Mike Portnoy [Archive] - Page 2 - DRUMMERWORLD OFFICIAL DISCUSSION FORUM

deadbirdsoup

09-15-2006, 06:09 PM

If anyone has seen that DVD when DT play live in Japan, not sure what it is called, they know that this guy is insane. He is by far one of the best drummers out there.

i think ur talking about live at the Budokan...its pretty good, I dont personally own it but i have watched it a few times.

Just recently this year i have started to get into dream theater and mike portnoy, i like his work, his timing and technique IMO is pretty fantastic but still i feel hes not the best out there.....relitivly close though...

CarterB_Junkie

09-16-2006, 06:19 AM

A quite historic moment has happened last week end !

MP got to meet his idol after like 15 years of stalking !!!!!

Anduin

09-18-2006, 09:42 PM

Is the DVD out in Canada? I saw an ad for it in Modern Drummer, but I can't find it in the retail shops.

h3r3tic

10-04-2006, 03:13 AM

which guy would I call to choose with a great perspective on drumming with a sharped sense of musicality? who´se drumming drives with grace and power with such musicians as the rest of Dream Theater´s members?

Yeah! Mike Portnoy :)

Robin

10-05-2006, 10:56 PM

But I miss Jeff Porcaro, he was one of the times best drummer. Very very good
Ehhh so? There is already a Jeff Porcaro thread, what has Jeff got to do with MP?

Talon

11-02-2006, 10:37 PM

Like most people, I'm sure, I register here and immediately head to my favorite drummer's thread. :)

Mike Portnoy was the guy who got me so avidly into playing. My first DT album was "Awake," and as soon as I heard it, I was thinking, "I want to play this." So I started playing drums more frequently, and now here I am today.

The most "complex" song I can play by MP is "Instrumedley" from the Live at Budokan DVD. I'm working on Dance of Eternity.

DrumMasterDave

11-03-2006, 08:41 AM

He is My favorite Drummer For sure! In my opinion, the best prog drummers around. I think his DVD, Liquid drum theater, is one of the most entertaining drum videos out there. The quality and Video angles he uses are soo sweet. He got me into the Double bass drum fills and beats. Alot of people do not like the music, but like said beofer, you cannot deny his skill!

mikei

11-03-2006, 10:15 PM

Portnoy is Dream Theater, especially live.

Portnoy really gets into it. Puts on a good show for a drummer.

The rest of the band should just get beds and lie down. They just stand in one place, and do not put on any type of "show". Very boring to watch them live. I enjoy listening to them more than watching them (this doesn't apply to Mr. Portnoy!).

I suggest they change the band name to Mike Portnoy and Dream Theater!

Now, I know there will be many people who claim the music is so hard to play, and they need to concentrate. However, many technically great musicians give a good show. Petrucci, Myung and Rudes are great musicians, but do not play to entertain the crowd. Yngwie, Vai, Sheehan, Harris and others give the fans technical greatness and showmanship.

Quadruple Groove

11-03-2006, 11:11 PM

yea Portnoy is so much about the show, if you've ever watched a dvd with the option of showing only him playing: he does a lot of silly little things for pure show, sometimes plays ghost notes against his head, stick twirling etc.

Not to mention that they're songs are rediculously complicated as it is.
DT was one of the things that got me into drumming seriously, it's the source of the limited knowledge I have of odd time signatures.
I remember laying in bed, sick and listening to Octavarium or LTE, which is essentially DT and slowly untying the knots in the music.
Now I don't like it as much anymore, while I still think its brilliant and complicated, somehow its magic has disappeared......maybe I just know most of the songs that well.

gmrakich

11-04-2006, 01:02 AM

Portnoy and ringo. I am the first person in history to mention both of them in the same line.
MP is a drummer you like or hate. You HAVE to listen to what he is doing...you are compelled to. ie what the hell did he just do, where the F is "1" and that made no sence, but it worked. I for one like to listen to music and not analize it as much as my drummer mind feels I have to. He is for the young whippersnappers out there....don't think too many of us 45+ guys like DT, but we all understand they are gifted to do what they do.

finnhiggins

11-05-2006, 10:21 AM

Portnoy and ringo. I am the first person in history to mention both of them in the same line.

You mean, the first after every single magazine interviewer who's ever done a piece on Portnoy? Portnoy references Ringo an awful lot.

gusty

11-05-2006, 10:27 AM

yea Portnoy is so much about the show, if you've ever watched a dvd with the option of showing only him playing: he does a lot of silly little things for pure show, sometimes plays ghost notes against his head, stick twirling etc.
yeah, i saw him playing at the 2003(?) MD, he was really good with Dream theater (it was a dvd), and he was always twirling the sticks and stuff, really good performer

Talon

11-05-2006, 03:04 PM

yeah, i saw him playing at the 2003(?) MD, he was really good with Dream theater (it was a dvd), and he was always twirling the sticks and stuff, really good performer
Live at Budokan DVD? My second favorite DVD of theirs.

komodo

11-06-2006, 03:18 PM

Since introduced to DT i have been a convert,an praise this band till my mates try stranglin me.There just amazing,every member,including mike portnoy.Hes an amazing talent,an quite funny too.Original and techincal,and if i was rich,my kmit would resemble his,hell why not :P

promark

01-08-2007, 02:24 AM

now your saying that mike portnoy was the type of person that went to berklee but didn't go to class, well what i know of mike is that he has been named best progressive drummer for 12 years in a row in modern drummer magazine and he has also been put into the drummers hall of fame. well when it comes to talking a lot of people can do that, but if you can do what mike portnoy does or better, than let your drumming do the talking!! but until i see that what you wrote is true and until i see that you can do better things than mike can on a simple drum!! i wouldn't talk about mikee!! that way!!

FunkyDrummin

01-08-2007, 03:50 AM

...he is a bit cocky.

He IS from Brooklyn. That happens alot down there.

Watch his Budokan dvd, he never sits down, and i heard he flicks people off during his concerts.

I've never heard of Mike flipping anyone off...and he does too sit down. He sits really high, and is really short, so it looks like he's standing, though he DOES play standing up on occasion. Why? I have absolutely no idea. The only offensive thing he does that I can think of is his ability to spit like a camel.

Tyr

01-08-2007, 04:05 AM

I love the parts he makes for the songs, they fit perfectly, all the time! I'm not fond of his soloing at all though. But in his case, drumming for the song is the most important!

gusty

01-08-2007, 04:29 AM

Portnoy and ringo. I am the first person in history to mention both of them in the same line.
Ringo was one of his main influences, and he even has a Beatles tribute band, playing a Ringo kit (same finish, most likely same sizes, and im quite sure same kind of cymbals.)

Green and Mean

03-13-2007, 10:57 AM

Bump up the volume, bump up the volume!

dawg

03-14-2007, 02:43 AM

i think portnoy is a good,solid drummer, but he's not that original like the greats.i also think he's too much of a neil peart clone,from what i've heard. but hey,you can't argue with success.

element_758

03-20-2007, 07:28 PM

Moderator Edit: Post Deleted.

Please use more appropriate language if you'd like to contribute to this forum.

fijjibo

03-20-2007, 08:20 PM

I think that Portnoy and Nicko McBrain are the best drummers ever.

but that is my opinion, everybody has an opinion, and they are entitled to it.

dawg

03-21-2007, 05:12 AM

this was thread created for opinions...you got mine about portnoy. i didn't say he was not good,he is...i don't care for his style,from what i've heard and i don't care for DT or liquid tensions' music.

bjoneill74

03-22-2007, 03:36 AM

no musician is THE best.
There are greats..
not everyone will agree on who those are.. it only matters what you personally think.

I have been a DT fan for a long time and like their stuff.. My tastes have changed over time and I don't listen to them all that much any more (metal in general), but those guys are insane musicians (I'm a guitarist and Petrucci has been one of my bigger influences).
They are all very technically proficient.
I also like melody and feel.. This is something that this band gets slammed on against all of the time and I don't buy it. I've heard some very cool melodic stuff from them.. It all comes down to styles and what does it for an individual.. If he does.. great.. if not.. well.. why waste time arguing about it??

Something else.. Portnoy IS that band in terms of running and promoting it.
He's not just a drummer.

You can't really measure something like creativity or musicianship.. THANKFULLY..
There's always someone better ;)

I'm not a drummer, but my personal favs are Gavin Harrison, Dennis Chambers, Matt Chamberlain, Vinnie Colaiuta, Ian Mosley, Nick D'Virgilio, Mark Zonder, Mike Portnoy (he's a blast to watch)

Brian
http://www.ephemeralsun.com
http://www.stewedyoe.com
http://www.myspace.com/bjoneill

bcb_06

03-26-2007, 07:11 PM

danny carey is very overrated....fact

Spreggy

03-26-2007, 07:30 PM

I went to one of his clinics a number of years ago. He was very personable and did a great job fielding questions that he's heard a zillion times. Good guy, good drummer.

tooldrums1000

03-27-2007, 02:50 AM

mike portnoy stinks. danny carey is so much better and way more creative.

bjoneill74

03-27-2007, 04:20 AM

That's a well thought out and explained opinion.. There are plenty of folks out there that can technically slam both of them without blinking, but they happen to have some class and don't play to be better than someone else.
It's probably best to just better ourselves ;)

mike portnoy stinks. danny carey is so much better and way more creative.

Ironcobra

03-27-2007, 07:46 PM

mike portnoy is the best, THE BEST.....tiger woods is the best golfer, wayne gretzky is the best hockey player.....michael jordan is the best basketball player...mike portnoy is the best drummer.....george bush is the biggest moron

jonescrusher

03-27-2007, 08:36 PM

Well, i agree with four things there ironcobra

SoFlaJDM

03-29-2007, 08:06 PM

i'm gonna go meet him today at a local drum store :)

palmeris

03-30-2007, 05:17 PM

Went to the G3 concert last night in Pompano beach. Playing with JOHN PETRUCCI, there was Mike Portnoy what a greeat supprise that was!!!

Mike was excellent, what a great performer he is.

DrummerAz

03-31-2007, 08:53 PM

Definately gonna get mikes new dvd, looks awesome if you ask me

but thats cos hes an awesome drummer :D

drumminbro23

04-06-2007, 12:59 PM

mike is pretty amazing.
who is better? and im not asking that thinking there isnt someone i would just like to know so i can check them out.
anywho mikes style is kick ass and he fits the music great what more could you ask for ?

fijjibo

04-06-2007, 03:24 PM

mike portnoy stinks. danny carey is so much better and way more creative.

