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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Setlist Scotty on April 07, 2014, 10:55:03 PM
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As a few of you might know, I got the chance to see DT last night in Milwaukee, and got the chance to chat with everyone except James since he didn't come out for this particular aftershow (much to my wife's disappointment). Not gonna try to write down every detail of our conversations since I can't remember them, but some of the things of interest that stuck out in my mind.
I asked JP about the redesign of his JP signature guitars, and he mentioned that actually he had been thinking of coming up with a new design to "shake things up" for a few years, since his guitars have been pretty much the same body with small/gradual changes over the years. When I asked why the upper horn is so big, he said that actually the end of the horn is in the same position on his previous guitars, and that it's only the deeper cut-away that makes the horn look much longer. Had they shortened that horn, it would have affected the weight balance of the guitar.
I asked JR about if there will be any setlist changes for the upcoming legs of the tour and he told me that as long as they're going to play in areas that they have not already played, that the setlist will remain the same as it has. So if/when they announce dates for Asia, Australia and/or South America, I'd expect the setlist will be the same as it is now. So I think it's safe to assume that the shows they'll be playing this summer in Europe will have a different setlist. We also talked about the big gap between the end of the American leg and the second European leg, and if there will be any other shows added in between, and it doesn't appear that there will be. Apparently with some of their kids graduating and other things, the guys have opted to take that time off.
MM was his usual hyper self. It was cool that he recognized me, since it's been almost 2 years since I last saw DT and I don't know him like the rest of the band. Funny enough, he wanted to know how I know the guys, where we met previously, why I was seeing them in Milwaukee, etc., but I appreciated the fact that he took the time to try to understand why he's seen me several times at aftershows. I asked him about the problems he appeared to be experiencing towards the end of TSF (it was quite visible he wasn't happy and couldn't hear something/anything in his in-ear monitors - not sure if it was instrumentation in general, the click track or what) but all he would say was that it was stuff. Perhaps starting off with that question set him a bit on edge since he seemed to be a bit snippy with me when I asked how the tour was going. Can't remember the exact words but something to the effect of "how do you think it's going? It's been hard! Do you wanna play all those songs?!" which surprised me a bit. Nonetheless, he was gracious enough to sign a couple things and take a pic with me and my wife. Later, just before the aftershow ended, I approached him to apologize in case I offended him and he said that wasn't the case, but that he wanted to be completely up-front and honest about how hard it was to play the whole set, instead of just saying that everything was fine. The one thing I regret forgetting to ask was about having the 2 extra bass drums on his kit, since he had mentioned previously that he was gonna get rid of them - ah well, hopefully someone else can ask him. :facepalm:
Finally we got to speak with JM and we chatted about a number of things (family, etc.) that aren't worth mentioning, but at some point the conversation turned towards upcoming tour legs and he commented that DT will probably be hitting South America in the fall, perhaps around August or September, altho nothing is set in stone.
So just a few tidbits that I thought some of you might be interested in knowing. :smiley:
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Awesome stuff!
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As a few of you might know, I got the chance to see DT last night in Milwaukee, and got the chance to chat with everyone except James since he didn't come out for this particular aftershow (much to my wife's disappointment). Not gonna try to write down every detail of our conversations since I can't remember them, but some of the things of interest that stuck out in my mind.
I asked JP about the redesign of his JP signature guitars, and he mentioned that actually he had been thinking of coming up with a new design to "shake things up" for a few years, since his guitars have been pretty much the same body with small/gradual changes over the years. When I asked why the upper horn is so big, he said that actually the end of the horn is in the same position on his previous guitars, and that it's only the deeper cut-away that makes the horn look much longer. Had they shortened that horn, it would have affected the weight balance of the guitar.
I asked JR about if there will be any setlist changes for the upcoming legs of the tour and he told me that as long as they're going to play in areas that they have not already played, that the setlist will remain the same as it has. So if/when they announce dates for Asia, Australia and/or South America, I'd expect the setlist will be the same as it is now. So I think it's safe to assume that the shows they'll be playing this summer in Europe will have a different setlist. We also talked about the big gap between the end of the American leg and the second European leg, and if there will be any other shows added in between, and it doesn't appear that there will be. Apparently with some of their kids graduating and other things, the guys have opted to take that time off.
