DREAM THEATER - Mike Portnoy

DREAM THEATER - Mike Portnoy Video Interview Available

During DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy's visit to Germany recently while doing press tour for the band's new album, Systematic Chaos, The Mirror took the opportunity to capture an interview on video. You can view it here.

As previously reported, Dream Theater's new album, Systematic Chaos, will be released on Tuesday, June 5th via Roadrunner Records. The release date may vary slightly in different countries.

A Dream Theater Electronic Press Kit is available for download here (QuickTime, 38.5 MB).

The new track 'Constant Motion' is available for free here. Simply fill in your details and the download link will be sent directly to your email.

Systematic Chaos will be available as a regular jewel case edition and a Special Edition DVD version.
The tracklist for both editions is as follows:
'In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1' (9:00),
'Forsaken' (5:36),
'Constant Motion' (6:55),
'The Dark Eternal Night' (8:51),
'Repentance' (10:43),
'Prophets Of War' (6:01),
'The Ministry Of Lost Souls' (14:57),
'In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2' (16:38).

The Special Edition DVD version will also include the entire album mixed in 5.1 surround sound and Chaos In Progress - The Making Of Systematic Chaos, a 90-minute documentary directed by drummer Mike Portnoy).

DVD de Portnoy va sortir : "sysDRUMatic Chaos", avec les sessions d'enregistrement axé sur la batterie,avec des audio options incluant toutes les pistes ou la batterie uniquement. NTSC format.
un trailer ici : http://www.mikeportnoy.com/portnoyarchives/mpdvd7.wmv

DREAM THEATER - sysDRUMatic Chaos DVD From New Album Recording Sessions Available

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has issued a new DVD entitled sysDRUMatic Chaos featuring drum-cam footage from the recording sessions for the band's new album, Systematic Chaos. Audio options include full band and isolated drums. It also features an extended blooper reel. The DVD is region free but only available in NTSC format.

Go to this location to order. Click here to view the two-minute trailer.

DREAM THEATER - Mike Portnoy In-Store Appearances Confirmed

The official DREAM THEATER website has been updated to report the following confirmed in-store events featuring drummer Mike Portnoy:

August
10 - Sam Ash (Lombard Pines Plaza) - Lombard, IL (2 PM)
11 - Sam Ash - Lyndhurst, OH (2 PM)
24 - Sam Ash - Edison, NJ (2 PM)
26 - Sam Ash - Cherry Hill, NJ (2 PM)

As previously reported, Portnoy attended RUSH's July 6th gig at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey, and has issued the following comment:

"I was indeed at the Camden show. (In fact, I was there for most of the afternoon as Neil Peart was gracious enough to invite me down for soundcheck to say hello and check out his new kit.)

The show was really great. I really loved the setlist... when I initially saw it on paper, I wasn't that impressed - but then hearing all of the songs live, it really clicked how great the song selection was.

Of course being partial to the older stuff, I was most excited to hear 'Entre Nous', 'Circumstances', 'Bangkok' and 'Digital Man'... but even some of my other favorites that I have seen so many times before like 'Witch Hunt', 'Subdivisions' and 'Natural Science' sounded better than ever! And I really thought all of the new material really came alive on stage and gave me a whole new level of appreciation for them...

They still put on one hell of a show!! 2 thumbs way up!"

DREAM THEATER Drummer Mike Portnoy - "Roadrunner Is The Best Label Out There For The Type Of Band We Are"

The following story is courtesy of Larry D. Curtis from www.Deseretnews.com:

Over its 22-year history, DREAM THEATER has grown from a niche band to a recognized figurehead of the progressive-music movement.

The quintet is touring to support its new album "Systematic Chaos" on a brand-new label, Roadrunner Records. And drummer Mike Portnoy — a driving force behind Dream Theater since it formed in 1985 in Boston at the Berklee School of Music — says the band is energized by its move.

"Right now we have the freedom to call our own shots," he said by phone. "When we signed that deal with Atlantic (Records) we were kids, we had no leverage. We found ourselves, finally, after 14 years as free agents."

Atlantic kept picking up its option on the band in a contract that Portnoy said was heavily favored in the label's interests. This time when recording its newest effort, the music was the priority, not the label, and he sounds pleased with the new decision.

The recording process was the same as on previous efforts which, according to Portnoy, means the group gathers at a studio to start writing and recording from scratch. Since all five are married with children and work hard all week and enjoy family time on the weekends, they will tour for perhaps five weeks and then schedule a couple of weeks of home-time between legs.

For whatever reason, album sales have jumped. The new disc flashed in at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 with one-week sales of 36,000— both high benchmarks for the band. On record as feeling under-promoted, the group has built up its fan base without much help from traditional outlets, such as radio. A week after signing with its new label, it was purchased for $74 million by Warner Music Group — the owner of Dream Theater's previous two labels. Still, Portnoy is pleased with the new arrangement.

"Roadrunner is the best label out there for the type of band we are," he said.
And the type of band it is might have been part of the problem for a label that just didn't quite know what to do with such non-conventional music. At times sounding like driving heavy metal and at other times launching into epic songs and concept albums that aren't exactly tailored for the iPod generation, Dream Theater can be a tough sell.

Read more here.

DREAM THEATER Drummer Mike Portnoy On UNEXPECT: "I'm So Stunned By This Band"

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy is a big fan of Canada's UNEXPECT.

