DREAM THEATER's PORTNOY: 'NEIL PEART Introduced Me To Progressive Drumming'

Michael Senft of The Arizona Republic recently conducted an interview with DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

The Arizona Republic: You just moved to Roadrunner Records from Atlantic.

Portnoy: We were with Atlantic/Elektra for 15 years, a seven-album deal we signed in 1991. They kept picking up options for every record. To be honest, we've been ready to get the (expletive) out of there for years, the whole corporate, major label thing was . . . we were starting to get really frustrated with it. The kind of band we are, we aren't a flavor of the month, we aren't MTV, we aren't corporate-minded Rolling Stone- type music. And it was easy for us to get lost in the shuffle. Our previous label was just relying on our existing fans to buy our albums and make them their money. They would then leave us alone to work the album ourselves, no promotion, no tour support.

We were excited at our possibilities when the contract ended — Roadrunner was a no-brainer. They've got the power and marketing muscle of any major label, but they don't have the corporate mentality, they are more independent-minded. And they've grown so much in recent years; they aren't strictly a hardcore metal label anymore. They've got acts ranging from OPETH to NICKELBACK and everyone in between, like STONE SOUR and MEGADETH. We fit in and they obviously care about their bands and they give all their bands attention. And frankly they've given us the attention we've earned after 22 years in the business.

The Arizona Republic: Sort of going from being a small fish in a big pond to a big fish in a small pond.

Portnoy: Well, a big fish in a medium pond. We really feel like we are the number one priority over there, even if a band like NICKELBACK sells more records. They treat all their acts with respect, but they also see what we've been able to do without any label support so they're excited about the possibilities with label support.

The Arizona Republic: Prog-metal fans are getting an extra special treat the week you are in town. You play [in Arizona] on Wednesday, and RUSH is in town on Friday.

Portnoy: Wow. (RUSH's drummer) Neil (Peart) is the drummer who introduced me to progressive drumming. Before Neil it was Keith Moon, John Bonham and Ringo Starr — they got me interested in music, but once I discovered RUSH in 1981, Neil became the number one influence. I was a young teenager and I'd never heard a drummer do odd time signatures, have a massive kit, playing extended drum solos.

Since then DREAM THEATER's path has followed RUSH's development. We're kind of the torch bearers for that kind of music to a new generation. The appeal RUSH had to me as a kid seems to be the same appeal that my music has to our fans.

The tradition continues — there will always be an audience for that kind of intense musicianship and I'm proud to be carrying it on.

Read the entire interview at The Arizona Republic.