Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)

[gzarruk]

And Portnoy has never been shy to say that his technique practice is practically non-existent, but at the end of the day he remains one of the most thrilling and captivating drummers to watch in the entire genre. He is certainly not the most original or talented at this point, but there is a very good reason he remains a fan favorite in spite of that.

That's very subjective, though. Someone like Gavin Harrison, in my opinion, fits much better that description. MP is so repetitive nowadays  that I lost all interest on watching him play.

His playing has become insanely boring and predictable. I miss how he used to incorporate the extra percussion on his kit (octobans, stacks, timbalitos, tambourine, cowbell) into actual grooves and drum parts. He eliminated most of it and only uses octobans to start big drum fills across the kit. He wanted DT to take some time off to recharge their batteries, but maybe he should take a year or two off from any projects and try to reinvigorate his own playing ala Neil.

His pump-and-dump album creation method is also getting tiring as everything is starting to blend into one similar sound. SoA sounds like AMob with keys. FC, TA, and TNMB are almost becoming indistinguishable from each other to the point where I'm not sure TA needs to exist anymore. I don't necessarily blame him for that, but since he insists on being producer/leader of every project, I can see him pushing the musicians in a certain way that's making everything homogeneous.

I agree with almost all of this. I do think FC is very different than NMB/TA, though, and really want them to finally release their 3rd album, but al the other things you said are spot on, specially the bolded part.

[Stadler]

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

Some things about this paragraph have bothered me since reading it yesterday, and I had to let it sit for a bit to collect my thoughts. 

I think your comment about Mike focusing more on the "brand" of Mike Portnoy is pretty spot on.  I think that started a lot earlier on than most people realize, and has grown through the years.  Where I disagree with that concept somewhat is on there being shift from "Mike Portnoy the drummer" to "Mike Portnoy the brand."  I don't think the focus on Mike as "the drummer" has diminished much.  And it doesn't HAVE TO be at the expense of an emphasis on "the brand."  Yes, there definitely has been more emphasis on "the brand."  But I don't see much if any shift away from "the drummer" at all.  "Practicing less" doesn't necessarily equate to that.  Plus, I think the "practicing less," which Mike has made no bones about, is often taken out of context, and more is made of that comment than he meant.  As I understand it, the emphasis in his commentary along those lines is that he doesn't, as younger drummers more often do, sit alone in a practice room honing specific techniques.  But the loss of time doing that is also met with an increase in time actually playing as a drummer.  It isn't like he is spending all his practice time sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice cream.

This last point is stellar; when I joined my band in Philly, I had to wait a period before I could actually play with the band (long, not relevant story).  So I did a lot of woodshedding.  I learned more in my first two weeks playing in real time with the band t than I did in the roughly three months of woodshedding I did before I could sit in.  For all his faults (not saying there are a lot or any at all) his ability to play cohesively in an ensemble is not one of them.   On stage, that's 3/4 of the battle. 

With respect to the "brand", I said well before he left DT that for me, the problem is the silos and categories in which he places his music.  "This is my metal gig; this is my old-school prog gig; this is my prog-pop gig; this is my neo-prog gig; this is my prog-metal gig..."   When he started DT with John et al, there were no rules.  There really was no "Prog-metal".  They took what they liked and threw it into the pot.   There was no worry about that "being too metal" or "that's for my prog gig".  I think that by definition dilutes the product to a point that it takes the special edge off.  Not saying it's still not good (or even great) but I think it does take some of the transcendent nature from it. 

[bosk1]

And Portnoy has never been shy to say that his technique practice is practically non-existent, but at the end of the day he remains one of the most thrilling and captivating drummers to watch in the entire genre. He is certainly not the most original or talented at this point, but there is a very good reason he remains a fan favorite in spite of that.

That's very subjective, though. Someone like Gavin Harrison, in my opinion, fits much better that description. MP is so repetitive nowadays  that I lost all interest on watching him play.