MM was his usual hyper self. It was cool that he recognized me, since it's been almost 2 years since I last saw DT and I don't know him like the rest of the band. Funny enough, he wanted to know how I know the guys, where we met previously, why I was seeing them in Milwaukee, etc., but I appreciated the fact that he took the time to try to understand why he's seen me several times at aftershows. I asked him about the problems he appeared to be experiencing towards the end of TSF (it was quite visible he wasn't happy and couldn't hear something/anything in his in-ear monitors - not sure if it was instrumentation in general, the click track or what) but all he would say was that it was stuff. Perhaps starting off with that question set him a bit on edge since he seemed to be a bit snippy with me when I asked how the tour was going. Can't remember the exact words but something to the effect of "how do you think it's going? It's been hard! Do you wanna play all those songs?!" which surprised me a bit. Nonetheless, he was gracious enough to sign a couple things and take a pic with me and my wife. Later, just before the aftershow ended, I approached him to apologize in case I offended him and he said that wasn't the case, but that he wanted to be completely up-front and honest about how hard it was to play the whole set, instead of just saying that everything was fine. The one thing I regret forgetting to ask was about having the 2 extra bass drums on his kit, since he had mentioned previously that he was gonna get rid of them - ah well, hopefully someone else can ask him. :facepalm:
Finally we got to speak with JM and we chatted about a number of things (family, etc.) that aren't worth mentioning, but at some point the conversation turned towards upcoming tour legs and he commented that DT will probably be hitting South America in the fall, perhaps around August or September, altho nothing is set in stone.
So just a few tidbits that I thought some of you might be interested in knowing. :smiley:
So I'm pretty new to the forums. How in the world do you have an 'in' with the band? That's so awesome!!
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Awesome stuff!
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Chur bro,
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The Genie is human
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Good stuff, Scotty. Thanks for sharing! :coolio
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Is it just me that hopes JP doesn't use the Majesty exclusively from now on ?
I'm the kind of guy that likes seeing musicians with their signature guitar - in this case - JP's MM13 shape.
* I mean signature to them - not "signature" guitars.
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They might need to think about scaling back the necessity to be so precise with the production of their shows as it seems
to be very stressful for MM. Almost seems like he is not having fun because of it. He also mentioned in his latest interview
how absolutely precise he needs to be to execute the live shows properly. I appreciate what they are doing but in the end
it's rock and roll and it's supposed to be fun for the fans and the band.
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Going from a nightly 2-hour show to a nightly 3-hour show, especially when you are not used to them like the other members are, has to be somewhat of a shock to the system, especially for a guy his age, so he is probably still adjusting to it, mentally and physically.
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I may be wrong but I think part of the reason why it's so stressful for him is he has to trigger certain things right on a click.
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They might need to think about scaling back the necessity to be so precise with the production of their shows as it seems
to be very stressful for MM. Almost seems like he is not having fun because of it. He also mentioned in his latest interview
how absolutely precise he needs to be to execute the live shows properly. I appreciate what they are doing but in the end
it's rock and roll and it's supposed to be fun for the fans and the band.
I hear you, but I am glad they are giving it a shot. Maybe they'll work it out to where everyone is comfortable and it comes across more naturally at some point.
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Cool stuff. It does make me relatively disappointed that I paid $250 to do an aftershow at the April 2 gig, and while I did get to talk to Jordan for about 5 minutes, JP spent so long talking to someone else that he could only take a quick photo with me before he had to leave, and nobody else showed up.
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I may be wrong but I think part of the reason why it's so stressful for him is he has to trigger certain things right on a click.
Certain things? If my understanding of the show is correct, the entire three hour set is programmed into the click track for each and every song. In other words, if MM gets a beat off the click, not only will it throw the timing of the musicians off, but it will throw off the lighting production for the song and the video production as well. I can understand why that's stressful and a lot of work to deal with!