Well thank you for taking the time out of your life to explain carefully why.

that was a real informative and valuble opinion for the forum.

now, im not trying to start some big problem, but I wish people would take a bit more care to fully put across thier opinion.

for example, you could have said -

"I think that Danny Carey is a better player, and is way more creative. I understand that Portnoy is a respected drummer, therefore he cant be that bad, but I favour Carey."

not so hard really - just dont trash someone, just 'cos you dont like them.
Portnoy has many fans(me included) so you cant really say he "stinks"

peace

jonescrusher

04-06-2007, 03:28 PM

Welcome to the internet my friend.

Ironcobra

04-06-2007, 05:06 PM

Well thank you for taking the time out of your life to explain carefully why.

that was a real informative and valuble opinion for the forum.

now, im not trying to start some big problem, but I wish people would take a bit more care to fully put across thier opinion.

for example, you could have said -

"I think that Danny Carey is a better player, and is way more creative. I understand that Portnoy is a respected drummer, therefore he cant be that bad, but I favour Carey."

not so hard really - just dont trash someone, just 'cos you dont like them.
Portnoy has many fans(me included) so you cant really say he "stinks"

peace

i think you might be taking this a little to seriously

mike IS the best

fijjibo

04-08-2007, 02:27 PM

i think you might be taking this a little to seriously

mike IS the best

I suppose I am.......

and mike IS the best, lol

Melvyninja

04-08-2007, 02:55 PM

In your oppinion he IS the best

Hes a great drummer and a major influence to me, but he isnt the be all and end all

Ironcobra

04-08-2007, 09:41 PM

nahh, not my opinion......he IS the best

Big_Philly

04-08-2007, 10:25 PM

nahh, not my opinion......he IS the best

nuh-uh...
He really is very good, no reasonable person will deny it, but the "best drummer" title is a very subjective one. If I had to choose a drummer for a progressive band (given that I could choose literaly any drummer) I'd choose him (or virgil donati of portnoy's busy) any time, but for a funky band I think I'd go for another one.
And the "best drummer" title is also subjective to personal taste.

Frostilicus

04-14-2007, 12:47 AM

Any idea what these splashes he uses are - the ones that are piggy-backed?

maddrummr

04-14-2007, 12:59 AM

nuh-uh...
He really is very good, no reasonable person will deny it, but the "best drummer" title is a very subjective one. If I had to choose a drummer for a progressive band (given that I could choose literaly any drummer) I'd choose him (or virgil donati of portnoy's busy) any time, but for a funky band I think I'd go for another one.
And the "best drummer" title is also subjective to personal taste.

Yes and style of music that the drummer plays.
This has probably been established many many times.

tooldrums1000

04-15-2007, 04:34 AM

tooldrums1000

04-15-2007, 04:44 AM

Any idea what these splashes he uses are - the ones that are piggy-backed?

Piggy- backed?!?!?!
It don't know what you are saying but perhaps

mabey its a max stax.

Frostilicus

04-15-2007, 09:42 AM

Mike portnoy is a very good drummer and i do enjoy watching and listing to him drumming but hes need to get more creative and I KNOW that danny carey is way better than mike portnoy. If anybody has every heard of tools songs they would agree with me for sure!

Tool are fantastic musicians
DT are fantastic musicians

The day I can call into question their musicality will be the day I have the cojones to compare my drumming to theirs - almost certainly never. Try to avoid being a fanboy - perspective may make one a wiser person; it certainly makes ones' posts an easier read!

Frostilicus

04-15-2007, 09:50 AM

Piggy- backed?!?!?!
It don't know what you are saying but perhaps

mabey its a max stax.

http://www.drumsmylife.com/reviews/img/drummers/mike_portnoy_2.jpg

The one on the left. There are apparently 3 cymbals stacked on top of each other. (The others could well be his signature series, but not necessarily. Gavin Harrison (another splendid musician of compare to Mike and Danny) makes new cymbals by butchering old ones!)

figure_02

04-15-2007, 03:36 PM

That's a max stack with a Radia Bell on top.

tooldrums1000

04-16-2007, 03:04 AM

Ya thats what the cymbal that is on top called. Radia bell.

Green and Mean

04-16-2007, 11:34 AM

Mike portnoy is a very good drummer and i do enjoy watching and listing to him drumming but hes need to get more creative and I KNOW that danny carey is way better than mike portnoy. If anybody has every heard of tools songs they would agree with me for sure!

I'm not agree with you at all! My favourite Tool songs are Sober, 46&2, The Pot, Jambi(?), Weak and Powerless, Undertow. That's it. I have 3x more DT favourite songs. And most of all, DT Octavarium album is awesome! One of my favourites. And Tool 10 000 days... dissapointment for me. Too few "straightbeat" songs, kind of a boring.
OK I make it short, Carey is great, but Portnoy is the best.

MaT

04-23-2007, 08:10 PM

Mike has been my favourite drummer for 3 years now. He's very creative and he inspires me a lot. You can recognize him instantly, often because of his chops.

Even though his my favourite drummer, I don't think his a top technique drummer. There are many with better techinque. The thing is that Mike really freaks you out with his chops and odd-time signatures playing but is not that hard to get if you listen to his music for a long time, because style is very predictable once you get it.

I'm still a fan of his style but I'm always listening to other drummers because Mikes influence is so undeniable that if you listen too much to him, you'll end up making his chops every time, and that's his style, not yours.

In closing, Mikes is one of the best drummers the way I see it (creative and technically) but there are others with an awesome playing too!!!

PineyplayParadiddles

05-13-2007, 08:41 PM

I love Mikes style of playing. His double bass grooves and fills are inspiring. His drums sound awesome

Class A Drummer

05-13-2007, 09:52 PM

I just got one of his books, i forget what it is called but it has "Pull me under", "Hells Kitchen", ect. in it. It is really well written out, it has like every note perfectly written in.

I think its a really great book. Alot of fun to play along with. I figure if you are decent at double bass you should be able to do most of the songs after a little practice.

Edit- 2700.

sandman

05-16-2007, 02:10 AM

Another fast paced drummer that has everything in order, from his head to his feet. Literally..he has the double bass down perfectly and he blends it in well with the style of music he plays. Their Rush tributes are very nice as well as their hit singles, and their albums. He is a great drummer, probably one of the best in my opinion.

dorksterdave

06-05-2007, 08:19 AM

First time I saw mathematics and drums in one solid solution for perfect drumming. I saw his DVD on progressive drumming and sometimes beginners (like me) just find it hard to comprehend how the hell did he conceptualize numbers like that.

Hands down on his double-pedal techniques! One of the top-five!

michael drums

06-05-2007, 08:31 AM

I really enjoy Portnoys' style and speed! But what REALLY impresses me about him is that he has FUN when he plays! And shows it!! EVERY time he gets behind that BIG kit of his, you can tell that he would NOT wanna be anywhere else, but right there, bangin' and flyin' around that kit!

Mike Portnoy has talent, speed, coordination, the perfect attitude and the desire to succeed! Which he has and deserves! And...HE HAS FUN...Play On! ;-)

figure_02

06-06-2007, 11:50 AM

tot_fnky

06-09-2007, 02:41 AM

A very good drummer, Dream Theater is one of my favourite Metal bands. When i first listened DT i couldn't believe how difficult and complex the music was. I was totally shocked. Then I kind of internalized everything this awesome drummer was playing on his tracks and it wasn't THAT hard. I love his DVD's, is always refreshing to see him play.
Not even on my Top 10, but it was a drummer that used to influence strongly in my playing, now not anymore.

MagnZ

06-16-2007, 05:53 PM

He is a great drummer. I saw him in 2005 and I going to miss him when DT plays in Oslo:(
My parents ordered a trip to France on the exact same day...

But I heard someone says that he has got a new kit? Can anyone confirm this or is he still going for the albino monster?

Jammin' Jamin

06-17-2007, 07:08 PM

mikeybbdrummin

06-17-2007, 09:46 PM

Mike Portnoy is nothing special. I know everyone is gonna hate me for saying that. But, seriously, I have yet to hear Mike do something that makes me say ooh-ahh. I own two of his CDs and I definately don't listen to them for the drumming. It's so uncreative, so uninventive- and progressive music is supposed to be just that. I can predict every note he is going to play. RLFF fills are for newbies... and apparantly for Mike Portnoy. I hear everyone say he is such a great technichal drummer. Whatever. Tell me exactly where to find something technical if I'm missing something. A true technical drummer is somebody like Virgil Donati, Danny Carey, Bill Bruford, Thomas Lang, ect.

No hate here. You are entitled to your opinion. As far as not liking Mike, OK. He can be repetitive. But that aside. You have to admit he is very intense when it comes to his ability to play in odd times and change from one odd time to another. And just because one drummer is not as technical, complex or fast as another does not mean that the drummer is not good. He just may not appeal to you. Which is fine by me.
If you like Dream Theater's style of music check out Vox Tempus. Very, very Dream Theateresque. Gregg Bissonette plays on the CD. And I believe it is some of his best playing. Gregg's my favorite and I am familiar w/ his rock and jazz playing. This just shows another side of Gregg's incredible playing ability. One I didn't know he had.

komodo

06-17-2007, 10:10 PM

I do belive he does have a kit,although i havent seen anything on the net i saw DT at download festival and was amazed to see...one huge acrylic kit :D

sshu

06-20-2007, 07:26 AM

Sorry if this has been asked before, but does anyone know if Mike modelled this solo off of Neil Peart's solo from the old "All The World's A Stage" era?

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/mikeportnoymotionsolo.html

Steve

cwignall

06-20-2007, 03:55 PM

Does anyone know what cymbals he uses on 'Octavium' by Dream Theater?

Vic_Rattledeth

06-21-2007, 06:13 AM

Mike Portnoy is nothing special. I know everyone is gonna hate me for saying that. But, seriously, I have yet to hear Mike do something that makes me say ooh-ahh. I own two of his CDs and I definately don't listen to them for the drumming. It's so uncreative, so uninventive- and progressive music is supposed to be just that. I can predict every note he is going to play. RLFF fills are for newbies... and apparantly for Mike Portnoy. I hear everyone say he is such a great technichal drummer. Whatever. Tell me exactly where to find something technical if I'm missing something. A true technical drummer is somebody like Virgil Donati, Danny Carey, Bill Bruford, Thomas Lang, ect.
OMG you own two cds with Mike portnoy on it? THAT MAKES YOU AN EXPERT ON HIM. Give me a break. Sure he uses the RLFF quite often, but the way he uses them fits perfect whenever he uses them, and he uses them in unique combinations by spreading them between octobans and throwing them into odd time grooves. You want some good technical Dream Theater songs? Try The Dance Of Eternity, The instrumental section of metropolis pt.1, Octavarium, The second half of The Ministry of Lost Souls, The Great Debate, The Test That Stumped Them All, and many more. The thing about Mike Portnoy is that he is able to be technical, and also be able to be tasteful in the midst of all the odd time things he does, and that is a hard thing to do. Sure, he doesnt do the insane inter independance stuff that Thomas Lang does, but that's a whole different ball game. Mike portnoy is a master at his style of progressive drumming. Until I see a video of you doing what Mike Portnoy does, and do it better, then you have no room to criticize him.

mikei

06-21-2007, 08:56 PM

spartacus1989

06-21-2007, 08:59 PM

So we are comparing drummers now are we? (even If we are not, just leave me to put a list of my favorite drummers up :D)

1.Jojo Mayer
2. Neil Peart
3. Mike Portnoy
4. Eloy Casagrande (seriously, look at his drummerworld video!! 14 year old!!)

scottkahn

06-23-2007, 04:49 PM

For a great, new interview with Mike Portnoy, check out http://www.musicplayers.com this month!