But that's the point.  Nick's response to my post, which was a response to the earlier post, was a reaction to the statement that Mike is lacking in skill and tries to hide that behind playing with other musicians.  Whether he is "repetitive" or whether you subjectively find other drummers to be more interesting says nothing about his skill.  Prefer whoever you want to prefer.  That doesn't take away from anyone's skill, whether we are talking about Portnoy, Harrison, or anyone else.

[DT2003]

His playing has become insanely boring and predictable. I miss how he used to incorporate the extra percussion on his kit (octobans, stacks, timbalitos, tambourine, cowbell) into actual grooves and drum parts. He eliminated most of it and only uses octobans to start big drum fills across the kit. He wanted DT to take some time off to recharge their batteries, but maybe he should take a year or two off from any projects and try to reinvigorate his own playing ala Neil.

His pump-and-dump album creation method is also getting tiring as everything is starting to blend into one similar sound. SoA sounds like AMob with keys. FC, TA, and TNMB are almost becoming indistinguishable from each other to the point where I'm not sure TA needs to exist anymore. I don't necessarily blame him for that, but since he insists on being producer/leader of every project, I can see him pushing the musicians in a certain way that's making everything homogeneous.

I agree with much of this, however I think The Neal Morse band is still mainly written by Neal Morse and sounds different. I think his drumming is best with Neal at least with Similitude because I think of two reasons.

1. Neal pushes MP
2. MP looks up to Neal and pushes himself

But then again I am just some random guy on the internet so what the heck do I know??

I very much agree with this. To me Mike is at his best when he is with Neal. He seems happier and more humble. When you hear Mike talk and see how he acts in his other bands compared to the way he conducts himself around Neal, you can see that he really respects Neal.  Mike is more subdued yet has such a joy about him when playing with Neal. Neal definitely brings out the best in Mike.

Regarding his playing, I absolutely agree that he is still a top notch drummer who is one of the most entertaining drummers to watch. I agree he was a bit sloppy at TSF show, which is understandable given the fact that he hadn’t been playing that stuff on a regular basis for several years, but when playing his current music he is still pretty much flawless.

[The Walrus]

Fate is a cruel jokester: have to make car repairs this weekend so won't be making the show... wow, I really am destined to never see MP live. Ever. 

Apparently they're announcing more US tour dates for April/May (coming next week) for all interested parties. Have fun!

[ytserush]

As you know albums don't make money anymore so I would think it wouldn't make much economic sense to spend much time on them if you are as busy as he likes to keep himself.

Dear lord, please don't tell me you actually feel this way about albums.

My point was that nearly all new albums don't make any money.

How I feel about albums isn't going to the fact that they aren't profitable.

At this point they're a labor of love or should be.

So your first point was that it doesn't make much sense to spend time on albums and your second point is that albums should be a labor of love? Makes perfect sense 

Who said love made any sense?

It's not a black and white issue and it's a tough balancing act.

[ytserush]

With respect to the "brand", I said well before he left DT that for me, the problem is the silos and categories in which he places his music.  "This is my metal gig; this is my old-school prog gig; this is my prog-pop gig; this is my neo-prog gig; this is my prog-metal gig..."   When he started DT with John et al, there were no rules.  There really was no "Prog-metal".  They took what they liked and threw it into the pot.   There was no worry about that "being too metal" or "that's for my prog gig".  I think that by definition dilutes the product to a point that it takes the special edge off.  Not saying it's still not good (or even great) but I think it does take some of the transcendent nature from it.

I've been saying that since the beginning.

I sort of get why he does it  -- to cater to fans of different kind of music and because he likes to play it all. But I'd rather he throw everything in there. If it's good it's good.   (Flying Colors, Transatlanic, Neal Morse and maybe Winery Dogs go a but further with fusing different styles it together. Liquid Tension Experiment and PSMS maybe not so much but I don't mind being catered to in either case. I love that stuff.

It's not just him either. Dream Theater more often than not takes that approach to stay within the lines too.

I'm really hoping Sons Of Apollo gets to do a second album (and they release the instrumental track) I think the potential is there but something just doesn't seem right to me. A second album might prove if that is or isn't the case...at least for me.

