By Ryan Sparks
It’s hard
to believe the band Dream Theater, which was formed back in 1985
by guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike
Portnoy, has been sitting atop the progressive / metal heap for
almost twenty five years now. However, their journey to
becoming one of progressive rock’s most successful and
influential bands wasn’t something that happened overnight. The
band certainly went through its fair share of struggles,
especially in the early going, and in fact things did not go
well for the band right out of the starting gate as they were
faced with the inevitable task of replacing their lead singer
after just one album in 1989. Subsequent years brought both
problems with record companies and management, replacing
members, notably keyboard players, as well as Portoy’s well
documented struggles with alcohol.
After the
touring behind their Falling Into Infinity album (which
drew mixed reactions from diehard fans due to it’s more
commercial sound) concluded the band was teetering on the brink
of calling it quits in 1998. At Portnoy’s insistence the slate
was wiped clean in more ways than one, and as the band took more
control over their career, things slowly began to turn around.
Fast
forwarding to 2009, Dream Theater and their designated leader
and spokesman Portnoy are in a very good place indeed. This year
saw the group release their latest masterpiece, and eleventh
studio album overall, the critically acclaimed Black Clouds &
Silver Linings. The band also headlined the immensely
successful Progressive Nation tour which made stops throughout
North America and Europe. In a candid one on one interview with
Classic Rock Revisited Mike reflected on the band’s twenty five
years in the music business, discussed both past and present
achievements, as well as the tough early days. He also revealed
how 2009 has been a difficult year for him on a personal level
after losing his Father to cancer back in January, and how the
song “The Best Of Times” off the new album was written for and
presented to his Dad on his deathbed.
Ryan:
2009 has really been a banner year for the band. I know the year
isn’t over yet but what do you consider to be the major
highlights for both the band and for you personally?
Mike: It’s
funny you should ask that because I was just thinking about that
the other day. I was thinking how there have been a lot of
really cool achievements this year, and actually for personal
reasons I was thinking about it as well because this is the
first year without my Dad, who passed away earlier this year. I
was thinking for personal reasons, how sad it is that I haven’t
been able to share these things with him. On a lighter note
there have really been some great things. Cracking the Billboard
top ten when the album came out, having it go to number six was
a really cool achievement and something that we had never done
before. There was a really cool thing in rhythm magazine where I
was voted the number five drummer of all time which was a really
cool and flattering achievement. I was just in London last week
and we won a really cool award from Classic Rock Magazine. Just
little things like that are cool little feathers in the cap you
know? At this point in our career it’s little things like that
which are still exciting.
Ryan:
Success means different things to different people. Which of the
bands achievements are you most proud of and mean the most to
you?
Mike: Well
the fact that we’re still doing this almost twenty five years
later, and that we’re still continuing to blossom. That’s
probably the greatest achievement of all. But like I said there
have been these little feathers in the cap along the way. The
awards are nice and flattering. To have done some of the
concerts we have done have been really cool, and to have toured
with so many bands that we grew up loving, everybody from Yes,
to Deep Purple and Megadeth or whatever. Things like that are
really cool little milestones, and when you’re a band like ours
that isn’t a real mainstream act and doesn’t get a lot of
mainstream exposure, every once and a while when you do, it
means a lot.
Ryan: If
someone had said to you back when you first started out in 1985
that twenty five years from now your band would be not only one
of the biggest, but also one of the most influential bands in
progressive rock, what would you have said to them?
Mike: It’s
amazing honestly because so many things that have happened over
the past twenty five years are surreal to me. I know it’s all
subjective, but like I said, that drum poll is of course
subjective because there is no greatest and there is no best
drummer, but just to have that kind of recognition is truly
surreal. To be placed in the same category with John Bonham,
Keith Moon and Buddy Rich is totally surreal. Like you said if
you had told me that twenty five years ago, you know…it’s all a
dream come true, no pun intended.
Ryan:
When you made those first few albums were you just thinking
about taking it one album at a time?
Mike: Well
the first couple of albums were filled with obstacles, false
starts and empty promises. The first couple of albums were real
lessons in how tough the industry could be. I guess once we had
endured that and had risen above it that was the true test of
whether or not we were a band that was fit for survival. Those
first couple of albums were filled with frustration and we
learned real quick about compromise and having to play the
industry game. At that time we were just young kids who wanted
to make music, we didn’t want to flow our cards into this game
that the music industry revolves around [laughs]. We were just a
bunch of kids who were happy to play together, and somehow we
got thrown into the circus that is the music industry. Luckily
we persevered and were able to survive those formative years.