Scott

figure_02

06-23-2007, 07:04 PM

I don't really see Danny Carey having better technique than Mike Portnoy.

Vic_Rattledeth

06-24-2007, 05:56 AM

For a great, new interview with Mike Portnoy, check out http://www.musicplayers.com this month!

Scott
That was a great interview.

spartacus1989

06-24-2007, 04:17 PM

I'm sorry but I just had to laugh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dizWN6dUH40

Eye of the Beholder

08-04-2007, 10:04 AM

I'm sorry but I just had to laugh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dizWN6dUH40

lol thank you for that.. the guy should have done a better job matching the sound with the clips though.

ddrummer

08-14-2007, 04:07 AM

A very techuiqal drummer its always hard to learn a dream theater song as its hard to remember all the parts..... iv got there new album systematic chaos its great and so is the dvd that comes with it which was filmed and directed by portnoy........ he seems to always have very larg kits which is not a bad thing but he doesnt use all of it i think some of it is for show.......

Ironcobra

08-14-2007, 04:11 AM

I think a lot of the older-timers and ignerante peepoll on here are just not willing to accept that there might be a new big dawg on da block

change happens....get used to it

Portnoy rules...

period

exclamation mark

EHH

Class A Drummer

08-20-2007, 05:36 AM

Hey i was just wondering. Should Transatlantic be one of the "performed with" for Mike?

BrynnerAgassi

08-30-2007, 11:07 PM

Mike Portnoy is nothing less than an AMAZING drummer! If you think he does too much, too little, whatever the case, his drumming is amazing, and his style and technique goes hand in hand with Dream Theater...
Portnoy is just one of those drummers who really is Liquide, and just flows around the kit.

bfdrum86

09-05-2007, 05:39 AM

I dont experiment much with music. The tastes of most are weird to me. Are there any other drummers, who can actually play like him? Im talking about the stuff where his feet are playing 3-4 time, and he cymbal crashes on 4-4 time, or where he plays in a 4-4 time while the band plays in a 3-4 or 6-8. His timing is superb if you ask me. And hes a triple threat. Clean, Fast, and Technical. I know Rush has played weird time sigs before, but its like these guys could care less about a time sig. If the words require a 5-8 in the first measure and a 3-4 or 7-8 in the next, so be it.I think its borderline genious. Any one else play like that, if so who?

To me , the band playing in odd times is too much like listening a metranome. I much prefer to hear bands like king krimson's use of odd times along with meshuggah , or tool .
TO me , they are the bands who make the odd times feel like ther not odd at all .
And anyone with theory backround and 5 years of drumming backround should be able to play like he does , and by that i mean like a metranome.

I could easily play in any odd meter , and i know i can make it sound good , but im sure if your musical taste calls for business over texture and finesse im sure you would prefer portnoy.

Adam

09-05-2007, 11:30 PM

http://www.virgildonati.com/sounds/OTV/otv-trk01-FULL.mp3

This is Virgil Donati with is band On the Virg. It sounds a little like videogame music but you're going to find that when a munch of nerdy musicians come together to write stuff.

Virgil's drumming is probably one of if not the best in the world. He's in and out of time and then back again to be right on the beat...all I'll say is listen.

aegir77

09-06-2007, 04:57 AM

when you listen too much to any drummer, you start to sound a little like him, but you can tell from miles and miles away if a drummer's a fan a portnoy.

pearl_floyd

09-06-2007, 05:20 AM

Hey i was just wondering. Should Transatlantic be one of the "performed with" for Mike?

I...vote...yes......

bfdrum86

09-06-2007, 10:05 AM

I read all the titles and found nothing on him so here goes.

I love his technique. I used to listen to all the "normal" stuff till I heard him. And it seems all I want to listen to is Dream Theater now. I have played for awhile, and most drummers have certain niches, or habits. Once you figure out what they are doing you can play it. I usually can play a song the 2nd or 3rd time I hear it, But his stuff takes weeks, months on some of it, just to figure out the numbers behind what he is doing.What drives me crazy is most people( non-players) look at me like Im crazy when I start to try to explain what he is doing. They are like, man he screwed that up, and Im like, No he just dropped a beat, He'll pick it up in a minute.His drumming has texture, all the normal stuff is boring now. Can anyone tell me of a comparable band, with all the technicality of DT?What do you guys think of Mike? Sorry if this is a repost.

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Mike_Portnoy.html

If any of what he's playing takes you months you should invest in a music theory book and learn the basics of time signature , cause mike seems to enjoy pretending he's a metranome.

Vic_Rattledeth

09-14-2007, 02:28 AM

If any of what he's playing takes you months you should invest in a music theory book and learn the basics of time signature , cause mike seems to enjoy pretending he's a metranome.
Well you are obviously an expert on Mike Portnoy and his playing, can you post a video of yourself playing The Dance Of Eternity? Or maybe Take The Time?

bfdrum86

09-16-2007, 09:57 AM

Well you are obviously an expert on Mike Portnoy and his playing, can you post a video of yourself playing The Dance Of Eternity? Or maybe Take The Time?

yes i can. However i wont, its not that difficult of a song. Regardless of my feelings on his playing my post was not made to tell anyone that i think portnoy is a waste or anything of the sort. Basic theory and 5 years of chops should make you more than able to playing his songs. NO SONG PERIOD SHOULD TAKE YOU MONTHS TO LEARN.

If you want to play something challenging try something that wont make you sound like a metranome. I recomend tool, meshuggah , and porcupine tree if your looking to be challenged.

gusty

09-16-2007, 10:17 AM

Basic theory and 5 years of chops should make you more than able to playing his songs. NO SONG PERIOD SHOULD TAKE YOU MONTHS TO LEARN.

This is subjective to the players level...why shouldn't a song take months to learn? There are some really hard ones (not just DT), and then it takes even longer to get it grooving, no matter what style.

bfdrum86

09-16-2007, 12:31 PM

This is subjective to the players level...why shouldn't a song take months to learn? There are some really hard ones (not just DT), and then it takes even longer to get it grooving, no matter what style.

I am not a gifted or naturally talented drummer .. and i know what it means to work in order to learn and sound good. NO song has ever taken me more than a week to learn. Practicing always makes it sound better over time , but i have never had to stuggle that long. Granted this wont apply to a player thats played for a year or 2 .. This comment wasnt replying to a young player.

I dont mean this to sound mean .. Theory .. learn how to count . To me thats all it takes if you have experiance at your craft..

jonescrusher

09-16-2007, 04:28 PM

I am not a gifted or naturally talented drummer .. and i know what it means to work in order to learn and sound good. NO song has ever taken me more than a week to learn. Practicing always makes it sound better over time , but i have never had to stuggle that long. Granted this wont apply to a player thats played for a year or 2 .. This comment wasnt replying to a young player.

I dont mean this to sound mean .. Theory .. learn how to count . To me thats all it takes if you have experiance at your craft..

Sorry, but i smell no small amount of b/s. Of course, it's subjective as to what a person thinks 'learning' a song or drum part involves. Regardless of what people think about his technique, Portnoy comes up with some of the most intricate and well honed drum parts in the business. If you find Dream Theater songs easy and quick to learn (as Portnoy plays them) then you should certainly see yourself as a naturally talented drummer.

bfdrum86

09-16-2007, 10:20 PM

Sorry, but i smell no small amount of b/s. Of course, it's subjective as to what a person thinks 'learning' a song or drum part involves. Regardless of what people think about his technique, Portnoy comes up with some of the most intricate and well honed drum parts in the business. If you find Dream Theater songs easy and quick to learn (as Portnoy plays them) then you should certainly see yourself as a naturally talented drummer.

OR maybe you just dont know with intricate means. Have you studied theory? My playing , counting is all a product of practice and work , if i was naturaly gifted it wouldnt have taken such. My point remains the same.. A drummer that has been playing for a while should have the chops to handle theese songs , a general understanding of time sig and rhythm should take care of the rest.

lets not forget the person who i was replying to said it was taking him months just to learn how to count the stuff. He should most certainly invest in a music theory book.

if a drummers been playing for that long and doesnt have the chops to handle something like this its time to start practicing.

jonescrusher

09-17-2007, 01:49 AM

OR maybe you just dont know with intricate means. Have you studied theory? My playing , counting is all a product of practice and work , if i was naturaly gifted it wouldnt have taken such. My point remains the same.. A drummer that has been playing for a while should have the chops to handle theese songs , a general understanding of time sig and rhythm should take care of the rest.

lets not forget the person who i was replying to said it was taking him months just to learn how to count the stuff. He should most certainly invest in a music theory book.

if a drummers been playing for that long and doesnt have the chops to handle something like this its time to start practicing.

Your mistake is to project your own expectations onto others. No two drummers will start with the same strengths and weaknesses, progress at exactly the same rate, or have the same motivation to develop the same skills. It's pointless to measure the rate of development in years. Portnoy has distinctive chops which he executes in a very 'idiosynchratic' way; someone with abundant natural talent for rhythm may play for five years and gain highly developed chops, but may not be able to reproduce Portnoy parts, at least not without due attention.
AS for natural gifts, you seem to think that having to work on a skill means you never had a gift for it in the first place. The only reason we view certain players as 'naturally talented', Colaiuta, Weckl, Williams etc., is that these guys took their natural gift and worked and nutured them to their fullest. They were driven to woodshed the hardest.

Rolo

09-17-2007, 02:49 AM

Sorry, but i smell no small amount of b/s. Of course, it's subjective as to what a person thinks 'learning' a song or drum part involves. Regardless of what people think about his technique, Portnoy comes up with some of the most intricate and well honed drum parts in the business. If you find Dream Theater songs easy and quick to learn (as Portnoy plays them) then you should certainly see yourself as a naturally talented drummer.

