which bands/projects he was going to involve himself with after leaving DT, I can't say I necessarily agree with your point that he was systematically picking out what style of music he was going to involve himself, although as I mentioned, he does know how to market himself, so that is always a possibility. Nonetheless, he has always struck me as being more of a person to go by his gut/instinct than plot everything out methodically as you seem to imply (apologies if you're not). In the case of AM, he wanted to work with Russell Allen, but it just so happened that RA had already started working with Mike Orlando in what became AM, so MP rode that train. For Flying Colors, Bill Evans was the one who put that band together although obviously MP was happy to get involved when the invitation was extended to him. So at least with these bands, it wasn't MP plotting the course.
Of course he was the impetus for PSMS, but even then, it wasn't like he was quick to start SoA immediately afterward. However, MP's willingness to put SoA together when he did could have been a response to the failure for all these other bands to succeed to DT's level, but I don't know if even that is true, as opposed to the fact that he was finally willing to return to doing something more akin to what he did in DT. But even though SoA was not a huge success initially, it's quite possible that it could have grown if given the proper time. Bumblefoot implied as much from the interview he gave when he first confirmed that SoA was done. So it's hard to say. Still, if given the choice to return to DT or to do something with SoA, I can't blame MP for wanting to return to DT after all this time.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Firstly, growing up and having families will obviously lead to changes in everyones life, so I understand that DT needed to become a business at some point, but along the way, I think, one thing that they did wrong was to grow apart as friends too, especially with JM, I think he just isolated himself from the band at some point. He has this interview around the time of "A Dramatic Turn of Events", stating that he had missed the jam aspect and really locking in with the drummer. It's a video interview, so I'm sure it's on YouTube still. MP also had this interview in which he stated that JM lives close to him but he has not seen him or talked to him in ages. I think, since the pandemic, they had the chance to reconnect as well without it being a business transaction or defending the "brotherhood" for promotional material, having to look close for the sake of it. This goes for the "core trio". I see Jordan as being a big brother to all of them, so things were always more amicable with him during MP's break from the band.
The thing with James is a completely separate issue, which, to me, speaks more to DT not being a band and just five individuals having to juggle different dynamics while having to work together, like any other job.
With the endorsement thing, I know that he had some trouble with his gear supply in Europe at some point. The brand/s just refused to provide him with gear on the road. I have had encounters with MP in professional settings, he isn't the easiest person to deal with. I don't think this would surprise anyone. And again, because I am involved with these kinds of things, with the changing nature of business and the music business in general, the nature of endorsement deals and how far brands are willing to go for an artist is changing too and MP, at that point, was not a top priority anymore. I don't know about the current state of things, so I cannot comment on it.
Brands are upping their promotional material game, so they expect a bit more from the artists that they supply, it's not just the name and staying visible anymore. To provide another example, Porcupine Tree did not do the gear talk series on YouTube for the studio sessions of their last album because they really wanted fans to see the
amazing gear that they were using. You can go an watch MP's Latin Percussion promotional video on YouTube, it's really not his finest hour I'd say.
I was not trying to imply that he was being methodical and plotting everything out. It's just that he presented all these things as his different sides. Again, he has this interview in which he talks about his kind of disappointment with AM as his attempt to recapture an A7X type of audience did not really turn out that way. He thought that it could appeal to a similar kind of crowd. FC was marketed, by him, as his prog pop side, while TA catered to his prog audience etc, etc... (Oh and I forgot his metal side with the Metal Allegiance.)
Indeed, SoA was not a huge success right out of the gate, but they expected it to be and I am sure that it was a disappointment to all of them. It could have grown, but these things require time and effort and if the past is any indication, MP isn't willing to put in the time and effort. His musical output has been, um, how to describe this...
Fast and furious, barring TWD and another thing or two here and there. I really, really hope that they take their time with the next Dream Theater album.
I am not blaming MP for returning to DT at all. As I said, the shadow of DT is larger than MP himself.
Topic: DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY (Read 119508 times)