The Mike Portnoy Appreciation/Discussion Thread (merged)

[HOF]

Indeed fretless. Called it.

He kept it to a minimum, but it worked.

His daughter has a surprisingly lovely voice!

Melody went to school for theater/vocal performance and had a gig in a show at one point.

[KevShmev]

Since pop can now play a little bass guitar and electric guitar, I would imagine it is only a matter of time before we get a Portnoy tour featuring his daughter on lead vocals, his son on drums, and himself doing a little bit of everything, and with probably another musician or two in the mix to fill out the band.  Would give him a chance to play stuff from all 481 of his bands/projects.

[The Letter M]

Since pop can now play a little bass guitar and electric guitar, I would imagine it is only a matter of time before we get a Portnoy tour featuring his daughter on lead vocals, his son on drums, and himself doing a little bit of everything, and with probably another musician or two in the mix to fill out the band.  Would give him a chance to play stuff from all 481 of his bands/projects.

How could you forget Marlene, who played guitar in the all-female band Meanstreak? The whole Portnoy family is musically inclined! They could easily tour as a single band together with Marlene on guitar, Mike on bass, Max on drums, and Melody on vocals.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Since pop can now play a little bass guitar and electric guitar, I would imagine it is only a matter of time before we get a Portnoy tour featuring his daughter on lead vocals, his son on drums, and himself doing a little bit of everything, and with probably another musician or two in the mix to fill out the band.  Would give him a chance to play stuff from all 481 of his bands/projects.

How could you forget Marlene, who played guitar in the all-female band Meanstreak? The whole Portnoy family is musically inclined! They could easily tour as a single band together with Marlene on guitar, Mike on bass, Max on drums, and Melody on vocals.

-Marc.

The Portnoy Family (instead of Partridge, get it?).

[Tick]

Didn't really care for Mikes thing. His daughters singing I did appreciate a lot.

[ytserush]

Anyone see MP's performance on the show put together by The Prog Report just now? I think there was some discussion in this thread but it sure looked like he was playing a fretless bass in this performance. Have to say, really enjoyed his performance. He's much more of an all-round musician than I realised.

That was one of my favorite performances. I love that.  He needs to get his daughter involved in one of his projects. Mike is at his best when he does stuff like that.

[faizoff]

Yes that cover was a joy to watch, the Ramones one he did earlier too was a lot of fun.

[Architeuthis]

That keyboard player in the video has a striking resemblance to JLB at certain angles. I can't un-see it now.
 Great job on the song, MP's daughter sings quite well. 

[Stadler]

Roger Manning, Jr., from Jellyfish, the band that originally did that song (though it's written by Andy Sturmer, Manning's sometimes estranged writing partner).

[Architeuthis]

That's awesome!

[Mladen]

I understand that I wanna stay home is a perfect song to cover during the pandemic, but it's always been one of my least favorite songs on Bellybutton. Still nice to see someone cover Jellyfish and give them more exposure.

[Stadler]

I understand that I wanna stay home is a perfect song to cover during the pandemic, but it's always been one of my least favorite songs on Bellybutton. Still nice to see someone cover Jellyfish and give them more exposure.

I've really gotten into them lately.  I'm a big fan. 

[Cool Chris]

He needs to get his daughter involved in one of his projects.

That would not fit with his standard operating procedure. She isn't an aging, past-their-prime legacy act living off work they did 20+ years ago.   

[Stadler]

He needs to get his daughter involved in one of his projects.

That would not fit with his standard operating procedure. She isn't an aging, past-their-prime legacy act living off work they did 20+ years ago.   

 

[utopiarun]

I understand that I wanna stay home is a perfect song to cover during the pandemic, but it's always been one of my least favorite songs on Bellybutton. Still nice to see someone cover Jellyfish and give them more exposure.

I thought MP's cover was ok. Everything was good except him singing the verses an octave lower than Andy did. Thought Melody was excellent and a cutie pie to boot! Not sure how much exposure Jellyfish will get from the at home concert, they are well respected in the rock community but any bit can't hurt. It's a shame nobody can convince Andy Sturmer to come back to popular music.

[KevShmev]

I understand that I wanna stay home is a perfect song to cover during the pandemic, but it's always been one of my least favorite songs on Bellybutton. Still nice to see someone cover Jellyfish and give them more exposure.

I've really gotten into them lately.  I'm a big fan.

I finally got around to hearing them a few months ago, thanks to my younger brother who sent me Bellybutton.  Very cool album, with catchy, fun melodies all over the place. I still need to get the second album.

[HOF]

I’ve tried several times to get into Jellyfish via steaming, but I’ve always gotten my attention pulled away to something else. I like the sound of them though. Probably need to invest in an actual CD to make myself give it a full listen.

[Mladen]

Anyone that is into the Flying Colors debut should give a listen to Jellyfish. The solo in Calling Sarah reminds me of Love is what I'm waiting for. It could be a Queen influence rather than Jellyfish, though. I don't know if Neal is as big of a fan as Mike is.

[Trav86]

I love Jellyfish and Bellybutton is great but...Spilt Milk is one of my favorite albums ever!