Well, just wanted to point something out, Some people find it difficult to learn Mikes stuff, so even if one is gifted sometimes its hard to learn things like that. And "Naturally Talented" I think talent is an excuse for not practicing, now if you ask me Talent does not exist, I would say Skill exists. I prefer somebody telling me that I am skilled than talented, because talent would make it seem that I did not work hard enough, sometimes thats what people intend to say but for me I prefer it when people say I am skilled.

Now back to portnoy, even if one is "talented" its hard to learn his ways and try to imitate him because alot of what he does is His way of doing it, no drummer is going to imitate other drummers because every drummer I believe always try to improvise for the better so I think that even if one is an incredible drummer its hard to imitate someone that has different ways of doing things because every drummer is unique in every single way possible.

I bet I sound so confusing most of the time I don't even understand what I say,,, I hope you understand though!

bfdrum86

09-17-2007, 03:12 AM

Your mistake is to project your own expectations onto others. No two drummers will start with the same strengths and weaknesses, progress at exactly the same rate, or have the same motivation to develop the same skills. It's pointless to measure the rate of development in years. Portnoy has distinctive chops which he executes in a very 'idiosynchratic' way; someone with abundant natural talent for rhythm may play for five years and gain highly developed chops, but may not be able to reproduce Portnoy parts, at least not without due attention.
AS for natural gifts, you seem to think that having to work on a skill means you never had a gift for it in the first place. The only reason we view certain players as 'naturally talented', Colaiuta, Weckl, Williams etc., is that these guys took their natural gift and worked and nutured them to their fullest. They were driven to woodshed the hardest.

I agree with part of what rolo said... being that skill is a much better word than talent .I dont recognize talent , its skill that i like to see.
Now as for portnoy.. pseudo-idiosyncratic better describes his use of chops. He has them for sure , but lets face it he idolized a drummer that wasnt that great ( you might know of him from rush) and thusly became a not so great ,boring and flashy drummer.

My comment about educating yourself in theory is still inteded for the same people i said before.
If i couldnt read music , count time , learn songs , and had no chops... Lets be real .. not many people would call me a drummer. Get serious , learn your craft.

jonescrusher

09-17-2007, 03:38 AM

Well, just wanted to point something out, Some people find it difficult to learn Mikes stuff, so even if one is gifted sometimes its hard to learn things like that. And "Naturally Talented" I think talent is an excuse for not practicing, now if you ask me Talent does not exist, I would say Skill exists. I prefer somebody telling me that I am skilled than talented, because talent would make it seem that I did not work hard enough, sometimes thats what people intend to say but for me I prefer it when people say I am skilled.

Now back to portnoy, even if one is "talented" its hard to learn his ways and try to imitate him because alot of what he does is His way of doing it, no drummer is going to imitate other drummers because every drummer I believe always try to improvise for the better so I think that even if one is an incredible drummer its hard to imitate someone that has different ways of doing things because every drummer is unique in every single way possible.

I bet I sound so confusing most of the time I don't even understand what I say,,, I hope you understand though!

I understand it all, our posts agree on nearly all points. I would disagree on your point on talent not existing. Talent is undeniable, it's just intangible. Some skills certainly can be learned with little or no pre-existing talent; with a musical instrument, however, it is talent which ensures those learned skills are put to use creatively, musically. Portnoy has a talent for assimilating rhythmic and rudimental ideas and creating his own voice with them. I would argue that someone like Vinnie Colaiuta displays huge amounts of natural talent given his ability to be musically expressive and satisfying in almost any style or genre he's called upon to play. Above all, he looks totally relaxed and masterly at the insrument. Sometimes natural talent can be identified just by feel, and learned skills alone can't acheive this.

Ironcobra

09-17-2007, 04:10 AM

No one will ever be convinced. Love him or hate him, it makes no difference. He is good, that's all that matters.

No point in going into details about peoples souls and natual or learned talent. He is my fav drummer and this thread is making him look like the latest controversy on CNN.

jonescrusher

09-17-2007, 04:12 AM

We're having a discussion.

bfdrum86

09-17-2007, 05:16 AM

this isnt a topic so much about portnoy.. Atleast thats not what i inteded. Its about education. educate yourself and you should be able to play anything.

Rolo

09-19-2007, 04:12 AM

Haha, yeah it is just a discussion!

Vic_Rattledeth

09-28-2007, 04:47 AM

yes i can. However i wont, its not that difficult of a song. Regardless of my feelings on his playing my post was not made to tell anyone that i think portnoy is a waste or anything of the sort. Basic theory and 5 years of chops should make you more than able to playing his songs. NO SONG PERIOD SHOULD TAKE YOU MONTHS TO LEARN.

If you want to play something challenging try something that wont make you sound like a metranome. I recomend tool, meshuggah , and porcupine tree if your looking to be challenged.
Portnoy sounds like a metronome? Oh if you mean he has a very good sense of timing then I agree. Please explaine to me how Tool and meshuggah are different with odd times, you aren't backing up what you say. I can also play the songs I mentioned but it's not an easy thing to do, I can only play them because i've sold my soul to drums and practice alot more then most. The average drummer can NOT play them.

bfdrum86

10-02-2007, 12:15 PM

Portnoy sounds like a metronome? Oh if you mean he has a very good sense of timing then I agree. Please explaine to me how Tool and meshuggah are different with odd times, you aren't backing up what you say. I can also play the songs I mentioned but it's not an easy thing to do, I can only play them because i've sold my soul to drums and practice alot more then most. The average drummer can NOT play them.

Tool and meshugah are different with odd times becasue the drummers dont subdivide the odd times through ther bass drum and snare and thats why portnoy ends up sounding like a metranome. Honestly he plays odd times how i would expect anyone else to , and that boring.
Portnoy playing in 7/8 would prolly sound something like sbsbsbb with hihhat 8ths on top. Carey however allows the music to breath and plays more naturally , you wont hear the subdivisions in his playing , or atleast not the boring and stale way that portnoy does.

TO me it sounds like portnoy and the rest of that band approaches the music with subdivisions of odd meter in ther head. You lock yourself into very common patterns that way.

Vic_Rattledeth

10-04-2007, 07:38 AM

There are quite a few songs where Portnoy plays naturally like you say. Like The Great Debate, New Millenium, The solo during Metropolis part 1...there are alot of songs where he is creative with his odd timing, it's one of his best attributes.

bfdrum86

10-04-2007, 11:31 PM

HiTMaN

10-09-2007, 07:49 PM

I hope I can contribute something here...but being in a Dream Theater tribute band and having read some of these posts, I have to agree here and there with both sides. The Portnoy fans who praise Portnoy as the new God of drumming, as well as the Drummers who are just not impressed with Portnoy at all.

You might think that because I'm in a DT tribute band I'm going to say that Portnoy is the greatest Drummer out there...but that's actually not the case. I have to say that "bfdrum86" is for the most part correct. A good understanding of drum theory, with some good chops will definitely allow you to play even some of the more difficult DT stuff. Believe it or not, I learned Dance of Eternity in my car while driving, just listening to it and counting, but perfected it by practicing behind the kit. What makes this stuff so difficult is not necessarily the difficulty of what is being played, but remembering everything that needs to be played. Now having said that, I will say that there a few parts that I have found difficult to play, but not necessarily because they are technically superior. To me it's more of a brain thing, my brain is obviously wired differently than Mike’s brain, and there are things that my brain will take longer to absorb. However, whenever I’ve encountered this, it has never been anything that a few days of good practice can’t fix. It’s just a matter of getting my brain and my body used to what needs to be played. But isn’t that the case with all of us…Practice is the bottom line if you want to learn anything!

So, No! Mike is not the greatest drummer out there or that has ever lived etc… I’m sorry to disappoint all the fans who think so. But Mike IS however a great drummer and he is Dream Theater incarnate! This is why I respect him as a drummer and a musician. Without him Dream Theater wouldn’t be what it is today, and who knows, maybe the same thing can be said about Prog Rock. I heard some complaints when he was added to the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. Some argued he wasn’t a good enough drummer and threw out names like Donati and Lang, I think this was a poor excuse…what about Charlie Watts and Ringo Starr? If someone told me Mike has better chops than Charlie and Ringo, I would have to agree. However, it’s their contribution to drumming and music in general that makes them so special and worthy of respect from all of us.

Anyway, just my 2 cents on this whole Portnoy love/hate thing!

For the curious...
http://www.myspace.com/giovannifuentes

Portnoyisagod

10-13-2007, 01:54 AM

I don't think critisising Portnoy about getting into the drummer's hall of fame is anything to argue about, it wasn't his choice. In my opinion i think he did deserve it(check my name), his unique style and passionnate playing has obviously been recognised, and has influenced many a drummer, otherwise there wouldnt be 875+ replys on this thread. Sure he's no Thomas Lang.. but would Dream Theater, LTE, or any of his other sideprojects be what they are today with that Austrian behind the kit? (not saying Lang's a bad player, i've seen him live, his drumming is insane, but he could never pull off a Portnoy). Drummers in the hall of fame arn't there because they can play every rudiment at 180bpm with their feet... they've influened the world of drums in some way, wouldn't you agree? Dennis Chambers, Bonham, Max Roach (rip), Buddy Rich etc. They got there for that reason. I'm sure everyone knows, just reinforcing a point :)

Rich

11-02-2007, 12:28 PM

Far be it for me to light another match under this one.... but:

Mike Portnoy is clearly a brilliant musician. I believe he writes or co-writes most of DT's songs. I suspect that he is not solely talented on drums but also other instruments.

I have been a fan of DT ever since I saw the video from Images and Words, Live in Tokyo. I've seen them 4 times in concert, have bought all of their work and I just think they make a great noise!

I was chuckling when I read Vic_Rattledeth's post - I think we should start a thread on "The Dance of Eternity" and people should post their efforts in video form. I would certainly be hugely impressed with anyone who could reproduce that sort of playing, sound and technique. Not only that but one would need to make vast investments to get the sort of gear you need to even come close.

Give me ten years of 8 hours-a-day practice and I'll humbly post my video effort

All the best

Rich

Big_Philly

11-02-2007, 03:44 PM

...and maybe it's worthwhile mentioning that a lot, if not most of his drumming was recorded while he was under the influence of his alcohol addiction... I can't even drum like he does when I'm sober..! (Maybe I can pick up some extra speed when I'm completely wired on caffeine though)

da cheese walks

11-04-2007, 04:58 AM

In my sincerest opinion Mike Portnoy is an amazing drummer, he can play some totally screwed up tome signatures and make it sound at least, palatable.....but hes reallly, in all essence, nothing more than a drumming robot....

