Mike Portnoy has a new Dream Theater cover band

[Lax]

The idea was ok to me when it was about the anniversary party on the boat, but hitting the road :/ meh

I'll begin with the pro statement, I love mp's drumming on DT albums, I hope MM will find a way to bring some of that groove in the future, because I prefer the boombababoom style to the kliketiketi (technician drummer here)

What just pains me is the conflictual informations, on one side you hear "page has turned, I'm over it blablabla" and on the other side "Hey let's play songs of the band I left and still exists, but no nostalgia"

It has to be regrets or money mr waters, or it should be only a fun one time thing

[MirrorMask]

Well, since he's already hiring musicians to learn and perform 50 minutes of complex music, it would be kinda a waste to perform it only once... so it makes sense to play not a full tour but just few dates here and there to justify the effort of learning all that material.

Of course he is not over DT, but then again, it's his big party, he wants to celebrate his carrer, DT was a part of his carreer, he wants to play the AA Suite, hence we return above... since he's making other people learn it, they could do something else than a one-off gig with all the effort required.

[Ravenfoul]

I would much rather he celebrate what he did with DT than feel bad about playing it or shun it all together. I think it makes perfect sense for a career spanning party.

[bosk1]

Well, since he's already hiring musicians to learn and perform 50 minutes of complex music, it would be kinda a waste to perform it only once... so it makes sense to play not a full tour but just few dates here and there to justify the effort of learning all that material.

Of course he is not over DT, but then again, it's his big party, he wants to celebrate his carrer, DT was a part of his carreer, he wants to play the AA Suite, hence we return above... since he's making other people learn it, they could do something else than a one-off gig with all the effort required.

Yeah, all of this.  And while we might tend to forget this fact, MP has always tried to give fans what he things they consider to be cool extras.  He knows there are a lot of people who want to see the 12SS that will not be on that cruise.  Since he will have a group of musicians learning the material and some other DT songs as well, most likely, it makes sense to do a short tour to bring it to others.  MP has a lot of obvious character flaws, but I don't see any reason to look at this as anything more than him finally performing something he always wanted/intended to perform and bringing it to a number of fans who he knows also want to see it performed.

[Ravenfoul]

Well, since he's already hiring musicians to learn and perform 50 minutes of complex music, it would be kinda a waste to perform it only once... so it makes sense to play not a full tour but just few dates here and there to justify the effort of learning all that material.

Of course he is not over DT, but then again, it's his big party, he wants to celebrate his carrer, DT was a part of his carreer, he wants to play the AA Suite, hence we return above... since he's making other people learn it, they could do something else than a one-off gig with all the effort required.

Yeah, all of this.  And while we might tend to forget this fact, MP has always tried to give fans what he things they consider to be cool extras.  He knows there are a lot of people who want to see the 12SS that will not be on that cruise.  Since he will have a group of musicians learning the material and some other DT songs as well, most likely, it makes sense to do a short tour to bring it to others.  MP has a lot of obvious character flaws, but I don't see any reason to look at this as anything more than him finally performing something he always wanted/intended to perform and bringing it to a number of fans who he knows also want to see it performed.

For real. I've been watching the Neal Morse DVD stuffs, and man, MP knows how to please the fans lol.

[Tony From Long Island]

Besides, if he indeed played something from ADToE, DT12 or TA, he would need the bands' authorization.

Why?  Tribute bands and cover bands play all sorts of songs without asking the original band's permission.    If that were illegal, I would have been locked up longer than I actually WAS locked up!

[cramx3]

Besides, if he indeed played something from ADToE, DT12 or TA, he would need the bands' authorization.

Why?  Tribute bands and cover bands play all sorts of songs without asking the original band's permission.    If that were illegal, I would have been locked up longer than I actually WAS locked up!

I'm not sure if he would need any permission, but he may have to pay a royalty if he released it.  Just my guess.  Like doesn't MP get some sort of royalty for songs he has credits for that DT play and release on the live DVDs/CDs they released since he left?

[Kotowboy]

You don't need to pay anything if you cover songs live. That's up to the venue having a PRS licence.

You do need permission and to pay royalties if you release a cover.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Vaping is the cool new hipster douchebag trend !

[Architeuthis]

That picture reminds me of Bridges in the Sky.

[Kotowboy]

Well if you look closely....

[FracturedMirror]

And while we might tend to forget this fact, MP has always tried to give fans what he things they consider to be cool extras. 

Yeah, MP was always trying to come up with ideas to give the fans "more".  The bonus stuff on the official dvd's such as commentaries was mainly his doing, he made the backstage documentaries on Budokan, CiM, etc.  And he was the driving force behind the cover albums and official bootlegs from YtseJam records.  No matter what people think of the split and things that have been said afterwards, nobody should ever doubt the motives behind MP wanting to give fans unique and special performances; it's what he's always done.

