Mike Portnoy

Pratt said:
for me, since metropolis part II (except for falling into infinity, wich I think is really poor), mr portnoy has kinda lost his way...he is way too far from that drummer who created those excellent arrangements for "when dream and day unite" and "images and words"... remember erotomania and 6 o´clock? where are them?

I wont demand for a band toalways put out great masterpieces but in fact, for me, dream theater has lost the way home since kevin moor quit them...
Hmm. Maybe it's because I just got into DT but my FAVOURITE album is Scenes from a Memory.....I just think that they are trying to go different routes with their cd's. I dont think they necessarily 'lost their way'. I like the way it's progressing.....their cd's are getting more metal.....and portnoy is still playing pretty technical.....I like the placements of the bass drum more and more from each cd.....I think it's getting better.
 
Alright ppl, im new to the post so wut up.... in just gonna dive right into it. MP+DT i could not think of a better match, the guy can play in the sense that he connects with the music around him and knows how to enhance it. needless to say the chemistry that one cant help but notice... as to compare with any heavier bands and drummers, i wouldnt. since from my point of view what matters most is how you can complement the music and make it hole and portnoy's abilities do just that.

Personally DT was the door that introduced me to this world of complex technicalities and musical ingenuity in which portnoy forms a great part of. i admit that at first i thought he was the best thing in town!!! but that was cuz like i said i didnt know better, now that does not mean that im beginning to see his flaws, its just a process of education and evolution, and thats the beauty of it all.

To say that in some cases DT is a rip off, pretty much deminishes the idea of musical influence... portnoy's said many times how Peart was one of his greatest influences that does not make him a copy cat, sh.. portnoy's one of my biggest influences and ive used many of his concepts to broaden my abilities as a drummer... besides we see how many of the new styles of music that come out have a clear similarity to a style that already exist... its called evolution ppl. its a matter of taste i think. of course there are faster, smoother, or just plain sick drummers out there but what portnoy does is all in context of the music.
So.. anyways thats just my opinion right??lol
 
Ynnad101 said:
To say that in some cases DT is a rip off, pretty much deminishes the idea of musical influence...

Not really. You can be influenced by something in an obvious way without ripping it off. The examples I was mentioning lifted key phrases or riffs from the source songs with little or no alteration. That doesn't really require much independent thought and it's pretty cheap. I'd mind less if they'd at least borrow from stuff that isn't in a similar genre - if they want to go grab a melody from A Love Supreme and turn it into a prog metal riff I'd maybe be more sympathetic to the idea that it's "influence" at work, but grabbing the bass line from another prog/metal song and moving one or two notes around a little bit is quite amateurish.
 
Re: Mike Pourtnoy

Joe Morris said:
I saw Dream Theatre 2 years ago. I walked out after 6 songs. All I have to say about Mike Portnoy is he had really cool shoes.
i saw them too, wakled out after 6 songs, boring, he has no feelig when he plays
and portnoy's kit is too much for him, weckl, carey, chambers, beauford,agren and a lot more do greater things with a smaller kit...
he reaaaally does that thing 2xhand 2 xfeet too often...
his technique isn't great and as someone said earlier, he just pust 4/4 on different time signatures. Amateur drummers go " he's the best, he has a lotta details, and his technique, woahh" he has the strokin technique of grohl and he's so stiff, unlike beaufor
.once you get to know him you can catch the details real quick and they aren't really hard...
you should listen to dave weckl, those are details, or danny carey if you like rock music",
listen to them carefully, with headphones, and you'll realize in each song there are tons of details. tons of em..
mike's really good but for me he's one of those drummers who is now stuck.. the new record sounds just like the one before. and that one sounded like the one before...he hasn't shown anythin new
 
mike's really good but for me he's one of those drummers who is now stuck.. the new record sounds just like the one before. and that one sounded like the one before...he hasn't shown anythin new

On that i agree just a bit... he should put an extra effort for the next record to expand his technique, and make it more challenging.

PS: if the quote didnt come out right... understand its my 2nd post. :p
 
I think he´s being stuck by the path the band´s compositional involution is traceing, I mean, there are too many odd sigs, a lot of heavy riffs, cool ballads, but everything is so cliché...no wonder he doesent have anything else to do than repeat himself...(although I must recognize his efforts towards creativity)

oh, I forgot to mention all those predictables vocal lines...
its sad, but we have to admit that they´re going preety much the same way as metallica...downhill !!

ops, metallica has continuously increased their profits, so what´s good indeed?
 
