Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater): The spirit of this tour is the excitement over the reunion of the classic lineup

When Dream Theater emerged, there was a sort of a ripple in the wider scene during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, as their sound stunned many metal listeners across the globe. After all, they’ve brought a wave of freshness and something unfamiliar to the majority of metal fans. Above everything else, they sounded extremely well versed, virtuosos each on their own instrument, while their songs still echo through other bands to this day, as they influenced a whole lotta musicians that came after. Gen X-ers probably still remember their first encounter with the likes of “Pull Me Under,” and how different it was from other metal songs that were played on MTV.

Always a steady five, with some changes on the vocals until the steady position of James LaBrie on the mic, and some shifts on the keyboards, the most felt change with the audience was their original drummer Mike Portnoy’s departure in 2010. However, the winds of change had blown since then and brought everyone’s (and their mother’s) favorite drummer back into his band of origin, 14 years later.

Now, we are awaiting a significant milestone in their camp, and it’s Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary. On top of that, they have decided to celebrate it with fans across the globe, with Portnoy back behind the drums. U Soon, the fans in our region will have a chance to see them live on October 29th, 2024, in Arena, Zagreb, and because of this, Balkanrock spoke to Portnoy about the upcoming anniversary tour and a few things on top.

Balkanrock: Your 40th-anniversary tour is about to start in the fall. Are there any upcoming challenges you will need to face as an American band touring Europe in the post-COVID era?

Mike Portnoy: I don’t think so. This will be my 1st time touring with Dream Theater post-COVID so we’ll have a lot of new challenges because we haven’t toured together in 15 years. So there’ll be a lot of new things just for us. But as far as things related to post-COVID touring, I think we’ve had a couple of years now to readjust. I know Dream Theater’s done several tours since then, and I’ve toured with, I don’t know, 4 or 5 different bands since then as well. So it was a bit of an adjustment at first, but I think now we’re kind of back to normal. Luckily.

BR: When it comes to touring life, what are the differences between American and European fans, if there are any?

Portnoy: Oh, there’s a lot actually. I think the European fans are a lot more interactive a little more little louder, a little more, I don’t know, I don’t want to say passionate, because obviously American fans are incredibly passionate as well. They just show it differently. Usually in America, it’s more reserved. More like very nice theaters where people are sitting, and I know in Europe the fans prefer venues where they’re standing, even though it’s more tiring, I think they enjoy the energy more standing in a standing venue, like an arena or a hall, or something like that.

But even within Europe, from country to country and market to market, there are a lot of differences. I don’t think it’s fair to just generalize a European audience as one thing, because you know, the way they react in Italy is different from the way they react in Holland, which is different from the way they react in Poland, and so on and so forth. So that’s the exciting thing about Europe. When you travel from country to country and market to market, you find a lot of differences between the fans from country to country.

BR: Can we expect some surprises when it comes to your shows, will you guys play some songs you haven’t played live for a while?

Portnoy:  Well, the biggest surprise is gonna be – it’s me on drums. So yeah, that right there will make it different from any Dream Theater show that any of the fans have seen in the last 15 years. That’s the thing. The spirit of this tour is just a general excitement over the, you know, the reunion of this classic lineup. So each and every night, each and every song is going to be special for that reason.

BR: What’s your current equipment setup?

Portnoy: Well, I mean, I’ve been endorsing the same drum companies for decades. Now, you know, since the ’80s and ’90s. I’ve been playing Tama drums, Sabian symbols ProMark sticks, and Latin percussion. I’m a very loyal endorser. So I’ve been with all of these companies for over 30 years each. As far as the equipment set up for the tour, I haven’t built my kit yet, but Tama will be building me a new custom touring kit, which will surely be massive and monstrous in size. So we’ll see. You know the fans will find out when the tour begins.

BR: Will John Petrucci keep the protective plastic cover for his equipment?

Portnoy: He’s not gonna need it anymore because since COVID-19, I’ve been working very hard on curbing my spitting habit because now in in a post-COVID world spitting could be considered a lethal weapon. So John’s not gonna need the covers. I think I will try to behave myself as best as possible.

BR: Do you use different stuff when you’re playing with Dream Theater as opposed to your other projects/bands?