Ryan:
When you look back on those early albums, do you find them
difficult to listen to and is there stuff that kind of makes you
cringe or are you for the most part happy with those records?
Mike:
Unlike most bands, I know a lot of bands look back on their
early material and cringe at the songwriting and the playing,
but I don’t really look back on our stuff like that. I’m still
proud of the playing that’s on those albums and I’m still proud
of the songs we wrote. It’s just the memories that surround them
are sometimes difficult. For example the primitive, low budget
mix of our first album or some of the compromises that went into
the second album. Sometimes I listen to those albums and they
sound dated to me, but if I can get past that and actually just
listen to the songs and the playing, I‘m still proud of them.
Ryan:
You mentioned winning The ‘Spirit of Prog’ Achievement Award at
the Classic Rock Awards in London. First of all give me your
thoughts on winning the award, but also what is was like to rub
shoulders with some of rock’s royalty, people like Jimmy Page,
Pete Townsend and Brian May.
Mike: Well
first of all to win the award was really exciting because as I
said earlier it’s rare that we get mainstream recognition. I’ve
won so many awards in the drum world and stuff like that which
is nice, but to win something that is more mainstream and to be
nominated alongside Metallica and AC/DC that to me is a real
honor. To be in a room with those legends, this wasn’t like the
Video Music Awards where you’re surrounded by Hip Hop and Pop
artists who you feel no connection with. These are the legends,
Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck, Ron Wood and Brian May.
The Who, Zeppelin, The Stones, Queen, the biggest bands of all
time and the biggest influences in my life. So to be in the room
with them, and not only to be in the room but to be called up to
the podium and win an award amongst them was totally an honor.
Those are the bands that shaped my life, so it couldn’t have
been more of an honor. It was really exciting.
Ryan:
Now is it true that you were totally unprepared to go up there;
did you have any idea you were going to win?
Mike: No,
actually I went under the pretense that I was going because
Dream Theater was nominated for album of the year. So I was
going in case we happened to win in that category, I didn’t even
know that there was a ‘Spirit of Prog’ Achievement Award that
was going to be given that night. I was completely unaware of
it. The label kind of brought me there secretively and I guess
they knew I was going to be receiving this award, but I was
completely unprepared. When Rick Wakeman went up and read his
speech about giving the award and that our band was worthy of
receiving the award I was completely shocked. I had to go up and
speak off the cuff in front of these legends.
Ryan:
Can you tell me how the title Black Clouds & Silver Linings
ties in with both the lyrics and the music on this record?
Mike: It
was a title that I thought up when I was driving into Manhattan
one day on my way to the studio; it was one of those cloudy
days. Throughout the making of this record I was dealing with my
Dad who was battling cancer. It was just a heavy period for me
and I knew that some of these lyrics that were being written for
the album were dealing with some heavy and dark subject matter.
So I saw the black clouds and it reminded me of that expression
that every cloud has a silver lining. I thought it would really
apply to the lyrics that John and I were writing, and also to
the music in general because Dream Theater has always written
dark, heavy music, but it also has a progressive or melodic
silver lining to it. So I thought that contrast really summed up
the music and the lyrics pretty well.
Ryan:
The song “The Best of Times” is such a powerful track.
Considering it’s about your Dad was it difficult to write or did
it just pour out of you?
Mike: It
was difficult in terms of it being very emotional, but it wasn’t
difficult in terms of the actual task of writing it. It came
pretty easily. I basically started writing about all these
different memories I have throughout my forty one years with my
Dad, and actually I probably could have written a whole album
about those times. I had to cut it down to just a couple of
verses and choruses. So if anything it was difficult to narrow
it down, but coming up with the subject matter was actually
very, very easy. It was an incredibly emotional song for me to
write, and to present it to my Dad on his deathbed, and to be
able to share it with him before he passed away was something I
will carry with me for the rest of my life. That is where a song
is more than just a song; this is a vehicle for an experience
that changed my life. It’s a difficult song for me to listen to.
I’ve barely gone back to listen to it since the album has come
out, it’s very hard for me to hear it without thinking about
playing it for him, and playing it at his funeral.
Ryan:
This was going on during the recording of the album. I can
imagine it must have been hard on some days to focus on the task
at hand.
Mike:
Actually I found that being in the studio helped me. When I
would fly out to California to see my Dad every couple of
weekends it was really easy to get lost in that and be depressed
and sad. I found that the best therapy was to get back into the
studio and get back to work on the album, to get back to what
took me out of my misery and depression. I found it very
therapeutic to work. I’m a very focused and driven artist. I
need to work and not sit around.
