As most reading this know, Mike Portnoy, a founding member and driving force of Dream Theater to this point recently left the band. The function of this thread is to provide an archive of what has happened up to this point, as well as be a reference material to those looking to discuss what has happened, leading them to the proper threads and keeping them from starting unneeded threads. All times are local to the band, East Coast USA.
=======================================================
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING THE PETRUCCI FORUMS
Due to the hectic situation the Petrucci Forums are currently closed to new registrations. We do not know when registration will reopen.
=======================================================
At approximately 8:20pm on the evening of September 8th, 2010 Mike Portnoy released the following statement via facebook, twitter, and MikePortnoy.com.I am about to write something I never imagined I'd ever write:
After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater....the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.
To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so....
After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater...
Please don't misinterpret me, I love the DT guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them...it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break...
Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985...24/7, 365...never taking time off from DT's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was "off" between cycles)...working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band...
But I've come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.
We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a "hiatus" to recharge our batteries and "save me from ourselves"...
Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather...I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be...
While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes....
Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DT and I talked about "always following your heart and being true to yourself"...sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be "going through the motions", and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.
I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come...I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played....
I'm sorry to all the disappointed DT fans around the world...I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work...I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)...but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within....
You DT fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me....(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)
Sadly...
Your fearless ex-leader and drummer,
MP
First reactions to this news and discussion of the initial statement can be found here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16386.0#quickreplyAt 8:49pm on September 8th, in the midst of the fan frenzy over the news, the user Rainee at Petrucci's forum, believed to be JP's wife, Rena Petrucci made the following statement. Am I the only one that can see MP in a band other than DT, but no one else? Sure, Jordan could be in whatever thing he wants to be, but of the remaining founding members, I can't see them doing anything OTHER than DT... I'm pretty that their decision to go on without him (once confirmed) will end up shafting them WAY more than taking a long hiatus. Regardless, MP is going to make like a bandit.
Silly poster...John wrote every song with the exception of one "New Millenium"
John and Jordan who never get any credit ARE the heart and soul of DT and it is sad that Mike has quit because he is awesome but just remember...he quit. The only people being shafted are the remaining members of DT.
The thread this comment, and several other less important comments were made by Rena can be found here:
https://www.petrucciforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70293&page=5Our discussion of this starts here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16386.msg587386#msg5873Note: Rena made these comments prior to some later events, however there was a lag between the time the comments were made and when the DT community at large was informed that it actually was Rena via posts at Mike Portnoy's forum. This caused discussion of these comments to lag behind other events.
Then, at approximately 10:40pm on September 8th, the band posted a statement via the website of James LaBrie that read as follows.DREAM THEATER
Press Release
To all of our loyal fans and friends: It is with
profound sadness -- regret -- we announce that Mike
Portnoy, our lifelong drummer and friend, has
decided to leave Dream Theater. Mike's stature in
the band has meant the world to all of us
professionally, musically, and personally over the
years. There is no dispute: Mike has been a major
force within this band.
While it is true that Mike is choosing to pursue other
ventures and challenges, we can assure you
that Dream Theater will continue to move forward
with the same intensity -- and in the same musical
tradition -- that you have all helped make so
successful, and which is truly gratifying to us.
Fans and friends: File this episode under "Black
Clouds and Silver Linings."As planned, we begin
recording our newest album in January 2011, and
we'll follow that with a full-on world tour. "The Spirit
Carries On."
All of us in Dream Theater wholeheartedly wish Mike
the best on his musical journey. We have had a long
and meaningful career together. It is our true hope
that he finds all he is looking for, and that he
achieves the happiness he deserves. He will be
missed.
Discussion of that statement is in the same thread as above, but starts here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16386.msg585536#msg585536At 2:03am on September 9th Mike Portnoy made the following comment via twitter and facebook.I BEG of the fans to please NOT hold [AVENGED SEVENFOLD] responsible for MY decision... They are just as shocked as you guys
Even if they were not responsible for Mike leaving Dream Theater there has been much speculation over whether or not Mike will end up joining the band full time or ever come back to Dream Theater, and those two topics can be discussed here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16460.0At 1:11pm, September 9th Mike Portnoy linked to an article by Paul Gargano with no additional comments. This left fans not sure what Mike was trying to say about the article and clueless on what Mike was expressly supporting in the article. In any case here is the text of the article.I'm a big fan of irony.
