Wednesday September 8th 2010
I am about to write something I never imagined I'd ever write:
After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater....the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.
To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so....
After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater...
Please don't misinterpret me, I love the DT guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them...it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break...
Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985...24/7, 365...never taking time off from DT's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was "off" between cycles)...working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band...
But I've come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.
We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a "hiatus" to recharge our batteries and "save me from ourselves"...
Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather...I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be...
While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes....
Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DT and I talked about "always following your heart and being true to yourself"...sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be "going through the motions", and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.
I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come...I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played....
I'm sorry to all the disappointed DT fans around the world...I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work...I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)...but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within....
You DT fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me....(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)
Sadly...
Your fearless ex-leader and drummer,
MP
"Move on be brave, don't weep at my grave, because I am no longer here...
But please never let your memory of me disappear...."
--- The Spirit Carries On
This is like a sucker punch to the gut to me. I actually started listening to Dream Theater BECAUSE OF Mike Portnoy... Honestly, there are no other bands I can think of that I started listening to primarily because of the drummer (there are plenty that I started listening to for other reasons and came to enjoy and respect the drummer later though).
One of the biggest thrills of my life was seeing Dream Theater live back in 2002. Portnoy was throwing drumsticks into the audience, one of them literally ricocheted out of my hand before I had a chance to grasp it and was caught by the guy sitting behind me (D'OH!)
In addition to being an exceptional drummer, the songs he's written or co-written for the band have been some of my favorites, and he was also the band's archivist-- he's kept a library of most (if not all) of the band's live performances. Some of which have actually been released and sold legitimately via the band's own Ytsejam Records label... And the icing on the cake he and guitarist John Petrucci have been co-producing most of the band's albums since about 1999 (the last one produced by a producer outside the band was 1997's Falling Into Infinity). So he was no mere drummer... he was so much more!
Dream Theater may find another drummer-- and there are some good ones out there. But they'll never be able to fully replace Portnoy. He was just too big a part of that band for too long. With Portnoy's departure the only founding members remaining in the band are guitarist John Petrucci and bass player John Myung.
*edit* For further information, Mike Portnoy was interviewed with Eddie Trunk over the weekend. You can find the transcript here.
6 comments:
Interesting, I hadn't heard this news. I enjoy Dream Theater from time to time, but get easily burned out on modern prog rock. I've been more a fan of Fates Warning than Dream Theater, but maybe that's because I discovered them first. I still prefer older prog rock like Yes, Genesis or even Rush.
It will be interesting to see where Dream Theater goes and if this will change their style at all.
Replacing him will be no easy task. Huge shift coming for the band, to be sure.
Mike: I've dabbled in Fates Warning as well but the only one of their albums that has really grabbed me was/is Disconnected. Jim Matheos is an exceptional guitarist but I prefer his work with Kevin Moore in OSI (especially their Free and Blood albums).
Sean: Some fans believe that Jordan Rudess is jockeying to get his good friend, Rod Morgenstein of the Dixie Dregs into Dream Theater as the new drummer. I've heard some of Morgenstein's work with Rudess on their Rudess Morgenstein Project CD. He's pretty good. But I think I'd prefer Virgil Donati. He worked with ex-Dream Theater keyboardist, Derek Sherinian on several of Sherinian's solo albums and he's got some mad chops to him and his style is closer to that of Portnoy than Morgenstein... but if the band wants to go in a different direction without Portnoy, Morgenstein might be the better choice.
I was originally attracted to Fates Warning due to John Arch's amazing vocals, my favorite albums being The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian, my favorite post-Arch album is Perfect Symmetry, though I haven't heard Disconnected. I'll have to check it and OSI out.
Mike: Arch auditioned to be Dream Theater's lead vocalist after they fired Charlie Domenici. I believe in interviews he stated it just didn't feel right. As for OSI-- think progressive metal with a Pink Floyd influence... Their metal is a bit more ambient than Dream Theater or Fates Warning... owing largely to the Kevin Moore influence. Moore handles most of the vocals although they do also use guest vocalists on at least 1 track per album... Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree guested on their debut. I forget who guested on their 2nd album and I believe the lead singer of Opeth guested on their latest, Blood. Mike Portnoy played drums on the first 2 albums and Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison played drums on Blood.
Perplexio: Thanks for the info!
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