Does anybody else...

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

You guys complaining about the 'loud' have obviously never seen Motorhead.. THAT band is fuckin loud. 

[Sycsa]

I'm on the top as long as the music's loud.

[Meatrose]

I miss Portnoy, of course I do, but that doesn't mean that I don't think that the band is ultimately better off with Mangini. Old Mike was usually the center of attention, both on and off the stage. New Mike is still a fun guy but from what we've seen so far he's more... mature, and I think that suits the other members.

This is a tough question really, Portnoy did so much for this band but a lot of us would argue that he was the main reason the band took more than just a couple of steps in a direction that a lot of us would consider to be "wrong" in terms of what kind of music they put out. I love his drumming and I'd still say that he's one of my favorite drummers of all time. To me it's more than just clear that Mangini is much more technically advanced and that he's more "skilled" but that doesn't mean that everyone has to like his drumming. In my honest opinion I was expecting more from him on ADToE. Note that I'm not saying that I think that he did something wrong there or that his drumming wasn't rock solid, cause it really was. What I'm saying is that I think that he was far too anonymous, both in the mix and in terms of what he was actually playing. This could of course be due to him being new and DT writing the album without a drummer present. I'm really hoping that we'll truly get to experience "Mangini unleashed" on DT12, after all the countless hours I've spent watching his clinics and various sessions on the internet I truly feel that there's probably next to nothing that this man can't do on the drums.

If we look beyond the drumming it's only natural to feel as if Portnoy left a big hole in the band when he left. After all, he was more than just "Dream Theater's drummer". Call me crazy but I almost (but just almost) look forward to seeing the behind the scenes material on LALP as much as I'm looking forward to experiencing the actual concert. In my opinion we have yet to see what Mangini truly brings to the table from a social point of view, how his presence affects the group dynamic. And don't even get me started on the possible and hinted at "behind the writing process" kind of thing that Over the Edge seems to have done with them in the studio while creating DT12, I've had a craving for one of those for years now.

Anyhow, yes, I was really sad when Portnoy left and I truly miss him. Yes, I do still think that the band is quite possibly better off with Mangini anyhow and yes, I do enjoy all the other records that Portnoy put out with other musicians nowadays, especially those with the brilliant and multi-talented Neal Morse. They'll be doing the second Flying Colors album as well as the fourth Transatlantic album this year. Sometimes I do feel that Portnoy is becoming something like "Neal Morse's semi-permanent side-kick" though and I wouldn't mind if they formed something more permanent together, a band that they'd be able to call their "home" while still having the possibility to do fun and exciting side-projects such as the occasional Transatlantic album.

[Sycsa]

I miss Portnoy, of course I do, but that doesn't mean that I don't think that the band is ultimately better off with Mangini. Old Mike was usually the center of attention, both on and off the stage. New Mike is still a fun guy but from what we've seen so far he's more... mature, and I think that suits the other members.

This is a tough question really, Portnoy did so much for this band but a lot of us would argue that he was the main reason the band took more than just a couple of steps in a direction that a lot of us would consider to be "wrong" in terms of what kind of music they put out. I love his drumming and I'd still say that he's one of my favorite drummers of all time. To me it's more than just clear that Mangini is much more technically advanced and that he's more "skilled" but that doesn't mean that everyone has to like his drumming. In my honest opinion I was expecting more from him on ADToE. Note that I'm not saying that I think that he did something wrong there or that his drumming wasn't rock solid, cause it really was. What I'm saying is that I think that he was far too anonymous, both in the mix and in terms of what he was actually playing. This could of course be due to him being new and DT writing the album without a drummer present. I'm really hoping that we'll truly get to experience "Mangini unleashed" on DT12, after all the countless hours I've spent watching his clinics and various sessions on the internet I truly feel that there's probably next to nothing that this man can't do on the drums.

If we look beyond the drumming it's only natural to feel as if Portnoy left a big hole in the band when he left. After all, he was more than just "Dream Theater's drummer". Call me crazy but I almost (but just almost) look forward to seeing the behind the scenes material on LALP as much as I'm looking forward to experiencing the actual concert. In my opinion we have yet to see what Mangini truly brings to the table from a social point of view, how his presence affects the group dynamic. And don't even get me started on the possible and hinted at "behind the writing process" kind of thing that Over the Edge seems to have done with them in the studio while creating DT12, I've had a craving for one of those for years now.