The first thing I want to say is that no one can deny that this guy is a great drummer. To handle the time signatures of Dream Theater on a nightly basis is something that must be applauded. I guess that's why he's in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

Aside from that, and with that stated (out of respect for MP), for me, his playing really does nothing for me. I admire him for his consistent execution but I see nothing "original" in his playing. I was also on the Steve Gadd thread as some praised and lauded his playing but for me, when you hear Steve Gadd you know it's Steve Gadd, regardless of what you think of him. He has that feel and that sound and that sense of time that only he has. For me, when I hear Dream Theater, I hear Dream Theater. I think any "talented seasoned professional" could play that gig so long as they have a background in progressive rock.

His double bass work is typical, the 16th note groove or those doubles and triplet licks that everyone does. If you want to hear some great double bass work (other than Donati or Lang, say) you'd hear more interesting work on any ICED EARTH album compared to what Portnoy does. His chops are good, no doubt but again, I don't hear anything original. He seems to play the same stuff that all drummers with big double bass kits play.

But then again, maybe it's just me. I know that this guy has a lot of fans and has a huge influence on so many great drummers. So for that alone, I give him props as I did earlier at the beginning of my "2 cents."
 
Cuauhtemoc said:
The first thing I want to say is that no one can deny that this guy is a great drummer. To handle the time signatures of Dream Theater on a nightly basis is something that must be applauded. I guess that's why he's in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

Aside from that, and with that stated (out of respect for MP), for me, his playing really does nothing for me. I admire him for his consistent execution but I see nothing "original" in his playing. I was also on the Steve Gadd thread as some praised and lauded his playing but for me, when you hear Steve Gadd you know it's Steve Gadd, regardless of what you think of him. He has that feel and that sound and that sense of time that only he has. For me, when I hear Dream Theater, I hear Dream Theater. I think any "talented seasoned professional" could play that gig so long as they have a background in progressive rock.

His double bass work is typical, the 16th note groove or those doubles and triplet licks that everyone does. If you want to hear some great double bass work (other than Donati or Lang, say) you'd hear more interesting work on any ICED EARTH album compared to what Portnoy does. His chops are good, no doubt but again, I don't hear anything original. He seems to play the same stuff that all drummers with big double bass kits play.

But then again, maybe it's just me. I know that this guy has a lot of fans and has a huge influence on so many great drummers. So for that alone, I give him props as I did earlier at the beginning of my "2 cents."

No.
Good Night.

P.S : What's make you more creative than Portnoy or Gadd ? Give me a break and be more positive towards drummers.Thank You.
 
CarterB_Junkie said:
No.
Good Night.

P.S : What's make you more creative than Portnoy or Gadd ? Give me a break and be more positive towards drummers.Thank You.

What a useless post!

Let's review:

* State a contrary opinion
* Don't back it up with anything
* Launch an ad-hominem attack
* Include mandatory "Can you do better?" speil.

Why even bother? Your post has no content! You suggest that others should be more positive towards drummers, yet in the same breath rip into the creativity of the original poster without even having heard their playing. At least the rest of us have actually heard Portnoy play and can therefore comment on it with something other than empty posturing.

I agree with a lot of what was said in that post. I don't, personally, like Portnoy's playing very much. I think his technique is... err.. a little like swinging a hammer (just watch his snare backbeats!) and he really really over-uses the whole four with the hands/two with the feet business. I don't really find a lot of what he does all that creative, which I think was the initial point being made. That said, he's an astoundingly solid drummer and he's taken his career a very long way - there's a lot to respect there, and I'd be the last to ignore that. As would Cuauhtemoc, judging by his posting. He gives respect where it is due, then makes his point in a clear and positive manner.

And I think you missed the point of what he was saying about Steve Gadd. It's a little unclear in terms of the grammar, but he appears to be contrasting Gadd and Portnoy rather than suggesting they are in some way similar.
 
Hey finnhiggins, thanks for the defense. I obviously ruffled some feathers even when I thought that I gave MP props for his career and ability to be consistent. I guess some people won't allow others to be subjective and disagree with their point of view. I surely won't discuss religion or politics with this guy.