Says Mike, "Wow... I am speechless!!! (well almost...)

I just got turned onto this INSANE band from Canada (Unexpect) and their last CD In A Flesh Aquarium. They are pretty indescribable...

Kind of in the vein of MR. BUNGLE, SPASTIC INK, ESTRADASPHERE, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, FANTOMAS and SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM (another new favorite band of mine BTW - thanks Stephane!).

Absolutely some of the most OUT THERE, progressive, technical, avant garde music I've ever heard!

My brain hurts!

MP."

DREAM THEATER - Mike Portnoy Signature Package Available At Musician's Friend

A collection of hot percussion gear, seven hours of drum instruction by DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy on DVD, and Mike's favorite toys for adding strong vibe and a rich mix of timbres to your music.

LP hooked up with skins master Mike Portnoy to release this limited edition Percussion Kit. A 2004 inductee into the Modern Drummer magazine's Hall Of Fame with a 12-year run as the best progressive rock drummer in the magazine's reader's poll, as well as various live and clinic awards, Mike Portnoy certainly knows his way around a drum set.

This is a limited edition pack, with only 250 available, features:

- The 3-DVD instructional set, Mike Portnoy: In Constant Motion, autographed by Mike Portnoy
- An 11" Mike Portnoy Max Splash cymbal
- A long sleeve Mike Portnoy t-shirt
- A pair of Pro-Mark Mike Portnoy signature drumsticks, and

The Mike Portnoy Percussion Kit, which features a cowbell and tambourine-two underrated instruments vital to the vibe and percussive timbres of not only his own music as the ruler of time for Dream Theater, but that of his idols, Neil Pert, Keith Moon and John Bonham

Click here to purchase or see more details!

DREAM THEATER - In-Depth Interview With Drummer MIKE PORTNOY Available









Imhotep.no recently caught up with DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy. Following are a few excerpts from the interview:

Imhotep: How did you feel when you learned that "Systematic Chaos" had leaked onto the web weeks or months after its release? What's your opinion on this whole MP3-file-sharing thing that's been going on?

Portnoy: "Honestly, I understand the fans. They are willing to have an album as soon as they can. I feel the same when one of my favorite bands finishes an album. I can't wait to get my hands on it, so I totally understand that. But for me, on the other side of the fence, it's frustrating sometimes because you want people to hear it directly in its full fidelity presentation. You want them to see the artwork, and the booklet, and kinda get the whole big picture, so it's frustrating that that can't always be maintained, but, you know, it's uncontrollable. I can't get crazy about it. When I read it leaked I was actually very calm because we expected that to happen, and to be honest I was surprised that we held it so long without a leak, cause we delivered the record in mid February, and it leaked 3 months after. I think we held it pretty well."

Imhotep: Charlie Dominici (ex-Dream Theater vocalist) and his band opened some shows along the tour. What do you feel about his return to the scene? Have you listened to his new album?

Portnoy: "Yeah, and I'm very very proud of him and I'm happy for him. He'll be probably the first to tell you that. I helped him get back on his feet, I helped him find the band, I helped him find his record deal, and I've been very supportive of trying to help him in any way I can. And inviting him to open the shows for us was is another step in that direction as well, so, I'm supportive of him. Other ex-members like Derek Sherinian and Kevin Moore went on to have careers on their own, so, I figure it's great that Charlie, after 15 years away from it all, is finally getting back into it."

Imhotep: Talking of Kevin, I think a lot of Dream Theater fans were looking forward to seeing him onstage with you on the 20th anniversary tour. Taking your relationship with him as a musician and a person into account, which would you say that are the reasons for his always kind-of-reserved-defensive attitude when it comes to talking about Dream Theater and getting involved in things related to the band?

Portnoy: "Well, I was disappointed he didn't do it as well, It's not like he wasn't invited. I did invite him to participate with us at the 20th anniversary. I invited him to participate on the 15th anniversary of When Dream And Day Unite. The invitation has always been there but he always turned it down, so any disappointment should not be pointed at us, it should be pointed at him. That's just his nature, he's the type of person that is very strong-minded, and I have to say the word stubborn. Once he sets his mind to something he sticks to it and you can't change it. It was because of that that I realized that if he had stayed in Dream Theater, the band would have probably broken up. People look back and comment about Images And Words and Awake, and look at Kevin like there was this great formula and chemistry; that's not the reality. The reality is that the personal chemistry and the working and creative chemistry would not have lasted another year or two. He's not at all interested in progressive music, he's not at all interested in heavy music, so there was absolutely no place for his taste vision in Dream Theater anymore."

Go to this location to read the complete in-depth interview.

DREAM THEATER - Leave Phone Messages For Drummer MIKE PORTNOY On TheLiveLine.com

DREAM THEATER fans can now leave drummer Mike Portnoy phone messages courtesy of www.theliveline.com. Simply call (866) 665-MIKE or (866) 665-6453

Portnoy's personal updates are also available, and fans can also sign up to receive text messages.

As previously reported, the Live Line</A> has been updated with new content including new messages from Portnoy, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine, and MACHINE HEAD bassist Adam Duce.

About the website - dubbed "Your Rock And Roll Resource" - Mustaine explained recently that Megadeth are using "TheLiveLine.com to help us choose the bands that are going to play with us in several of the countries on our next tour of Europe and the United Kingdom. This service is just one of the small features we are going to offer, and we will continue to research and develop them as new technology is unveiled to us."