Maybe that's another reason why I'm such a Rush geek. It was a completely organic process with them. If they liked it, they just did it. There was no timetable. When it was done, it was done.

[KevShmev]

Yep, that is very true. I always say, you cannot put songwriting on a time clock, that you punch in and punch out for.  The best songwriting comes from inspiration, and inspiration can happen at any time.  Shoot, Neil Peart always carried a note pad around to write down anything that would come to him. He might hear an expression or even a word that could be an inspiration for a lyric, so he would write it down and expand on it later when he had time to focus.  That was so cool to hear him talk about.

[Setlist Scotty]

Great interview with Bumblefoot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwMbEhsfqQ&feature=share

[MirrorMask]

Also MP on FB announced a full run of North America to come. For those who were asking why so few dates and nothing else announced yet.

[Madman Shepherd]

Well, after determining not to buy the album thanks to Derek's stupid comments and eventually caving and then deciding not to support them live only to find out they're playing near me the night before a day off from work, I was questioning if they finally won me over.  This is the only post DT project of Mike's I even like but this I can only say I really "like" three songs so after I heard those, would I even stick around at the show?

Here's what I can tell you.  The show last night started off with a ton of energy.  Maybe those youtube videos didn't accurately represent how good they are live or maybe they stepped it up since last night was the closing night of their first ever tour but God of the Sun was a freakin' awesome way to start the show. They sounded great and Jeff didn't do much of those annoying hand movements.  They then went into Sign of the Times, a decent song that doesn't do much for me, but live I have to say I was getting into it.  They followed it with Figaro's Whore which despite the dumb name is actually a decent intro but it should really only be done live.  Divine Addiction was obviously next and the crowd didn't seem to be too into it which sucks because I think that is SoA's best song by far.  In fact, I think it hold's up with most Deep Purple songs and I am a pretty huge fan so that's saying something.  Jeff started up with the weird hand movements including grabbing his crotch.  What?!  He kept it up through the night.  The dude is a good frontman without all that so please Jeff, stop!  They did a jam and seamlessly went into Just Let Me Breathe, one of DT's worst songs but at this point, I was into the show so even I was a little excited to hear 2/5 of the FII lineup play the song.  Only a minute into it I remember how incredibly boring the song was and the show started to go a bit downhill.  Next was Labyrinth which is the last of the songs off of the album I actually liked and the audience didn't seem to be into it as much. 

So the setlist was the same for every show and they couldn't keep my interest much after this.  Jeff singing Save Me was pretty cool. He proves he has an excellent voice which was odd because he was modifying a lot of the vocal lines throughout the show to sing them a bit lower yet he nailed Save Me.  The rest of the set was just boring.  I never had much of an opinion about Opus Maximus but it was soooo boring live.  Alive was kind of cool in a live setting but the song still doesn't do much for me.  Lines in the Sand was a terrible way to end the show but I also think it's a pretty terrible song. 

The Cradle Will Rock cover was pretty cool and Jeff actually ran back to the bar and made his way up to the stage through the crowd while singing the song.  I think Coming Home was a boring song but the crowd was pretty into it. 

So anyway, the place was pretty full but not sold out.  I had pretty conflicting emotions throughout the show because I can see the potential of the band but I doubt if I will feel the desire to see them again unless they pull out some deep DT cuts and really take the time to craft a good followup.  They announced another local show in May and Mike swore us to secrecy.  It's on a Saturday but I doubt I'll be going. 

I would definitely recommend seeing these guys if it's convenient for you but whether I pay much attention to them after this album/tour remains to be seen and but isn't likely. 

[The Walrus]

Yikes. That's even worse than what my local buddy who went to the show reported. Not sure if I want to make the trip next time they come through then unless they change the set some more, but I don't see how they could. How was Mike's playing? I was told he was pretty good and fun to watch but that was about it.