Anyhow, yes, I was really sad when Portnoy left and I truly miss him. Yes, I do still think that the band is quite possibly better off with Mangini anyhow and yes, I do enjoy all the other records that Portnoy put out with other musicians nowadays, especially those with the brilliant and multi-talented Neal Morse. They'll be doing the second Flying Colors album as well as the fourth Transatlantic album this year. Sometimes I do feel that Portnoy is becoming something like "Neal Morse's semi-permanent side-kick" though and I wouldn't mind if they formed something more permanent together, a band that they'd be able to call their "home" while still having the possibility to do fun and exciting side-projects such as the occasional Transatlantic album.

 

[Meatrose]

 

[DebraKadabra]

You guys complaining about the 'loud' have obviously never seen Motorhead.. THAT band is fuckin loud.

Or Slayer.

[Dublagent66]

Apparently I can't have an opinion on this because it's negative, but here goes anyway.

I absolutely HATE all the side projects that Mike has done. Each one is worse than the next to me.

I think there a few reasons as to why - but the above highlights one main one. First and foremost before all the other stuff he does, Mike Portnoy is a drummer, and he hasn't contributed ANYTHING to the drumming world in quite some time. All of these projects are complete indulgence on his part and the drumming is completely secondary.
Then indulgence is really the segue into the other main reason - I think he likes the IDEA of these project waymore than the music they turn out. He likes the people he is working with and tries to build something around them. I guess he just figures the music will work itself out.

Nah, unpopular or controversial opinions aren't necessarily negative.  It all depends on how it's delivered, but then again some people still can't handle it.  I agree with everything you said.  The Adrenaline Mob project was a major disappointment for me.  I figured between MP and RA, they would put together a killer group with some tasty material and it ended up sounding mediocre and dated.  The 2nd album was all covers, come on.  Talk about throwing something together just to make a quick buck.  After all that's happened in the last 2 1/2 years, I really don't miss MP much anymore.  However, I do hope he can get together with whoever and finally produce some decent material.  Would love to hear it.  Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

[Kotowboy]

You guys complaining about the 'loud' have obviously never seen Motorhead.. THAT band is fuckin loud.

Seriously don't know how Lemmy & co aren't stone deaf yet

Or at least have debilitating screaming tinnitus in their ears.

That would end me if that ever happened. I always wear ear plugs because I don't want a constant note in my ears FOREVER.

I'm really claustrophobic and knowing that it's something that would never go away is really terrifying.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

You guys complaining about the 'loud' have obviously never seen Motorhead.. THAT band is fuckin loud.

Seriously don't know how Lemmy & co aren't stone deaf yet

Or at least have debilitating screaming tinnitus in their ears.

That would end me if that ever happened. I always wear ear plugs because I don't want a constant note in my ears FOREVER.

I'm really claustrophobic and knowing that it's something that would never go away is really terrifying.

Last time I saw them, I thought the speakers in my car were broken on the way home from the show cause I had the volume all the way up and I could barely hear the music. The next morning when I got in the car to go to work, I had forgotten I left it up all the way... needless to say, they weren't actually broken and it was fuckin loud as hell. Woke up the neighbors. hahaha.

[Kotowboy]

I hate this notion that wearing ear plugs is "pussy".

When something is hazardous to your health - there really is no room for machismo.



Not only that - If you wear the little christmas tree shaped ones - they actually *improve* the gig because it filters out all the shit and lets you hear everything at a reduced volume. Plus If you wear them long enough - you forget you have them in and acclimatise to the sound.

For example - I wear ear plugs when I play drums at Jam Night and I can actually hear the drums BETTER with them in.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

I hate this notion that wearing ear plugs is "pussy".

When something is hazardous to your health - there really is no room for machismo.



Not only that - If you wear the little christmas tree shaped ones - they actually *improve* the gig because it filters out all the shit and lets you hear everything at a reduced volume. Plus If you wear them long enough - you forget you have them in and acclimatise to the sound.

For example - I wear ear plugs when I play drums at Jam Night and I can actually hear the drums BETTER with them in.

I wasn't implying that wearing earplugs was 'pussy'.. I'm not sure how you got that from my post. Sorry.

[Kotowboy]

My bad. Nothing to do with your post. Just my feelings on the matter at hand.  

[Madman Shepherd]

I hate this notion that wearing ear plugs is "pussy".

When something is hazardous to your health - there really is no room for machismo.



Not only that - If you wear the little christmas tree shaped ones - they actually *improve* the gig because it filters out all the shit and lets you hear everything at a reduced volume. Plus If you wear them long enough - you forget you have them in and acclimatise to the sound.

