Mike Portnoy

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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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,
 
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....
 
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?
 
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.....
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.

Dream Theater might not be your cup of tea, but how can you possibly be so hasty in denying the fact that the musicians within the band sit in the upper echelon? Is it not evident that Mike Portnoy has inspired a great number of musicians?--- so who is to say that his playing isn't innovative? Perhaps a person on a drum forum wishing they were in Mike's shoes?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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