Smashin Jack

01-23-2008, 06:44 PM

I'm a newby here. I see almost as much MP bashing here as I do on the rush forum! lmao
Well, I usually defend him, even though I'm sure a lot of people are sick of him. I met him in oct 1992 when they were young and hungry, when there were only 50 people in the audience. At that time, he was a focused individual who was working very hard for DT. His influences and age are very close to mine, so maybe I can relate to him more than some people. When I was a kid I idolized neil peart and my drum teacher dogged on him saying he does stuff the same all the time. I couldn't see what he meant then but now that I'm a more "seasoned" player (old bastard) I see a lot of Neil AND Mike using certain patterns a lot. Who can really dispute how much these guys are appreciated? MP mailed me two majesty boot CD's in 1995 for free, so I don't think the guy's that bad. He was pretty damn cool to talk to, actually.
(OK, let the ripping begin!)

odrummer

02-08-2008, 08:08 AM

I am still watchingINCONSANTMOTION again and again. Now all i need is another hihat to be able "The Great Debate" hahahaha.

Mike Portnoy has influenced me to enter bands who attack music from so many angles. Which all bands (DT, OSI etc) have done again and again.
To be able to do this for every ablum and for the amount of years he has been doing it, is a great achievement. That is why he greats my vote in one of the best prog drums

Banzai

02-14-2008, 06:04 AM

Portnoy is one of my greatest influences (my playing style changed completely thanks to him and now I play with the same kind of thinking which I find is bad 'cause I want to create something new, but anyway), even though he is creative and "out of the box" he sometimes gets very repetitive and does the same old fills or grooves which he has used so many times before.
But I still find him one of the greatest drummers ever.

slingerland755

02-14-2008, 06:20 AM

I just got a copy of Mike's Ten Degree's of Turbulent Drumming.

Never really listened to DT that much, but after watching the video, I think maybe I will pay a little more attention. Some serious memory work going on (plus some incredible chops of course).

Anesth

02-29-2008, 02:33 AM

when you listen too much to any drummer, you start to sound a little like him, but you can tell from miles and miles away if a drummer's a fan a portnoy.

This made me laugh loads because it's so true. I'm guilty of it though, i use some of his fills quite often. i just cant stand the over use of the ssbbssssbb ssbb ttbb ttbb kind of fills. They're cool in a climax but alot of drummers tend to over use them.

Connorcor1

03-10-2008, 01:02 AM

I consider Mike Portnoy a drumming and song writing god. And with 11 minutes songs, all amazingly technical (Train Of Thought album especially) From start to finish he is still going strong. Thats an amazing ability to have. Plus i cant even get close to playing any of their songs. They aren't THAT hard, but I just cant remember how to do it haha. Ill get half way through and forget how to play it.

Jit420

03-13-2008, 07:04 AM

yeah one of the most influential drummer these days.
always enjoying watching his performance!
But I prefer his earlier works, like I&W, Awake, those drumming are so organic and interesting.

Citizen Insane

04-11-2008, 04:11 AM

Ehh.. not a fan of Portnoy, or Dream Theater. IMO Dream Theater is an incredibly cheesy band, it's almost laughable. I fail to see how they are even in the same league as porcupine tree, tool ect;. They're music sounds like its the soundtrack for a Castlevania game.

On the subject of Portnoy, I actually think he is a entertaining drummer, I enjoy watching him drum (no matter how bad the music is.) He seems like he is enjoying what he is doing a lot. And seems very dedicated to his musical endeavors rather than trying to have the best chops around. but I think that he is overrated among the drumming press and his fanboys. I really don't think he innovated anything, and I almost never heard him play a musical situation outside of rock music. And did I mention his kit is ridicoulous? I wouldn't even want a kit that big. I enjoy watching him, but for listening pleasure he is just not my cup of tea.

Ironcobra

04-11-2008, 05:35 AM

KLittle123

04-11-2008, 07:02 AM

deep breaths, deep breaths, walk away and count to ten.

I will not get mad at the this post, I will not get mad at the this post, I will not get mad at the this post, I will not get mad at the this post, I will not get mad at the this post, I will not get mad at the this post.

Even though it's your own opinion...am I out of line?

I think he's a bit out of line. Dream Theater are some pretty damn good musicians--he apparently doesn't know.

manata

04-11-2008, 07:49 AM

Ironcobra

04-12-2008, 02:34 AM

I think it's more of the fact that has popularity has risen VERY rapidly, other famous drummer like Peart, Bonham and the great BR I think had a much steadier increase in popularity. Unless I'm wrong, not all of us were around during the early days of the great.

Citizen Insane

04-12-2008, 03:25 AM

Firstly, to say that Mike Portnoy has not innovated anything is just crazy. The man is one of the most influential drummers of this generation. I don't care how underrated, or overrated, you might think he is...but you can't argue with that.

Secondly, I truly do not understand why people think Mike Portnoy is overrated. I'd love to see anyone who hates on him play anything he does as consistently and cleanly.

Well, I just don't see what Mike Portnoy innovated. The size of a kit? Anyone can have a big kit. And all because someone is influential, doesn't mean there good. Travis Barker is probably the most influential drummer of this generation. Is he really that good? No. And I don't have to play his music to criticize Mike Portnoy. I shouldn't force myself to play something I don't like.

The reason people think Mike Portnoy is overrated is that he is praised so much by the progressive/drumming community, while their are multiple progressive drummers that are much more advanced and versatile than Mike Portnoy. Given he has a knack for odd time signatures, but overall I feel his drumming lacks the texture and fluidity of other progressive drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Danny Carey, Neil Peart. I think their music their musical approach is much more mature than Mike Portnoy's. He can't solo like Neil Peart, He doesn't have the taste of Gavin Harrison, or the heart-pounding power and emotion of Danny Carey. So im left wondering, what makes Portnoy so special?

And I've heard enough Dream Theater to know I don't like it.

Jeff Almeyda

04-13-2008, 01:48 AM

Well, I just don't see what Mike Portnoy innovated. The size of a kit? Anyone can have a big kit. And all because someone is influential, doesn't mean there good. Travis Barker is probably the most influential drummer of this generation. Is he really that good? No. And I don't have to play his music to criticize Mike Portnoy. I shouldn't force myself to play something I don't like.

The reason people think Mike Portnoy is overrated is that he is praised so much by the progressive/drumming community, while their are multiple progressive drummers that are much more advanced and versatile than Mike Portnoy. Given he has a knack for odd time signatures, but overall I feel his drumming lacks the texture and fluidity of other progressive drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Danny Carey, Neil Peart. I think their music their musical approach is much more mature than Mike Portnoy's. He can't solo like Neil Peart, He doesn't have the taste of Gavin Harrison, or the heart-pounding power and emotion of Danny Carey. So im left wondering, what makes Portnoy so special?

And I've heard enough Dream Theater to know I don't like it.

I have to say I agree with everything he said in this post. Every time I see that humongous kit I want to laugh. Put Simon Phillips on that kit and he'll melt your brain.

I hear he's a pretty cool guy though, so that counts for something.

Anesth

04-13-2008, 02:52 AM

I think his playing was much better on earlier DT albums like Images and Words and Awake but his stuff on the Liquid Tension Experiment albums is definately the best he's played.
I think anyone whose heard "When the Water Breaks" would agree.

KLittle123

04-13-2008, 05:55 AM

Well, I just don't see what Mike Portnoy innovated. The size of a kit? Anyone can have a big kit. And all because someone is influential, doesn't mean there good. Travis Barker is probably the most influential drummer of this generation. Is he really that good? No. And I don't have to play his music to criticize Mike Portnoy. I shouldn't force myself to play something I don't like.

The reason people think Mike Portnoy is overrated is that he is praised so much by the progressive/drumming community, while their are multiple progressive drummers that are much more advanced and versatile than Mike Portnoy. Given he has a knack for odd time signatures, but overall I feel his drumming lacks the texture and fluidity of other progressive drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Danny Carey, Neil Peart. I think their music their musical approach is much more mature than Mike Portnoy's. He can't solo like Neil Peart, He doesn't have the taste of Gavin Harrison, or the heart-pounding power and emotion of Danny Carey. So im left wondering, what makes Portnoy so special?

And I've heard enough Dream Theater to know I don't like it.

Eh, I will give it to you. You have somewhat of a good point.

Namaan

04-16-2008, 02:04 AM

ok, i see that there two sorts of views on this... you either love him or hate him...

personally, i like Dream theaters music, and hold the view that they are all very skilled and competent musicians... however, i also hold the view that Portnoy, while he is a very influential drummer to many poeple, is not the messiah that a lot of people view him as.

however nobody on the forum should deny his abilities, because that isn't just...

m1ck

04-27-2008, 12:28 AM

I'm a brand new convert to Dream Theater; just brought home Systematic Chaos.

This group is my new religion. It's the band Rush should have been. I could listen to this stuff all day.

It would take a lot of words to describe it...

Dr_Funky

04-27-2008, 04:23 AM

Mike Portnoy has got the bass-drumming co-ordination thing down pat. Certainly one of the best metal/rock drummers of our time.

Man, I'm envious of his big kit, and the fact that he can play under the influence.

sneakydutch

05-03-2008, 01:56 AM

Asdex

05-15-2008, 05:25 PM

Guys, I recently just heard a Dream Theater song called A Change Of Season that are about 23 minutes long. I was just wondering, how would he be recording that song. Would he actually have some time to stop and record parts by part? And if he plays that song in a concert, will he play the whole 23 minutes song? BTW, he's a great influence to my metal/rock drumming!

m1ck

05-21-2008, 05:30 AM

I'm really taken with this guy. He's a solid groover who can execute complicated, artful stuff with with a rare kind of confidence that you can actually hear and feel. People will talk about him long after he's gone.

Ironcobra

05-21-2008, 05:44 AM

Joe P

05-21-2008, 06:19 AM

I love Dream Theater. Every single one of the musicians is incredible. John Petrucci has one of the best guitar tones I've ever heard, not to mention his SICK riffs and solos (Under a Glass Moon anyone?). John Myung is an incredible bass player who plays exactly what is needed for each piece. Jordan Rudess adds another dimension to the sound of the music with his virtuosic keyboard playing. Last but not least, Mike gives his purely aggressive playing style to the sound of the music and gives it that extra punch!

I don't see why anyone could ever say Dream Theater isn't a good band. Cheesey? Maybe. But hey, who really listens to James LaBrie anyway? LOL!

Big_Philly

05-21-2008, 01:43 PM

rmandelbaum

05-22-2008, 12:05 AM

I am sure it was done in sections, watch the DVD that came with the latest CD and you can see some cool studio footage.

