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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Nest777 on September 19, 2014, 05:10:59 AM
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Interesting interview with Mike Mangini here. I'm translating it from spanish, sorry in advance for any mistakes!
You have a lot of experience as a session musician. Recording ADTOE was like a session, or you felt quickly integrated in the DT writing dynamic?
It was more like a session, 'cause the music was already written, but at the same time it was my new band, so there was some kind of flexibility. I suggested some ideas, and I was free to play like I wanted, but I did have no control over my sound. I must say that the sound in that album doesn't represent me at all, the mix was far from what I would have done.
How?
I'd have liked a more equalized, flourished sound. The isolated drum tracks from ADTOE sound huge, just the same way they did in the studio. When you add the whole band, the drum mix isn't that great. It has to be very clear, very loud mix, 'cause when you add so many guitar and keyboard tracks, the drum track is harder to hear. At the end, if you put the drum track in the middle of that sonic storm, it sounds like a machine. I like the album, though.
Two years later Dream Theater released a self-titled album. This is the first time you were ther since the beginning, how was it?
Working on this album was quite different. Like you've said, I was there since the beginning. As a composer, I manage some things in a different way. For exaple, I'm able to compose a whole song, with all the instruments, from start to end. That allows me to be quiet when it's necessary, as opposed to Mike Portnoy, who was quite controlling. I'm a silent man most of the time, I don't have the need to do or to say something everytime I can. If the guys are developing some great ideas, I don't want to bother them. Been able to create a whole song gives me confidence, I don't need to be a control freak all the time. That's important, let the other guys think in peace.
There are many fans who aren't 100% fond of the new album. How do you feel about that?
We are very happy with the album, all the reviews we have read are great. We've been nominated for a Grammy again. Do you know how important is that? We probably wouldn't have been nominated for a Grammy if Dream Theater hadn't changed their drummer. But they changed and the songs ended being great enough for the nomination.
https://blogs.rock.com.ar/mike-mangini-dream-theater-baterista-grammy/
:corn
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I'm not clicking on the link because I don't need another virus to wipe out but that does not sound like the MM I know. At all.
Seems like BS to me.
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Even if it is remotely accurate, I would assume something got lost in context or something. Perhaps like, DT wouldn't have had the notoriety to be noticed for the Grammys without all of the publicity revolving MP leaving.
It certainly didn't have anything to do with MM himself, and he is humble enough to know that, so without some other corroboration, I do not accept this at face value.
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Even if it is remotely accurate, I would assume something got lost in context or something. Perhaps like, DT wouldn't have had the notoriety to be noticed for the Grammys without all of the publicity revolving MP leaving.
It certainly didn't have anything to do with MM himself, and he is humble enough to know that, so without some other corroboration, I do not accept this at face value.
Yeah, I definitely don't think MM would have meant it in a way that took anything away from pre-MM era DT. If he did mean that DT wouldn't have gotten a Grammy nomination without the publicity and exposure they got from MP's departure, then I'd probably agree. DT deserved some recognition for their successful career, but tbh OTBOA isn't the song I would have chosen from them.
And I've never taken translations like this at face value. It's translated from English, then back again, and it only takes a word or two of difference for the meaning to get distorted.
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I'm not clicking on the link because I don't need another virus to wipe out but that does not sound like the MM I know. At all.
Seems like BS to me.
This exactly. I would need to see a video of this interview because that really doesn't sound like Mike. He has a lot more class than what is represented here.
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Working on this album was quite different. Like you've said, I was there since the beginning. As a composer, I manage some things in a different way. For exaple, I'm able to compose a whole song, with all the instruments, from start to end. That allows me to be quiet when it's necessary, as opposed to Mike Portnoy, who was quite controlling. I'm a silent man most of the time, I don't have the need to do or to say something everytime I can. If the guys are developing some great ideas, I don't want to bother them. Been able to create a whole song gives me confidence, I don't need to be a control freak all the time. That's important, let the other guys think in peace.
This is a strange statement.
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Maybe he was on a bender.
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That indeed reads very un-MMish. Would love to hear the original recording.
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It's fake. Lots of wrong things in the interview. Or Maybe it's legit, but the interviewer sucks at translating or loves to take out of context everything :lol
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That's super fake, or else the interviewer was so bad at translating that what he did probably doesn't count as translation. MM would never say any of that.