Earlier this afternoon, I loaded the entire Dream Theater catalog onto my iPod. Until this afternoon, only two of the band's 10 studio albums were found on the 80GB drive. Why the sudden urge to drown myself in musical theory? Avenged Sevenfold.
A quick timeline: In 1985 - one year after the youngest member of the band Avenged Sevenfold is born - Mike Portnoy forms the band Majesty while attending the Berklee College of Music. Majesty would become Dream Theater.
Over the next quarter-century, Dream Theater would release ten studio albums and come to define the progressive metal genre. Likewise, Mike Portnoy is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time.
Avenged Sevenfold, meanwhile, burst from their Southern California roots and emerged as a hard rock and heavy metal powerhouse with City of Evil, their major label debut in 2005. When drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan died of a drug overdose late last year, many wondered what would come next for the band - and in the most unlikely of announcements, Mike Portnoy was enlisted to record drums on new release Nightmare, as well as accompany them on this year's tours to support the album.
Earlier today, on Twitter, I said of the record: The new @TheOfficialA7X is musical quicksand - it's got me waist-deep and keeps pulling... (Pull me under, I'm not afraid.)
Absorbed in Nightmare, I was inspired to listen to more Dream Theater. Makes sense, right? Not to Dream Theater.
About five hours after my Twitter post and ensuing addition of the Dream Theater catalog to my iPod, Mike Portnoy announced that he was leaving Dream Theater [read his full statement here].
I've been a fan of Dream Theater for the past two decades, and at the forefront of that fandom have been Mike Portnoy and frontman James LaBrie. Portnoy was the band's heart, LaBrie the band's soul.
Science was never my strong suit in school, but I'm fairly certain that losing your heart isn't a good thing.
The journalist in me wants to wait to hear both sides of the story, but this is a rare instance where I feel justified to overrule my professional sensibilities. Or, as my career has paralleled that of Dream Theater, perhaps I'm honoring those sensibilities...
A number of people have asked me how this happened, as well as why it happened. While I don't know anything more than I read in Mike Portnoy's statement, I can say this - when I made the decision to leave Metal Edge, a magazine I dedicated my blood, sweat and tears into running for a decade, people asked the same questions.
Sadly, sometimes the decisions that are the hardest for us to make, are also the easiest. Not because we want to make them, but because we know that we need to make them. By the time I left Metal Edge, I knew that there was no other option. The magazine was destined to fail under its new ownership, and I realized that I was in no position to prevent that from happening.
Two years and three editors later, Metal Edge went out of business.
What does this have to do with Dream Theater? Everything. I can relate to Mike Portnoy's decision, because I know exactly how it feels to know that you're out of options.
And he was clearly out of options - you don't walk away unless you have no other choice.
So, yes, the irony isn't lost on me that on the day I plunged back into the swirling waters of Dream Theater, their drummer made the choice to climb out of the water and towel off.
I'm the first person in the world to defend Journey without Steve Perry, Van Halen after they hired Sammy Hagar, and KISS with only half their original members.
But Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy?
Where's the heart?
The original source of the article is here:
https://paulgargano.blogspot.com/2010/09/mike-portnoy-quits-dream-theater-can.htmlAnd our discussion of the article is here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16434.0At approximately 4:30pm on September 9th, Jordan Rudess posted the following video in which he played some improvisational piano to express his feelings about Mike's departure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgqm8g95wwI&feature=youtu.be&aHis comment on the video was as follows.
Everyone is asking me to comment on my thoughts about Mike Portnoy leaving Dream Theater and this huge change that has happened in all of our lives. I have always been able to express my feelings and do my best "talking" through music, so I decided to voice my statement in this improvisation. Hope you "understand"
Our discussion of this video can be found here:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=16436.0