Class A Drummer

05-22-2008, 03:17 AM

Hey does anyone know if there are other books he has done besides "Anthology?" Ive played through that, and although it wasn't nearly as difficult as Rush, it was still alot of fun to play through.

Vic_Rattledeth

05-30-2008, 02:45 AM

Hey does anyone know if there are other books he has done besides "Anthology?" Ive played through that, and although it wasn't nearly as difficult as Rush, it was still alot of fun to play through.
I'm not sure. I know his dvds all have transcriptons of the songs he plays.
If you want to learn a fun and interesting groovy song then learn "New Millenium". I personally think it is Mike Portnoys most creative work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwJhFzziSlU

Also some of Mikes best work is with Liquid Tension Experiment. Another Dimension is qite cool as well as a few others

Rolo

06-01-2008, 06:01 PM

I totally agree man! I recently saw him live, very recently and it was just amazing. He plays amazing things to the music and I just love how he something new or different to the previous song, I have to listen more carefully though. But I agree man. He plays to the music and the music plays him ;D hahahah!

But yes, I agree with you.

Spider Monk

06-18-2008, 09:00 AM

Ok so I was gonna have this whole huge big long thing about a bunch of different things I read people saying about MP on the first several pages of this thread which was as far as I read, and I still am boiling over with different comments, but right now there's one thing I really really want to know: What size/kind of china cymbal did MP originally use on the studio recording of As I Am on the album Train of Thought? I'm talking about the intro part of the song, right before the tempo doubles. It's killing me and the one place that listed his cymbal setup from that album didn't specify which china cymbals were which (i.e. there was a list of cymbals on the side, then a diagram of the set, but without a way to correlate cymbals between the list and the diagram). Anyone who can tell me I will love you forever! K maybe not haha jk but I really need to know,

beatklops

06-19-2008, 03:12 PM

Hi there,

i always thought of Mike Portnoy as a kickass drummer. That was until i started drumming.
I can understand why many people idolize him, since he IS actually very good and plays in a band that bases its reputaton on instrumental prowess. Hoever, his musical ideas are, at least imho, very limited - especially regarding his drumming: there's a few signature licks he always uses, but those have been the same since they started. Also i feel that he lacks ability to play laid back "pop" oriented beats, like in his beatles project.What i like about his playing though is that he has absolutely amazing time when it comes to DT's music. Rock solid and machinelike sometimes. Plus, his kit (regardless of its size, wich i find pretty ridiculous) sounds awesome.

So generally he's a very good drummer with a major impact on music and drummers, and a pretty nice guy too.

just my two cents....

ceckha

06-21-2008, 04:25 AM

I read all the titles and found nothing on him so here goes.

I love his technique. I used to listen to all the "normal" stuff till I heard him. And it seems all I want to listen to is Dream Theater now. I have played for awhile, and most drummers have certain niches, or habits. Once you figure out what they are doing you can play it. I usually can play a song the 2nd or 3rd time I hear it, But his stuff takes weeks, months on some of it, just to figure out the numbers behind what he is doing.What drives me crazy is most people( non-players) look at me like Im crazy when I start to try to explain what he is doing. They are like, man he screwed that up, and Im like, No he just dropped a beat, He'll pick it up in a minute.His drumming has texture, all the normal stuff is boring now. Can anyone tell me of a comparable band, with all the technicality of DT?What do you guys think of Mike? Sorry if this is a repost.

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Mike_Portnoy.html

i'd say a band comparable to dream theater would be between the buried and me. they're a progressive type metal band that sounds similar to DT in many ways. one big difference though is that BTBAM vocalist tommy rogers does both screaming vocals and clean vocals. they have songs up to almost 15 minutes long and their drummer, blake richardson, is very creative and has great technique and stamina.

here is a video split into two parts of him playing a song off their latest release "colors."

part one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YHVDFNKNQBk

part two:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=orTuN27UafQ

anyone else on here listen to between the buried and me?

jdzzz

06-25-2008, 07:30 AM

Just a short note here.
Listen to the riff in "descending" from the Sacrament album of Lamb of God...
And Voila!!!the same riff without any changes occurs in the song "in the presence of enemies-part 1" from the album Systematic Chaos.....
Sorry If i have repeated this post..
Mike is a great drummer.i love his approach to music.
And yeah,i cant imagine DT without Portnoy.....

odrummer

07-15-2008, 07:55 AM

I was watching some videos and does anyone think that hair down to his butt and a leotard was a good look?

When i tell people that Mike is one of my influences they always "so you want to buy a new truck just to carry around a drum kit", (or something along those lines) but i do admit that that thing is a "monster" but when you listen or see him play it does prove that the saying "great things can come in small packages", WRONG, He plays the drums with such great perfection and mastership that i would have to put up there with some of the great.

Keep the great work up Mike

cheezruff

07-21-2008, 07:48 AM

He's over-rated.... very over-rated.......

m1ck

07-21-2008, 08:20 AM

What's the name of your band, Cheezruff? Got any videos of yourself posted, blowing Portnoy out of the water?

I'm going to go on a little rant here, and I hope the mods won't take me to task. I'll try to be diplomatic.

I can't understand why, whenever any notable, successful drummer is discussed on this forum, there always has to be someone who says "he's overrated," or "I've seen better," or "he's not as good as so and so."

Is there ANYONE alive or dead about whom this cannot be said?

Those type of comments seem to me to be the product of a childish mind who can't engage in a discussion on any level above comparing the drummer in question to their present idol, whoever that is.

Drumming is not a competition, it is an art. And it's an art that Mike Portnoy has excelled at and in which he has carved out a stellar reputation as a professional drummer.

I think that any pre-pubescent critic who strides out here saying "over rated" should tell us exactly how HE is rated in comparison. And by whom. And according to what criteria.

I've seen this over and over again, and I just don't get it.

rmandelbaum

07-21-2008, 04:38 PM

Where is the "rating" Is there an official rating scale that Mike has to much of?
I would love to know why people say he is over rated,I really don't get it, overrated by who or what?

Or is it the fact that he has so many fans?

Look you can love him or hate him who really cares but the fact is DT has one of the most loyal fan basses you can find.

he never claimed to be well rounded and can do it all in any interview I have read or seen.

He is however the perfect drummer for the band he is in. Isn't that what all of us want to be?

And one more thing the man is a showman, he knows ho to work a crowd.

All these other drummers you say are better, I would bet if you asked Mike he would agree. Watch some interviews about his influences, he tells you as it is, where he stole his licks. He pay tribute to these player and bands all the time.

I have had the privilege to meet him and the rest of the band a few times as well as his wife and kids. They are great people as far as I can tell from my limited exposure to them.

Anyway, I have learned of 30+ years of playing it is not about who is faster or who is crazier or who has the best this or that. It is about what happen when the individuals come together as a group.

Buddy9832

08-02-2008, 12:04 AM

Mike Portnoy is one of the most influental drummers towards my drumming career ever.

I love his style of drumming. I remember my drum teacher when I was younger introducing his type of drumming to me and since them I'm hooked.

I don't care what you people say a lot of his drum may seem easy or not as technical as it could be. But I challenege you when your writting a song to come up with the ideas that he does come up with and that's a whole other story. He is one of the few drummers that has master interchanging time signatures in and out. He can easily warp and twist a song to change its feel instantly.

I began to truly take not of his genious in the song the Mirror. One of my friends who is a very talented guitarist pointed out that Pettrucci is littlerally playing the same notes over and over and again. The only thing that is changing the feel of the song is Portnoy's ability to weave in out of time signatures with ease.

Class A Drummer

08-02-2008, 05:57 AM

I'm not sure. I know his dvds all have transcriptons of the songs he plays.
If you want to learn a fun and interesting groovy song then learn "New Millenium". I personally think it is Mike Portnoys most creative work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwJhFzziSlU

Also some of Mikes best work is with Liquid Tension Experiment. Another Dimension is qite cool as well as a few others

Actually ive already learned that song lol. Its in the book i was speaking about. Im not sure if you will ever read this, but if you do could you tell me what songs he plays because i love playing play along songs, but most stuff is too boring and easy.

slingerland755

08-02-2008, 06:48 AM

i'd say a band comparable to dream theater would be between the buried and me. they're a progressive type metal band that sounds similar to DT in many ways. one big difference though is that BTBAM vocalist tommy rogers does both screaming vocals and clean vocals. they have songs up to almost 15 minutes long and their drummer, blake richardson, is very creative and has great technique and stamina.

here is a video split into two parts of him playing a song off their latest release "colors."

part one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YHVDFNKNQBk

part two:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=orTuN27UafQ

anyone else on here listen to between the buried and me?

Blake can play. He's busting out all the licks! Very tasty.

deltadrummer1

08-12-2008, 10:20 AM

dwsabianguy

08-14-2008, 09:38 PM

Anyone who says that Portnoy can't groove hasn't heard of Transatlantic. In my opinion, it's some of the most tasteful drumming he's done in the past few years. So far, I haven't heard anything from that band that isn't perfection.

My favorite DT album is still Six Degrees, which also has some of my favorite drum sounds. And you can't say that the drumming on there isn't tasteful - I mean, if it's not tasteful, what else would YOU do to make it better?

I think some people will overhype MP, but I don't think it's all uncalled for. I mean, Dream Theater almost single-handedly brought progressive music back to the masses. And I think that alone deserves respect.

xxthepatient

08-27-2008, 03:57 AM

Anyone who says that Portnoy can't groove hasn't heard of Transatlantic. In my opinion, it's some of the most tasteful drumming he's done in the past few years. So far, I haven't heard anything from that band that isn't perfection.

Transatlantic is amazing I agree. I'm a very big fan of Morse and Portnoy when they get together. The Morse solo stuff is amazing as well. Transatlantic is one of my all time favorite bands. I hope they do reunite in the near future.

7DaysToTheWolves

08-27-2008, 05:14 AM

I'm going to have to say Train Of Thought is in my top picks for progressive rock albums, great drumming in general.

That album's been such an inspiration for me.

xxthepatient

08-27-2008, 08:41 AM

I'm going to have to say Train Of Thought is in my top picks for progressive rock albums, great drumming in general.

That album's been such an inspiration for me.

ToT was written in 3 weeks too. :]

rmandelbaum

08-28-2008, 02:16 AM

I love them all but for me Scenes From A Memory is a masterpiece!

Just my opinion
http://www.robertmdrums.com/graphics/DT&ME.jpg

http://www.robertmdrums.com/graphics/mike%20amd%20me.jpg

rocksterretje92

08-28-2008, 06:33 PM

dream theater is a great band!! but so much respect for mike !! he is crazy :p:p ;);)

Pass.of.E.r.a.