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Come on guys, maybe something is lost in translation, but it's far from fake. Rock.com.ar it's a HUGE web in Argentina, with more than 17 years of activity, over 100000 followers in Facebook and thousands of daily visits. One may think they have *some* experience transcribing and translating interviews :\
Also, please don't kill the messenger :lol
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We have not killed you.
Yet.
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Yeah i get the sense it was about publicity, when it comes to that particular statement.
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There is no way this is real. MM would never say any of this. Saying ADTOE doesn't show off his full potential and that he was unhappy with the sound, saying he can write a full song, that he can take a step back unlike MP who was controlling, and saying that the Grammy nomination wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for him? This is not how MM is at all. This is a bad translation at best and an "interview" meant to stir up controversy at worst.
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I don't know. As Nest777 points out, the site is pretty big (you don't just randomly get 100k FB likes) and as such I can't imagine them just posting a fake interview. Especially with a band of the size of DT, who would probably send a lawyer over if interview was made up.
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inb4 lock
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MM has always been gracious to MP and has treated him with respect.
When Mangini won the audition, I remember him saying something like:
"Please know that I am not trying to replace Mike Portnoy, or anything he has done for this band. He is a good friend, I love Mike. He is the only drummer who ever came up to me and told me how highly he thinks of me." (Not an exact quote, only what I can remember)
I could not find the clip, but it was similar to that. This tells us that MM has a ton of respect for MP, and they've been good friends in the past.
I certainly hope this new interview is not accurate.
As everyone has said, it would be very unlike MM to call Portnoy "controlling", hint that he is a "control freak", and say that they would not have received a Grammy nomination if MP was still aboard.
If it is indeed fake, I also hope that someone brings it to MM's attention, so he can clear things up with MP before he reads it for himself.
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Sorry, but not buying this translation one bit. It doesn't sound a thing like Mike Mangini has sounded like in EVERY other interview we've seen by the man. Honestly, it sounds trumped up by a Portnoy fanboy (not saying the OP is that, but someone) who wants to make Mangini look bad.
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Sorry, but not buying this translation one bit.
Well..maybe MM's Spanish isn't that great! ;D
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I don't know. As Nest777 points out, the site is pretty big (you don't just randomly get 100k FB likes) and as such I can't imagine them just posting a fake interview. Especially with a band of the size of DT, who would probably send a lawyer over if interview was made up.
Do you think it's more likely the interview and the translation are real than it is likely that MM actually said this?
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It's virtually impossible to make the call on it, without having the original audio. I'm just saying, it seems like a reputable page, and it's also not inconceivable that MM is slowly changing the toooone now that he got 2 albums under the belt with the band.
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What's also really bizarre is that whole "on ADTOE my drumming sounds like a machine" part. I mean, if anything, that's a criticism I would levy against DT12.
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It's virtually impossible to make the call on it, without having the original audio. I'm just saying, it seems like a reputable page, and it's also not inconceivable that MM is slowly changing the toooone now that he got 2 albums under the belt with the band.
I see no reason to believe MM would claim the following:
- The mix on ADTOE wasn't good
- He finds the drum sound on ADTOE to be "machine-like"
- He is able to "compose a whole song with all the instruments from start to finish" which makes him a better band member than others
- MP was controlling because he didn't have the songwriting skill that MM does
- He is literally the reason that the band was given two Grammy nominations
That's not slowly changing the toooone, that's the voice of a completely different person, or at least the voice of an MM that received a really severe blow to the head and doesn't really act like himself anymore. However, all of these things do sound like things a DT fan would say.
You're technically right that there's no way to know without with 100% certainty without hearing the original recording of the interview, but unless he was on PCP when this interview was done, I don't see how that's likely at all.
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I hereby officially declare shenanigans on this interview.
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The thing is that in Argentina most popular things are based on lies :biggrin:
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I hereby officially declare shenanigans on this interview.
SHENANIGANS! :yeahright
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Wow. This is so out of character, there has to be a mistake somewhere.. right? For MM of all people, to say his work on ADTOE "doesn't represent him" is shocking to me. Considering all the previous interviews out there, this sounds like a bad translation that was skewed in a pro-MP direction. I'm not gonna pass judgement until I hear the audio, but this is the impression I get from what I know.