I really respect the fact that he was completely honest though and didn't just say, "oh the tour is awesome" or "everything has been cool"... etc, etc... I think it says a lot about his character that he was completely honest and admitted that its been a tough task not only playing all that music (which there is a lot) but also the added pressure of essentially holding the entire show together from moment to moment, night after night.
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^Wow. Thanks for the info. That has to be mucho stresso. I'd quit after 1 show :laugh:
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It's a shame that MM is having some difficulties, I hope it's not too stressful. Nice info overall, Scotty. :tup
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As a few of you might know, I got the chance to see DT last night in Milwaukee, and got the chance to chat with everyone except James since he didn't come out for this particular aftershow (much to my wife's disappointment).
WHO's?? :lol
Congrats. Better late than never!
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Scotty, did the subject of another US Leg come up?
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How long have they been doing their live shows with a click track? Or have they always done that?
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How long have they been doing their live shows with a click track? Or have they always done that?
They've been doing it since MM joined the band, so ADTOE.
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Thanks for the post, does anyone know if a DVD will be shot from this tour?
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Scotty, did the subject of another US Leg come up?
My guess is early 2015 and it may not be an evening with format.
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Thanks for the post, does anyone know if a DVD will be shot from this tour?
It was shot in Boston a couple of weeks ago.
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Thanks for the post, does anyone know if a DVD will be shot from this tour?
It was shot in Boston a couple of weeks ago.
I couldn't tell. There was cameras in my way.
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Thanks for the post, does anyone know if a DVD will be shot from this tour?
It was shot in Boston a couple of weeks ago.
I couldn't tell. There was cameras in my way.
:lol
Damn things!
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Thanks for the post, does anyone know if a DVD will be shot from this tour?
It was shot in Boston a couple of weeks ago.
I couldn't tell. There was cameras in my way.
took me a sec...
:rollin
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I may be wrong but I think part of the reason why it's so stressful for him is he has to trigger certain things right on a click.
Certain things? If my understanding of the show is correct, the entire three hour set is programmed into the click track for each and every song. In other words, if MM gets a beat off the click, not only will it throw the timing of the musicians off, but it will throw off the lighting production for the song and the video production as well. I can understand why that's stressful and a lot of work to deal with!
I really respect the fact that he was completely honest though and didn't just say, "oh the tour is awesome" or "everything has been cool"... etc, etc... I think it says a lot about his character that he was completely honest and admitted that its been a tough task not only playing all that music (which there is a lot) but also the added pressure of essentially holding the entire show together from moment to moment, night after night.
I appreciate the honesty as well. Similar thing happened to me when I interviewed for a job. The interviewer asked me a question and I honestly said "I don't know." The interviewer said "Thank you for your honesty. A lot of people have tried to BS me their way out of the question I just asked you." So being honest sometimes pays off
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Is it just me that hopes JP doesn't use the Majesty exclusively from now on ?
I'm the kind of guy that likes seeing musicians with their signature guitar - in this case - JP's MM13 shape.
* I mean signature to them - not "signature" guitars.
You are not the only one. There is a very real possibility we will see a return to the JP13 style body next year for the 15th anniversary. From what I can tell, the reaction to the Majesty has been harsh...to say the very least. Most people seem to despise the way it looks. I am one of those people, I might add.
I have a JP signature model myself. Even though it's cool he's trying new things with the Majesty, the JPX-13 body designs are just too elegant to discontinue. I think he goes back to his regular guitars next year with some updates/enhancements.
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How long have they been doing their live shows with a click track? Or have they always done that?
They've been doing it since MM joined the band, so ADTOE.
MM mentioned in that recent YouTube video that he kind of pitched himself to the band as someone who can do that. I personally think they should ditch it, if only for MM's enjoyment.