[Ravenfoul]

And while we might tend to forget this fact, MP has always tried to give fans what he things they consider to be cool extras. 

Yeah, MP was always trying to come up with ideas to give the fans "more".  The bonus stuff on the official dvd's such as commentaries was mainly his doing, he made the backstage documentaries on Budokan, CiM, etc.  And he was the driving force behind the cover albums and official bootlegs from YtseJam records.  No matter what people think of the split and things that have been said afterwards, nobody should ever doubt the motives behind MP wanting to give fans unique and special performances; it's what he's always done.

Totally agree. MP is still the man in my book, and of course I still have respect and admiration for all that MM has done / is doing.

[cramx3]

Agreed with the above statements on MP.

While MP performing DT songs without DT isn't really my cup of tea, there certainly are a large amount of people who are interested in that and you can't really blame MP for wanting to give those fans what they want.

[AboutToCrash]

Portnoy on Facebook;

Joe Balo I don't need "their blessing" to play these songs (which are not "THEIR songs" as you wrote) any more than they need mine to play them...

You saying "they wrote the bulk of the music" is a HUGE assumption on your part! I co-wrote and arranged ALL of the MUSIC...as well as wrote all of the lyrics and vocal melodies (by myself) as well as co-Produced every one of the recordings...

And The entire CONCEPT and IDEA was solely mine...
(That's not a brag, it's merely a FACT)

Me playing these songs on my own w other musicians is no different to Roger Waters playing Pink Floyd songs w his own band...

As far as not announcing the lineup in advance, if you read what I wrote above you'd see I'm planning on keeping it a surprise for the unveiling at my 50th Birthday Concert on Cruise to the Edge...

If you're uncomfortable buying tickets without knowing my band, then you'll have between February and July to make up your mind....

PS - I don't "NEED to address" these points as you posted...but I chose to respond because I care about my fans and like to keep them in the loop

[Prog Snob]

He desperately needs a publicity manager. All I hear is 'wah wah ME ME ME', and I like the guy, but he seriously needs to shut the fuck up and let the music do the talking.

[Kotowboy]

He desperately needs a publicity manager. All I hear is 'wah wah ME ME ME', and I like the guy, but he seriously needs to shut the fuck up and let the music do the talking.

[ReaperKK]

I don't what he wrote was bad. I mean he really doesn't need their permission to play those songs.

[Kotowboy]

He doesn't. And he could have just replied

" Hi Joe - you don't need a band's permission to play their songs live : ) "

But no - he has to go into yet another passive aggressive speech about HIMSELF

[ReaperKK]

Is there any false information in what he said?

[Prog Snob]

It's not really about the verity of what he said. Most of the die-hard fans know who does what in the band. It's how he says it and how he beats the point to death.

[BlobVanDam]

It's not really about the verity of what he said. Most of the die-hard fans know who does what in the band. It's how he says it and how he beats the point to death.

You mean like how DTF beats the point to death?

[mikeyd23]

Is there any false information in what he said?

I don't know if anything is necessarily false, but the picture JR has been painting about how writing has worked since he has been in the band reads a little different than what Mike said here I think.

Once again though, as Prog and Kotow already said, it's not about what he says (his point) its about how he says it.
 

[Prog Snob]

It's not really about the verity of what he said. Most of the die-hard fans know who does what in the band. It's how he says it and how he beats the point to death.

You mean like how DTF beats the point to death?

That never happens.

[Kotowboy]

It's not really about the verity of what he said. Most of the die-hard fans know who does what in the band. It's how he says it and how he beats the point to death.

You mean like how DTF beats the point to death?

These things only happen when he posts another one of his ME ME THEM posts...

In between those we never mention MP's passive aggressive outbursts.

[BlobVanDam]

It's not really about the verity of what he said. Most of the die-hard fans know who does what in the band. It's how he says it and how he beats the point to death.

You mean like how DTF beats the point to death?

These things only happen when he posts another one of his ME ME THEM posts...

In between those we never mention MP's passive aggressive outbursts.

For every supposed outburst "ME ME THEM" post MP makes, I have to see 100 outburst exaggerated "ME ME THEM CAPITALIZED PRONOUNS" Kotowboy posts, which is far worse than any of MP's indiscretions.

[mikeyd23]

For every supposed outburst "ME ME THEM" post MP makes, I have to see 100 exaggerated outburst "ME ME THEM CAPITALIZED PRONOUNS" Kotowboy posts, which is far worse than any of MP's indiscretions.

Point taken about exaggerated outbursts, but I think its pretty reasonable to assume when MP says something that could be considered somewhat controversial on social media directly relating to the topic of this thread, people might react to it in this thread. 

Not sure why you would have issues with that.