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Working on this album was quite different. Like you've said, I was there since the beginning. As a composer, I manage some things in a different way. For exaple, I'm able to compose a whole song, with all the instruments, from start to end. That allows me to be quiet when it's necessary, as opposed to Mike Portnoy, who was quite controlling. I'm a silent man most of the time, I don't have the need to do or to say something everytime I can. If the guys are developing some great ideas, I don't want to bother them. Been able to create a whole song gives me confidence, I don't need to be a control freak all the time. That's important, let the other guys think in peace.
:neverusethis:
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I hereby officially declare shenanigans on this interview.
SHENANIGANS! :yeahright
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li6rhdxAGJ1qcaoy3o1_500.jpg)
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I just read that whole interview and I'm pretty sure there are some translation errors and some stuff that was probably taken out of context. I just contacted the interviewer through twitter to see if I can get an audio and see what was really said.
Edit: I exchanged some tweets with the guy and he says there was no editing and no omissions on that interview. He says he does have an audio of the interview but I didn't go as far as asking to have it.
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The thing is that in Argentina most popular things are based on lies :biggrin:
What?
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For example, the lie that Argentina can win the World Cup.
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(https://weknowgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fuck-you-gifs-26.gif)
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:rollin :rollin :rollin
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I just read that whole interview and I'm pretty sure there are some translation errors and some stuff that was probably taken out of context. I just contacted the interviewer through twitter to see if I can get an audio and see what was really said.
Edit: I exchanged some tweets with the guy and he says there was no editing and no omissions on that interview. He says he does have an audio of the interview but I didn't go as far as asking to have it.
Well, you might have. I won't believe anything of this unless I hear the original recording. It sounds so unlike MM it's painful.
B.Lee
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Has Blabbermouth picked up on this yet? Portnoy is gonna be pissed.
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That certainly doesn't sound like the MM I've met; not much in the way of humility in that translation of the interview. Maybe humility doesn't translate properly into Spanish... or maybe MM was speaking in one of the other 14 living indigenous languages in Argentina. He is a rocket scientist. :biggrin:
I would hope that MP would visit the salt shaker (or grinder; this is a big rock) when reading this particular interview.
I'd be likely to call SHENANIGANS as well.
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Edit: I exchanged some tweets with the guy and he says there was no editing and no omissions on that interview. He says he does have an audio of the interview but I didn't go as far as asking to have it.
Bit I'm not sure "editing" or "omissions" are the issue. Reading through that, NOTHING that he said strikes me as inaccurate factually. It's just that it comes across as blunt and lacking tact in the way it is worded, which is uncharacteristic of how Mike has responded in the past. As others have pointed out, I think it is just more an issue of translating his responses into Spanish and then back to English again. A lot of the subtle, but important nuances of what he is saying can easily be lost in that process. I am purely speculating, of course, since I obviously have no idea what was originally said. But I can picture him saying something close to what was said in each of those answers and I would not have a problem with any of it, so I am betting it is simply that a lot of nuance and context was lost in translation--not that things were necessarily changed or edited out.
Some examples:
Where he talks about the mix: I do not doubt that the isolated drum track sounded a lot bigger. Mixing drums is HARD, and I cannot count the number of times a monster drummer doesn't sound all that great simply because he was not recorded properly or because the drums just get lost in the final mix. I would say it happens more often than not. Mike Portnoy had become VERY good at recording his drum parts and making sure the drums sound very huge and punchy in the overall mix. With him missing, the drum mix did sound off on ADTOE. It just did. If anyone who picks up the album can tell, Mike obviously would be able to. I have no problem with him saying so. And again, I am betting it came across as a lot more tactful if we could hear the original audio rather than just reading the printed word having been translated twice.
Regarding the grammy nomination, I do not have a problem with that either. I think what he is trying to say is that Portnoy leaving was in the headlines and brought an unprecedented amount of exposure that got DT noticed and in the news. Since the grammies are, in essence, a popularity contest at their very core, no matter how good a band is, they are not going to get nominated unless they are noticed and have a degree of exposure. In the grand scheme of the music industry, DT is an obscure band. So of course the exposure from the Portnoy departure helped. I don't have much of an issue with that statement.
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I was thinking the same thing, that all those things could have been said, but without the laughs and the winks and the emphasis on words, sentences can sound *very* different on paper. I have certain coworkers that I learned to not take as the pissed off vibe that they sound like.
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Has Blabbermouth picked up on this yet? Portnoy is gonna be pissed.