10-18-2008, 12:30 AM

Any body else pick up Dream Theater's new DVD Chaos in Motion? inspiring or what?

dr.funkenstien

10-30-2008, 06:29 AM

yeah just picked it up! talk about inspiring I was at the Toronto show on there 4th row from the stage center. now....That was inspiring! hahaha awsome band, awomse drumming, gotta love em.

flamfive

10-30-2008, 11:37 PM

I believe Mike Portnoy is one of the best drummers out in a touring band right now. His playing is creative and precise. I always thought he was amazing listening to their different CD's but when I bought the Mike Portnoy Anthology book I was blown away. There are so many more hidden notes and rudiments that you stumble upon in the book that are hard to catch on their recordings. It was a great learning experience.

I just think overall musically the band is amazing. I have been to three of their shows and they never mess up. You listen to their live recordings and they never mess up or are sloppy. Everything is played precise. The craziest thing about it is they are usually playing 3hr.+ long sets. Seriously, to be able to play the music they do and be close to flawless for 3+hrs. is nothing but amazing.

So yes, I suppose he is high up on the list for my favorites. :)

drum_wizard

11-14-2008, 08:59 PM

Ive been a fan of DT for a long time. DT is the greatest band ever live so far in this planet. There style varies alot from other bands yet, keeping the elements that make them be DT like the odd times and fast shredding solos. Ive heard many bands and no one like them. No one. The rest of the bands I can say they sound the same in all there albums. DT's music structure is unbelievable. TOT 3 weeks to write!!!!!???? GOD DAM. What band in this world does that.

As per MP, I admire him. I have all his collections of signature series. Good drummer. I repect his playing and musicality towards DT and further projects. I can say that he is not the best or the worst, or better than Tony Royster or Thomas Lang. His style is unique and thats what makes him one of the best in his line up (category).

Adios...

jonescrusher

11-15-2008, 03:50 AM

. TOT 3 weeks to write!!!!!???? GOD DAM. What band in this world does that.

Adios...

I have to say that the more albums they keep turning out, the more it sounds like it's taking them a few weeks to make them. They've found a formula which they tweak here and there to produce a new album. DT are a band that's coasting, and doing very nicely out of it too. It's a shame they don't still have the musical curiosity they showed on 'Awake'.

drum_wizard

11-15-2008, 03:59 AM

I have to say that the more albums they keep turning out, the more it sounds like it's taking them a few weeks to make them. They've found a formula which they tweak here and there to produce a new album. DT are a band that's coasting, and doing very nicely out of it too. It's a shame they don't still have the musical curiosity they showed on 'Awake'.

awake wasn't the best album from DT. and yes it took them more time to produce but thats because there skills of writing music so quick wasn't strong enough like now. Six Degrees was another amazing album and better than awake (in my opinion) and it didnt take them as much as Awake.

trkdrmr

11-15-2008, 04:00 AM

I have to say that the more albums they keep turning out, the more it sounds like it's taking them a few weeks to make them. They've found a formula which they tweak here and there to produce a new album. DT are a band that's coasting, and doing very nicely out of it too. It's a shame they don't still have the musical curiosity they showed on 'Awake'.

Well, I agree in part. "Train" was a sledgehammer. I love it to death. "octavarium" was middling to me, but "Systematic" was a step back into a grittier realm. I admit I enjoy thier latter efforts a bit more than you do, but agree they aren't as original sounding as previous efforts.

LeeLovesSabian

11-17-2008, 02:55 AM

Dream Theater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jonescrusher

11-17-2008, 03:00 AM

awake wasn't the best album from DT. and yes it took them more time to produce but thats because there skills of writing music so quick wasn't strong enough like now. Six Degrees was another amazing album and better than awake (in my opinion) and it didnt take them as much as Awake.

I wonder whether it's more that they're thinking with more business acumen - they've settled on a sound that works as a trademark and pleases a certain fanbase, young men with a passion for the internet perhaps. It seems that they have two fanbases, one for the earlier material and one for the latter.

Buddy9832

06-03-2009, 07:25 AM

Personally I believe that Mike Portnoy is one of the more tallented drummers that I've come across in a long time. He is a pretty technical drummer and seems to be a jack of all trades type of drummer.

Which is what I enjoy about him.

I don't believe MP and DT rip off other bands, but that if there is other things that they learn from other bands they use it. The way I see it, without seeming like some hippy tripping on acid, is that part of the allure of music is due to it almost being infinite. One drummer or musician is not capable of coming up with every single tiny minute concept. That's what makes music so great, every serious musician has something that they can bring to the stage. Its not a competition on who is the better drummer, but every drummer that has different tricks, tips, and knacks that other drummers can learn from.

I mean I guarantee that's what most of you all do as drummers. You learn through listening to other drummers play.

Mike Portnoy might not be a pro at odd time sigs, he might not be the fastest drummer, the best double bass drummer, but he has a very strong foundation in all of that. So who cares if he's not the best.

In music, and drumming, the best music and drums is not necessarily always the most technical concept that can be played with ease. Sometimes simplicity is necessary and best. Just like in the military sometimes keeping the plans very simple is the best way to get things done. What I enjoy about MP drumming is that after studying him for probably about 5 years now, I've found that his drumming is in reality is typically not that hard to play. But he does seem to have a special intuition in the music he writes. Some of his drumming is very simple, but very few people would of thought of playing a song like that.

Great example, the song "the Mirror" off of Awake album. Petrucci the guitarist plays a simple lick practically though out the whole song as MP is playing simple drum beats. But what he does to change the entire feel of the song is change the time signatures or alter the drum beat instead of focusing on down beats to up beats. He is capable of coming up with things that in reality are very simple, that most drummers would have missed. MP has very strong base knowledge of music theory that really works for this band.

Big_Philly

06-03-2009, 01:35 PM

It seems that they have two fanbases, one for the earlier material and one for the latter.

I think so too. I myself lean towards their earlier material, I actually enjoyed When Dream and Day Unite (their 1st album with Charlie Dominici on vocals) most. Six Degrees is a masterpiece, but Train of Thought, despite having some great stuff on there, had a tendency for the songs being too long and repetitive.
In my point of view it all went downhill from there. Some good music on Octavarium and Systematic Chaos, but as a whole it's beginning to sound like more of the same to me.

Buddy9832

06-03-2009, 07:17 PM

I think so too. I myself lean towards their earlier material, I actually enjoyed When Dream and Day Unite (their 1st album with Charlie Dominici on vocals) most. Six Degrees is a masterpiece, but Train of Thought, despite having some great stuff on there, had a tendency for the songs being too long and repetitive.
In my point of view it all went downhill from there. Some good music on Octavarium and Systematic Chaos, but as a whole it's beginning to sound like more of the same to me.

Personally, I've never been much a fan of When Dream and Day Unite. I think it has a few good songs on there and some good concepts, but it has too much of an 80's feel to it that I'm not much of a fan of.

It does seem though that DT is moving towards a more heavier side now. But never the less I always find interesting new concepts that I've never thought of in all their albums.

But Six Degrees is definatlly a masterpiece, I could not agree more.

Also Metropolis pt. 2 I think is also a master piece. Its very rare to find a band that is capable of telling a full on story or play through their music.

michael drums

06-04-2009, 02:23 AM

MP and DT kick A!!

Any protege' of NP HAS to have the sense to know quality drumming when he hears/see it.

And that's NOT to say that Mike Portnoy hasn't established his own style, influence and following. 'Cause he most certainly has!

He's fantastic in his own right!

Period.

\m/

06-21-2009, 05:02 PM

Dream Theater and Mike are awesome! Definitely one of my favorite bands and drummers.

FM11215

06-22-2009, 09:19 PM

Not a fan, sorry. In that style of play I prefer Virgil Donati. Ok, Mike is a great drummer, but I don't find his drumming attractive, it's a matter of taste

Ray - HAKEN

07-07-2009, 05:09 PM

This band, HAKEN, have a lot of DT influences.

Our first couple of demos have received a great response and are featured on the myspace page www.myspace.com/hakenmusic

We're currently working on developing our own sound in the form of our debut album to be released Jan 2010. I would say we definitely share that element of intense technical prog metal with DT and wouldn't sound like we do if it weren't for such an incredibly inovative band (including of course Mr Mike Portnoy!)

SteveUnqueen

07-11-2009, 04:46 AM

I met him! He's a pretty nice guy actually.

Plays just a bit too busy in my opinion, but can play AMAZING things!

TwistedCamel

07-11-2009, 08:42 AM

Their new album is amazing. A lot more "metal" than most of their other albums, but it still is great. A Nightmare To Remember, my favorite song, is just mindblowing.

bamdrummer

07-21-2009, 06:38 PM

the sight on tama where ur s'posed to be able to see his new kit doesnt work. But anyway...Hes a really awesome drummer!

DrumCat6

07-23-2009, 02:43 AM

I have to go get the full CD, but I purchased two tracks from Dream Theater's new album last week. I really like the song "A Rite of Passage."
My favorite Dream Theater album is Awake, but this new one sounds like it is great too!

I've met Mike Portnoy a long time ago after a show. He seems like a cool guy.
I hope Mike keeps doing instructional videos, and drum clinics.

Kongo

07-23-2009, 05:38 AM

Personally I believe that Mike Portnoy is one of the more tallented drummers that I've come across in a long time.

That pretty much conveys everything I'm about to say. I'm not picking a fight with you, but I guess you live under a rock. The guy has been playing the same crappy solo since the 90's he has not gotten any better. Plus, besides his slump of not ever getting any better, the guy isn't very friendly. I live in the same town he grew up in that is how I know that. He's not one of the elite drummers out right now, there are so many better then him. If this was said on his little "forum" he would edit your post and ban you because that's the way that he is. He's over rated and could never compete with real drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Morgan Ågren, Thomas Haake and many many more. Sorry.

Fox622003

07-25-2009, 04:03 AM

That pretty much conveys everything I'm about to say. I'm not picking a fight with you, but I guess you live under a rock. The guy has been playing the same crappy solo since the 90's he has not gotten any better. Plus, besides his slump of not ever getting any better, the guy isn't very friendly. I live in the same town he grew up in that is how I know that. He's not one of the elite drummers out right now, there are so many better then him. If this was said on his little "forum" he would edit your post and ban you because that's the way that he is. He's over rated and could never compete with real drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Morgan Ågren, Thomas Haake and many many more. Sorry.