[Madman Shepherd]

Yikes. That's even worse than what my local buddy who went to the show reported. Not sure if I want to make the trip next time they come through then unless they change the set some more, but I don't see how they could. How was Mike's playing? I was told he was pretty good and fun to watch but that was about it.

Not sure if you've been to The Forge but there are huge support beams in inopportune places, two of which are directly on the stage.  I was in front of Billy, off a bit to the side, so I actually had an obstructed view of Portnoy!    I didn't plan it that way, I swear. 

From what I could see, he actually seemed in good spirits and played well.  Derek was pretty stoic throughout.  I'm not a Billy Sheehan fan but he was a blast to watch that close. 

I didn't mean for my review to come across as that bad.  The first half hour of the show was pretty awesome, they just couldn't maintain the momentum, mainly because of the material, not the band.  I was even singing along with songs like Alive just because it was fun to participate even though I don't really like the song, although I was tempted to sing "I'm Coming Home!" instead of "I Am Alive!"  I would say the good plus the bad made the show average overall. I would give the edge to the good parts outweighing the bad, thus worth seeing once if it's convenient. 

Also, I was close enough to see that Soto does have an ipad in front of him.  I didn't seem him reference it really so I can't even be sure if he uses it for lyrics.  He also uses pedals to control reverb and things like that.  Some people had speculated it wasn't for that but I'm wondering if because the tour was pretty low budget they didn't use the sound guy for that. 

[The Walrus]

Sounds like someone's using cheesy ass gadgets to me.  Yeah, I've been to the Forge, I really like that place, but I know all too well what you're saying re: the beams.

[bill1971]

Well, after determining not to buy the album thanks to Derek's stupid comments and eventually caving and then deciding not to support them live only to find out they're playing near me the night before a day off from work, I was questioning if they finally won me over.  This is the only post DT project of Mike's I even like but this I can only say I really "like" three songs so after I heard those, would I even stick around at the show?

Here's what I can tell you.  The show last night started off with a ton of energy.  Maybe those youtube videos didn't accurately represent how good they are live or maybe they stepped it up since last night was the closing night of their first ever tour but God of the Sun was a freakin' awesome way to start the show. They sounded great and Jeff didn't do much of those annoying hand movements.  They then went into Sign of the Times, a decent song that doesn't do much for me, but live I have to say I was getting into it.  They followed it with Figaro's Whore which despite the dumb name is actually a decent intro but it should really only be done live.  Divine Addiction was obviously next and the crowd didn't seem to be too into it which sucks because I think that is SoA's best song by far.  In fact, I think it hold's up with most Deep Purple songs and I am a pretty huge fan so that's saying something.  Jeff started up with the weird hand movements including grabbing his crotch.  What?!  He kept it up through the night.  The dude is a good frontman without all that so please Jeff, stop!  They did a jam and seamlessly went into Just Let Me Breathe, one of DT's worst songs but at this point, I was into the show so even I was a little excited to hear 2/5 of the FII lineup play the song.  Only a minute into it I remember how incredibly boring the song was and the show started to go a bit downhill.  Next was Labyrinth which is the last of the songs off of the album I actually liked and the audience didn't seem to be into it as much. 

So the setlist was the same for every show and they couldn't keep my interest much after this.  Jeff singing Save Me was pretty cool. He proves he has an excellent voice which was odd because he was modifying a lot of the vocal lines throughout the show to sing them a bit lower yet he nailed Save Me.  The rest of the set was just boring.  I never had much of an opinion about Opus Maximus but it was soooo boring live.  Alive was kind of cool in a live setting but the song still doesn't do much for me.  Lines in the Sand was a terrible way to end the show but I also think it's a pretty terrible song. 

The Cradle Will Rock cover was pretty cool and Jeff actually ran back to the bar and made his way up to the stage through the crowd while singing the song.  I think Coming Home was a boring song but the crowd was pretty into it. 

So anyway, the place was pretty full but not sold out.  I had pretty conflicting emotions throughout the show because I can see the potential of the band but I doubt if I will feel the desire to see them again unless they pull out some deep DT cuts and really take the time to craft a good followup.  They announced another local show in May and Mike swore us to secrecy.  It's on a Saturday but I doubt I'll be going. 