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I asked JR about if there will be any setlist changes for the upcoming legs of the tour and he told me that as long as they're going to play in areas that they have not already played, that the setlist will remain the same as it has. So if/when they announce dates for Asia, Australia and/or South America, I'd expect the setlist will be the same as it is now. So I think it's safe to assume that the shows they'll be playing this summer in Europe will have a different setlist. We also talked about the big gap between the end of the American leg and the second European leg, and if there will be any other shows added in between, and it doesn't appear that there will be. Apparently with some of their kids graduating and other things, the guys have opted to take that time off.
Great to know this, I assumed they would keep playing the same set on places they haven't gone to and perhaps change some tracks on places they're visiting again. I'm glad they'll keep the set when they do South America (hope they come to Central America again), since I feel I really can't miss this tour and setlist. At the same time, if they change the setlist on places they've already gone to, we get some other songs played, and those could be tracks they have not played in a while/never before too so here's hoping for the best :tup
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How long have they been doing their live shows with a click track? Or have they always done that?
They've been doing it since MM joined the band, so ADTOE.
MM mentioned in that recent YouTube video that he kind of pitched himself to the band as someone who can do that. I personally think they should ditch it, if only for MM's enjoyment.
I just hope it won't make him question wanting to be in the band. He seemed so happy and grateful when they told him he was in.
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If it's too stressful for MM than let MP come back... :P
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i can't see MP playing to a click live with DT...
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I can't see MP playing live with DT.
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I wouldn't jump to too many conclusions from what MM said here. If you think about it, of course this tour would be tough mentally and physically on MM. I think the click track thing probably adds to that a little, but it seems that MM is one of those drummers who can pretty easily groove to a click. The fact that the whole show is sequenced to that click definitely adds to his stress levels I'm sure, but honestly, even if they were playing with no click at all I still think this tour would be tough and stressful for MM for a couple different reasons.
First off, its an Evening With tour format. The other guys haven't done this format in years, but MM has never done it! So I'm sure that a big adjustment physically (making sure he's got the stamina to play every night) and mentally. Which is kinda one of the other reasons why this tour was probably stressful, mentally he had to learn a lot of new (for him) material. Also, I've seen several interviews with band members that are basically saying this tour was the most ambitious tour of their careers, so I'm sure that's been talked about among the band members, which could certainly add to the pressure.
All I'm saying is that I wouldn't jump to any "MM's not happy" or "MM's not excited" conclusions. In fact it makes perfect sense to me that this tour would be really hard for MM and stressful. All that matters is that at the end of the day, when I saw DT live on this tour, MM looked like he was having a ball the entire show. He was excited energetic, passionate, etc...
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Well said, mikeyd23. I saw the band Saturday night and Mangini looked like he was having fun up there all night, so while it is really hard work, it is clearly very rewarding and a lot of fun for him. I wouldn't reach too much into these comments.
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Word - it's a few seconds of second-hand dialogue, it's not a big deal. Just cos it's tricky doesn't mean he's suffering, he's in agony, he's desperate to change it. When you pull out and look at it in the context of everything else he's ever said, it's clear that he's very comfortable. There are good days and bad days, but the overriding vibe is that he wouldn't change it for the world.
Then again, I suppose we wouldn't really be the internet if we didn't take a tiny comment out of all context and turn it into a crisis meeting! Panic on.
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Word - it's a few seconds of second-hand dialogue, it's not a big deal. Then again, it wouldn't really be the internet if we didn't take it out of all context and turn it into a crisis meeting!
Well, we have to be fair. If we put everything MP says under a microscope, then MM should get the same treatment, so MP doesn't feel bad. :biggrin:
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For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. :facepalm:
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If you guys want a more in depth feeling of how Mangini feels about this subject check out my interview in my thread here, or this link. It explains A LOT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY)
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For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. :facepalm:
Hey, I've had plenty of great opportunities in my life, and some of them, while they were something I wanted, and something that I was grateful to have, it turned out that for one reason or another, they just weren't right for me, and I had no way of predicting that's how it would be. And I tried to stick to my guns and kept with it, and never let on that it was something that was making me miserable, until it reached that breaking point where I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not saying that's the case with Manjini, I'm just saying that it's possible for that to happen, so don't make it seem like it's a completely ridiculous idea.