I have to agree. I personally don't like what Dream Theater is all about at all, I think they focused so much on the "complexity" of their songs that they don't really remember what musicality means. Not to mention Portnoy gets the prize for biggest ego in that band...and his stuff has gotten old ages ago. Got to give him some credit though, I don't understand how he memorizes those songs...I mean, we're talking about 25 minute + songs with tons of different parts and time signatures. It's sad to see so many young players look up to him so much, when he really didn't invent anything and his style isn't very special musically. It's very stupid music (in my opinion).

Fox.

Buddy9832

07-26-2009, 09:52 PM

That pretty much conveys everything I'm about to say. I'm not picking a fight with you, but I guess you live under a rock. The guy has been playing the same crappy solo since the 90's he has not gotten any better. Plus, besides his slump of not ever getting any better, the guy isn't very friendly. I live in the same town he grew up in that is how I know that. He's not one of the elite drummers out right now, there are so many better then him. If this was said on his little "forum" he would edit your post and ban you because that's the way that he is. He's over rated and could never compete with real drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Morgan Ågren, Thomas Haake and many many more. Sorry.

I understand your opinion. Maybe I should retract that statement earlier. I don't necessarily believe that he is a power house. But to me many talented drummers out there are very good at a very limited aspect of drumming (Just to give one quick example, Joey Jordison and no I'm not a fan of slipknot, is a power house when it comes to double bass drumming, but that's about all he has going for himself). What I find very impressive about Mike Portnoy is the fact that he seems to have a strong foundation in many various aspects of drumming. He's not the fastest double bass drummer, but he has a good foundation in double bass drumming. He's pretty good at mastering odd time sig songs and transitioning into the various time signatures. He has a pretty descent knowledge of music theory which in my opinion allows him to be a team player with the rest of the band. Yah, there's a lot of drumming in DT music, but everyone else such as Petrucci and Ruddess (sp?) all have ample opportunities to express their instruments as well.

MaT

07-27-2009, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by Kongo
That pretty much conveys everything I'm about to say. I'm not picking a fight with you, but I guess you live under a rock. The guy has been playing the same crappy solo since the 90's he has not gotten any better. Plus, besides his slump of not ever getting any better, the guy isn't very friendly. I live in the same town he grew up in that is how I know that. He's not one of the elite drummers out right now, there are so many better then him. If this was said on his little "forum" he would edit your post and ban you because that's the way that he is. He's over rated and could never compete with real drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Morgan Ågren, Thomas Haake and many many more. Sorry.

I'm just gonna add my personal opinion on this, just as you did.

When I see Mike Portnoy live (or in dvds), I get the feeling he's playing with passion. Then, honestly, I don't care about his personal life, he's a model as a musician to me, not as a person. But, I don't really think he's an unfriendly person.

Now, about his drumming skills, I think he's very good, very creative when playing DT songs; he inspired me a lot and I respect him for giving me an open minded approach when creating drum parts and song structures.

Let me add that he also works on many other things besides just drumming, so I don't blame him for not being playing as fast as any elite drummer out there, I believe he's not aiming for that, but to keep creating great music.

Just my honest opinion.

DrumEatDrum

07-27-2009, 01:41 AM

That pretty much conveys everything I'm about to say. I'm not picking a fight with you, but I guess you live under a rock. The guy has been playing the same crappy solo since the 90's he has not gotten any better. Plus, besides his slump of not ever getting any better, the guy isn't very friendly. I live in the same town he grew up in that is how I know that. He's not one of the elite drummers out right now, there are so many better then him. If this was said on his little "forum" he would edit your post and ban you because that's the way that he is. He's over rated and could never compete with real drummers such as Gavin Harrison, Morgan Ågren, Thomas Haake and many many more. Sorry.

I don't this attitude of if you pay a compliment to drummer A, you are somehow insulting drummer B, C, or D. Saying a drummer is "talented" does not equal saying someone is "the best' or automatically "better than" everyone else.

And you really think if you insult someone on their website, they're not going to boot you?
Got to any website message board and insult the owner, and see how long you last. LOL.

Since when is drumming a competition anyway? I don't recall Portnoy every claiming he is/was completing with anyone. Is there a prize for the winner now? Is drumming an Olympic event now? Will this competition be televised along with the SuperBowl?

I've met Mike 1/2 dozen times over the years. He's always seemed like a nice guy. He's pretty humble when he does talk about other drummers, and he doesn't consider himself in the same league as some of the names mentioned. So what? But he's also a very driven individual, and admits he's very OCD, which I suppose could rub some people wrong.

Kongo

07-27-2009, 05:59 AM

I understand your opinion. Maybe I should retract that statement earlier. I don't necessarily believe that he is a power house. But to me many talented drummers out there are very good at a very limited aspect of drumming (Just to give one quick example, Joey Jordison and no I'm not a fan of slipknot, is a power house when it comes to double bass drumming, but that's about all he has going for himself). What I find very impressive about Mike Portnoy is the fact that he seems to have a strong foundation in many various aspects of drumming. He's not the fastest double bass drummer, but he has a good foundation in double bass drumming. He's pretty good at mastering odd time sig songs and transitioning into the various time signatures. He has a pretty descent knowledge of music theory which in my opinion allows him to be a team player with the rest of the band. Yah, there's a lot of drumming in DT music, but everyone else such as Petrucci and Ruddess (sp?) all have ample opportunities to express their instruments as well.

I don't feel like typing out a whole essay again, but if you think Joey Jordison is a "power house" at double bass then you have a lot to discover, bub.

These following two videos are just ice breakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOaJS1yg6v4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC-4ZRkVnOM

Now for the real stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc98u-eGzlc

JAHAN_ELX

07-27-2009, 07:58 AM

mike portnoy is one of my fav drummers
VERY SKILLED!!!

Buddy9832

07-27-2009, 07:41 PM

I'm just gonna add my personal opinion on this, just as you did.

When I see Mike Portnoy live (or in dvds), I get the feeling he's playing with passion. Then, honestly, I don't care about his personal life, he's a model as a musician to me, not as a person. But, I don't really think he's an unfriendly person.

Now, about his drumming skills, I think he's very good, very creative when playing DT songs; he inspired me a lot and I respect him for giving me an open minded approach when creating drum parts and song structures.

Let me add that he also works on many other things besides just drumming, so I don't blame him for not being playing as fast as any elite drummer out there, I believe he's not aiming for that, but to keep creating great music.

Just my honest opinion.

Word could not have agreed more...

I don't feel like typing out a whole essay again, but if you think Joey Jordison is a "power house" at double bass then you have a lot to discover, bub.

These following two videos are just ice breakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOaJS1yg6v4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC-4ZRkVnOM

Now for the real stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc98u-eGzlc

Your right there are faster double bass drummers out there and I stand corrected. That was the first example that came to mind.

xxmastermindxx

07-29-2009, 02:54 PM

i found a mike portnoy interview and a little workshop w/ him (in person!) on a German site called bonedo... the videos are in English, so we all understand it anyway... :D

here is the link: http://www.bonedo.de/feature/allgemein/containerseiten/dream-theater-video-interview/index.html?no_cache=1

krayziemex99

09-15-2009, 10:31 PM

Has anybody heard Black Clouds and Silver Linings? Man he just tears it up on that album he does some fantastic playing on that.

DrumEatDrum

09-15-2009, 11:03 PM

Has anybody heard Black Clouds and Silver Linings? Man he just tears it up on that album he does some fantastic playing on that.

Not my favorite Dream theater album (and I've been a huge fan since 92).

But I have to say it sounds like Portnoy had been practicing before recording this one, which is only odd given how often he says he never practices anymore!

krayziemex99

09-21-2009, 09:34 AM

Not my favorite Dream theater album (and I've been a huge fan since 92).

But I have to say it sounds like Portnoy had been practicing before recording this one, which is only odd given how often he says he never practices anymore!

Who know he might have been but he did some awesome playing on a Nightmare to Remember there was some cool stuff that was done there.

krayziemex99

10-22-2009, 04:16 AM

I don't think Portnoy practices as much as he just keeps getting better with time and with more playing that he does just like anyone else I mean if thats all you do your bound to get better and better. Of course practice always helps though.

Dean Talbot

10-23-2009, 01:32 PM

Not my favorite Dream theater album (and I've been a huge fan since 92).

But I have to say it sounds like Portnoy had been practicing before recording this one, which is only odd given how often he says he never practices anymore!

I wouldn't have thought he needed to practice. Since DT joined Roadrunner, they have done 2 year long tours, interspersed with studio time. As with other bands, Roadrunner have these guys on the road for such a long time that the tour becomes the practice.

dwsabianguy

11-13-2009, 06:10 AM

Actually, yeah, it does seem that he's gotten cleaner for Black Clouds. But I think he's gotten into the same rut as the rest of the band (resting on their laurels, more or less), but A Nightmare to Remember kills me. It's a tough song on the feet if you ask me, but I'm no double-bass technician.

MP was my second drum hero after Neil Peart, and I still come back to Dream Theater and enjoy most of it. Regardless of what people say, I find a lot of substance in the music (don't get me wrong, some songs are wankalicious, but definitely not all of them) and I like the music as a whole, rather than being into it just for the drums. In other words, I got into the band for MP, but stayed for John Petrucci.

He does have one big stylistic characteristic (some people would call it a flaw), which would be his constantly accented 1. No matter what the time signature is, he almost always lands on 1. There are a couple exceptions, like a a couple times in Voices and Learning to Live, but overall, he lands on 1 every time without any playing over the bar line. And most of the time it works for the music.

Not to mention that his drums sound great... sometimes.

AND the new Transatlantic album is fantastic.

JMX

11-22-2009, 12:54 AM

I have been a Dream Theater/Mike Portnoy fan for years...
For the music in Dream Theater, Mike is like a frount man... not to montion the drumming
wich i think SFAM (scenes from a memory) and SDoIT (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance) was his best drumming in DT. I stress whan people say, "whoah, he has a waaaaayyy too big kit" because, if you look up on MP and his kits (monsters), it 2 kits made into one, its just a usual Metal kit, mixed in with a jazzy/proggy fusion kit...

I also love MPs LTE (liquid Tention Experimen with: MP, John Petrucci, Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess.) The size down totaly work for LTE and i love it, as many DT/MP fans may know MP loves his cymbals and are a great addion to MPs kits. IMO they bring wis kit alive, with a range of crashes and slashes the sounds he makes just fits everytime.

MP (IMO) is the best drummer since maybe john bonham or Keith Moon...
But, i know he cannot please everyone, thoughs who are not into the "prog" scene (witch is ALOT atm.) will not take note to him. but, i strongly suggest listening to a variaty of MP music (DT, LTE, OSI, Trans Atlantic etc.) Thats my take on MP :)

- JMX