[BlobVanDam]

For every supposed outburst "ME ME THEM" post MP makes, I have to see 100 exaggerated outburst "ME ME THEM CAPITALIZED PRONOUNS" Kotowboy posts, which is far worse than any of MP's indiscretions.

Point taken about exaggerated outbursts, but I think its pretty reasonable to assume when MP says something that could be considered somewhat controversial on social media directly relating to the topic of this thread, people might react to it in this thread. 

Not sure why you would have issues with that.

Discussion is all well and good, especially as this is a DT forum, but it's the same regurgitated over the top reaction from DTF every single time, especially particular people. Half of the time it serves no point to discussion other than keeping the shitfire burning strong.

[mikeyd23]

Discussion is all well and good, especially as this is a DT forum, but it's the same regurgitated over the top reaction from DTF every single time, especially particular people. Half of the time it serves no point to discussion other than keeping the shitfire burning strong.

True, sounds like you and I are talking about two different things. I'm all for discussion. Not all about over the top reaction. So we are on the same page. 

[ReaperKK]

I mean the criticism on this forum on MP is a bit much. Kotow, you should apply to be MP's PR manager.

[Kotowboy]

I mean the criticism on this forum on MP is a bit much. Kotow, you should apply to be MP's PR manager.

I applied to the job but HE hasn't replied yet.



I tried guys... : ( carpe diem.

[Setlist Scotty]

Is there any false information in what he said?

I don't know if anything is necessarily false, but the picture JR has been painting about how writing has worked since he has been in the band reads a little different than what Mike said here I think.

Not even MP will argue that JP and JR come up with the bulk of the music parts that make up DT's songs. BUT MP also did come up with different music parts included in the songs - not as many as JP and JR, but still enough that it is noteworthy. And he also was heavily involved in the arranging of the songs, which is also a significant part of songwriting.
 
 

Once again though, as Prog and Kotow already said, it's not about what he says (his point) its about how he says it.

I certainly won't argue that the man has said things in the past that weren't cringeworthy, but you can't blame the man for getting exasperated when fans (or former fans) love to criticize every little thing he does, especially when people cast all sorts of doubt on to what his contributions to the band and songwriting were. I'm pretty sure just about every single person that posts on this board would get more than just a little irritated if whatever they worked so hard on and gave so much of their life to was discounted and credit was taken away from them, which is what is happening now and has numerous times in the past.

His supposed "passive-agressive" statement is stated as such to prove the point he's making - going beyond simply refuting them. And quite frankly, I'd rather have a detailed explanation instead of being left to wonder what proof there is.
 
 

I mean the criticism on this forum on MP is a bit much. Kotow, you should apply to be MP's PR manager.

I applied to the job but HE hasn't replied yet.



I tried guys... : ( carpe diem.

You know, that post would almost be brilliant if not for the fact that it sounds just as much like you Kotow as it does you trying to imitate MP.   

[Dublagent66]

I mean the criticism on this forum on MP is a bit much. Kotow, you should apply to be MP's PR manager.

Every time MP does something, someone posts it here.  The criticism has been going on for 6 years.  What else did you expect?  MP lights the fires and everyone else has gasoline.  Doesn't surprise me in the least.

[Kotowboy]

Good thing it was CLEARLY a joke..




" "

[mikeyd23]

Not even MP will argue that JP and JR come up with the bulk of the music parts that make up DT's songs. BUT MP also did come up with different music parts included in the songs - not as many as JP and JR, but still enough that it is noteworthy. And he also was heavily involved in the arranging of the songs, which is also a significant part of songwriting.

He kinda did argue exactly that. His quote from FB literally states that a fan is making a big assumption by thinking JP and JR wrote the bulk of the music and then he basically goes on to try to prove why that assumption is wrong.

I agree with you on the arranging part, I think MP's arranging was a huge strength he brought to the band.

I certainly won't argue that the man has said things in the past that weren't cringeworthy, but you can't blame the man for getting exasperated when fans (or former fans) love to criticize every little thing he does, especially when people cast all sorts of doubt on to what his contributions to the band and songwriting were. I'm pretty sure just about every single person that posts on this board would get more than just a little irritated if whatever they worked so hard on and gave so much of their life to was discounted and credit was taken away from them, which is what is happening now and has numerous times in the past.

His supposed "passive-agressive" statement is stated as such to prove the point he's making - going beyond simply refuting them. And quite frankly, I'd rather have a detailed explanation instead of being left to wonder what proof there is.

I can understand his irritation, but more often than not, he seems to make things worse by responding to critics online. Scotty, I know you and Mike are friends, but even you have to admit that sometimes the best thing for Mike would be to simply not respond to this stuff?

And I'll state this again, I'm not hating on MP or trying to diminish his contributions, I'm just trying to look at this as fairly as possible (Translation - not through MP-hater glasses or through MP-fanboy glasses).