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If you guys want a more in depth feeling of how Mangini feels about this subject check out my interview in my thread here, or this link. It explains A LOT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJk1JffnmY)
I was just going to point to this. He explains how challenging the whole performance is, but he also states how satisfying it is. Please let this line of discussion end. MM is 100% on board and happy in DT.
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This is all conjecture but this may also be a case of Mangini being really hard on himself.
We know he is all about being the best he can be, constantly working on his technique, always trying improve. He treats drumming almost like an Olympic athlete treats a sport. In other words, he takes this gig very very seriously. I can see him making a few mistakes during a concert and getting frustrated with himself really easily.
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This is all conjecture but this may also be a case of Mangini being really hard on himself.
We know he is all about being the best he can be, constantly working on his technique, always trying improve. He treats drumming almost like an Olympic athlete treats a sport. In other words, he takes this gig very very seriously. I can see him making a few mistakes during a concert and getting frustrated with himself really easily.
I think that's spot on. He's monstrous and incredibly dedicated.
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For every interview the guy has been doing over the past two years, he's been saying how happy he is to have found a band that lets him be himself. Every single time the guy is asked about it he beams with enthusiasm. And now we're at the point on this thread where we're questioning if he really wants to be in the band (presumably because it's stressful) because of a 5 second interaction he had with a fan that none of us has seen or heard to better understand the context and tone with which he said it. :facepalm:
Hey, I've had plenty of great opportunities in my life, and some of them, while they were something I wanted, and something that I was grateful to have, it turned out that for one reason or another, they just weren't right for me, and I had no way of predicting that's how it would be. And I tried to stick to my guns and kept with it, and never let on that it was something that was making me miserable, until it reached that breaking point where I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not saying that's the case with Manjini, I'm just saying that it's possible for that to happen, so don't make it seem like it's a completely ridiculous idea.
Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point. None of us knows what will happen in the future, and anything is possible. It's possible JP will come out and say he actually hates prog metal and that his real calling is to be Taylor Swift's electric guitarist. It's possible for JR to say after this tour he's grown tired of DT and touring and just retire. But just as with MM and this speculation, it's completely unfounded right now. In fact, all the evidence points to the contrary.
This guy is a seasoned musician who has reached a level relatively few people get to. He's toured with numerous bands and demanding players around the world for decades. One does not get to that level in his playing and career by being flaky and just quitting because it's demanding...two tours later. By every single account, this role in DT is exactly what he's been waiting for and he's doing all the work he knew this gig would require.
I'll be honest, he could probably dick his way through these songs and most fans won't know the difference. But he DEMANDS from himself to be technically excellent every single night and it's paying off because the band sounds better than ever. His approach is totally different from that of MP; so is his place in the band. If you've listened to all his interviews about his approach to music and drumming, you know that he puts tremendous focus and work into his craft. In light of that it is easy to understand why he could sometimes feel added stress/pressure to do things the way he knows they should be done. But again, to worry or speculate that he's in over his head and might quit because of it, is just silly and probably more than anything just wishful thinking on the part of those who wish MP were still in the band.
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Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.
To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.
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Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.
To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.
Entertain it all you want. Anyone who predicted MP's departure wasn't onto anything other than luck. Not even the band expected it. But retrospectively, even MP's getting burnout after 25 years is far more understandable than MM's quitting after 2 because 'it's too much pressure.'
It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band. It is just not in the cards right now. There will always be that 1% chance something crazy will happen I suppose. But that MM, after all this guy has done and been through in his musical journey, is somehow too stressed out from the responsibility of having to learn DT songs and play them on a tour and is thinking about quitting because of it, is implausible speculation and nothing else. That he would be so amateurish, so childish, so unprofessional, so out of character, so contradictory to all he's said so far, so out of touch with his own feelings and instincts from the very beginning, to regret joining and/or quit the band because playing DT's catalog live is too stressful is FAR too unbelievable for any rational person to seriously entertain right now.