Portnoy: Well, the companies I endorse are the same, but the setup is always different from band to band. With Dream Theater I’ve always been known for having this giant massive drum kit, so that will remain and continue in the future. But for some of my other bands and projects, I like to mix it up with a different configuration.

For instance, with the Winery Dogs, it’s very scaled down. The 1st Winery Dogs tour we did was on a small, you know, 5-piece John Bonham-type setup. You know, for different bands it requires different configurations, because they’re all different kinds of music with different musicians, so they all deserve their their own identity.

BR: So there will be no Hello, Kitty! set up on this tour?

Portnoy: Maybe I might be able to bring one with me in addition to but yeah, I’ll have the big massive Dream Theater kit. I actually do have that Hello Kitty! drum kit in the other room. So I do still have it.

BR: You’ve been in the music industry for 4 decades, so in these modern times, are there any specific challenges with the digital era and the way music is distributed? Do you see it as a challenge or did you embrace it?

Portnoy: I, personally have embraced it. Personally. It’s got its pros and cons. I mean back when Dream Theater started in the ‘80s, the only way you could do anything, you needed a record deal. You had to be signed to a label if you wanted to be in any of the magazines or be played on the radio, so we were very much at the mercy of the record company, and it created its share of problems and frustrations as well.

You know, in the ’90s, there were a couple of periods in the band’s time, where we were, you know, having to wait to record an album and wait for the label to be supportive. It was, you know, often, very times frustrating. So it’s been nice in the last couple of decades for the artist to regain control over their own music and have control over it. How we release it, how we distribute it.

It’s been easier in that respect. And it’s been great for young musicians to have that ability. But it also has flooded the market. You know the cliche is that, like back in the ‘90s, there were thousands of bands selling millions of records nowadays, there are millions of bands selling thousands of records, you know, so you know it has its pros and has its cons, for sure.

BR: What do you personally prefer, physical copies or streaming?

Portnoy: Well, you could look at my collection here. I still collect. I still buy and collect everything because I’m a collector, and I’m a big music fan. Unfortunately, not everybody in the world is like me. There’s a lot of people that just, you know, stream the stuff for free on Spotify, or wherever you stream music for free. So yeah, for me as a fan, I love it. I love being able to have access to music so conveniently, but I still buy the product. I still go out and buy the box sets, and the Vinyl, because I’m a collector, but because most people aren’t like me, and they just want the free music.

It’s made it very, very, very hard for musicians to survive financially anymore. So you know, we have to tour in order to make a living at it. And when Covid shut the world down for a couple of years, and we couldn’t even do that it, you know, it was a very trying time to be a musician because of that. But you know, I embrace streaming music as a fan.

I like being able to be sitting in a hotel room at 3 in the morning in the middle of Russia, or wherever, and being able to just oh, you know – hey! I never heard that album! And you could click on it, and there it is. You know, back in the ‘90s you’d have to wait till the next day and then get up and go to the record shop and search for it, and hope they’d have it so. You know. Once again pros and cons.

BR: How does your songwriting process usually go? Where do you find inspiration these days?

Portnoy: Well, we’re currently working on the new Dream Theater album, and it will be my 1st album with the band in 15 years. So that right there is enough inspiration for us. You know, that has been the inspiration for the making of this latest album. You know just the fact that we have this chemistry at work that hasn’t been together in a decade and a half. That’s fueling us. That’s exciting us. It’s inspiring us. But that right there has been the inspiration just being back together after all this time.

BR: How does it feel to be back in the Dream Theater machine, is it like riding a bike?

Portnoy: It is. It’s like riding a unicycle. It’s easy because it’s so familiar but it’s difficult because the music is fucking crazy. But yeah, the emotions have been incredible. All 5 of us are just so happy to be back together again that it’s incredibly emotional, and we’re all very excited.

BR: Do you have a message for the fans in this region?

Portnoy: Well, pretty simple. We are happy to be back together again with this lineup. We are extremely excited about the new album, but we’re still many, many months away from releasing any of that. So right now, the next focus for us is getting on tour and touring for our 40th anniversary, which is incredible. And to be playing together again for the greatest fans in the world which are the Dream Theater fans it’s extremely exciting, and we can’t wait to hit the road and start playing, live together.