As far as me, I've been playing drums for 25 years, a local cat from Los Angeles. I've been gigging again as I stopped for a while to finish a Master's Degree, buy a house and become a father while trying to be a good husband to my wife. I don't recall ever saying that I was better than MP although I would say that our styles are quite different. If my critic wants to find something to rip on me he can go to www.audiostreet.net/carlossolorzano and hear some samples from the drumming CD that I released in 2002. It's multi-tracked original tribal drumming songs that I had a blast composing and recording.

Thanks again finnhiggins and I look forward to reading more of your posts.
 
I have a huge amount of respect for Portnoy as a composer and performer, and I don't agree with some of what Cuauhtemoc posted, but I have no problem at all with him expressing his opinions in the respectful fashion that he did. Actually it was a perfect example of how to state one's opinion, and I hope that those few of you here who need to can learn to do the same. This is one of the better threads about a "controversial" drummer. I appreciate the thoughtfulness that has gone into some of these posts. You guys are the best, bar none, and it's you who make this place so great. Keep it up, guys.

And Cuauhtemoc, I'm going to check out that link of yours when I get a moment, probably tonight. I'm looking forward to it after your description. Sounds like my kind of stuff.
 
Cuauhtemoc said:
The first thing I want to say is that no one can deny that this guy is a great drummer. To handle the time signatures of Dream Theater on a nightly basis is something that must be applauded. I guess that's why he's in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

Aside from that, and with that stated (out of respect for MP), for me, his playing really does nothing for me. I admire him for his consistent execution but I see nothing "original" in his playing. I was also on the Steve Gadd thread as some praised and lauded his playing but for me, when you hear Steve Gadd you know it's Steve Gadd, regardless of what you think of him. He has that feel and that sound and that sense of time that only he has. For me, when I hear Dream Theater, I hear Dream Theater. I think any "talented seasoned professional" could play that gig so long as they have a background in progressive rock.

His double bass work is typical, the 16th note groove or those doubles and triplet licks that everyone does. If you want to hear some great double bass work (other than Donati or Lang, say) you'd hear more interesting work on any ICED EARTH album compared to what Portnoy does. His chops are good, no doubt but again, I don't hear anything original. He seems to play the same stuff that all drummers with big double bass kits play.

But then again, maybe it's just me. I know that this guy has a lot of fans and has a huge influence on so many great drummers. So for that alone, I give him props as I did earlier at the beginning of my "2 cents."


Props on the Iced Earth drummers. I'm listening to Dante's Inferno, it's an immense performance all round. I dislike Jon Schaffer's revolving door lineups however. Richard Christy was a great catch and his playing on Horror Show was truly excellent; pity most of the drums were made lifeless by the production.

As for our friend Mr. Portnoy, what can I say that hasn't already been said? I like the fact that opinion is divided over him. In my opinon he is a great drummer... although his solos are a little flat, his playing with bands is an excellent display of both simplicity and complication at the same time.
 
Dog Breath, you are the man. Nothing like a good conversation between adults.

And thanks for checking out my site. Hope you like it!
 
well, i've remained quiet oin this thread out of ignorance but now i have had ample opportunity to watch his liquid dream theatre double dvd and i must say that everyone here is right.

in that
1) while he clearly borrows ideas a lot from other drummers (notably peart)
2) he does so in a clever powerful way.
3) he has great foot and hand speed and his time signature chopping and changing are a bit boggling.

he is also quite a cool guy. well spoken on the dvd, friendly and knowledgable. that whole take a drum to the audience and duet with random fans thing at the end of the disc shows that he is a great show man.

in my opinion we are just seeing the tip of the portnoy phenomenon. watch this space. think about it. i wonder what many drummers were saying about peart earlier in his carreer. i bet it wasn't all nice.

my respect to the man.
j
 
i really dont think of DT as a band ripping off rush, tool, etc. its a band coming in with there own sort of sound in a way. seperating themselves and there styles away from what 90% of bands are doing today. yes MP is greatly influenced by peart, but who here can say that they never played a song or made up a beat that had some certain aspect of your favorite drummer in there. john bonhams doubles and triplets and POWER, danny careys smooth technical ability, etc. we all pick up certain things. so saying that MP is a rip off doent make that much sense.



and i back up what jason said
 
Just a little correction on the current enormous Potnoy drumkit :

It is not One drumkit but Two that are glued together.

If you take each kit separately, they are not that big !
 
Back
Top