I would definitely recommend seeing these guys if it's convenient for you but whether I pay much attention to them after this album/tour remains to be seen and but isn't likely.

That post will get you banned for life on DS and MP's Facebook and Twitter pages.

[Madman Shepherd]

 

Too constructive? 

I'll go back and edit to say "OMGz, so awesomez@!!1"

Seriously though, if they wanted to appeal to the majority of the crowd, I would say they should continue writing more along the lines of Coming Home and Alive and not Labyrinth and Divine Addiction because the former is what the crowd seemed to like.  Doesn't bode well for keeping me a fan but it would appeal to more people. 

Crap, sorry, I'll cut it out with the constructive stuff. 

[nobloodyname]

I thought your review was remarkably positive given your criticism of most things MP in recent years

[The Walrus]

Too constructive? 

I'll go back and edit to say "OMGz, so awesomez@!!1"

Seriously though, if they wanted to appeal to the majority of the crowd, I would say they should continue writing more along the lines of Coming Home and Alive and not Labyrinth and Divine Addiction because the former is what the crowd seemed to like.  Doesn't bode well for keeping me a fan but it would appeal to more people. 

Crap, sorry, I'll cut it out with the constructive stuff.

That's pretty sad too considering prog metal is supposed to be the meat and potatoes of the whole thing. Or was? They backpedaled on that a lot recently. So is it a prog metal supergroup or not? 

[Madman Shepherd]

I thought your review was remarkably positive given your criticism of most things MP in recent years

 

Well thanks!  Objectivity is kind of a neat thing. 

Too constructive? 

I'll go back and edit to say "OMGz, so awesomez@!!1"

Seriously though, if they wanted to appeal to the majority of the crowd, I would say they should continue writing more along the lines of Coming Home and Alive and not Labyrinth and Divine Addiction because the former is what the crowd seemed to like.  Doesn't bode well for keeping me a fan but it would appeal to more people. 

Crap, sorry, I'll cut it out with the constructive stuff.

That's pretty sad too considering prog metal is supposed to be the meat and potatoes of the whole thing. Or was? They backpedaled on that a lot recently. So is it a prog metal supergroup or not? 

Yeah.  There was a recent interview where I believe they said something about going into it wanting to be prog metal but it turning into more of a rock band.  So it does seem like they're distancing themselves from it.  Maybe that'll get them more fans but it'll lose a few like me.  I'm sure that'll keep them up at night. 

[The Walrus]

Waiting for Marc "No Filter Loki" to come back and tell you how wrong you are 

[axeman90210]

Been meaning to pop in here since I saw the show on Thursday night. Overall I enjoyed myself and I'd definitely see them again (though probably wouldn't travel an hour plus each way to see them on a worknight again).

Bumblefoot was the highlight of the night, rocking out on that sweet double neck guitar and playing some crazy stuff (the end of that solo in Sign of the Times blows my mind every time). I didn't know that he's got a pretty respectable voice to boot, I was surprised to see it was him and not Jeff when I was looked up from my phone at one point in God of the Sun.

JSS brings it live, and his frontman schtick didn't bother me like I guess it does some. The other guys were all fine, if unremarkable. I think it may be a case less that MP is uninterested than that he doesn't need to be as much of a showman as he maybe needs to in some of his other bands where the singer isn't as active as JSS is.

I thought the setlist was good, enjoyed all the covers and everything on the album comes off well live except for Opus Maximus, which is still a bore.

I'd like to see these guys spend some more time together as a band and maybe spend a little more time working on a second album. I do think there's potential here though.

[Cool Chris]

Just saw some of these videos. Does JSS make the List of Jericho for wearing scarves?

[gzarruk]

Too constructive? 

I'll go back and edit to say "OMGz, so awesomez@!!1"

Seriously though, if they wanted to appeal to the majority of the crowd, I would say they should continue writing more along the lines of Coming Home and Alive and not Labyrinth and Divine Addiction because the former is what the crowd seemed to like.  Doesn't bode well for keeping me a fan but it would appeal to more people. 