[Stadler]

It's not for me to suggest what some should like or not, but I know for me, I heard all these references to them (not just from Mike) and decided to give them a try on... I forget, YooToobs or Spotify or something.   And I was like "wha?", I didn't get it.  Cute song, but anyone could do this in their basement.   Then I somehow got a copy of Bellybutton - the version with the bonus live tracks - in an auction on eBay for like $0.50 and free shipping with a couple other CDs and figured, WTF.   Long story short, being a huge McCartney/Beatles fan, the run of ""Let 'Em In/That Is Why" (Live), "The King Is Half Undressed" (Live) and "Jet" (Live) just won me over.  Then I got the remastered expanded releases of Bellybutton and Spilt Milk, and got to hear the demo versions of all those songs (some VERY different) and it just really clicked with me.  I got it.   Now, while they are both very different records, I find myself gravitating to them a lot.   

[ytserush]

I love Jellyfish and Bellybutton is great but...Spilt Milk is one of my favorite albums ever!

Just have those two original CDs and Faulker's Author Unknown which I also like. Haven't gotten around to the Jellyfish reissues yet.

[ytserush]

Yes that cover was a joy to watch, the Ramones one he did earlier too was a lot of fun.

I hope there's more like those in the pipeline.

[jammindude]

Mike reposted the MA We Rock video in honor of Dio.

I can’t believe this one slipped by me somehow. I almost thought it was new. I also have to say that I’m more often lukewarm on MP’s covers than not, but I thought this cover in particular was EXCELLENT. Maybe it was just the energy. Everyone in the video just felt like they were really into it and not just throwing their hat in the ring.

[Adami]

Yea. The We Rock thing was fantastic. Was hoping Metal Allegiance was like that. Sadly not.

[RodrigoAltaf]

I just received my promo copy of BPMD for my review. Will take it for a spin on my night run now.

[Cool Chris]

Is BPMD the least memorable band never ever? ELP runs together to at least make a sound if you had a hard time remembering E-L-P. UFO has an alternate meaning most people are aware of. ACDC runs off the tongue nicely and AC and DC have meanings. ABBA can be said as a word and has symmetry. BPMD is just awkward.

[Adami]

Don’t forget PSMS or whatever it was called.

[Cool Chris]

Don’t forget PSMS

I totally did. That just proves my point!

[Max Kuehnau]

Is BPMD the least memorable band never ever? ELP runs together to at least make a sound if you had a hard time remembering E-L-P. UFO has an alternate meaning most people are aware of. ACDC runs off the tongue nicely and AC and DC have meanings. ABBA can be said as a word and has symmetry. BPMD is just awkward.

I guess it is, but: IIRC, Mike is a fan of rap music (Beastie Boys and the like) and I'm sure he knows about a rap band called EPMD. That might have been his tongue in cheek reference there. (or not, what do I know)

[RodrigoAltaf]

I think in both cases - PSMS and BPMD - the intention is that these are one-off deals, and not permanent entities. PSMS was just a tour that stemmed from a one-off show, and BPMD is just the four guys killing time and putting something else on the market, with no intention of a follow up album or a tour. So why bother creating an amazing band name when it could be saved for something more substantial?

[Adami]

I think in both cases - PSMS and BPMD - the intention is that these are one-off deals, and not permanent entities. PSMS was just a tour that stemmed from a one-off show, and BPMD is just the four guys killing time and putting something else on the market, with no intention of a follow up album or a tour. So why bother creating an amazing band name when it could be saved for something more substantial?

Great isn’t necessary. But good is. These are terrible names. Music might be amazing, but you need a name that at the very least is memorable. Those really aren’t at all. I had to google the PMS one cause I already forgot it.

[gzarruk]

I think in both cases - PSMS and BPMD - the intention is that these are one-off deals, and not permanent entities. PSMS was just a tour that stemmed from a one-off show, and BPMD is just the four guys killing time and putting something else on the market, with no intention of a follow up album or a tour. So why bother creating an amazing band name when it could be saved for something more substantial?

I would ask why bother creating a band just for a one off thing instead of doing something more substantial?

[RodrigoAltaf]

I think in both cases - PSMS and BPMD - the intention is that these are one-off deals, and not permanent entities. PSMS was just a tour that stemmed from a one-off show, and BPMD is just the four guys killing time and putting something else on the market, with no intention of a follow up album or a tour. So why bother creating an amazing band name when it could be saved for something more substantial?

I would ask why bother creating a band just for a one off thing instead of doing something more substantial?

Because that's what they wanted out of both scenarios. Some endeavours are meant to be one-offs.

[Stadler]

HSAS.   Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve.  It is what it is.   For me, that's pretty low on the list of things to complain about re: Mike's 86 bands. 

[The Walrus]

Anyone know the origin of those shirts that are stylized like

name
&
name
&
name
&
name?

I see Mike wearing those shirts a lot and I want to say it originates from a band (probably someone super popular that I should be ashamed of not knowing - Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young maybe)? I feel like that sort of thing might play a role in these PSMS, BPMD, ADHD, PTSD bands, maybe he just likes that sort of thing, a few names doing stuff as a one-off