For example - I wear ear plugs when I play drums at Jam Night and I can actually hear the drums BETTER with them in.

Wearing earplugs while practicing is definitely smart and unless you have a top notch practice room you are just going to lose a lot of the sound in the amount of vibration bouncing around to hear yourself over the fucking drums.

I can't understand doing that at a concert though.  If you say it improves it for you then I guess thats cool.  I'd be willing to try it but there is not way I'm going to do any experimenting if I'm seeing DT...so I will just continue to listen to it without earplugs.  Then again, the Chicago shows are always too quiet.  Milwaukee gets loud though. 

[ariich]

It depends on the gig. Some gigs are very quiet even without earplugs, so I wouldn't wear them then. But some, especially in small venues, are INTENSELY loud, and the sound distorts and hurts the ears. As Kotow says, if you wear the good ones, you don't really lose the frequency profile of the sound, except maybe a slight reduction in the high end, but it can still sound great once you get used to it.

[BlobVanDam]

It depends on the gig. Some gigs are very quiet even without earplugs, so I wouldn't wear them then. But some, especially in small venues, are INTENSELY loud, and the sound distorts and hurts the ears. As Kotow says, if you wear the good ones, you don't really lose the frequency profile of the sound, except maybe a slight reduction in the high end, but it can still sound great once you get used to it.

If the gig is loud enough to need earplugs, the loss in sound quality due to the earplugs in much more desirable than the loss in sound quality due to just being too damn loud anyway. And no gig is worth losing your hearing over.
One benefit of having long hair is that nobody can see when I'm using earplugs either.

[Kotowboy]

   which brings me back to my original point about looking after yourself physically should always take precedence over

" being macho ".

I have some friends in a band called "Polar." and they practice at the rehearsal studio where I help out occasionally and they rehearse at gig volume in a tiny room and don't use earplugs.

I'm sure they'll all be deaf by the time they're 40 or will no longer be able to function due to eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Bob Mould from Hüsker Dü says his is so loud that he has to sleep with the tv on just to drown it out 

Can't imagine how awful that is. And just not being able to get away from the noise. Ever.

[Sycsa]

When it comes to hearing loss, Paul Gilbert is my favorite guy on the subject:
https://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/Mar/Shred_Your_Enthusiasm_For_Those_About_to_Rock.aspx

[?]

I've used earplugs at every gig I've seen (haven't seen DT yet) - the music is always so loud (or maybe ears are fragile?) that I have no other choice. The sound has always been good, though.

[Kotowboy]

I've never really been into listening to music really loud. It just doesn't do it for me. It feels more like an intrusion.

I got my tinnitus from practicing in a lively room with my first band with no plugs.

I got home from rehearsal one night and wondered why I could hear the wind in the trees even though my window was shut.

Then I realised it was in my ears and it wasn't going to stop.

Took me a long time to get used to it as well. I had to force myself to think of other things when I was trying to sleep.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

My bad. Nothing to do with your post. Just my feelings on the matter at hand.  

Oh I see! 

[cyberdrummer]

This may well have been posted elsewhere, but I can't find it. A couple of interesting tweets from MP's latest Q&A:

“@JL_Izaguirre: @MikePortnoy Do you keep contact with JP or JR?” HAD A GREAT CHAT W JR WHEN HE TEXTED ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY A FEW WEEKS AGO about 4 hours ago

“@whiskycycle: @MikePortnoy would you play 12 Step Suite live if ever possible?” ABSOLUTELY!! I HOPE/PLAN TO....about 4 hours ago

[ariich]

Pretty cool to hear.

[MoraWintersoul]

Great stuff.

[JPX]

Apparently I can't have an opinion on this because it's negative, but here goes anyway.

I absolutely HATE all the side projects that Mike has done. Each one is worse than the next to me.

I think there a few reasons as to why - but the above highlights one main one. First and foremost before all the other stuff he does, Mike Portnoy is a drummer, and he hasn't contributed ANYTHING to the drumming world in quite some time. All of these projects are complete indulgence on his part and the drumming is completely secondary.
Then indulgence is really the segue into the other main reason - I think he likes the IDEA of these project waymore than the music they turn out. He likes the people he is working with and tries to build something around them. I guess he just figures the music will work itself out.