I wish I'd gotten an ADTOE shirt just for mr. I have no regrets about leaving Dream Theater on the Progressive Nation cruise.
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(https://weknowgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fuck-you-gifs-26.gif)
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Bit I'm not sure "editing" or "omissions" are the issue. Reading through that, NOTHING that he said strikes me as inaccurate factually. It's just that it comes across as blunt and lacking tact in the way it is worded, which is uncharacteristic of how Mike has responded in the past. As others have pointed out, I think it is just more an issue of translating his responses into Spanish and then back to English again. A lot of the subtle, but important nuances of what he is saying can easily be lost in that process. I am purely speculating, of course, since I obviously have no idea what was originally said. But I can picture him saying something close to what was said in each of those answers and I would not have a problem with any of it, so I am betting it is simply that a lot of nuance and context was lost in translation--not that things were necessarily changed or edited out.
Well any media that takes itself seriously would never do that. Always do the English text with minor editing, then translate from that.
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Except that that is exactly what happened here.
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Except that that is exactly what happened here.
So did they say they translated to Spanish and then back to English? Is it confirmed?
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I'm just saying, it seems like a reputable page, and it's also not inconceivable that MM is slowly changing the toooone now that he got 2 albums under the belt with the band.
This seems possible to me. If this is the new MM, that's fine, he still rocks those drums. :metal
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Except that that is exactly what happened here.
So did they say they translated to Spanish and then back to English? Is it confirmed?
I am not sure what "they" you are referring to, but it says right in the original post that the interview is posted in Spanish (meaning it had to have been translated into Spanish), and that the OP was translating parts of the Spanish post back into English. I'm not sure what is confusing about that.
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Except that that is exactly what happened here.
So did they say they translated to Spanish and then back to English? Is it confirmed?
I am not sure what "they" you are referring to, but it says right in the original post that the interview is posted in Spanish (meaning it had to have been translated into Spanish), and that the OP was translating parts of the Spanish post back into English. I'm not sure what is confusing about that.
Yeah sorry, my bad, i thought that the Argentinian site did the translation.
I guess i had a rough day :lol
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I'm just saying, it seems like a reputable page, and it's also not inconceivable that MM is slowly changing the toooone now that he got 2 albums under the belt with the band.
This seems possible to me. If this is the new MM, that's fine, he still rocks those drums. :metal
I had a long exchange on twitter with the interviewer. He mentioned he was surprised at how direct MM had been with his answers. At one point during the interview he asked MM if initially he thought he would be chosen after the audition and MM said "Yes", that he was very confident because he felt he clicked with the band and hadn't committed any mistake.
So yeah, maybe MM's loosen up a bit and is being a bit bolder with his answers.
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I'm just saying, it seems like a reputable page, and it's also not inconceivable that MM is slowly changing the toooone now that he got 2 albums under the belt with the band.
This seems possible to me. If this is the new MM, that's fine, he still rocks those drums. :metal
I had a long exchange on twitter with the interviewer. He mentioned he was surprised at how direct MM had been with his answers. At one point during the interview he asked MM if initially he thought he would be chosen after the audition and MM said "Yes", that he was very confident because he felt he clicked with the band and hadn't committed any mistake.
So yeah, maybe MM's loosen up a bit and is being a bit bolder with his answers.
Sorry, mates, but that would have meant changing a lot. Even in his pre-DT interviews, he never sounded anything like that. Still waiting for the original audio (call me Saint Thomas if you like... ;D). But hey, what do I know?
B.Lee
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It would be nice to get an audio portion of the interview because the toooooone of the this interview is weird. It just doesn't sound like him. But then again--he's got two albums, two tours, two Grammy nominations under his belt--maybe he's just really confident now.
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Sorry, mates, but that would have meant changing a lot. Even in his pre-DT interviews, he never sounded anything like that.
Agreed. I am incredibly sceptical about MM being a humble and respectful person for his entire career, before and during DT, and then suddenly in ONE interview with an Argentinan website he turns into a bit of a jerk. I'm not buying it.
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Looks like most of us are waiting on the audio clip now :P Nekov, could you please do us a big favor and ask the interviewer for the source audio? I don't use twitter xD
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Uh...what makes you think we're ever going to get the original audio?