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It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band.
Why not? Sounds like a fun discussion.
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Finally we got to speak with JM and we chatted about a number of things (family, etc.) that aren't worth mentioning, but at some point the conversation turned towards upcoming tour legs and he commented that DT will probably be hitting South America in the fall, perhaps around August or September, altho nothing is set in stone.
Yay!! ;D You made my day sir! Something to hope for in the future :P.
@TisBOOLsheet
While I'm on your side of the argument, I think you're making the same mistake with the DTFers around here: taking the opinions of random hardcore DT fans(no offense, but that's what we all are after all) much too seriously. This place is basically a virtual room full of DT fans, and of course if you throw a comment like this in a room like that, people are going to talk about it. I don't see the problem, pointless discussion and speculation is one of the main reasons why we are here after all :lol.
That being said, I think people are overanalysing one particular comment on one particular day to one particular fan and taking it to an extreme level. A lot of people have stressful jobs every day, that doesn't mean they don't enjoy them. Some days they do, others they don't. MM is just like everyone else. Even JP wrote a line "Why I chose this life, this superficial lie. Constant compromise, endless sacrifice." that doesn't mean he hates what he does, there are bad days for everyone, it's no big deal. And what MM said doesn't even imply that he had a bad day, just that it's hard, so I'm overanalysing it too. :rollin
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That being said, I think people are overanalysing one particular comment on one particular day to one particular fan and taking it to an extreme level. A lot of people have stressful jobs every day, that doesn't mean they don't enjoy them. Some days they do, others they don't. MM is just like everyone else. Even JP wrote a line "Why I chose this life, this superficial lie. Constant compromise, endless sacrifice." that doesn't mean he hates what he does, there are bad days for everyone, it's no big deal. And what MM said doesn't even imply that he had a bad day, just that it's hard, so I'm overanalysing it too. :rollin
To be fair it wasn't WHAT he said, but how he said it... Even though I wasn't even there to hear how he said it. :lol
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Except that is not what is going on with Mike Mangini. It is unequivocally clear and not even subject to any rational debate at this moment. Any speculation about whether he feels so stressed he might regret joining the band is so ludicrous, it's not even worth any discussion at this point.
To be quite honest with you, I would've said the exact same thing about Portnoy in 2010. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on with MM, I'm just saying I don't see why it's so horrible to entertain the idea a little bit. If you don't wanna discuss it, that's fine, but I still think it's an interesting topic for discussion.
Entertain it all you want. Anyone who predicted MP's departure wasn't onto anything other than luck. Not even the band expected it. But retrospectively, even MP's getting burnout after 25 years is far more understandable than MM's quitting after 2 because 'it's too much pressure.'
It's not "horrible" to discuss; I'm just saying it's really silly. You might as well also entertain whether John Myung will eventually give up bass guitar and join a K-pop band. It is just not in the cards right now. There will always be that 1% chance something crazy will happen I suppose. But that MM, after all this guy has done and been through in his musical journey, is somehow too stressed out from the responsibility of having to learn DT songs and play them on a tour and is thinking about quitting because of it, is implausible speculation and nothing else. That he would be so amateurish, so childish, so unprofessional, so out of character, so contradictory to all he's said so far, so out of touch with his own feelings and instincts from the very beginning, to regret joining and/or quit the band because playing DT's catalog live is too stressful is FAR too unbelievable for any rational person to seriously entertain right now.
The guy is his own worst critic. That's really all I got out of it.
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All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.
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All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.
Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.
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So I'm pretty new to the forums. How in the world do you have an 'in' with the band? That's so awesome!!
It's been so long that I could be wrong, but I believe Scotty used to be manager for something for MP.
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All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.
Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.
Could be to an extent, but I'm sure he can still have fun performing a show that's so hard to play. No doubt he's going to feel more comfortable some nights than others.
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All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.
Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.