Ryan:
What was the turning point for Dream Theater becoming more
independent and having more control of its own destiny?
Mike: I can
pin point it to a definitive moment really. It was very
specific. It was the end of the Falling Into Infinity
tour in the summer of ’98 and we had just finished doing a tour
with Deep Purple and ELP. I was ready to leave the band and I
think the band was ready to hang it up. We were just beaten down
and we’d had enough of the industry bullshit which was basically
taking over the band. At that stage of our career everything had
to go through the record company, lawyers and our managers. Our
managers had just broken up, our business and our career was
just in turmoil. I had had enough. We came to a point in our
career where it was do or die, we were either going to break up
and hang it up or we had to completely eliminate all the
bullshit from our career. We had to put our foot down and take
control of our careers and our music again and that’s what
happened basically. We put our foot down and told the label to
stay out of our business, we changed management and we basically
just wiped the slate clean and decided we were going to produce
the records ourselves, me and John. We brought Jordan (Rudess)
into the band and we told the label that if they wanted to keep
us then they had to get out of our way and let us do things our
way. That was the defining turning point. It was a very specific
turn of events that happened during that period and it was the
only thing we could to do to enable us to take control of our
career to get us to where we are today. Since then the last ten
years have been smooth sailing and we’ve had very, very few
obstacles in our path.
Ryan:
Basically at that time in your career it had ceased to be about
the music.
Mike: Yeah
the making of the Falling Into Infinity album was a tough
period. The label kept us at bay for a year and a half, and then
once we hit the road it was filled with compromises. We said
that we were no longer about music, it was about a business, and
at that point I threw up my hands and said “Why the fuck am I
doing this? This wasn’t why we formed this band to begin with”.
It was very frustrating. The record company would switch their
roster with every album so we would have to reacquaint ourselves
with all new people each time, who really did not get Dream
Theater. They weren’t there when we were signed and they were
looking for the next Green Day, and not have to deal with a
career orientated band. It was very difficult and it took for us
to basically be on the verge of breaking up to save us.
Ryan:
You mentioned that both John and you produce the records. Is it
difficult at times to separate the role of producer and musician
and to be objective?
Mike: Yeah
that’s something that’s constantly enforced, to be able to
switch hats. It’s not only producer and musician but there’s
songwriter as well. There are kind of three hats that John and I
have to constantly swap around. There’s the musician that wants
to show off and play his instrument, the songwriter who wants to
get crazy with the construction of a song, and then there’s the
producer that basically has to oversee all of those elements,
and then another dozen on top of that. Ultimately it’s the
producer hat that has to be the most objective and a lot of
times John and I have a real good grasp for overseeing the whole
process in general. The producer hat has to look after the
musicians, and the songwriters, and then look after the
engineers, mixers, artist and all those elements. It’s kind of
like directing a film; you’re dealing with actors and
screenplays, directors of photography, editors. The producer’s
role is kind of similar in that you have to be on top of
everything and to be able to look at the big picture.
Ryan:
You’ve been very hands with Progressive Nation in that you
personally pick the bands to be on the bill and you seem to have
a good sense for talent. With that in mind could you ever see
yourself at some point getting involved more in the artistic
development side?
Mike: I
think that’s one of the strong points of my career, is my
ability to love music and be a music fan. I love so many
different artists and bands, so when putting something together
like Progressive Nation I think it’s really a perfect fit for me
because I’m able to put together a bill that has a well rounded
roster. I can help other bands out there that I see are being
very creative and could use the support. So I think one of my
strong points is that I am such a music fan. Progressive Nation
is a way of me helping these bands and putting them onstage with
Dream Theater, but sure yeah I think being a producer for Dream
Theater is very similar to that kind of role, and I could surely
see myself helping other bands in a more creative way as well if
the opportunity ever came around.
Ryan:
Last question for you Mike. If you knew then what you know now,
would you change anything or do anything differently?
Mike:
That’s a good question. I think where we are today is a result
of the ride. It’s not always about the destination, it’s about
the ride. I don’t know that I would change anything. There have
been obstacles and problem areas, but I think overcoming those
made us what we are today. If we had been given a quick, free,
overnight sensation card we may have self imploded a lot sooner.
We may not have appreciated the things that we’ve now taken
many, many years to develop. I don’t know if I would rewrite our
career at all. There have been some obstacles and frustrating
periods, but it’s like the expression goes “What doesn’t kill
you makes you stronger”.
www.dreamtheater.net
www.mikeportnoy.com