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Looks like most of us are waiting on the audio clip now :P Nekov, could you please do us a big favor and ask the interviewer for the source audio? I don't use twitter xD
The guy really took time to explain a lot of what he talked with MM during that interview and after all that I fell it would be disrespectful to ask for the audio.
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Read the whole thing in Spanish, it's my first language, and it honestly makes no sense for MM to have said such things the way he did, knowing how his personality really is. I'm sure it has a lot to do with interpretation projected onto translation.
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Looks like most of us are waiting on the audio clip now :P Nekov, could you please do us a big favor and ask the interviewer for the source audio? I don't use twitter xD
The guy really took time to explain a lot of what he talked with MM during that interview and after all that I fell it would be disrespectful to ask for the audio.
Go ahead and disrespect him and ask for the audio.
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I guess I wouldn't be as surprised as many of you if the interview turned out to be accurate. MM has said plenty of things in the past that made me raise an eyebrow and then some, most notably when he said how much he prayed to land a gig and be able to move on his with life, but for that to happen, a famous drummer would have probably had to die, or when he was asked by a fan if it's difficult to play 3 hours of DT to a click every night and he rebutted with a frustrated "how do you think it is?"
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I guess I wouldn't be as surprised as many of you if the interview turned out to be accurate. MM has said plenty of things in the past that made me raise an eyebrow and then some, most notably when he said how much he prayed to land a gig and be able to move on his with life, but for that to happen, a famous drummer would have probably had to die, or when he was asked by a fan if it's difficult to play 3 hours of DT to a click every night and he rebutted with a frustrated "how do you think it is?"
I think most of us know he's a very honest person, and he probably did say everything in the interview, but it has a much jerkier tone then what would naturally come him. I'm in the boat that it was a translation issue.
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The more I read it, the less I see the issue.
He said that the band probably wouldn't get a Grammy nod had it not been for the switch in the line up, which is a fair guess, being that there was a lot of attention being drawn to the band during the split. He's not making himself look great with this statement in any way. He didn't say ''if DT hadn't hired me'', he said ''if DT hadn't changed the drummer''. Not really arrogant. And again, the key word is ''probably'', which isn't ''certainly''.
My issue with that answer is actually the question - maybe MM felt the need to defend the current line up, what kind of an interviewer asks what he thinks of the fans that didn't like the album and stresses that there's MANY of them?
And the fact that he isn't satisfied with his drum mix on ADTOE isn't odd, a lot of the fans aren't satisfied either, although it never bothered me personally.
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And the fact that he isn't satisfied with his drum mix on ADTOE isn't odd, a lot of the fans aren't satisfied either, although it never bothered me personally.
I was OK with it too, until I heard the isolated drum stems, then it became blatantly apparent how much the drums are drowned in the mix. Before the piano solo on OTBOA, he does a really cool and complex drum fill, but it's almost entirely lost in the mix. There are lots of spots on the album when you can hardly hear the snare hits. The snare is the most prominent and the loudest component of the drum kit, when you can't even hear that, there are major problems.
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Who's the guy? I'm on Twitter, I'll ask for the audio :lol
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Who's the guy? I'm on Twitter, I'll ask for the audio :lol
You're a soldier on the front lines of DT fandom, doing a duty for your fellow fanbase.
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Who's the guy? I'm on Twitter, I'll ask for the audio :lol
@vmspinelli
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He definitely did not mean it in a bad way (i.e., if they didn't get rid of MP and hire me...). It's obvious he is the last person in the world to say something like that. We're just missing context in this. That is all.
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Uh...what makes you think we're ever going to get the original audio?
A few people already mentioned the desire to hear it and clarify the tone of the interview, as well as some of the things said. Is it so outlandish to want to hear the interview in its original form? What is there to hide?
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Uh...what makes you think we're ever going to get the original audio?
A few people already mentioned the desire to hear it and clarify the tone of the interview, as well as some of the things said. Is it so outlandish to want to hear the interview in its original form? What is there to hide?
Wanting to hear it is not the same thing as being likely to hear it.
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Uh...what makes you think we're ever going to get the original audio?
A few people already mentioned the desire to hear it and clarify the tone of the interview, as well as some of the things said. Is it so outlandish to want to hear the interview in its original form? What is there to hide?
Wanting to hear it is not the same thing as being likely to hear it.
Alright. I guess I just don't understand why we're not likely to hear it. I'm stuck with this unclear image regarding the context of the things MM said. Looks like we're just going to move on..