Nah, unpopular or controversial opinions aren't necessarily negative.  It all depends on how it's delivered, but then again some people still can't handle it.  I agree with everything you said.  The Adrenaline Mob project was a major disappointment for me.  I figured between MP and RA, they would put together a killer group with some tasty material and it ended up sounding mediocre and dated.  The 2nd album was all covers, come on.  Talk about throwing something together just to make a quick buck.  After all that's happened in the last 2 1/2 years, I really don't miss MP much anymore.  However, I do hope he can get together with whoever and finally produce some decent material.  Would love to hear it.  Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

Totally dude, when I heard that MP and RA were going to work together i thought ZOMG this will be insane...but then ...well, we all know what the results were. And yeah, maybe they should have focused on recording some good original music before releasing a covers album - just more indulgence from Mike.

I too hope that he can form a proper band that reignites his talents, but at this point it really seems like he could care less about being a relevant drummer again.

[DebraKadabra]

COULDN'T care less...

[Kotowboy]

COULDN'T care less...

MY sentiments exactly !

[DebraKadabra]

 

[Captain Reddot]

Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

I got my tickets to see The Winery Dogs the other day, I think they're fantastic. They play in a sorta classic/hard rock style with a bit of prog thrown in. They're all great musicians. Sheehan on bass, Kotzen on guitar and vocals. Kotzen's vocals are awesome, and there's some really Beetle-esc harmonies going on. Personally, I'm really excited about this project of his, he seems to be producing some quality music here.

[JPX]

Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

I got my tickets to see The Winery Dogs the other day, I think they're fantastic. They play in a sorta classic/hard rock style with a bit of prog thrown in. They're all great musicians. Sheehan on bass, Kotzen on guitar and vocals. Kotzen's vocals are awesome, and there's some really Beetle-esc harmonies going on. Personally, I'm really excited about this project of his, he seems to be producing some quality music here.

Honest question. Do you think that TWD will bring anything to the table that hasn't been done better by another band in the past?

[Captain Reddot]

Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

I got my tickets to see The Winery Dogs the other day, I think they're fantastic. They play in a sorta classic/hard rock style with a bit of prog thrown in. They're all great musicians. Sheehan on bass, Kotzen on guitar and vocals. Kotzen's vocals are awesome, and there's some really Beetle-esc harmonies going on. Personally, I'm really excited about this project of his, he seems to be producing some quality music here.

Honest question. Do you think that TWD will bring anything to the table that hasn't been done better by another band in the past?

Well, it's nothing majorly innovative or ground-breaking but it's still good to listen to and better than any other Portnoy side project thus far imo. I don't think it's right comparing them to another artist, however. I can't think of any other trio with suspiciously Chris Cornell-like vocals, guitar/bass unison lines and other fun, prog elements so in that respect they do bring something different to the table and the songwriting (from what I've heard so far) is top quality I dunno, it's more in the direction of commercial sounding hard rock with a bit of spicing up, but that's to be expected with all three of them being virtuosos on their respective instruments.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

So MP left Adrenaline Mob.. or he will after their dates with Halestorm.. I thought AM was his new 'main band'. I think he's missing the prog metal.. just sayin.

[bosk1]

Maybe he's doing something right now that I don't know about.  Haven't been paying much attention lately.

I got my tickets to see The Winery Dogs the other day, I think they're fantastic. They play in a sorta classic/hard rock style with a bit of prog thrown in. They're all great musicians. Sheehan on bass, Kotzen on guitar and vocals. Kotzen's vocals are awesome, and there's some really Beetle-esc harmonies going on. Personally, I'm really excited about this project of his, he seems to be producing some quality music here.

Honest question. Do you think that TWD will bring anything to the table that hasn't been done better by another band in the past?

Well, it's nothing majorly innovative or ground-breaking but it's still good to listen to and better than any other Portnoy side project thus far imo. I don't think it's right comparing them to another artist, however. I can't think of any other trio with suspiciously Chris Cornell-like vocals, guitar/bass unison lines and other fun, prog elements so in that respect they do bring something different to the table and the songwriting (from what I've heard so far) is top quality I dunno, it's more in the direction of commercial sounding hard rock with a bit of spicing up, but that's to be expected with all three of them being virtuosos on their respective instruments.

Yeah, all that.  It doesn't have to be original to be good.  I know I'm looking forward to it.

So MP left Adrenaline Mob.. or he will after their dates with Halestorm.. I thought AM was his new 'main band'. I think he's missing the prog metal.. just sayin.

Not sure if that's the issue.  He's certainly getting a good dose of prog working with Neal Morse and Transatlantic, so I don't think that's it at all.  I think he's just realizing that Adrenaline Mob isn't something many fans are interested in, and therefore isn't a very viable longterm project for him.