I understand what you are saying but going back to the whole idea that the things you truly have to work hardest for in life usually are the most rewarding, don't you think that the enjoyment shown on his face could merely be a result of experiencing that reward?
He puts in the hard work during the show and that hard work creates moments in which the band sounds absolutely, incredibly tight, I know because I saw the them on this tour and its magical. I feel like his smiles and excitement are completely genuine because bit by bit, piece by piece throughout each show he is experiencing the rewards of his hard work. Sure, the ultimate reward for every show is when its done and the sense of accomplishment is complete, but little by little throughout the show I feel like that rewarding feeling is shining through MM right out to the audience.
That's just my take though, I could be way off base! Haha :lol
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So I'm pretty new to the forums. How in the world do you have an 'in' with the band? That's so awesome!!
It's been so long that I could be wrong, but I believe Scotty used to be manager for something for MP.
Never been a manager of his, but I started doing things for him (to begin with the tourography) and my friendship with him (and by extension, the rest of the band) grew from there.
I understand what you are saying but going back to the whole idea that the things you truly have to work hardest for in life usually are the most rewarding, don't you think that the enjoyment shown on his face could merely be a result of experiencing that reward?
He puts in the hard work during the show and that hard work creates moments in which the band sounds absolutely, incredibly tight, I know because I saw the them on this tour and its magical. I feel like his smiles and excitement are completely genuine because bit by bit, piece by piece throughout each show he is experiencing the rewards of his hard work. Sure, the ultimate reward for every show is when its done and the sense of accomplishment is complete, but little by little throughout the show I feel like that rewarding feeling is shining through MM right out to the audience.
And I get what you're saying, but considering how he emphasized to me how hard he has to work at each show, I'm gonna say no. That's not to say that the man doesn't enjoy playing, nor that he doesn't find it rewarding both in his performance, as well as to see the expressions on fans faces. I'm sure there are occasions throughout each show where the smiles are 100% genuine. But keep in mind that he, along with the rest of the band, are putting on a show for the entertainment of the audience. So he has to be a showman. And let's not forget that he's filling in the shoes of a drummer who was known for his showmanship. So while he may not be beckoning the crowd the way MP did, I'm sure he feels some pressure to give some extra entertainment value because of his predecessor.
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Eh, I don't buy that. I saw them twice last week and everything Mangini did looked very natural, including the frequent joy on his face when playing. You can't fake something like that, especially when you are as an emotional person as Mangini is. Trust me, I know. For emotional people, looking really happy when you are not is extremely difficult to do, even if it is supposedly part of your job.
I just think it's strange that nearly everyone reports of how happy he looks playing at every concert, but because of one offhand remark backstage, we are now supposed to believe that a lot of it is faked and that he is actually having a rough time up there. Seems very strange to me.
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I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.
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I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.
Eh, I get what you are saying to a degree but you want to talk about hamming it up?! What performer doesn't ham it up more in front of a paying crowd of fans than he/she does rehearsing by themselves. Do you think MP stands up, jumps around, spits everywhere, points out to an imaginary audience, etc... when he is rehearsing for a tour? No, of course not, he hams it up in front of the fans, just like pretty much all musicians do. So of course MM is hamming it up in front of fans!
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I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.
Yes.
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I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything. But I do believe he's hamming things up much more so than he naturally would, because he's putting on a show. I mean, do you honestly think he was making all those silly faces when he was preparing/practicing for this tour? I highly doubt it. And while some of that no doubt naturally comes from feeding off the energy of the crowd, I'm sure some of it comes from him mentally preparing himself before walking on stage that he needs to expressive and smiley throughout the show.
Yes.
I mean I do when I drum by myself because it just comes naturally :lol
I think he's enjoying himself plenty. There's definitely pressure, but they're 60+ shows into the tour now, so I'd imagine it's MUCH easier on him now since they're way more used to the groove now.
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This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.
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This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.
Amen. Folks cut it out. That's just silly nonsense I'm reading here.
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This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.
Amen. Folks cut it out. That's just silly nonsense I'm reading here.
This.