Crap, sorry, I'll cut it out with the constructive stuff.

That's pretty sad too considering prog metal is supposed to be the meat and potatoes of the whole thing. Or was? They backpedaled on that a lot recently. So is it a prog metal supergroup or not? 

Yeah.  There was a recent interview where I believe they said something about going into it wanting to be prog metal but it turning into more of a rock band.  So it does seem like they're distancing themselves from it.  Maybe that'll get them more fans but it'll lose a few like me.  I'm sure that'll keep them up at night.

“The other SOA guys: Hey, Mike, we think we work best as a rock band, not a prog band.

MP: But I already put out my press release...”

[cramx3]

Been meaning to pop in here since I saw the show on Thursday night. Overall I enjoyed myself and I'd definitely see them again (though probably wouldn't travel an hour plus each way to see them on a worknight again).

Bumblefoot was the highlight of the night, rocking out on that sweet double neck guitar and playing some crazy stuff (the end of that solo in Sign of the Times blows my mind every time). I didn't know that he's got a pretty respectable voice to boot, I was surprised to see it was him and not Jeff when I was looked up from my phone at one point in God of the Sun.

JSS brings it live, and his frontman schtick didn't bother me like I guess it does some. The other guys were all fine, if unremarkable. I think it may be a case less that MP is uninterested than that he doesn't need to be as much of a showman as he maybe needs to in some of his other bands where the singer isn't as active as JSS is.

I thought the setlist was good, enjoyed all the covers and everything on the album comes off well live except for Opus Maximus, which is still a bore.

I'd like to see these guys spend some more time together as a band and maybe spend a little more time working on a second album. I do think there's potential here though.

Nice, how was the crowd there?  I've only been to that venue once and liked it, but no one showed up for that Amaranthe show.

[Ben_Jamin]

Well, they're not stopping anywhere in NM so guess I'm not seeing them.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Several new dates announced this morning!

[cramx3]

Several new dates announced this morning!

Where do you see this? 

[The Walrus]

Also a video for Coming Home Part 2

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/news/supergroup-sons-apollo-releases-alive-music-video-announces-new-run-tour-dates/

[RodrigoAltaf]

Several new dates announced this morning!

Where do you see this?

Their Facebook page. They'll play in Toronto on April 20, Mike Portnoy's birthday!!!! I'll be there for sure!!

[bosk1]

Sweet!  One of those dates/locations is as ideal as I could reasonably expect. 

[rumborak]

Worcester, MA? I can make that.

[axeman90210]

Friday night in NYC? I'll be in for that.

[cramx3]

Several new dates announced this morning!

Where do you see this?

Their Facebook page. They'll play in Toronto on April 20, Mike Portnoy's birthday!!!! I'll be there for sure!!

Thanks, I overlooked this because the post started with "SONS OF APOLLO RELEASES VIDEO FOR “ALIVE”;" and I didn't read the next line to click for more info  anyway, a Friday night in NYC at my favorite venue in the city seems like the place for me to be.

[bill1971]

April 21st - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
April 22nd - St Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
April 24th - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
April 25th - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
April 27th - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
April 28th - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades
April 29th - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
April 30th - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
May 2nd - San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom
May 3rd - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco Theater
May 4th - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues
May 5th - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater
May 6th - Orange County, CA- Bill's Kitchen
May 7th - San Antonio, TX - Alamo City Music Hall
May 8th - Dallas, TX - Canton Hall
May 9th - Houston, TX - Rock Box
May 11th - Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley
May 12th - St Charles, IL - Arcada Theater
May 13th - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
May 15th - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
May 16th - Philadelphia, PA - Theater Of Living Arts
May 17th - Washington DC - Howard Theater
May 18th - New York City, NY - Playstation Theater
May 19th - Worcester, MA - The Palladium


Awesome May 6th!!!! I will be on vacation, good timing.

[bosk1]

  Well played.