I can't imagine it was anything more than MM may have had a slightly bad night. Maybe there were technical problems and he didn't want to seem like he was throwing someone under the bus. All I know is the three times I have seen him (four if you include the clinic he did), he was so incredibly happy, joking around with the guys, making faces, hamming up the the one handed snare roll, which says a lot more that he does that night after night rather than it does getting pissy one time.
He even fucked up at the Chicago show (which I didn't notice but my friend sitting elsewhere did) which caused all the guys to laugh and MM to make a face like, "Fuck man, they caught me" before laughing himself.
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For anyone who has seen the show, its quite obvious that its an extremely difficult task for every member and probably most so for MM. There's no reason not to think the job is very challenging, difficult, and stressful. However, that doesnt mean he isnt finding some fun in doing it. I would bet when the songs are going well and he sees the positive reaction from the fans that he would smile and be able to enjoy what he is doing. I am also sure that when the show is over that he feels very rewarded for the completion (anyone who has ever worked hard on something and finished has probably had that feeling of accomplishment and it is a great feeling) so for anyone to think that just because he says how hard it is that it would mean he is unhappy is probably incorrect.
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This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.
(Not just musicians) Yes, sadly... It reminds me of some of those sports/celebrities show where the celebrity in question makes one comment and everyone starts overanalysing, most of the time to shred the person to pieces.
I'm not saying it's what's happening here though, but dammit, he just said it's hard to play the whole show! Something all the other guys in the band could've said and it wouldn't be a big deal, but that doesn't automatically mean he doesn't like it, he's going to quit or he's faking the faces! If it is hard, you can't focus on the songs AND the faking, and you can clearly see that it flows naturally for him. He's the most geniune member of the band, always very upfront and direct even on interviews, why would he fake faces? It's complete nonsense. And like I said before, just because something is stressful doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. It's actually the opposite, there's no satifaction in achieving something easy.
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*sigh*
I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything.
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All I know is last night in Salem he seemed to be having the time of his life and appeared to be totally comfortable with the set. Maybe it's just a case of he just makes it look easy, but there sure were a lot of smiles emitting from his face.
Honestly, I'm sure a lot of that is just for show, at least that's what I would imagine considering the way he emphasized to me how hard it was to perform this show.
Could be to an extent, but I'm sure he can still have fun performing a show that's so hard to play. No doubt he's going to feel more comfortable some nights than others.
Yeah I've seen them a few times on this tour and when I saw them in Seattle MM was mostly smiles and looked like he was having a great time, but a few times he looked super concentrated, very stoic. Every show is different and some are gonna be tougher than others.
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Something else to keep in mind is that on this tour Mangini is playing almost an entire set of songs that are new to him. Without giving spoilers, 11 of the 18 songs are pre-ADTOE, and none of them were played on the ADTOE tour, so they are all new to Mangini as far as playing them in a live environment, and when you throw in the five new songs as well, 16 of the 18 songs on the tour are songs he has never played live before prior to this tour. When you combine that with the fact that he is now a 51-year old man who is touring now more than he ever has, it's no surprise that the tour might be taking a toll on him, physically and mentally.
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*sigh*
I'm not trying to say the man is faking anything.
Faking or "not being 100% genuine" is not far from each other. Sure, one word as an extreme negative connotation, but the essence is the same, change the words and my point is still valid. What I'm basically saying is that taking this level of analysis over one word is like judging someone from a photograph, that's all, and it wasn't directed to you anyway, you just happened to ask a slightly inapropiate question to open the dialogue and he may have taken it the wrong way a little bit. It happened to me with another musician I met at his clinic, no big deal, wrong timing, that's all. All the analysis that came after your post is what I find blown out of proportion.
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This sort of overanalysis is exactly why musicians hesitate to give us anything more than the stock/corporate answer. Just saying.
Uh huh. Yet another example of why I rarely come DT-side around here. What started as a wonderful and insightful post by Scotty has degraded into some unnecessary nitpicking.
DTF - where all fun and intelligent discussion comes to die of over-analysis.
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